The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: Immortal Consequences

Series: The Souls of Blackwood Academy #1

Author: I.V. Marie

Genre: Young Adult, Dark Academia, Fantasy, Romance

Rating: 4.5 stars

Review:

Six students at Blackwood Academy, an enigmatic boarding school located at the edge of the afterlife, must compete for the once-in-eternity chance to change their fate—or risk remaining stuck in purgatory forever. An unputdownable debut full of hairpin twists, shock betrayals and world-defying love, for fans of The Atlas Six.

Welcome to Blackwood Academy: the legendary school located at the fringes of the afterlife, where students are fated to spend the rest of eternity shepherding lost souls. Once a pupil enters the school’s arched gates, there is no way out…except for the Decennial, a once-in-a-decade celebration that rewards nominees who pass its trials with a choice: formally graduate and join Blackwood’s magical elite, or venture into the unknown and cross over to the mysterious Other Side.

Wren Loughty is certain that this Decennial, she has what it takes to earn the nomination—unless, that is, her academic archrival Augustine Hughes steals her spot.

Irene Manette Bamford has never cared about playing by the rules. She’s willing to break whatever (and whoever) stands between her and getting the hell out of Blackwood, including her best and only friend, Masika Sallow.

Olivier Dupont gave up on securing the nomination ages ago. But after he meets Blackwood’s newest student, Emilio Córdova, he’ll do anything to keep Emilio from leaving him and crossing over to the Other Side—even if it means claiming the victory for himself.

All of them are determined to be Blackwood’s chosen candidate–and all of them would do anything to win. But none of them are prepared for what’s to come. Because this Decennial will be different. This time, the Decennial isn’t a celebration…it’s a competition. And there can only be one victor.

Six nominees. Four trials. Untold danger. Wren, August, Irene, Masika, Olivier and Emilio are about to learn: there are some fates worse than death. – summary from Goodreads

Immortal Consequences was absolutely amazing! I feel like this book came out of nowhere and blew me away!

This was very Six of Crows coded. Emilio and Olivier were so much like Wylan and Jesper, and August and Wren reminded me of Kaz and Inej! If you loved Six of Crows this is definitely a book for you!

I loved all of the characters! They were the centerpiece of this story, and all of them are super unique. All of them are also dead, and I love the way this was explored. All of them struggled, to varying degrees, with their death, and I liked how that was conveyed. I found their relationship with pain very interesting as well. I loved this exploration of missing pain- it was new and thought-provoking.

The magic and lore of this world also isn’t something I have seen before. I loved this world, which is kind of shocking to me, because I am not a dark academia person. The world was fascinating, and I hope in the next book we get to know more about what the different houses mean. The whole world was rich and varied, and incredibly well written.

The author does an amazing job with this world in the terms of having a place for everyone. She explains where normal souls go, where condemned souls go, how someone becomes a student at Blackwood, what happens to the students at Blackwood, the Ether, and who opposes Blackwood. It is all richly layered and intricate, and I am excited for how this is going to be explored in the future. Towards the end of the book, we also learn that not everything is as it seems, which makes this world that much more intriguing.

I loved all of the characters. All of them were fully-fledged, with complete backstories and personalities. They also have their own convictions for doing what they’re doing, which was nice, since there were six POVs. I will say that while I loved the characters, a lot of their stories was more hinted at and there is a lot we don’t know. On one hand that makes this story intriguing and has me in its grips, but on the other hand, as a very nosy person, I want to know immediately!

I loved all the characters, but August was definitely my favorite. We get the least number of chapters from his perspective, but what we did get had me enraptured. He has the biggest, most complex backstory, I think, and he also has the most secrets. I am very excited to see where his story goes, especially with how this book ends! I loved that they called themselves “unfortunate acquaintances.” I thought it was fun, though I hope there is more development as a friend group in the future.

There was romance! It was more so in the background, but I loved it so much. Especially Wren and August! They are rivals to lovers, and it was so sweet! August is the bad boy who cares about nobody, but he would die for her! Emilio and Olivier were also really cute together. They were already friends, and throughout the course of this book they come to terms with their feelings. We don’t really get a relationship for Masika or Irene, but I am super hopeful of a relationship for Irene and Mateo next book.

This is also the author’s debut novel! There have been many wonderful debut novels, but this is definitely one of the best! She really nailed this book, and I cannot wait for the next book!

I think this book’s primary goal was to set up the world and the events that are going to happen in the future. A lot happens, but it was more so an exploration of the world and characters. It is not as bad as His Face Was the Sun, which I highly recommend people read, but not until the next book comes out because it truly was only setting up the world. I highly recommend you read this book immediately because it is so amazing!

My biggest complaint is that the next book isn’t coming out until July! How am I supposed to wait that long?

Immortal Consequences is an atmospheric, dark academia YA novel following six students as they go to a school in the afterlife! With many POVs, romance, danger, magic, and mystery, this is a wonderful fall read!

Quotes:

“When I first arrived at Blackwood… I was nothing. Just an obstinate fool fumbling through eternity. I was careless. Reckless. Free-falling through purgatory. But then you showed up… You showed up and I swore I could feel my heart beating again. Sometimes I think… I think I was never truly alive until I met you. That’s why I need you to stay. For me. Even if that makes me selfish. Even if you hate me for it. Because the truth is- I cannot bear the thought of eternity without you.’”

“‘But it was you who turned the lights back on, Wren. The one who brought me back to life after years and years of drowning. It was you who dragged me back from hell. It was you. It was always you. It will always be you.’”