Every Student has a Secret

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

One sentence summary: Safia finds herself suddenly attending Apex Academy, a secret college that runs on a point system where losing your points puts you at risk of servitude to a fellow student- or the Academy itself.

I thought the cover was eye-catching and the synopsis was interesting. Apex Academy was mysterious and haunting in a way that I don't think I'll forget anytime soon. The betting system was as fascinating as it was horribly unsettling. I was also very interested in the backstories of most of the side characters introduced throughout the book, especially the Headmistress.

I wish I had more positives to say about the book, but I honestly don't. From the first chapter, I felt the novel read like a Wattpad story. I almost stopped reading less than 20 percent in and refused to pick the book back up again for a while. Ultimately, I decided that I should at least finish the book to leave an honest review of the entire novel.

(Trigger Warnings for novel and the rest of this review: dubious/non-consent, Islamophobia, slavery, abuse involving a minor, homophobia)

There was no hint of this novel being dark fiction anywhere on Goodreads or NetGalley, so I was taken entirely by surprise when Safia arrived at the college to find out that servitude to your fellow students was a thing that could almost be equivalent to sexual slavery. Not only that, but this seems to be a huge issue that the Academy is totally okay with it- in fact the Academy has former students indebted to them as well.
Buying and selling your fellow classmates (or even teachers) was a major plot point that was shown to be highly abusive and rarely entirely consensual. The fact that a minor found themselves under the ownership of a fellow student and suffered various forms of abuse from him for a year made me nauseous. Everyone except the protagonist seemed to be accepting of this, justifying that you always have the option to leave if you really wished- assuming you haven't made a bet that leaves you indebted to someone. "It just depends on what a person is willing to do to stay here, and how evil a person who owns them wants to be."

The way several women (one of which was a minor in a very uneven power dynamic), seemed to fall romantically enamored with Safia in the novel also didn't sit right with me. Especially the line about her being the "lesbian whisperer" because she is a straight woman that other women kept finding themselves drawn to. In fact, two of them kissed Safia suddenly and against her will. Another made a kiss be part of the 'favors' she was owed. As a wlm myself, this made me uncomfortable. I know nothing about the author but it seemed homophobic for this to be included in the novel. There was no real reason for it, plot-wise or character-wise except to add to the overall sex-obsessed atmosphere of the Academy.

My next major issue was the blatant and completely unnecessary Islamophobia from various characters throughout the novel towards Hashmi, a practicing Muslim who wears a Hijab. I was actually shocked at the foul comments made towards her and wondered why it was included at all.

The confusing ending was at least semi-satisying.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Do I love a good school setting fantasy? Yes. Did reading the blurb make me think of that? Yes.

Unfortunately the execution was just short of my expectations. The beginning of the book was slow but I enjoyed the pace to learn the characters and get a sense of the world of the story. I only wish I got a more in-depth sense of the relationships with the “side-characters.” When reading it was hard to note the character’s differences from one another especially in the dialogue. I found the dialogue slightly hard to follow because of the lack of character.

Although I was excited for the school aspect I did not care for what was going on/the content at the school. At some points I cringed and felt like I shouldn’t read on. I had problems with the Islamphobia with some of the characters and the wavy line of consent in some of the scenes.

The ending was so abrupt and I was expecting more from the two characters since I waited for the whole book to see something happen.

This book was different! Wasn't what I had pictured at!
The beginning had my attention but as I kept reading it was starting to get a bit dark! Which didn't bother me much! The only thing I would have asked for was a better ending!

The premise of the book is very very interesting, and if the author ever wrote a second book I would definitely read it. The idea is like no other book I've read before, so congratulations to Teddy Baire for coming up with such an amazing idea. The main character, Safia, is charismatic and badass, and I think she is very well developed. However, I find that the ending of the book seemed a bit rushed and messy, as there are still some things that are not cleared up yet. Overall, I don't regret reading this book, and I would recommend it to those who like sci-fi and adventure books.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

In Every Student Has a Secret, we follow Safia Famosa as she ventures from her family restaurant in Minnesota to a strange school in an undisclosed location, where betting is the norm and everyone has something to hide.

