| Title | : | The Awakening (Zodiac Academy, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 436 |
| Publication | : | First published July 13, 2019 |
If you're one of the Fae, elemental magic is in your blood. And apparently it's in ours. As twins born in the month of Gemini, we're a rare breed even in this academy of supernatural a-holes.
Changelings were outlawed hundreds of years ago but I guess our birth parents didn't get the memo. Which means we're totally unprepared for the ruthless world of Fae.
Air. Fire. Water. Earth.
No one has ever harnessed all four of them, until we arrived. And it hasn't made us any friends so far.
As the rarest Elementals ever known, we're already a threat to the four celestial heirs; the popular, vindictive bullies who happen to be some of the hottest guys we've ever seen. It doesn't help that they're the most dangerous beasts in the Academy. And probably on earth too.
Our fates are intertwined, but they want us gone. They've only got until the lunar eclipse to force us out and they'll stop at nothing to succeed.
We never knew we had a birthright to live up to but now that we do, we intend to claim our throne.
We can't expect any help from the faculty when it comes to defending ourselves. So if the dragon shifters want some target practice, the werewolves want someone to hunt or the vampires fancy a snack then we have to be ready. But we've been looking after each other for a long time and fighting back is in our blood.
Today's horoscope: totally screwed.
The Awakening (Zodiac Academy, #1) Reviews
-
Before I say anything and get into spoilers, I want to put a big *trigger warning* out there for this book: NON-CON (non-consensual acts) GALORE! No one mentioned this anywhere (not in the reviews, or in the summary, anything). Beware!
I picked this book up because I saw the author post a tiktok comparing it to a steamy, adult Harry Potter. Well, I really like all those words. I also really like astrology, and the reviews here on GoodReads are generally good. Y’all led me astray.
This book is literally the two main characters being violated emotionally, physically and sexually over and over for the entire run time of book. There are basically no other plot elements other than the next abuse that the Vega Twins have to suffer through at the hands of these evil men. Without knowing this going in, this book was shocking to me from beginning to end in the vile content that it was constantly spewing at me. The actions that the “”romantic interests”” take in this book are not just dubious consent, but nonconsensual in the text. The main characters will literally tell them: “No please don’t do that” / “No please stop” / “No please, leave me alone” and they never do! Y’all are in the reviews here saying “bully romance” this “bully romance” that, I’m not here to yuck anyone’s yum, but the actions of these characters without knowledge of the tropes of the genre are abusive and disgusting. I feel like they’re trying to establish a low point so that once the girls are strong enough to fight back (point to note: the girls literally become resigned to the abuse about 3/4 of the way into the book, just accepting that this how they should be treated until they’re strong enough to stop it. No one deserves to be treated like this.), it’s a glorious moment or whatever. But Jesus Christ is it painful to read. I’m also not going to be read, what, two or three full length books full of abuse for one girl boss moment? (Also spoilers here but I really don’t care: the climax of this book brought tears to my eyes for how horrible it is to these girls. Seth cutting her hair, and then them just almost fully drowning the other one? This isn’t sexy and fun? I’m down for some bad boy stuff or like banter but like ? Attempted murder? If I were going to continue this series, I would literally never forgive these fucking assholes? I would want them dead? Comment below if you’re a mega fan and let me know if Tory and Darcy kill these evil men.)
Harry Potter is obviously a huge inspiration here. One of the things that made and makes HP so inviting to readers is the world building and sense of escapism that the books foster. 1) The world building in this book is....shallow at best, laughable at worst. 2) These character’s lives are a living nightmare so the escapism factor is a big fat zero. They literally have almost no fun or ever feel any happiness. No one is at this place to help them. Why would I want to be there?
Here’s some nitpicky stuff (spoilers ahead):
-The author(s) are obviously not American, but our main characters are supposed to be from Chicago. They could not be bothered to use the American spellings of words and even use a bunch of British slang which is like ? Very silly ?
-Kind of along with this, why does Diego have to use one random Spanish word a sentence? It feels like a cheap caricature to me (Oh, also if you’re a mega fan and reading this is Diego a nymph or is that just extremely heavy handed misdirection?)
-The amount of times the characters “snarl” is comical. How do you even “snarl”?
-The world building of the fae and the different orders feels like a way to justify non-con stuff. It feels like the authors wanted the non-con stuff in there and then wrote the orders to justify the actions.
-The names of the professors are so stupid, lmao. Like people have names. They aren’t always hyper-specific to the role you want them to play in your book. It seems ridiculous that they all have names directly relating to the element they teach when we know that every other character just has a normal ass name.
