Books that take place at school or at boarding schools are something I love to read. If you add a little mystery and romance, I’ll definitely give it a chance. Deadly First Day, the first book in the Embassy Academy series, checks off all of those boxes. With the sequel releasing later this month, I thought it was the perfect time to review Deadly First Day!

Who knew that the first day at a new school could be deadly?

Embassy Academy, the elite private boarding school I’m being shipped off to wasn’t made for girls like me. Girls who are timid wallflowers.

It was made for bold, outspoken, cultured kids of the political elite. Rich. Privileged. Condescending.

Except for Ricardo, who looks at me like I’m a new flavor of ice cream he’d like to try, despite my cute bodyguard’s disapproving stare. If only bratty girls and cute boys were my biggest problem.

When the academy’s resident mean girl is killed on my very first day, their shimmering oasis becomes a pool of blood. The whispering gets louder. Quick glances become hard stares.

They’re looking for someone to blame. They’re looking at me.

Review

“My first day at Embassy Academy hasn’t even started, and I already have a possible crush, and a mortal enemy.”

A lot of the books I read that take place at a school or boarding school almost always have some type of magic involved. It was so refreshing to have a book that had “normal” teenagers for once. Yes, there was a lot of politics, etc., but that actually made Deadly First Day so interesting. The story is well written, the pacing perfect and the plot kept me reading.

Our main character Adrienne is starting a new school when she goes to live with the father she doesn’t really know. Her mother is off to Antartica for work, so her life is flipped upside down. I really enjoyed Adrienne as a character. She’s really down to earth and her love of baking was a nice touch. A lot of the girls are worried about their looks and popularity, but she just wants to get through school.

At the beginning of the book, a student is brutally murdered on campus and definitely makes you dive right into the plot. I loved trying to put the puzzle pieces together to see who was responsible. The author had an interesting way of giving us little hints and bits of information leading us to the murderer. I have to say I figured it out before the big reveal, but that didn’t make me enjoy this story any less.

“Plus, once people start talking to me, I’m hoping they’ll realize I’m not a homicidal killer. I’m just a regular teenage girl, with strengths, weaknesses, wants, and needs of my own.”

Even though this is a mystery, I loved that the author also let us read about the day to day life. Not everything was about the murders. I think this was great, because it gave us a chance to get to know the characters a bit more. Friendship and family are important aspects in the characters’ lives and she kept the balance between all of the relationships in this story.

I really enjoyed the side characters and hope to see a lot more of them in the next books in this series. Charlotte and Callahan are characters I really want to know more about. Besides the murder mystery, there is a little romance as well. Mikhail and Ricardo were such a fun characters and had me smiling while reading. I think this is the only thing I would’ve liked to have seen a little different. I needed just a little bit more interaction between these characters for a romance to evolve. It felt a bit fast. All in all, Deadly First Day was such a fun book and I’m looking forward to see where everything goes from here!

Once I picked up this book, I couldn’t put it down. I’ve definitely become invested in these characters. Keep an eye on the blog for the review of the sequel, Lethal Queen Bee, later this month. Have you read any good young adult mysteries lately? Let me know in the comments!