I was in the mood for a spicy paranormal romance with vampires and werewolves, and Bedded by the Headmaster by Darcy Fayton absolutely delivered. I found this book on NetGalley, and it's the first book in the Susie & Arken duet, with the second one expected in December.

This story is told through dual POVs: Susie, a wolf shifter, and Arken, the headmaster of Volmasque Academy, where vampires rule and shifter wolves have been essentially turned into pets. At 18, shifters are brought to the academy to be trained and tamed, living at the mercy of the vampires’ whims. When the headmaster comes to feed on a wolf one night, Susie volunteers herself to spare a first-year student, and from there, things get intense. Their bond brings forbidden love with an age-gap twist, and some sinister things are lurking behind the scenes at the academy.

This book is super spicy—definitely check trigger warnings before diving in. Interestingly, it flips the usual progression by starting off with heat and then diving into a deep emotional connection. I loved the balance, and it kept me engaged the whole time. This was a quick and entertaining read, and I'm excited to see what happens in the next book!

Ok first thing: READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS! This one gets pretty dark, even by my standards.

I started the books in this world a little out of order (I read Nathaniel and Kira's book first... oops) but it was in that book that I met Susie and Arken and immediately needed more of their story. Everything goes both wrong and right at each turn. Each of them grows individually while also blossoming together. The cliffhanger was real, but I look forward to more of Susie's sass in book 2!

My pure, dark, erotic fans, prepare for a wild ride!

We have an Academy for students where vampires have their pets. (Wolf shifters.) Enter an age-gap and student-teacher relationship between us as the reader's most loved fantasy characters. Also, things are pretty fast-paced. You'll jump in feet first, hitting the bottom faster than dropping an anchor.

Worldbuilding is out of the question here. It's very...very minimal. Bedded by the Headmaster mainly focuses on the dark relationship between the headmaster and the student. When I say it's dark, it's ultra dark. There are several trigger warnings listed at the beginning, as well as page breaks warning you before you enter the next chapter. (I actually loved this. Unique, different. A triple heads up.)

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC

Wow! I really enjoyed this book, as much as this author’s other book in the same world (Collared by the Vampire Prince). Lots of angst, lots of spice, plus vampires, werewolves, age gap… ate it up in 2 days and now I have to chose which second book of which duology do I read next?!?!

I think I’m just not into the style of these novels. I don’t love the world building or the character development

After having read Kira & Nathenial's duet first, you get a taste of Susie and Arken. Reading their book 2nd was definitely the right order.

Susie is a wolf shifter, and Arken is a vampire. In this world, wolf shifters are at the mercy of vampires and Susie makes it her mission to right the inequality between the 2 species.

This book is VERY spicy and has a chapter on SA, but the author has provided a warning to readers when they get to that chapter that it can be skipped and then a brief synopsis is provided afterwards which doesn't affect the reading experience at all. I loved that this was done.

I enjoyed this book and am thankful for the opportunity to read and review it

4.5 rounded up.

This is my 3rd book from this author that I was able to get from NetGalley and it's definitely my favorite.

First of all I really appreciate how thorough the author is with their trigger warnings. This book includes a chapter that includes a traumatic scene for the MFC that is addressed at the beginning of the book and again when you come to the chapter. You are then given the option of skipping to the end and reading the summary if it's something that you may find triggering. A+ work from the author in my opinion.

The storyline was enough to keep me interested between the 'scenes'. I really liked the main characters. Having read 'Collared by the Vampire Prince' before this one it was cool to see where the storylines lined up.

The book does end on a cliffhanger, but you are warned at the beginning.

This isn’t my normal kind of book, but I thought I would give it a chance. If what you’re looking for is dark academic smut, this is the perfect book for you. The summary enticed me, but it was a little too out there for me.

First of all, I want to thank Darcy Fayton, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op e NetGalley for this eARC. Here my honest opinion.

Well. DNF is not for me, but this time I was really tempted. Unfortunately there was nothing in this book that met my tastes. I wanted to try a paranormal romance, and I’ve always liked vampires. I thought: what's better than a dark erotic romance set in an academy? World building and setting are what disappointed me the most. Characters are boring and predictable, and there are many inconsistencies: in the academy wolfshifters are abused by vampires, because it’s how it always worked, but the headmaster (the headmaster!) is surprised by the lack of true consent! I have nothing against smut without plot, but in this case the smut is nothing special, despite the premises, and that bit of plot that connects the scenes is really bad.
Sorry, but I can’t recommend it.

As a fan of all things smut and supernatural, this book did not disappoint! The title perfectly sets expectations for the book without giving away too much.
Although my brain initially had a hard time wrapping around "Susie" being the name of our supernatural protagonist, her headstrong and quirky attitude quickly overcame any doubts I had about her character. Susie stands up for those without a voice, even at the detriment to her own well-being, which lands her in a precarious (and spicy) situation with the headmaster, Arken.
There are definitely some heavy topics in this book, so do not ignore the trigger warnings. However, I did feel like the author did a great job for the almost too-tough-to-read scene.

I would like to say first I received this book of Net Gallery.

I don’t really read 3rd POV but I made an exception for this one and I’m glad I did.