-One thing I do want to say, is that I actually really liked Tory and Darcy. But there is not one other likable character in this. Everyone else is either the literal scum of the earth, or just annoying (Tory and Darcy have two (2) friends, one of which is revealed halfway through the book to be lying to them (still don’t know which one yet, but I’m sure there’s a reveal coming up in another book) which is so silly.)
-Literally who is who? Having two main characters that are twins and then five “romantic interests”, I couldn’t keep anyone straight until like 1/2 way through. Also the fact that each main character has two love interests? Why? What was the reason?
-Orion (the professor) feeding on Darcy non-consensually feels like especially icky to me. Literally by the book abuse. Are there no rules at this school?
-If there are no rules at this school, can the girls just kill these MF’s?
I think that’s it.
My big takeaway is that this book is presenting a very, very niche thing that, if you’re into it, can be great (I guess). But it should be more up front about that fact, because if you’re not into it, it is fucking horrible. From start to finish. -
a super mixed bag but i'm pretty invested! thoughts to come in a fantasy romance reading vlog
-
– 3.5 stars
Zodiac Academy Guide – Read or Not to Read?
PRO:Because there are two main couples in this series, you’ll find at least ONE couple you want to root for. One couple is soft and forbidden while the other is toxic and angsty. There is definitely something for everyone. Best case scenario you’ll love them both.
CON:Because there are two main couples in this series, the chances can also be high that you’ll find ONE couple extremely frustrating/annoying/boring. From what I’ve observe, everyone got that one couple they are reading this series for, while they feel kinda meh or alright about the other one.
What to expect when reading ZA:➷ one of the most supportive & wholesome sibling bonds, sisters who would do anything for each other! Darcy & Tory are the opposite but there is no rivalry and they complement each other so well
➷ bromances that make you wish you had a dick to be included in the club
➷ characters you’ll loathe at first, but learn to love
➷ character development, this point is pretty much connected to the previous one, but needed to be said
➷ enemies that become family!! you can't see the vision in the first book yet and even if book 1 isn't for you bc of the bullying aspect, I'd tell you to keep going until at least book 2 and 3.
➷ rollercoaster of emotions that make you want to flush your e-reader down the toilet or smash your phone against a wall, your pick
➷ THE MOST AMAZING ROMANCES
➷ do you like drugs? yes? cause this series has CRACK in it
What not to expect when reading ZA:
➷ beautiful and eloquent writing, the writing is rather immature and wattpadish
➷ humor that is for everyone .. i’m only saying Faes using Faebook and driving Faerarris #faentastic
➷ fast paced plot, this series is 100% character and relationship driven
Recommended reading order when reading ZA#0.5
Zodiac Academy: Origins of an Academy Bully (novella takes places a couple of years before the main story and gives a small outlook into Orion & Darius' past)
#1
The Awakening
#2
Ruthless Fae
#3
The Reckoning
#4
Shadow Princess
#5
Cursed Fates
#6
Fated Throne
#7
Heartless Sky
#8
Sorrow and Starlight
#9 -
additional ZA content:↳
Foxy Tales (highly recommend to read this to see Orion's POV chapter from the pool scene + sex ed class and Darius POV chapter from the power sharing scene + first time sex with Tory)
↳ #5.5
The Big A.S.S. Party (Max & Geraldine's POV)
↳ #5.6
Seth on the Moon
↳ #1.5
The Awakening as Told by the Boys (retelling of book 1 of ZA from Orion + the heirs POV, best read after reading the main series and earliest after
Fated Throne)
[review for book 1 The Awakening]
SONG:
Chung Ha - Gotta Go
I missed my chance of going to a magical school, because I'm not an orphan & the chosen one. So I'm just here trying to live vicariously through these characters living their best life by learning mind coercion, water-bending etc. 😭🤚
So far my impression is that Zodiac Academy is a mix between Harry Potter, Winx Club and Avatar the last Airbender, but on steroids. 😂
════ ⋆★⋆ ════
➵ PLOT
════ ⋆★⋆ ════
Zodiac Academy is written in dual POV of Tory and Darcy Vega. The twins are living in the mortal world on their own, after their last guardian threw them out when they turned 18. One day Professor Orion turns up–while the girls struggle to come up with money to pay their rent–and tells them that they are Fae born and have magic in their veins. It turns out that Tory and Darcy's parents were the last King and Queen of Solaria and the Vega twins have to return to Solaria to graduate from Zodiac Academy to reclaim their throne.
