Freestyle: Academy of Stardom, Book 1

This captivating story follow friends to enemies to lovers featuring our incredible heroine, Pen. A true warrior, she endures numerous challenges without ever giving up. Pen is passionate, focused, and hardworking, embodying integrity even in a world rife with greed and corruption. Her selfless sacrifices for the happiness of others make her truly admirable.The supporting characters Xeno, Zayn, York, and Dax are equally compelling, each bringing distinct personalities that complement Pen perfectly. The narrative unfolds through a split timeline, entirely from Pen’s perspective, which I enjoyed, though I would have appreciated insights from the guys as well.I appreciated the intricate dance plot and how the characters' lives intertwine. However, I expected more spice from a reverse harem book, especially since it’s part of a trilogy. The action takes a while to ramp up, and when it does, it feels more like friendship than budding romance.The back-and-forth between past and present effectively showcases the growth of their relationships, leading to a cliffhanger that leaves you eager for more. It’s clear that this is just the beginning of the real tension and excitement!

Super cliffhanger! My goodness, I'm talking huge and on the edge of your seat. Overall, I liked this book. It had a few character quirks that threw me a bit, but other than that, the storyline is good. The character development is good apart from it feeling like the characters aren't really children in the flashbacks. That was hard to get away from because I couldn't see them as young as they were supposed to be. It bleeds into the present too because they read older then, too. It might just be me, though. Off to deal with the cliffhanger!

This book kept me captivated through every bit. It also kept my heart in a chokehold. Pen is a dancer, well… she’s one step away from a street kid who happens to dance to escape her reality. However, that desire to escape is so strong she becomes really good at what she can do. She meets Zayn, Xeno, Dax, and . She immediately becomes one of the crew and they survive the streets, their families, and the gang by sticking together and dancing. However, when Pen starts to realize what she feels for each of the Breakers, her brother David and gang leader Jen get in the way. She’s forced to leave them behind and it’s been three years since she’s seen any of them. Now after she’s won a spot at the dance academy, she’s forced to confront her past as the Breakers are at the academy too. Will she explain what drove them all apart, will they admit what they are doing back, what does David and Jen have in store for her?

Great storyline and character development was really good I feel like a lot of the movement would be more appreciated if I was or ever did dance as a lot of the terminology is lost on me. Expected to come into this for a steamy romance but surprised I enjoyed the storyline and not that upset it wasn’t really smutty like I suspected. Definitely gonna keep reading I mean come on cliffhanger like that can’t not!

This series is one of my favorites by this author and I just recently listened to them on audiobook to get ready for the extended epilogue, Encore, that’s releasing next month. I picked up on things I hadn’t before, and made me fall for this shared universe she writes in even more. I am sad to be seeing it go but I know this ending will be amazing!We get to see in book 1 of this series how Pen and her Breakers grew up in flashbacks and the main storyline continues and she is reminded of past events and feelings. I enjoyed the back and forth, I know some people didnt. I think it added more complexity to the storyline to get that background. I loved the Breakers as kids, like how they protected her right off the bat, seeing her go through things they had gone through and not abandoning her like others had. The banter was fun (*cough pickle cough cough * IYKYK haha) and I loved the connection with Asia from Academy of Misfits right off the bat. I love dance, I used to watch World of Dance all the time, love seeing it on AGT too and the show where the Jabberwockies got their big break on MTV haha I am forgetting the name. I totally can see why it’s got Step Up vibes, the academy is done well. Nothing overdone, esp in book 1 where other books can over-describe things. I loved how the dances were described and the emotions in them. I felt everything while I read, it was mesmerizing. The enemies to lovers part of this story is hard to get through but this author never disappoints with HEAs so I knew it would be a hard-fought love. Don’t want to give anything away, but the way things were lined up and hinted at with the plot was fabulous, the tension between the characters was palpable, and I just wanted them make up already haha. And the different dances the guys focus on, done so well!In terms of the narration I thought it was done well. I do wish it was duet though because sometimes the female narrator didnt hit the mark for me when doing the guy parts. I have listened to her a lot before so I do enjoy her performances, but I would give the narration a 4/5 just because I felt a couple miscues and I wished the male narrator did a better job with making the guys different sounding. Some he did but not all in this one. I still enjoyed it and would recommend people listening to this series on audio as well <3

This was the first series from this author I ever read…… and now I’m obsessed with all of Beas books!!! Let me tell you this book had me on the edge of my seat from the start!The writing, the plot, and the characters are so good.I love Pen so much. When I say she’s been through a lot and is still going through a lot… she has/is. She is trying her hardest to stay strong and I really just want to come through the book and fight her battles for her. I just love her so much.I don’t even know where to begin with the guys. I usually don’t like the throwback chapters but that’s not the case here. They were seriously some of my favorites! I loved getting to read about each one of them and getting to know them on that level.I am so in love with this series and so obsessed.Book 1 cliffhanger will get you but it’s soooo worth it! You don’t want to miss out on this series!!!!!