When I first saw this title, I was very intrigued by the concept. It seemed extremely interesting, and right up my alley. However, I was very disappointed in the end result. I wanted to give up very early on, but decided that it was worth it to stick it out and give an honest review.

Firstly, the writing was not wonderful. I found it to be very overdone, repetitive, and quite childish. The sex scenes read like a teenage boys wet dream, and everything that happened felt like the author was trying to make it more extravagant then it was.

Secondly, the characters were not wonderful. I didn’t find any of them to be extremely likable, and it felt like the author was trying too hard to make them seem whimsical and strange. Additionally, the excessive use of Miss, Mr, Ma’am and Sir had me feeling like I was reading a parody of a southern novel, especially mixed with many of the themes.

Moving on to the subject of the book: it was confusing. In the end you don’t have any idea what was actually happening. You get no closure at all, and the book wraps up like it’s the middle of a scene in the middle of the story. The subjects that was touched upon were also extremely uncomfortable in the way they were written about. Trafficking, sexual abuse, racism, and islamaphobia were all present in the novel, but (similar to the speech patterns) it felt like I was reading a parody of a book that was trying to properly address these issues. It made me extremely uncomfortable.

In the end, I would not suggest anyone read this book. It felt flat, and not really worth the time it took to read.

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.

I don't even know why I requested this book, the cover's really really gorgeous whether it's the first version or the later version but omg what's wrong with this book? The premise or blurbs sound really really promising and I'm getting pretty excited to start reading this book. It wasn't as what I expected before. It's getting even more disturbing for me that I have to stop and take a breath. The ending is MEH
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A novel that will catapult you, along with the protagonist, Safia, from a simple waitress at her family’s Cuban African-American diner, to a very secret school. Here, the students are groomed for a purpose that isn't exactly clear.

Determined to survive and not fall victim to its games, Safia must try to navigate the school's crazy rule system and keep her points high enough to survive or risk servitude to the same students that stand beside her.

Along her journey, she will make friends and enemies. But in a school where trust is limited and friends are never who they say they are, how will she survive this high-risk environment?

Welcome to Apex Academy.

I just couldn’t get interested in this book so I had to dnf it before I got myself in a slump. I think it was just the wrong time to read it. The premise is good. I think I’ll try it again at a later date

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest review of the book.
i was honestly very excited reading the description
will always love a good school setting but did this make me think if that yes ,while it had a very promising premise this book was not for me i was not very connected with the mc andthe plot line was a bit flat
almost didn't finish the book
if it it just unwinded a bit slower and gradually showed me all the cards my dyslexic ass would have probably pr recieved it a bit better

This book contains many trigger warnings.

I felt like overall there could have been a very good storyline here but I felt like the author executed the plot poorly. It was underwhelming, I think this may have been due to the fact most of the book was written in dialogue. This meant that there was little description to go alongside the characters. I didn’t find it easy to get attached to them at all.

I wasn't blown away by this book.... it was an enjoyable read on parts I feel like it could've been a lot better but I sort 9f enjoyed it all thensame but finished it scratching my head feel like there's more to the story.... maybe there'll be a sequel?

Let’s start with the trigger warning: homophobia, islamophobia, slavery, non-con, minor abuse.

For a book that did not have any indication of being dark that’s quite a lot.

All in all the plot was lacking, I was disappointed at the 80% Talking without giving enough details. (Except in the sex scenes there was no detail spared)
I wanted to read it because the synopsis sounded interesting with students having to gain points etc. but sadly it wasn’t adapted as such.