Through the Awakening, Darcy and Tory find out that they both hold every element (Fire, Water, Air & Earth), when it's only common to have two or three elements. The plot of Zodiac Academy: The Awakening is pretty basic. Darcy and Tory are going to the Academy, going from one class to the next trying to survive and learn as much about the new world they have been thrust into. There are the mean girls, the bullies, the royalty fan-club, the weird/creepy as hell professors, magical creatues... they have to deal with all kind of characters and it's not easy. Not having any prior knowledge of the world and magic around them, makes the twins easy prey for everyone. Darcy and Tory get bullied and humiliated a lot in the first few days at school and I wanted to reach into the book and sucker punch a lot of characters. But their worst enemies are the four Heirs (Caleb, Darius, Max & Seth) who want them gone. I'll get to the Heirs more later on.
The main plot is the Vega twins navigating their day to day life at Zodiac Academy, but there a strnage things that keeps happening and they learn that they live in darker times than they thought, so it's going to be interesting to see what will happen in the next six books.
I feel the need to say that the romance only plays a secondary role in this book. We get a teaser of potential pairings, but nothing is really established. But I already love & see the potential of both the sisters love interest and the slowburn enemies-to-lovers they have going for them. 💫
════ ⋆★⋆ ════
➵ WORLD BUILDING
════ ⋆★⋆ ════
After the demise of the King and Queen of Solaria, the power was split between four families, the Celestial Heirs who share the power of the throne equally.
Zodiac Academy is divided into four Houses where the four Heirs are the House Captains
House Aqua 🌊 ➵ Max Rigel
House Terra 🌱 ➵ Caleb Altair
House Ignis 🔥 ➵ Darius Acrux
House Aer 🌪️ ➵ Seth Capella
Every fae belongs to an Order
TAENIA ° (Parasitic Orders)
➵ Vampire (Orion, Caleb)
➵ Siren (Max)
MUTATIO ° (Mutating Orders)
➵ Dragon (Darius)
➵ Werwolf (Seth)
➵ Manticore
➵ Griffin
➵ Cerberus
➵ Pegasus
➵ Nemean Lion
➵ Hydra
➵ Caucasian Eagle
➵ Chimera
DIVISUS ° (Spliced Orders)
➵ Minotaur
➵ Medusa
➵ Centaur
➵ Cyclops
➵ Spinx
➵ Harpy
Everything is pretty straighforward. It's a lot of names for the different Orders, but not all of them appear in this book, there is no info-dump or at least, IMO it's pretty easy to follow. After reading the Blood and Ash series, every fantasy series that follows is mindblowingly easy to understand tbh. 😂
"Everything in Solaria is about power, Miss Vega. Don't forget that. Everyone takes what they want. It's our way. And if you don't start taking it yourself, you're going to fail at this Academy before you've even attempted to pass The Reckoning."
════ ⋆★⋆ ════
➵ CHARACTERS
════ ⋆★⋆ ════
↠ THE VEGA TWINS.
(left: Darcy; right: Tory)
credits to
@jessdraw.s
Just from this book alone, Tory is the twin that I like more, because she's the kind of heroine I usually go for. Bold. Fearless. Doesn't back down. Not afraid to open her mouth. Whereas, Darcy is the softer sister who is more kind-hearted, more naive and less in-your-face. I really have a soft spot for characters like Tory, because she's always the one to throw herself in front of danger to protect her sister. What makes me super happy about this happy is that there is NO sibling rivalry between Darcy and Tory. They have a great relationship and very protective of each other.
While I prefer Tory at this moment, I have a feeling this is going to change soon when the romance part comes into play more. I already ship Darcy + Professor Orion so hard in this book, even though they have not that many scenes together and haven't even kissed yet. But the enemies-to-lovers, forbidden romance they have going on for them? YES, I'M SOLD.
I lifted my chin and the air became thick between us. "One day, Professor, I'm going to be strong enough to fight you off."
He took a measured breath and I felt like he was sucking something vital out of my body that I wasn't sure I'd ever get back.
"I know," his eyes glittering. "But until that day, you're mine, Blue."
Tory seems to be in this love triangle between Caleb and Darius and I think Tory's romance is going to be so much more frustrating to read. Personally, I prefer Tory's dynamic with Darius, because they have a more explosive chemistry, while her scenes with Caleb don't do anything for me. But after reading the ending of this book which was hard and vicious, I don't know how either of the boys will redeem themselves. Right now, I think Tory deserves better, cuz what they did was cruel and yo bye get out of my face & burn in hell.