Que livro incrível!!! Me surpreendi muito com essa autora, primeiro livro que leio dela.A escrita é maravilhosa, senti na pele o que os personagens sentiram. A arte, a dança e a música são tão bem descritos que me emocionaram.Os capítulos alternam entre passado e presente, e assim vai construindo uma tensão atendo momento em que descobriremos o que houve entre os 5 amigos.O mistério nos prende até o desfecho final, e o final nos deixa pendurados e ansiosos pro próximo livro. Vê-los se apaixonando no passado e se odiando no futuro foi perfeito, virei fã da protagonista e dos boys do harém. Amei!

I've waited a while to read this series and now I don't know why I put it off. The world of dance comes to life in this first part of the series. Bea Paige makes you see and hear each step across the dance floor. The tap of the toe, the glide of the foot, the whisper of each arm movement through the air. You can feel the beat of the music as it thrums through your body as each dancer performs the moves. It brings the book to life.Penelope, or Pen as she wants to be called, has loved the Breakers - Xeno, Zayn, York and Dax - since the day she met them. Unfortunately, life has a way of handing the worst possible outcome to you when it already sucks. When you are forced to give up what you want most, to just be loved, to save another life, sets the tone for Pen. She and the Breakers are a tight knit dance crew until Pen is made by others to hurt the boys. Everything ended that one fateful night and Pen lost her boys to save them all. Fast forward three years. Pen is still dancing her heart out and earns a scholarship at the prestigious Stardom Academy. But the Fates aren't done messing with her. The boys she had to cut out of her life are suddenly thrust back into it and she is propelled down a tunnel of despair. This could just be the one thing that ends in the death of more than one of them. It could kill them all. Freestyle ends on a cliffhanger that will have you rushing for the next book in the series.

Ein sehr gutes und spannendes Buch

Freestyle is unlike any book I have ever read before and that cliffhanger at the end is so incredibly brutal, more brutal than I’ve experienced in a long time. My heart feels like it has been literally carved from my chest and I’ve felt every agonising second of that procedure. I couldn’t be more stunned by the events that occured within the last 20%.Bea Paige is such a immense tease throughout the entirety of this book, dropping hints hear and there reeling us in until the need to know is so unbearable! Seeming to give us the information we need, feeding our addiction and then turning away at the crucial point leaving us raging and completely unfulfilled. It left me so out of control with need, the need to know .... I NEEDED TO KNOW!. Then when we finally KNOW she leaves us with that cliffhanger. What did we ever do to your Bea????? she keeps us waiting and when the final reveal is written there in black and white ... I can honestly say it’s worse than anyone could possible imagine. And kinda makes me worried about the authors mind.Pen is the main fmc, abused and having suffered so much trauma in her short life she’s so damaged and yet in the face of such adversity she finds the will and the strength to go on. The Breakers are a massive reason for this, they are her entire world, the only good thing she has ... until she doesn’t and the reasons why both sickened me and broke my heart. This author has literally shattered my entire soul to pieces.I loved this author’s writing style despite the comments above, the way that she interspersed hints and information dropping them here and there and then explaining more by devling into the past only to crush our souls more thoroughly. I loved the flashback scenes but it only heightened my anxiety and frustration at the interruption just as we were getting to the good bit. The plot is intense, well-paced and well-thought out, like the determination of a dancer to nail their routine the story keeps going on the most emotional and traumatic rollercoaster ride I’ve ever been on for a while now!Reading book 2, Lyrical after this one becomes the readers necessity even more vital than breathing and just plain living. but I’m also scared about how much more Pen can take before she breaks. I just hope the Breakers are there to help put her back together.

I literally couldn't put this book down !I fell in love with the Breakers universe the minute I started reading it.I was clearly addicted and had to keep reading !I loved how it got more intense and intriguing by each chapter.The plot was very interesting and kinda mysterious with the back and forth between past and present.It kept me on my toes, I just wanted to know what happened and what would happen next !Pen & the Breakers have a lot of history and they never had the best life growing up but they found each other and it was the best that happened to them... they bring each other comfort, love and passion.Until one day it all goes to hell and they all end with their heart broken, feeling bitter and resentful.With the present chapters, we can feel the animosity, the angst and tension the secrets from the past bring, but we can also see how their feelings and love for each other is still here, somewhere... and god I was so rooting for them 🥺With the past, we learn how they grew together and see the important part of their story.I really connected to them and the story, and Bea's writing is probably my fav, this book was written beautifully 😍Also, dance is really a part of this book and brings something different. As a dancer myself, I loved how they used it to express themselves.Beware though, it ends on a cliffhanger (hence why I didn't put 5⭐️) BUT the series is complete so don't worry ;)