An amazing book which takes you travelling to an alternate universe of fun, love and deceit. It's quite homely and entertaining as well. I definitely would love to continue reading further

I really wanted to like this book. premise and description sounded so promising! However this book was a tad boring. Not much happened. The beginning of this book was so slow I almost didn’t finish this book. Let’s see what this author brings out next. Only a ⭐️⭐️

I have received a digital advance review copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I requested this book, because I really liked the description of it and I felt like this could be a book that I would like. When I actually started reading it, that wasn't the case. I found it a little bit boring to be honest. There were certain moments when there was too little description of what was going on.
What I liked about the book was the concept of the plot itself, but I didn't like how it was executed.
Also this book tackles with a lot of topics that might be triggering to some people (islamophobia, slavery, abuse, homophobia ...)

Overall, I was disappointed with the book and I had to force myself to finish it because I had hoped that maybe it will get better, which it didn't.

2/5
While the blurb of "Every Student has a Secret" sounded fairly interesting, I didn't find myself hooked at all. I got about 10 percent through it before stopping. The book was just completely full of dialogue, with just barely any description. Usually, I enjoy lots of dialogue, however, it felt all unnatural and clunky. I hate leaving books unfinished, but I couldn't bring myself to enjoy this one as I was reading.

I'd put it at a two and a half if I could. I could see how this story could be really, really good. However, I felt as if I were reading a first draft, with a lot of chunks missing and quite a few confusing bits and pieces. I just could not enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an eARC in exchange an honest review.

<i> Every Student has a Secret </i> tells the story of Safia who is whisked away to a dark and dangerous secret academy for the children rich and the famous. There, no one cares how much money you have, only how many points and everyone wants to take yours.

This book was problematic on many levels. The first being that it is in desperate need of an editor. I am usually the worst at spotting grammatical and spelling errors and I don't normally comment on them for ARCs but these were egregious. The book was also hard to understand plot wise. Even though we are told Apex Academy is for the children of the rich and the famous (or those stand out students who they think could become rich and famous), we don't really see much of that. None of the characters stand out or even differ too much from each other.

By far the biggest problem though was the sexual violence. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to call this softcore erotica. It feels like every character was some hyped up sex addict and most had some sever sadistic tendencies. Which is fine, whatever floats your boat, but when you start talking about one student owning another and forcing them into sexual acts (and then find out that at least one of those students is 16 while the other is definitely an adult, well...) that gets a little icky. Not to mention the headmistress not only participates in sexual acts with her students, she is also married to one of them. And I'm sorry, the excuse that is constantly thrown around the book is that "you can leave anytime, no one is forcing you to stay" is BS.

The premise was interesting but the execution lacked.

DNF at 25%

This writing was just not it. It doesn't read like it went through an editor before being published. Sentences just stop without it seeming to reach a conclusion or make a point.

Really disappointed, the description sounded interesting.

*Thank you to the publisher for this eARC.

This book sounded so intriguing by the synopsis that I immediately requested it. But after only half, I recognized how dark this book is - something that is not indicated at all and should be, due to some extremely heavy trigger warnings and such. Though I dnfed and wasn't able to finish the book, I skimmed the majority.

( tws - slavery, abuse, non consent, islamaphobia, graphic sex scene, etc )

I loved the school. Or at least the concept of it. If the book had been further edited, rid of certain scenes and changed significantly after more drafts, I would've enjoyed this book more. There were a couple exciting moments and if the rest of the book was like that, I would've loved it. Unfortunately that was not the case.

Firstly, I spotted quite a few grammatical errors and mistakes regarding the sentences. Whilst these wouldn't bother me in a small proportion ( one or two ), there were most definitely many more than that and I was barely able to read it.

Secondly, the characters were all pretty bland in my eyes and the plot was slow and lacking. That was not at all what I was expecting from a book that looked to be fast paced and exciting from the premise alone. These could both definately be factors of the book primarily being written in dialogue ( and lack of description alongside it ), since it was hard to get attached to the characters and plot. I also really didn't enjoy the writing style and it seemed rather 'basic' to me, to say the least.

As well as that, I feel like both the islamaphobia and selling other people ( especially minors ) with no concent in the Academy weren't dealed with correctly. Again, this may be due to me not finishing the book, but other reviews seem to have the same / similar issues to me with this.

