Supposedly, witches can’t kill. But Madison accidentally killed her boyfriend, and now a girl at her witch academy is dead, too.Madison spent her life avoiding her magical abilities, but when she’s forced to use them to save her best friend from a deadly storm and accidentally kills her boyfriend as a result, she decides she needs to enroll at La Voisin School for Young Witches after all.She … Young Witches after all.
She knew starting a year later than her peers would come with its own struggles; she just never expected one of those struggles would be the impossible murder of a classmate. The school is spelled for safety, and witches can’t kill…so how did Giselle end up dead?
Only Giselle and her killer know, and only Madison can find out. Because now, the dead witch is haunting her. Crazy thing is, Giselle’s murder isn’t even the biggest secret this school has.
Just ask the statues.
Fans of Stephenie Meyers’ Twilight and Bella Forrest’s Harley Merlin series will devour Curse of Stone, book one of Veronica Shade’s Academy of the Damned.
Scroll up and one-click to starting reading this haunting, slow burn paranormal academy romance today.more
Curse of Stone (Academy of the Damned Book 1)
I loved everything about this book and just couldn’t put it down, fantastically written with stunning and captivating characters, Multi layers of sub plots that are easily followed and wonderful action with romance. A must read for so many reasons.
What an enjoyable experience!!! This delightful read had my heart pounding, my blood pumping and my mind guessing. I can hardly wait to read the next book!!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Madison is a witch with no idea how to control or truly use her gifts. She has never encountered a witch in real life. As the series moves along, I think we will get more of the story. Curse of Stone is a great YA Urban Paranormal adventure novel.
Madison and Julieta are phenomenal BFFs and Julieta’s family takes care of Madison when her mother cannot. Enter a bad storm, a tragedy, lots of heartaches, pain, and tears, followed by rash decisions, bullying, more tragedy, and heroism, and you have a story wrought with action, thrills, suspense, and adventure.
The paranormal and supernatural elements of this book are witchy, with a couple of other beings/critters thrown into the pot. There are great twists that in hindsight were obvious. However, you get caught up in the story, so when the twists occur you are shocked. The ending makes me look forward to Book 2!!!!!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Madison Whittaker is a witch; an air witch, to be exact. But all she has ever wanted was to graduate high school, attend college, and sometime in the future, marry her sweetheart, Beau Redbird. But an unexpected summer storm that spawns a tornado destroys her life plan and takes Beau ‘s life in a freak incident.
Devastated, Madison flees to her home, where her drug addicted mother is laying in a stupor, unaware of the turmoil and unchecked grief that Madison is experiencing. Desperate for escape, Madison makes the monumental decision to escape to La Voison, the magical academy for witches.
Upon her arrival at La Voison, Madison is subjected to derision by the student body and bullying by the school’s “Golden Girl” Giselle Durant. With the degree of enmity between them, Madison soon discovers, to her great dismay, that Giselle is her roommate. But Giselle is keeping secrets, and Madison is the one that discovers Giselle’s lifeless body at the bottom of the stairs….
Now living under a cloud of suspicion, and despite the ruling of accidental death, Madison is determined to discover not only what had really happened to Giselle, but also to uncover what secrets Giselle was hiding. What is the secret of the many macabre marble statues that dot the grounds; who created them, why do they seem to move? What IS the truth? It may cost Madison more than she realizes to uncover the answers…
Riveting! This book grabbed my attention and didn’t let go! Can’t wait to read book two to see what happens next!
*minor spoilers* Madison has had it rough. A witch born to mundane. A mother with drug problems. A father who died when she was young. Shes had to grow up fast. But Madison is a witch who controls the air….or at least tries to. With no formal training, she just kind of wings it, and mostly keeps it hidden. When an attempt to save her best friend causes the death of her boyfriend, her world tumbles. She leaves home for an academy of witches to seek training to control her powers. Its no easy task, as shes already 2 years behind. And because life is already handing out lemons, the school bully shes roomed with gets killed and starts haunting her….even though everyone tells her ghosts arent real. Now she has a mystery to solve, and a ton of work to catch up on to keep her place at the academy. Eventually shell have time for friends and fun, right? Madison is up for the challenge. And I cannot wait to see whats next.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
She would not use her magical abilities but to save her best friend, she needs to and accidentally kills her boyfriend. She knows she needs to go to the School for witches. She is going to behind and then a classmate is killed. They are going to haunt her so she needs to find who is behind it all. Will she find out? What else will happen? How will she get on? Follow her to find out
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I really enjoyed this book! The storyline was well developed, the characters were complex and well developed and the story world was detailed. The writing drew me in and I felt immersed in the story! I always enjoy books by this author and would recommend
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Madison has always avoided using her magic so imagine her surprise when she has to use it to save her best friend but accidentally kills her boyfriend too. Madison goes through quite a bit in this book as she starts at the academy for young witches to hone her craft. This is a well written book with well developed characters, magic, and unexpected twists that held my attention from start to finish. Curse of Stone is book one and a great start to the Academy of the Damned series.
really enjoyed the beginning of this series … wrapped in the paranormal, mystery, and murder … couldn’t put it down!