The story is Student/Teacher - Dark Romance mixed with supernatural and sci-fi.

The FMC is Susie she is a werewolf
The MMC is Arken he is a vampire

You will need read the trigger warnings before reading as I can imagine this book won’t be for everyone.

The storyline for me was quite clear.

I myself really enjoyed reading this book epically the erotica parts. I loved the dynamic between the 2 characters.

I will be honest some parts did lose me.

But overall I loved this book I can’t wait to read the second and the books that are tied in.

You may enjoy this if you like:
🖤 Dark Paranormal Fantasy Romance / Romantasy
🖤 Steamy Vampire Romances
🖤 Age Gap Romance
🖤 Professor/Student Romance
🖤 BD$M dynamics

Bedded by the Headmaster is the first book in Susie & Arken’s Duet. The second will be available in December 2024. This duet is a prequel to Collared by the Vampire Prince, but you can read either one first. All are set in her sexy paranormal world where vampires, wolf shifters, and witches (though they are all but extinct) exist, but their rights are far from equal.

Susie and Arken’s story is both powerful and shows a redemption arc that has their love story being very passionate…. and will grip you by the throat like a good little girl. I very much liked seeing Susie and Arken’s character growth and seeing both of them overcome their past traumas. I can’t wait to see what happens in the conclusion of the duet!

This book has many triggers. Read the warnings.

Thank you to the author, publisher and @netgalley for this copy! All opinions are my own and I reviewed this voluntarily.

This was a nice, spicy romance. I loved the set up and the dynamic between the characters and it had me hooked from the start.

I was not sure what to expect from this, so I went in with a completely open mind. The worldbuilding was intriguing with the school and the hierarchies, though why they all accepted the abuse without question is another story. The two main characters had some interesting traits and I would have liked to delve deeper into them (I think if you read the author's other works you'll learn more). I generally enjoy wolf shifter and vampire reads, as well as forbidden romance. This didn't quite hit the mark for me. I'm curious about Nathaniel and Kira's story, though I'm not sure I'll get to it.

I appreciated the author's trigger warnings and synopsis for those who chose to skip that section.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this eArc!

This is my second Darcy Fayton book and it was also really good!! I loved getting to know Susie more in thks book, and I love her dynamic with Arken. The growth they have as people and their development feels really authentic.

I appreciated the content warnings in the beginning of the book as well as before an event.

Thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this one!!

I understand that it’s a dark romance with an age gap, but the fact the book is about pushing the mfc into submission and f@$&ing her into submission infront of a first year class, and forcing wolves into feeding the vampires makes the book a little messed up. About midway thru the book the mfc is r@p€d by the kind while the headmaster is unable to help her, thankfully the author puts a not to skip for those that are triggered by it, and gives and summary for that chapters missed if you want to read. I originally DNF’d the book cause it was a little much, but went back and finished it. I give the book 3.5, some of the events that happened at the beginning of the book do get rectified in the end, but she also left the book on a cliffhanger.

I love the cover of this book, and I also appreciated the warnings it came with about certain chapters. This was another dark, twisty, and spicy book from Darcy. I am just not sure they are for me.

3.75⭐️
3.5🌶️

This book gave me SO many conflicting emotions. I wasn’t sure what to rate it…

I sat down to read this thinking I was going to hate it… and I kinda of did but I COULD not stop reading.

This book it’s super addictive and bingable. I started at 8:30 pm and I didn’t stop until I finished at 1:00 am.

It is an intriguing book and the premise is like nothing I have ever read before…

The society these characters live in is SICK. Theirs whole system is horrific & honestly I struggle reading about it. But these two characters found love in each other and I believed in it.

(I hated the MMC being called Susie because what a silly name)

So read at your own risk! But I enjoyed it🫶🏽📚

Bedded by the Headmaster by Darcy Fayton just didn't hit the mark for me, so it gets a 2/5. The idea of a dark fantasy romance between a vampire headmaster and a wolf shifter student seemed like it could have some great tension and intrigue, but the execution was lacking.

First off, the characters felt pretty one-dimensional. Susie, the FMC, has a traumatic past, but the way she deals with it—or more like, doesn’t—felt off. One minute she's haunted by it, and the next, she's just fine going along with some pretty questionable stuff from Arken, the MMC. Speaking of Arken, he was pretty bland for a vampire headmaster. I wanted more depth, more complexity, especially considering his tragic backstory, but instead, he just came off as... there.

The pacing was also an issue. The way their relationship developed felt rushed, especially for something that's supposed to be dark and forbidden. One minute she's wary, and the next, she's head over heels despite some really problematic behavior from him. It made their connection hard to believe.

The steamy scenes were decent, but they felt out of place since the writing overall felt more YA-ish at times. And while I appreciate the author being clear about trigger warnings, the whole setup just didn’t work for me.

Overall, there was potential, but it just wasn’t fleshed out enough for me to get invested. If you're looking for something with more emotional depth and believable character development, this one might not be it.

I had to mark this one as did not finish about 30% in. I struggled with the flow of the storyline and the character development. I did not like how the FMC was willing to offer herself for sex even though she didn’t want to, but then was into it. I did like how the FMC stood up for a fellow pack mate though.