Tears never did anyone any favours, but sometimes they just needed to fall.
↠ PROFESSOR LANCE ORION.
credits to
@jessdraw.s
I SWEAR TO EVERYTHING HOLY HOW I CAN'T STAND THIS GUY. He keeps laughing at his own jokes/puns, even though they are so bad and I can't. I hate him so much. 😂 And his dimple doesn't do ANYTHING for me AT ALL. Yup, I sound very convincing.
Orion gives me so many "I hate everyone, but you vibes" and I love it. He is so moody. Every time I read a scene about Orion teaching, I'm laughing my ass off, cause he's always doing something like banging students head on the desk to make me laugh (there is something wrong with me ik 🤷🏽♀️). He's an asshole to Darcy and Tory too, but it's so entertaining. So far he's my favorite character.
"Miss Vega if you're not standing up in the next three seconds, you're going to regret it," Orion barked.
"Which Vega?" Tory asked, barely concealing her jibing tone.
Orion's eyes snapped to her. "The one who has tried to individualise herself by dying the ends of her hair blue. It has failed by the way."
(he means Darcy lmao)
"Oh come on Professor as if you don't love having a bunch of girls drooling over you," Tyler called out from the front row, shoving a hand into his blonde-tipped hair to mess it up.
Orion rose from his seat, wandeirng casually towards the boy with a smile that said he was thoroughly amused. The guy grinned from ear to ear as Orion reached out to him. In a surge of movement, he cracked Tyler's head against his desk and the entiere class inhaled as his smile fell away.
he is so hoooot!! 🥵
↠ THE HEIRS.
(from left to right: Seth, Caleb, Darius & Max
credits to
@witchlingsart
All four Heirs are grade A assholes. They try everything in their power to make Tory and Darcy's stay at Zodiac Academy hell and want to expel them. The Heirs bring the bullying to a new level, it's not only extremely humaliating for the twins, but dangerous too. The four guys have been trained their whole life to rule over Solaria and then here come two girls from the mortal world trying to take their throne. Having read Darius backstory in #0.5, I'm biased towards him out of all the Heirs, cause he has shitty parents and is under alot of pressure and out of the group he's the tall, dark and handsome one, what is there not to love. But after what they did to Tory I'M FUMING and they are on the top of my shit-list. Idk what's going to happen in the next several books, but it will take me a while to not hate them anymore, if that's even possible.
════ ⋆★⋆ ════
➵ I ENJOYED IT A LOT, BUT WHY I'M STILL GIVING IT 3.5 STARS
════ ⋆★⋆ ════
I've read the #0.5 prequel book before where we see a little of Darius and Orion's backstory. That novella was fast-paced plotwise that I expected every book in this seres to be that way. Instead this book was very slow and felt like a very long prologue to the story, cause not much is happening besides Darcy and Tory going to classes. I didn't it, because I enjoy that kind of content with academia books where the protagonists takes time to get to know their surrounding & the authors took the time for the twins to settle in. It's more a hint for people who still want to read the series to keep their expectations low, because this book is not action packed. The lenght of this series is probably holding a lot of people off too, does this book had to be almost 500+ pages? Probably not, but it didn't feel that long to me and enjoyed most of it. 🤷🏽♀️
This is just the first book. There are still six more books to come, so I see a lot of potential for improvement. And I don't mean that the book is so bad that it needs so many changes, but more the fact that Tory and Darcy are still newbies in Solaria. They still have a lot of room for character development, to controll their power + make alliances with other people. Now it feels like the it's the twins against the WHOLE world and Darcy and Tory had to take hits after hits and it's depressing. The only solid relationship I see is the bond the twins have with each other and I can't wait to see all the romantic relationships established, maybe form friendships with some of the other people in the Academy, the twins kicking ass and take what is rightfully theirs.
I'm excited to read the rest of the series, because I feel it's going to get so much better and I just need more of Darcy & Orion. <3
┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑
ZODIAC ACADEMY SERIES
#0.5 Zodic Academy: Origin of an Academy Bully –
3.75 stars
#1 Zodiac Academy: The Awakening – 3.5 stars
#2 Zodiac Academy: Ruthless Fae –
3.75 stars
#3 Zodiac Academy: The Reckoning – 4.5 stars
#4 Zodiac Academy: Shadow Princess – 4.5 stars
#5 Zodiac Academy: Cursed Fates – 4 stars
#5.5 Zodiac Academy: The Big A.S.S. Party – 3.5 stars
#6 Zodiac Academy: Fated Throne – 4.25 stars
#7 Zodiac Academy: Heartless Sky – 4.25 stars
┕━━━━━━━━━━━━━┙ -
I had to abandon this book after about 25%. I’m not into rape culture. Consent is sexy.
