Think Alanna (without the gender bender), mixed with Combat Hogwarts and Dauntless initiation. The result? The first book in the series Black Mage. I got to admit, I have a soft spot for brutal teen competitions and boarding schools, so I really enjoyed this book. 
 Ryiah and her twin brother Alex travel to join the trial year at the Academy in order to become apprentices for mages. There are 3 categories of mages trained by this school: Alchemy, Restoration (a. k. a Healing) and Combat. Before they are considered apprentices, they need to spend a year in brutal training and only 5 applicants will be accepted in each category. 122 teens, between 13 and 17 year old, highborn and lowborn alike, join the first day. 
 I'm not kidding when I say the training is brutal, I got exhausted just by reading the book. The children are pressed to their limits, magically, physically and mentally throughout 10 months. 
 I loved the fact that the main character, Ryiah, is not a prodigy. It's true that she has "potential" but she works really really hard to develop her skills, starting from someone which doesn't know how to cast magic, to competing with the best for one of the 5 places at Combat. 
 There is no insta-love, the relationship with the romantic interest (the non-heir prince) is slow building and, in this first book, there isn't much of it. It deals more about them getting to know and coming to trust each other. (view spoiler)[ They only kiss once and by the end of the book they are still not a couple, but have started a friendship (hide spoiler)]. Alex and Ella are amazing, their interactions are hilarious, and many of the secondary characters are very interesting. 
 Moving on to the second book, I'm excited to read about their apprenticeship. :)