The Thoroughbreds by Elin HilderbrandMy rating: 0 of 5 stars
I read The Academy (the first book in this series) in January 2026. Here was my review at that time –
Tiffin Academy is a boarding school in rural Massachusetts, and the novel follows one year in the students' and faculty members' lives. With all the teenage drama, hook-ups, break-ups, slang, and cultural references, I felt that this book is targeting the YA audience rather than Elin Hilderbrand's typical readers. There are quite a few characters to keep track of, and the majority of them (faculty included!) are making bad decisions. Unfortunately, there are too many characters and not enough plot and character development for me.
Fast forward to September 2026, when I read the advanced reader’s copy of Thoroughbreds (the second and final book in this series). To be honest, the same review can be used for this book.
The book once again seems to be a YA book, and I’m definitely not that target audience. There is way too much product placement and name dropping, most of which goes right over my head. There are too many characters to keep track of, both faculty and students. And some of the names are so similar – Rhode, Royce, Roy. Predictably, the ending ties up everything in a neat little bow and everyone is a winner. And a note to the authors – when you are “dismissed” from a boarding school prior to graduating, you DO NOT apply to graduate school as your next step; you must first graduate from an undergraduate program!
I understand why the mother /daughter team wrote this book together. Shelby attended St. George’s boarding school in Rhode Island, and now is a student at the University of Miami, which figures prominently in this storyline. I wanted to give both books in this series a better score because typically I really enjoy Elin Hilderbrand’s writing, but that was just too much of a challenge.
My thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for an advanced reader copy of this upcoming book, pubished September 15, 2026.
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