The Thoroughbreds

 

The Thoroughbreds by Elin Hilderbrand, Shelby Cunningham
9/15/26; 464 pages
Little, Brown and Company
The Academy #2 

The Thoroughbreds by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham is a recommended drama, for the right reader, and a sequel to The Academy.

School is back in session and the students from The Academy are arriving at Tiffin Academy, a boarding school, for their senior year. This year sees two new students are added to the senior class and two new staff members.  Expect plenty of teen drama, relationships, partying, treachery, and changing allegiances, etc. as the novel follows the school year and follows the school year month by month. Additionally, Head of School Audre Robinson has lost 7 million dollars. The beginning of the novel does recap what happened in the previous book.

The pace moves fast and the story lines provide constant drama, which does keep you reading to see what in the world will happen next. The opening of the novel provides the cast of characters to assist readers in knowing who's who. This should be appealing for those interested in a boarding school drama and all the inside scandals that entails. The brand name dropping always annoys me. Honestly, for me, this seemed to be more a new adult/YA novel and is full of teen angst and misbehavior with only a few more adult scenes in the mix. 

I would recommend that those interested in The Thoroughbreds read The Academy first. I didn't do this and felt the disconnect. It is well-written, but I don't think I was the right reader for this novel. It was just okay for me. 3 very generous stars acknowledging that I was not the intended audience for this novel and others will likely enjoy it much more. 

The Thoroughbreds is for those who enjoyed The Academy. Thanks to Little, Brown and Company for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.