In conclusion, this book had an interesting premise, but in my opinion, the execution was lacking and it wasn't able to keep me hooked.

This one I grabbed because of the cover and well it wasn't all that good. I ended up only getting about 20% into it before I decided to DNF.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc of this book! I loved the idea of this book and the cover was very captivating! The book follows Safia, a girl who winds up at an academy with a point system. The students have to complete assignments and tasks to earn points and ensure their survival at the school. I liked Safia as a character and there were interesting concepts in this book. However, the book fell flat overall. I was confused at parts because the world was not explained very well. The plot was executed poorly.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Explicit scenes of dubious/non-consent, grahic sexm, Islamophobia, slavery, abuse involving a minor, and homophobia made this one hard to read and like. I really did feel like the story had so much potential, what a great premise, "An Academy for the rich and wealthy, where students compete and earn points for power and statues."

Every Student Has a Secret had a fantastic description that hyped up the storyline way more than what was actually in the story. Right away you enter the action of this story and start to see the easter eggs that are laid early on in the first few chapters. These small clues help foreshadow much of what will happen to Safia and her family. But at the same time, there was gaps in the storyline throughout the whole story that left me confused throughout most of it. And then the ending fell very flat.

I didn't like this book. It was not interesting at all. There were many mistakes. Explicit sex scenes but the plot was really bland.

DNF at 31%.

the synopsis was interesting, but i unfortunately cannot finish this book. it reads as if it's a first draft that hasn't been edited at all. the dialogue doesn't work, it's very awkward. none of the characters have their own distingushed voice, so it's hard to figure out who is speaking, as they all sound exactly the same. i've only read around 250 pages from the ARC, but safia had absolutely no personality in those pages. she was very bland and uninteresting. the sex scene at the start of the novel was painful to read. it made me so uncomfortable.

thank you to netgalley for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review!

I never DNFd any book but this time I just couldn’t read it after 100 pages. I made it through 100 pages in hope that it will surely have something buckled up inside it but alas! I was so wrong. The writing was bland. There were no proper use of punctuation marks which made me perplexed whenever I read sentences. They didn’t make any sense unless you want to heat up your brain by straining it. The only thing I like about the book is the idea behind it. Whoever is the editor need to work properly.

Thanks for the e-arc, netgalley.

⭐️⭐️ BOOK REVIEW TIME⭐️⭐️

Happy Pub Day to Every Student Has a Secret, the first book in the Apex Academy Series by Teddy Baire

Thank you to Little Fantasy Books for the copy!

This book follows the story of Safia Famosa, who gets unexpectedly admitted to an elite school where no one knows it’s true location, and everything is not what it seems. All of the students act brazen and carefree regarding their academics, and even some famous students attend. As Safia digs deeper into what everyone is up to at this school, she learns the system and that every student truly does have a secret, some less pretty than others.

I loved this book! From the beginning it was so easy and exciting to read and follow, and with such a mysterious back drop you can’t help but want to figure out what the school is all about. The characters are well-written and easy to relate to, and it makes you wonder what it would be like to be there with them. I am super excited about the next novel in the series, and am give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5 stars!!☺️Highly recommend this one if you are into YA or thriller books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was an interesting read and unfortunately not in a good way. While the overall concept was intriguing it just was poorly executed. The writing wasn’t the strongest and some of the dialogue was a bit confusing at times.

The overall mystery of the academy and the betting system was interesting however, it could have been explored a little better. I am somewhat confused where the story is heading exactly especially because the ending felt rushed and unclear.

Overall, I think the idea of this book was interesting it just wasn’t executed properly.

A mysterious school for the rich and well-connected kids to stay, well, rich and well connected is made interesting by its bizarre bargaining system. The plot of Every Student Has a Secret kept me going but the intense amount of dialogue, the oddly inserted (ahem) sex scene, and the suddenly flat ending made me give this one only three stars. It feels like there is a lot of potential in the story that ended up going nowhere. I can see how perhaps that was part of the point of the story and I know some people prefer stories rich in dialogue so, for some people, this may be a perfect read.