This is the first book in the series, Madison Whittaker goes to La Voisin School for Young Witches after a terrible accident makes her realize that she needs to learn how to control her powers. She meets new friends and a bully. A new life awaits Madison, now she has to solve a mystery and learn how to make potions. A good start to the series, a real page turner that keeps your interest to the end. I would recommend this book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and the views and opinions are my own.
Set aside a full day for this PG paranormal academy story which starts with 17-year-old Madison Whittaker using her witch power to save her best friend from a tornado, inadvertently killing her own boyfriend in the process.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Madison has done her best to avoid using her powers as a witch, but she is forced to use them as a deadly storm hits suddenly and she needs to save her best friend – however, it accidentally kills her boyfriend and so she is determined to go to La Voisin School for Young Witches in order to find out how to use her powers correctly (and safely). She knows being behind her classmates is going to be a struggle but she never expected that one of those would be the murder of one of her classmates. Her main thought is if the school is spelled for safety and witches are unable to kill, how did Giselle get murdered and by who? Madison resolves to find how it happened and who was responsible especially as Giselle is currently haunting her. Added to that mystery the biggest one seems to be related to the statues – if only she could ask them.
This was definitely a good book to start the series out as it laid out a lot of the background and key pieces of information that I’m sure will be expanded on as the story is enlarged on in subsequent books. I liked the crazy dynamic between Madison and her mother which could be recognisable by some families even if it didn’t involve drugs. Well written, it was easy to understand and I felt invested in Madison and her current car crash of a life. The next instalment will hopefully expand on the key elements of the story as well as introduce new ones.
I always know I’m in for a great read when I get one of their books. Captivating and intriguing storyline and engaging characters
Loved this book. The world building is stellar and the character development is extraordinary. A definite page turner that kept me reading from start to finish. Can’t wait to delve into book two!
When Madison fatally harms her boyfriend while trying to help another, she has a hard time forgiving herself. After all, do no harm is a motto for her life. When she arrives at a new school and a girl ends up dead, will she be able to put aside her own issues to figure out what is going on or will she fall into a hole of depression and guilt while her world crumbles? Follow her journey through the Academy today!
I really enjoyed this young adult paranormal murder mystery. It takes place (mostly) at a high school for witches, which is an old, rambling, Gothic-style house. Classes are similar to Harry Potter. How could they not be? But the plot is much more sinister.
It’s not a cliffhanger, but it certainly sets up a compelling reason to read the sequel. Characters are interesting and relatable. The plot is well-planned with the right amount of tension and mystery surrounding characters not known well to Madison. Descriptions are clear and involve all of the senses, which is perfect to convey the abilities of elemental witches. Overall, I think it’s a great story and I’d like to read book two.
New to me author, I was recommended this book through sponsored on Facebook, so I thought I’d give it a go.
Curse of Stone is book one in the Academy Of The Damned series by Veronica Shade.
This was a enjoyable read, with so new concept with never seen before powers/abilities for witches. The characters were great with their own unique personalities, spunk, and dynamic to the group. The storyline was engaging, fast paced, adventurous, mysterious, and magical. I read this book in two days, I was intrigued and hooked from the beginning even with it being a little slow paced at times i was still enthralled and wanted to know what was going to happen next. I can’t wait to read book two and see what is in store for Madison and her friends.
Madison is a witch but she has had to keep it secret from her best friend Julieta and boyfriend Beau. When a terrible storm hits their town, Julieta is knocked unconscious and can’t move, Madison must use her powers to protect her friend, but in doing so she kills Beau. With the devastation of knowing she is the reason for Beau’s death cause she doesn’t have strong control over her magic, Madison decides she needs to attend ‘La Voisin’ a school for witches. Being a witch from a weak magical history, Madison must work hard to prove she belongs at the School. But when a fellow witch is killed and is now haunting Madison, she must find out how the witch was killed when Witches can’t kill, even though Beau died. With the help from her new friends Jaxon, Krista, Ivy and the dead witch Giselle, Madison discovers secrets about herself and the school.
Curse of Stone
Rebecca Hamilton
Great first book in this series! Madison enrolls in the school for witches a year and a half later than her peers for training (she has none), and ends up trying to solve a murder!
There is magic and mystery in this book, as well as a little bit of romance- but not too much.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I totally enjoyed reading this book! It was unpredictable, witty, had action and a bit of romance. I couldn’t put it down until I read it all. It kind of reminded me of the L.J. Smith series Secret Circle, which is one of my favorites. Cliffhanger at the end makes me mad, and so does this book being part of a series (lol) because I want to read the whole thing in 1 or 2 sittings and I’m not good on waiting for the next book in series. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was a good read. Madison decides to enroll at the academy after something bad happens. While here she is told that witches can’t kill. Yet someone is killed. Now Madison has to figure out what is going on. She soon discovers the school is hiding secrets. If you enjoy YA paranormal with some mystery then I would recommend reading this.