I’ve spent my entire life being passed over by the Shifter Queen. Which wouldn’t be a big deal, except she’s my mother. Now she’s finally let me come to the foremost academy for big cat shifters, Sabre Woods, I’m hoping to find some independence. If only I wasn’t plagued by my rival for the title of Shifter Heir. All I need to do is get through the first few weeks without accidentally challenging … accidentally challenging someone to the Shifter Trials. That should be easy…right?
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Tiger Crown is book one of the Sabre Woods Academy series. It is a paranormal academy with shifters and a slow burn m/f romance.
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Fun story with a good storyline and well done characters. The book is quick moving, but also managed to be the good start to a new series.
Kayla has led a very sheltered/controlled life and is for the first time out from under her mother’s thumb. While much of this book deals with the trials, it also features a lot of internal conflict as Kayla comes to terms with the things her mother has told her and the self-doubt that has been instilled in her, and the astute, perceptive, caring person she is inside and who she wants to be. Lots of character growth seen in her interaction with her new friends as she explores the truth of who she really is.
This is the first book in the Sabre Woods Academy series and ends with a bit of a cliff hanger – as in one issue might be resolved, but it isn’t over yet. There are a lot of hints about the bigger societal issues and her history with her mother, and her shifter form, but not too much is really explained yet – still lots of questions for the next books.
This is book 1 in Greenwoods series Sabre Woods Academy. A paranormal shifters read that is a short, satisfying read that will have you wanting more. A great intro to a new series – big cat shifter academy read…great characters that have me eager to read more! Looking forward to book 2!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
3.5 Stars
Kayla has spent much of her life being told she would never be the Shifter Queen’s heir. In case you skipped the blurb, the Queen happens to be her mother. Also, she should not attend Sabre Woods Academy even though it was a school mainly for big cat shifters. She did finally convince her parents she should go to the academy and that’s where the story begins. Kayla doesn’t have any friends really, but does befriend Demi and then Magnus. The one person she truly loathes is Serena, her mother’s choice of heir. It is unclear to her and to us why that is the case. Due to some serious ‘Mean Girl’ moments from Serena, the two of them are suddenly in the Shifter Trials.
This should have been a quick read, but for me at least it wasn’t. It was slow paced until almost the end. Ms. Greenwood gave us a few mysteries…like why was Serena her mother’s favorite? Why was her mother the epitome of a ‘Mean Girl’ only older? What kind of cat does Demi shift into? The good news is that I finished it in time to get the second book of this series! Tiger Throne (Sabre Woods Academy Book 2) gets released on June 26, 2021 and I’m sure Ms. Greenwood will help us solve those mysteries I mentioned.
I received this ARC via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
It’s been a while since I read a Laura Greenwood. Although, it’s probably not that long ago, it just feels long ago for some reason. And I missed it. I missed her easy to read writing style, her always kind and nice characters and the quick reads I can finish on days when I have only little reading time. I was especially looking forward to this book, because I had not read what it was about. It was actually one big surprise. However, with a Greenwood arc from BookSprout I can never go wrong.
I really loved this book! I think it’s one of my favorite Greenwood settings and plots ever and I assume that’s because you can feel how much she enjoyed writing this story and working on this story. Even though we only see the inside of the academy, Greenwood did manage to describe this society and this world and she even added some political details. I’m quite sure we will see some more of the latter in the next books and I can’t wait for it.
The plot was also entertaining and quite exciting. I liked how the challenges were really challenges to pick someone fit to rule and I also liked how they were not just brute strength, as is quite often the case when books contain challenges. And although the book of course is in a certain way predictable, the way the challenges were won and handled felt really natural and realistic. Just like I loved how our main character was not above asking for a little bit of help from her friends.
I liked the main character in this book quite a lot anyway. Mostly women trying to be rulers are these strong and outgoing people, but our heroine is a lot less outgoing and even deals with anxiety. And yet, she doesn’t allow all that to stop her from making her dream come true. Even better, she uses her empathy and her love for people around her as a strength. It’s not hard to understand why she would be a very good queen, so consider me rooting for her for the rest of the series!
This is book one of the Sabre Woods Academy and the main character is Kayra, the daughter of the Shifter Queen. She has spent her whole life being put down or simply ignored by her mother and passed over for the position of Shifter Heir, in favour of Serena, the daughter of the Queen’s favourite lady in waiting! Ever since they were little, her mother has treated Serena as her favourite, believing Kayra to be weak and unsuitable to take over the crown after her. Kayra has finally persuaded her mother to let her attend the best academy for big cat shifters, Sabre Woods Academy. The Shifter Queen has almost always been selected form the big cats shifters, with them having such an advantage in size and power, as well as status. The position of the Shifter Heir is not hereditary, but usually ends up going to a child of the Queen. Just not in Kayra’s case! She has little confidence and when she finds her biggest rival Serena is also at the academy, her heart sinks. Luckily she makes one friend, Demi, and then a boy called Magnus helps her out at her archery lesson, which she is useless at.
Her only problem is the fact that Serena tries to belittle her at every opportunity, even in class. She also harasses her and makes fun of her in the cafeteria, with her own little posse of followers behind her. Kayra has to try and ignore everything Serena is doing round her, pretending to be her mother or at court, keeping a blank expression and not show that Serena is hurting her at all! The main thing she has to do is ensure she doesn’t allow Serena to push her to accidently challenge her or anyone else, to the Shifter Trials. The only way she could guarantee becoming the Shifter Heir, according to their laws. Her mother would have no say in the conclusion of the trials and would have to accept whoever won. There are three parts to the Shifter Trials, the first is one of knowledge about the court and shifter laws, the second is a two part physical test, but the third is completely secret and no one knows what it consists of, nor can anyone prepare for it!
Most of the shifters at the academy are tigers, but Kayra is different from most and her mother always used to try and deter from shifting around others. She also told her that fated mates were real and Kayra believes she should wait for her fated mate, rather than have a relationship with anyone she might like. She has been kept so separate from others and ignored by her mother, only knowing what she has overheard in her mother’s presence or been told. Serena is her total opposite, confident, secure knowing the Queen herself is going to name her as her heir, and she is good at all the physical stuff like archery. She isn’t afraid to twist things to her advantage and voice her opinion of Kayra’s unsuitability to the position of Shifter Heir, which not all agree with. She is not a very nice person and Kayra doesn’t think she would make a good leader. She has some challenges to come, but at least has two friends now, at her side, come what may. A good introduction to the tiger shifter world and what the shifter trials involves. A short book that is easy to read and keeps your attention with some interesting characters. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
This is the story of Kayra and what happens when she heads to Sabre Woods Academy for school. It was a quick cute read with some drama involved in the story. I loved the characters and the story itself. It was clean and showed potential and I want to see what happens next. Some conflict remains going into the next book and cannot wait to see what craziness she will face next.
Possibly another good series by Ms. Greenwood. I would have liked more world and character building. Why was the main character’s mother the way she was. Also the main character’s extreme lack of confidence can be understood with the little you find out with her relationship with mother but it was a bit annoying reading her internal lack of confidence. With some more work on it, it could be a great series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is a nice start to this series. Interesting concept of how the place is run and good characters well developed right from the start.
A fun read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.