Meg Collett

IN A NUTSHELL
'Fear University' kicks off an original, violent, emotionally-charged Urban Fantasy series that is more New Adult than Young Adult fiction. Ollie Andrews, the young woman who is telling this story, is a great creation, She carries more scars than most Urban Fantasy heroines and she trusts no one. The story is a compelling mix of intrigue, violence, hormones, haunted pasts and relentless tension. I've already downloaded the next book in the series.

'Fear University' has been show more gathering virtual dust in my TBR pile since 2018. I finally dragged it to the surface because I needed something simple but original and well-written to distract me from reality.

When I started this novel, I thought that it was a Young Adult book where the emphasis would be on overcoming incredible odds by sheer force of personality in order to prove who you are and where most of the bad things happened off stage. I was wrong about all of that.

Ollie Andrews, the teenager through whose eyes the story is told, is not about winning. She's about survival. She's survived abandonment, poverty and horrifying abuse. She's alone and on the run. She's tough, self-reliant and trusts no one. She sees herself as a monster partly because her body is wired in a way that makes her unable to experience physical pain and partly because she has always been seen as monstrous by the people who should have cared for her. Ollie also has a strong desire, that she has no expectations of satisfying, to find a home where she is accepted and valued. Ollie's emotional vulnerability combined with her physical inability to feel pain power the story.

The violence in 'Fear University' starts on the first page and is always close to the surface. The fight scenes involve blades and teeth and claws and often end with spilt blood, rent flesh and cooling corpses.

Part of the fun of the book is sharing Ollie's scramble to understand what's happening when a lethal late-night attack from a creature that should be a dog but isn't, ends with her waking up in the Fear University. I won't go into the details other than to say that Fear University is about as far away from Hogwarts as you can get.

As Ollie struggles with past traumas and present challenges she slowly starts to hope that she has finally found a place where she belongs, where she is valued for she is rather than exploited for what she is.

At first, I didn't see why 'Fear University' is sometimes labelled Dark Academia. Then, I met the man in charge and everything became clear. He's a ruthless narcissist who uses a mix of threats, emotional manipulation and lies to impose his will on everyone around him. Ollie knows that he wants something from her but it takes her a while to find out what that is and what he'll do to get it. What follows describes the violation of a place of safety combined with suppressing the abilty to speak out so perfectly that it had more impact on me than any of the bloody violence.

'Fear University' comes up with some fairly frightening non-human nasties that were new to me. Just the idea of them is disturbing. Yet it was the human nasties who were the scariest because I know how closely based on reality they are.

The ending worked well enough for this to be a standalone novel if you want it to be but it left me hungry to find out what happens to Ollie next. I've already downloaded 'The Killing Season', the next book in the series. I'm expecting something dark, bloody and laced with betrayals. show less

The fifth installment was a good wrap up to Ollie's adventures. I do hope Ms. Collett jumps back in with another novel that moves our pregnant heroine into how she manages the utmost challenge of motherhood. If she had given us a glance into that with her epilogue, this book would have been much closer to 5 stars. Additionally, killing off a main character and throwing another into a completely uncharacteristic version of themselves was a bit unsettling and definitely shocking. Overall, a show more very enjoyable series that dropped into my life unexpectedly, thanks, Foxy Vixen! show less

Three stars because of spelling and grammar. Four stars because of the subject matter, the real view of depression, suicide and the darkness we battle inside. There is a stigma surrounding depression in modern society despite the advanced studies and increased awareness about mental health. It's difficult to admit you are suffering because it elicits criticism and judgement from the people closest to you. You are labeled an attention seeker or told to get over it, just, be happy.

Fakers show more delves head first into that stigma and tears down the walls for a character that is battling. It describes depression as a darkness, it touches on the daily struggle, the ache for control the pain and sadness and the masks we wear to shield ourselves from the judgement and ridicule. It also addresses addiction and self-destructive behaviour: the need to drown out reality and rely on a vice as a crutch to get by day by day. It is spiced up with a delicious, ultra-sexy romance and minor bouts of hilarity that I actually laughed out loud at that kept what could have been a very heavy novel lighter.

Initially I was not thrilled with this novel, it started off as a typical, formulaic romance where a broody abusive guy is changed by a pretty girl who secretly is just as broody and miserable. It felt like an episode of Degrassi. But I was genuinely surprised, and very pleased, when the story shifted.

SPOILERS: When I started reading the book I assumed the worst, she was going to save him from his misery and in the last few chapters I assumed he was going to save her from the darkness which lit a new level of discontent, briefly, as in my mind it turned into a damsel in distress situation. Again Meg Collett saved the story when she gave her heroine legs of her own. "I can be strong enough for myself." was the greatest line in any romance novel and I could not have been happier with the way she wrapped the story. Hale and Kyra did not morph into wholly different people in order to reach a happy ending, they embraced their short comings in one another and they worked together to overcome them well enough to find happiness. She did not eliminate the darkness and he did not develop a new personality better suited to fit. I really liked that about this novel as well.

Overall the novel lost a star due to editing but I felt that it overcame most of that to deliver a hard hitting, racy, expose on a topic that is not treated with the respect it deserves. show less

I received this book as part of an ARC. The book is good. It is engaging and pulls you in right from the start. The story is well developed and lacks any holes, which I really appreciate it. I would have given it four stars, except I have a problem with the main character, Ollie, and the way that she gives so much power to her boyfriend, Luke. She's a very powerful character, and instead of holding on to that power, every time Luke enters the scene, she turns into either a following, willing show more participant to whatever he wants to do, or she antagonizes him until he's angry. There's also this whole thing about Luke being celibate because he's tool sexually aggressive, but of course he can't control it and it's Ollie's fault.

It's worth the read, and I would read the sequel to find out what Ollie's heritage is. show less