Second Chance Fate:Second Chance Academy Book One by Ella J. Smyth

Tagline: Homework on top of a life sentence for murder? You've got to be kidding me.

Book Description

"My name is Amber Whitman, and I’m seventeen years old. Just over one month ago, I was taken from my home, from my parents and everything I’d ever known. The reason? I’d killed three strangers.

Not on purpose, you understand. It was an accident. But the government decided I was too dangerous to be kept around normal people. I now live at the Farkas Academy for Magical Advancement. I was told I’ll be here for years. Until somebody decides I’m no longer a menace to society. My only solace are three boys who are as trapped as I am.

But things are not as they seem. My survival may depend on figuring out quickly who to trust and who to run from at the Second Chance Academy."

This is book one of the Second Chance Academy series, a #whychoose medium-burn novel with a HFN, a grumpy cat, and three men trapped by their past.

This book is available on Amazon here.

Excerpt

“Welcome to my class, Amber. I expect you’ll get great benefit from it. I hear your powers are elemental in origin?”

I wasn’t sure how to answer this. Aware that every student in the classroom was staring at me, I shook my head. “I’m sorry, I have no idea what my powers are.”

Other than calling down lightning. I wasn’t going to say that out loud, though.

Mrs. Palmer nodded. “That’s okay. That’s what this class is for. To help you figure it out, and, more importantly, how to control it.”

Behind me, somebody hissed, “Before she kills us all.”

The teacher looked up sharply and said, “Ah, yes. Sharon. Why don’t you come forward and show us how much control you’ve learned after your first lesson.”

A shocked, “But—” was quickly interrupted by Mrs. Palmer. “No ‘but.’ Come on. Show us.”

Sharon walked past the front row to stand next to the teacher. As she passed, she threw me a nasty glare as if it was my fault the teacher had her up front to demonstrate.

Mrs. Palmer clapped her hands. “Right, class. Pay close attention. Sharon, please create three water bubbles above your head. One large and two slightly smaller. You don’t have to move them in any way. Just keep them in position for thirty seconds.”

Sharon’s face tightened into an expression of pure focus. Clearly, she’d done this before. She closed her eyes and brought her palms together. I stared at them, wondering if I was imagining the light-blue glow around her skin.

But no, the light grew in intensity. Sharon pulled her hands apart, and between her palms, a shimmering bubble grew. When it was the size of a child’s head, she stretched her hands high and released the bubble. It rotated slowly, catching and reflecting the light, creating fantastic reflections on the walls of the classroom.

This was the first time I’d seen practical magic at play. Sharon had created a water ball out of thin air, right in front of me. The other students were equally spellbound by the beauty of the creation.

But they’d witnessed this before. To me, it was brand-new. Would I be able to do something similar? Could I control lightning the way Sharon seemed to juggle water so effortlessly?

She had created a second, smaller bubble, and was about to finish her task by doing a third one. Soon, all three balls rotated above her head, bathing her in an eerie, blueish light.

That’s when Mrs. Palmer clapped her hands again sharply. “Well done, Sharon.”

My roommate gasped, clearly not expecting the smacking noise. Her concentration broke, and the three bubbles disintegrated above her head into a torrent of water. Her outraged scream was drowned out by howling laughter. Our hysteria increased at Mrs. Palmer’s sheepish, “Oops.”

Sharon’s pretty hair hung around her face like a curtain of beetroot-colored noodles. Her designer top clung to her like a piece of plastic wrap, showing her bra and belly-button piercing. She looked like a drowned rat.

I would have felt sorry for her, had she not acted like such a bitch to me ever since we’d met. Mrs. Palmer rushed to console her, her expression one of concern. Except when she passed me, I could have sworn she winked at me.

My jaw dropped. Had I seen this right? Had my new teacher set this up to embarrass Sharon? Her next words confirmed my suspicion.

“Class. Quiet, please. Before Sharon gets a new change of clothes, I would like you to consider this: You’ve all had several lessons in Elemental 101 already. And yet even a star student like Sharon finds it difficult to control her water powers when distracted.

“I would like you to consider how difficult this is for somebody who’d never had any formal training. If I hear anybody else attempting to make new students feel uncomfortable or bully them, I will not hesitate to bring this to the head witch’s attention. Am I making myself clear?”

And just for one moment, the harmless, middle-aged Mrs. Palmer looked dangerous enough to make us think twice about messing with her.

About the Author:

Ella J. Smyth writes steamy urban fantasy romance, full of adventure and excitement. Ever since she discovered #loveislove and #whychoose, she has embraced her motto “Unapologetic romances because love needs no excuses.” She guarantees a happy ending, even though she puts her characters through hell to get there.

Ella is currently working on a Reverse Harem Academy series called Second Chance Academy. Book one of the series, Second Chance Fate, will be released on the 30th of October 2020 and is available on preorder.

Website: https://www.ellajsmyth.com

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You can hear a reading of the story on my YouTube Channel here - https://youtu.be/HrvqD1ycSsk

Midnight Musings Information

Hello all! I am a former sociology professor who lost her 11 year job at a community college this May. Due to Covid and mine and my mother's health, a traditional job isn't working out as well as I thought that it would.

So, I decided to try my hand at writing here, providing my self care and yoga classes as well as my metaphysical gifts via Zoom.

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