TW's: Islamaphobia, anti-LGBTQ+ themes
The synopsis of the book was very exciting and interesting but it fell short in the actual book. The world-building was similar. It had an interesting premise and could have been delved deeper so much more than what was given in the book. I did like the characters in the beginning and the dynamics with how they interacted was very well done. However the story moved very slowly and then everything just crammed into a few pages. The characters also just all changed at a random point and it was very confusing to keep up with. I think the book and its plot had a lot of potential but ultimately fell short

Had to DNF. Triggering Islamaphobia, homophobia, non-consent, slavery, abuse of minor, and just poorly edited grammar/punctuation that made it actually difficult to read.

While this book has an interesting premise that kept me reading, it was, on the whole, very badly done. It reads like it hasn't gone through any editing at all, with grievous grammatical and spelling errors. The sad thing is that it could have been a much better book if more effort had been put into it to rework the story and rewrite it a few times.

The plot was almost non-existent, with a setting that makes little to no sense at all. Purposefully dark and edgy but for no real reason and without any substance backing it up. The pacing was horrendous, dragging everything out to produce a novel-length book by hook or by crook. The characters were lazy and one-dimensional and completely boring. The way some of them were written, especially Safia and Hashmi were honestly disturbing. This book would greatly benefit from going through some sensitivity readers. Besides that, the questionable content, especially the sexual stuff, is very off-putting as they are overt and pointless.

It is my strong recommendation that this book come with content/trigger warnings prominently displayed. Some of the things in here really should not be viewed as typical or expected in society.

That said, the overall idea is still a good one.

I wanted to love this one. I really did. But as other reviewers have mentioned the problems and the massive amounts of traumatic triggers made it really difficult; particularly since they weren't handled quite as deflly as needed to make it feel like an intrinsic part of the story. Instead it just felt like a writing assignment with no true direction.

The premise of this was so appealing to me yet unfortunately this didn’t live up to the promise! I think trigger warnings completely need to be added to NetGalley as this has a lot of dark themes including islamophobia, homophobia and sex slavery to name a few

I did not like this book at all!!!
It has some really problematic content as well as the plot was underwhelming!

The storyline was nice - this book had a potential to be a lot better.

- That problematic content was - Negative comments towards LGBTQ community ❌
- Toxic and relationship violence ❌
-Slavery ❌

Too explicit for me so I will not be providing a review. Thank you for providing me this e-arc, but I will be unable to finish it.

Trigger warnings for this book: extremely graphic sex scenes, Islamophobia, negative comments toward the LGBTQ+ community), non-consensual kissing (more than once), unhealthy “relationships”, violence, slavery…

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
The story revolves around Safia who gets an opportunity to study at a very secret college named Alex Academy. It is an academy that only a Dr!acted number of candidates are privileged enough to attend. The college system is fun competitively on the basis of points that each student strains by completing assignments, placing habits and doing something for the school.
I loved the beginning and middle part of the story even though some of the scenes were quite dark. The ending however disappointed me and left me confused. The idea itself was interesting but poorly executed and the school system itself I did not understand at all. It needs a lot of editing. I just could not enjoy it.

First, I appreciate the chance to read and review this book. This review will contain spoilers.

I chose it for an advance read copy because it sounded interesting from the blurb. Unfortunately the book didn't really live up to the expectations. There were things I liked and things I didn't. I enjoyed the character development of the main character and her family, however, the other students who were important to the plot didn't get the same attention which did increase some of the mystery but were then never fully explained. I enjoyed the dark academia vibe with the school being isolated and seemingly run by the students with a point system used like cash, But some of the things were disturbing like being able to "own" another student though it did provide a plot point. However, the "shocking" revelation of the lead being or wanting to be a dom in a dom/sub relationship was pointless really as nothing really came from it. Also there was some mild Islamophobia that was equally unneeded. And the conclusion of the book was unsatisfying and confusing. It seemed to have been cutoff in the middle of a scene and didn't actually conclude anything. If there is another book on the way, I would be happy to read it IF it explains this book.

