Review: First Addition (Hemlock Academy Series Book 1) by Kelsey Soliz

First Addition by Kelsey Soliz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Loved These Characters

I’d probably give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.

I overdosed on academy reverse harem books when they first became ‘A Thing’. I don’t read many at all now. I think the only series I’m currently reading is Artemis University and that’s because I’m so invested in the characters I can’t stop. I don’t know why I decided to give this one a chance, but I’m so glad I did.

One of the things I normally hate about Academy books is that they have the usual high school drama of bullying nonsense and to be honest, I’m too old for that sort of thing to have any appeal whatsoever. Happily, this book doesn’t have much of that. It has some, I can’t deny, but not much.

The MFC is Gabriella, or Gabby to her friends. She is a bodysmith which is someone who uses sexual energy to power up her magical resources. Normally bodysmiths are people who can’t cope with monogamous relationships and exchange their addictively drugging sexual exploits for wealth. Gabby doesn’t like that in her mother, who is also a bodysmith, and has tried to avoid that behaviour. It helps that her dad is the headmaster of Hemlock Academy and he is also a sculptor which is someone who has the ability to alter the fabric of things and beings. Gabby has inherited his powers as well. Recently it came to light that in addition to all this she is a Conduit, which is someone, usually a woman, who binds someone to her magically and romantically and this enhances their abilities. She has 6 conduits which hasn’t been seen for hundreds of years so she is keeping it quiet when she attends the academy she doesn’t want to go to.

That’s quite a bit introduction and more information than I’d normally give but I think it explains why Gabby is the way she is really well. Her personality is fantastic. She’s fun, down to earth, feisty and strong. She doesn’t want the power and notoriety that being a Conduit brings, especially one as powerful as she is. She wants men to want her because they like her.

I really like all the characters as much as I like Gabby. They are all interesting and getting to know them is fascinating. I also like the way the plot unfolds. It’s gradual and enthralling, even though not a lot of dramatic stuff happens, I couldn’t stop reading this book. I just really enjoyed spending time with Gabby and her friends/men.

The world the author has created is different from most, though it has shifters and vampires, there are other categories that seem to crop up the more you read, such as the bodysmiths or sculptors. The specialisation is what makes the magic system interesting.

I feel like there is so much more to learn about their magic system and society as the last few chapters reveal quite a lot and leave a lot of questions unanswered. I really want to read the next book straight away so I can find out what the answers to those questions are. I also want to find out who else could be one of Gabby’s mates because the first two are fantastic!

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