Summoned: Siren Prophecy 3 (Shifter Academy)

Good end to the trilogy. I’m hoping there is more!

Summoned

Great characters and a story that sucks you right in, it also ticks all the feels from the start all throughout to the end
I really hope there will be some spin off stories featuring the characters from this series

RIVETING CONCLUSION!!!
Title: Summoned
Series: Shifter Academy (Siren Prophecy Book 3)
Author: Tricia Barr, Joanna Reeder, Angel Leya, Jesse Booth, Alessandra Jay
Designation: Book 3 of 3, Conclusion & Final Book of Trilogy, Full-Length Novel(520 pages), No Cliffhanger but NOT A Standalone
My Rating: Four Riveting Stars****

There were so many things I adored about the Shifter Academy: Siren Prophecy Trilogy. The concept was intriguing, the world building was extraordinary, the storyline was creative, the conflict was suspenseful, the characters were engaging, the writing was solid, the dialogue was well executed, and the book, overall, was well crafted. I was impressed by the detailed world-building and vivid descriptions, which quickly immersed me in the story. The third person narrative was well written with multiple perspectives, and there were quite a few. However, I felt the entire trilogy had a few areas that needed work. My primary complaint was with the flow of the story. I felt the pacing was unbalanced in all three books, sluggish in some places and too fast in others, adversely affecting the advancement of the storyline. Also, there was still too much unnecessary filler, extraneous details, and introspection/inner dialogue included throughout all 3 books that added nothing to the story or conflict, other than possibly give a little more insight into some of the characters, but nothing was done with the information. For example (slight spoiler): In Book 3, we learned Myreen was actually a mermaid princess and had family still living under the sea. There was an entire scene about it between Myreen and Kendell. It was just a thread tossed out to readers, almost as an afterthought, but nothing came of it, and we were never told what she did or intended to do about it. We never even found out what happened to Myreen’s newly discovered little brother, Ty Denholm, whom she supposedly loved so much. And what was Wes’ full name??? Was it ever mentioned? All the other major characters had last names, so maybe I just missed it. But the real biggie for me was no real resolution of the ongoing conflict for Leif Villers. This dude was one of the primary characters in all 3 books and went through so much, yet we don’t know if he ever gets his happy ending. Possibly, there’ll be another story for Leif, but it wasn’t mentioned in the back of Summoned. These were just a few examples of many but as a result, I was still left feeling somewhat unsatisfied because of all the unresolved threads. Unfortunately, the finale just fell a little short for me. It may sound ridiculous, but an author can inject too many details, which only frustrates a reader trying to sift through everything, discern what’s important and what’s not, remember it, then keep up with it all. And believe me, there was a whole heck of a lot to remember. This series had a huge cast of characters, which I realized in Book 1, so I began keeping a character bible to aid my memory, a little trick I learned many years ago. Without it, I would have been lost. I understand this is a teen/young adult urban series but I was still disappointed with the growth of several characters, their behavior seemingly incongruous with their prior actions and never explained satisfactorily. However, I truly felt the series was original and well done. I found myself comparing this story to a chess game with a board of constantly moving pieces, each critical to the outcome of the game and all trying to protect the queen, which in this case was Myreen, but one wrong move could result in the loss of everything. Some of the main characters may have been teenagers, but their age made little difference in this fight between good and evil. With the future of Shifter Academy at stake, as well as the fate of the entire world, both human and supernatural, a brave few must face their fears, accept their destinies, and if they want to survive, learn to work together to untangle a convoluted web of secrets and defeat true evil. In Shifted, there were three couples: 1)newly discovered teenage mermaid shifter Myreen Fairchild and handsome, young, dragon shifter royal Kol Dracul, 2) struggling new phoenix shifter Juliet Quinn and phoenix shifter Nik Candida, 3)spirited teenage selkie Kenzie MacLugh who has a mysterious connection with three young men, a Hunter named Wes who is bitten by a mao (big cat) and becomes a shifter, a vampire Initiate (person who wants to be become a vampire) named Adam, and long-suffering, much older vampire Leif Villers (who was turned as a young man and still looks to be in his early