Overall, I enjoyed reading the book and was happy to continue as I thought things would be explained. However, I had to read the last chapter twice to make sure I didn't miss some key point that would make it more clear but alas there was not anything I missed it just ended in an unsatisfactory and very open manner which left me more confused than satisfied. If half ratings were allowed I would have given it a slightly higher 2.25 rating.

Thank you, NetGalley for a chance to read this.

The idea behind this book is great; it's just really badly executed.
I could also have done without the fantastical drug deal, the weird relationship with her not-boyfriend, and a female student being harassed that early on.

Really was not a fan of this book. DNF'ed about 3 chapters in. The writing style wasn't for me at all.

Trigger warnings for this book: extremely graphic sex scenes, Islamophobia, negative comments toward the LGBTQ+ community), non-consensual kissing (more than once), unhealthy “relationships”, violence, slavery…

The story revolves around Safia who gets an opportunity to study at a very secret college named Alex Academy. It is an academy that only a Dr!acted number of candidates are privileged enough to attend. The college system is fun competitively on the basis of points that each student strains by completing assignments, placing habits and doing something for the school.
I loved the beginning and middle part of the story even though some of the scenes were quite dark. The ending however disappointed me and left me confused. The idea itself was interesting but poorly executed and the school system itself I did not understand at all. It needs a lot of editing. I just could not enjoy it.

I thought this book had a really interesting premise, but I didn't even make it to the part where the students and their secrets--literally what the book is advertised as--were introduced. The opening chapters had no sense of urgency, no cohesion, no reason to keep me reading.

Add all that to an unpolished writing style, and you get a book that COULD be really captivating, but fails to follow through on that promise. Maybe it got good after the first 20%--but I won't know, because I couldn't bring myself to keep wasting my time trying to find reasons to keep reading.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an electronic copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

*Copy provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Every student has a secret had a really interesting premise, which is the main reason I requested this e-ARC. However, it was not at all interesting.

Let us start with the writing. I have seen that Teddy Bair has written other books and I have not read them, so I cannot state for sure that this author writes badly. But on Every Student has a Secret, that was what happened. It was a mix of badly edited first draft nonsense with the fact that our characters dialogues were correspondent with middle age children, whilst they were supposed to be 16 to 20 somethings, in college. The pacing of the plot made no sense, and characters and story arcs were multiple and extremely convoluted, making you say “Wait, how did I get here?” loads of times.
The plot of its own – whilst some would say it is non-existent – was not at all boring, however it felt like the author needed to every single page just throw you into something even more preposterous that made no sense. I am honest: I kept reading because it was so absurd, I wanted to see if it would turn around somewhere. And it did. Kind of.
There were attempts at plot twists that were rapidly forgotten and took a step back to cheesy and unbelievable dialogues, in which everyone hates everyone but there is fake smiles all around. And the worst part was that the ending just cleaned up everything that happened and made it sound like our characters had nothing to solve, whilst setting up a sequel. There weren’t even cliff-hangers! There was just the ending and forget everything that happens, because when the sequel comes out… there will be more.
There appeared to be blatant racism, and TW for torture and a lot of sexual innuendos that were not consistent with the tone of the story. Neither of the characters made a lasting impact, as well.
Overall, I do not recommend this book, sadly but, as I said, cannot judge the author’s other works so, if you still want to try it, then do so. Just not this one.

I have read this author before and I previously thought that the writing was flat and underdeveloped. My opinion hasn’t changed. Like last time, the premise was incredibly interesting. I was drawn in and excited for what promised to be a great book but was bitterly disappointed. I read this book because I wanted to give the author another chance, but unfortunately I don’t see myself picking up another one of their books again.

This was a problemetic book for me on many grounds.
1. It wasn't able to hold my attention, or keep me involved.
2. There are a lot of triggers which made it a bad book for me.
3. I didn't enjoy it.