twenties). Sixteen-year-old Myreen Lee Fairchild appears to be the central character of the entire series and plays an important role in the Siren Prophecy. Myreen was sweet, sensitive, kind, somewhat naive, and such a gentle soul. In the beginning, she had no idea she was a mermaid shifter until the night her mother was suddenly murdered by vampires and she was rescued by gryphon shifter Oberon Rex, Director of Shifter Academy or ‘The Dome’, a school and safe haven for shifter children. For the first sixteen years of her life, Myreen led an extremely sheltered existence with very strict rules. She had no idea about her heritage and had no family, other than her now deceased mom, or so she thought. She and her mother were always moving from place to place, never putting down roots. Myreen was never allowed to date, have any access to social media, and never ever allowed to go swimming or out after sundown. Needless to say, the knowledge of magic, vampires, shifters, and selkies came as a total shock, especially after learning her best friend was a selkie. Myreen found herself suddenly plunged into a strange new world of mythical creatures, unknown foes and, even worse, mean girls who wished her ill will. But never fear, the lovely, sweet Myreen made several faithful friends, ones willing to risk everything, including their lives, on her dangerous journey of discovery. Her first friend at Shifter Academy was teenage, royal dragon shifter Malkolm Torq Dracul, Kol to his friends, who also turns out to be one of her love interests in the story. And yes, I said interests, as in more than one. It appears two young men have the hots for the lovely dark-haired, blue-eyed Myreen. Accomplished mermaid shifter and seer Kendall Green showed an immediate interest in Myreen upon her arrival at Shifter Academy, much to Kol’s dismay. lol… Kol could be a real neanderthal and I didn’t like him, at all, until the last few chapters of the first book. Sure he was hot, all alpha, and drop-dead gorgeous, but he was also aloof, entitled, conceited, at times indifferent, and not very friendly. Most of the time, I wanted to box his ears. However, he did have a few redeeming qualities. But it was so much fun watching Myreen put him in his place! You better believe Myreen was no one’s doormat! lol… Poor Kol! There were a few times I felt kinda sorry for him. He tried so hard to fight his attraction for Myreen and for good reason – which I won’t disclose. Spoilers! You’ll just have to read the book! But we all know the heart wants what the heart wants. And Kol’s heart definitely wanted Myreen! Sigh… So sweet! No spoilers from me but I will say this… A beautiful teenage girl, reeling from a heartbreaking loss, plunged into a dangerous world of vampires, shifters, and magic, only to discover she is so much more than she ever dreamed-check! A handsome teenage dragon-shifter torn between duty and the possibility of love-check! A large cast of fascinating characters-check! A mysterious prophecy-check! A heinous enemy planning world domination-check! Mystery, suspense, danger, and malevolent machinations-check! Drama, teenage angst, and sweet blossoming romance-you bet! That and a whole lot more!
Summoned: Book 3
The story resumes immediately after Myreen surrendered herself to save The Dome and is now being held prisoner by the evil vampire leader Draven Denholm – her father. Yes, her father! Myreen is not only a hybrid but also the key Draven needs to wipe out all shifters and rule the world. Oh dear! But Myreen is also the siren of prophecy destined to defeat Draven, but could it actually be true? Her journey is dark, treacherous, perilous, and filled with danger. Her friends are still ready to stand by her stand, but will it be enough? Or will Myreen have to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to kill her own father? Not everyone will survive. Who will live and who will die? We’ll see!

So, did I like this book? Yes, very much! Will I read this author/authors again? Absolutely! Would I recommend it? You bet, for readers 12 to 112. It contains no explicit sex but does feature a sweet, blossoming romance between teenagers. I know I mentioned several things that I felt were problems in this series, which may have sounded like I was nitpicking, but my remarks were meant only as constructive. Though I’m not a professional writer, I do have opinions based on 40 years of teaching and 65 years of reading experience, and I did enjoy this entire series immensely and would definitely read more stories written in this world. This is a full-length novel, coming in at approximately 520 pages. Although Summoned does not end with a cliffhanger, it is the third and final book of the Siren Prophecy Trilogy and is NOT a standalone. It should be read only after finishing Shifted and Scorched. And finally, was I entertained? Completely! Fabulous entertainment and an awesome read!