-
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This has been on my radar for a while but I've avoided reading it because I thought it was set in a high school (and I don't really like reading romances set in high school) and because the people who were shipping it generally shipped other fantasy authors whose works I didn't like, and contrary to some people's beliefs, I am not a hate-reader. When I pick up a book, it's because I genuinely want to like it. The one-star review is a reflection of my disappointment.
But I kept seeing people picking up this series and loving it and then I found out that it's set in university and not high school, so it felt like the literal stars were conspiring against me, taking away my reasons for not reading this book one by one, and I was like FINE UNIVERSE. I'LL READ YOUR STUPID SMUT GOD. And guess what... I. LOVED. IT. I really fucking loved it. I read book one in one day, in just a few hours. Even though it was almost 500 hundo pages. W H A T.
Here's the thing. When I was a teen-- YES I AM OLD-- there was this magical site called Quizilla. And one of my favorite things to read on that website were harem paranormals where the girl could end up with any one of an entire Pokemon booster pack of men with different supernatural powers. I would stay up until 5am reading those trashy stories and every once in a blue moon, I'll come across something self-published that has that same addictive, cracky qualia of just being impossible to put down, gratuitously self-indulgent, and resplendently fun to read. And for me, THE AWAKENING, was that book.
I almost didn't make it through the beginning because the desperate edginess of their normie setting almost put me off. TWO police chases before the 10% mark??? That seems excessive, MA'AMS. But then Professor Orion barged into the scene and things got really good. I loved the descriptions of Zodiac Academy and the world-building was genuinely amazing. The opulent dorms and dining hall, the enchanted "pegasus" meadow, the classrooms named after planets-- IT WAS SO MUCH FUN. But even though it looks and quacks like a fairytale... it's not. Darcy and Tory Vega find out that they're the heirs to the fae kingdom and even though they have ALL THE POWERS, they don't know how to use them. And people resent them for having the power and for upsetting the status quo, and so basically everyone bullies and fucks with them (except for a small contingent of royalists who stan their family the way people used to stan the Queen of England). Which actually made a lot of sense.
Fuck those interlopers.
The new rulers who have stepped into the void of their fae parents' deaths are called the heirs. There's Darius, the dragon. Seth, the werewolf. Caleb, the vampire. And Max, the siren. Like everyone else in the school, they've each specialized in a single element-- fire, air, earth, and water-- and like everyone else in the school, they have a bone to pick with the interlopers. A lot of the bullying takes the form of sexual harassment, which is typical in bullymances. I personally am not bothered by this-- honestly, if you've read Hana Yori Dango, some of the stuff that happens in that book is way worse-- but it's something to think about if you have triggers. Personally, I liked the distinction about it being all about power; it made sense that the fae would brutalize each other like that to show animal dominance.
As big a part as the romance is when it comes to setting the stage, a lot of the book is also about the sisters struggling to develop and control their powers, while also trying to take in this whole other world they didn't even know about. At first it's disorienting trying to take in all of these names and descriptions, but that translates to the characters' bewilderment as well, and it's really well done. We learn about the world as the characters do and whether that's brilliant writing or a happy accident, I don't even care because I loved it and didn't want it to be over. These classrooms are way more dangerous than the ones in Harry Potter and the teachers are just as cruel as the students. There's also a sort of romance with one of the sisters and their hot vampire professor, Lance Orion. He's actually the love interest I liked the most, because even though he was an asshole, he was an asshole to everyone. This is a man who will crack someone's head against a desk for backtalking him. Although if I'm pressed, I'd say that my favorite of the boys was probably Caleb just because I'm a sucker for vamps.
I ended up really liking Darcy and Tory. I do agree with the criticisms that their POVs are pretty similar and it was easy to confuse them but they ARE twins so I guess it makes sense that they'd be alike?? I also liked how they simped for each other and always had each other's backs. The girl on girl hate was also pretty minimal for a bullymance. I liked how the girls were kind of disgusted when the guys slut-shamed other women and how some of the girls weren't treated as rivals but as friends. Nothing was perfect, but it felt more realistic and less a reliance on gross gender stereotypes, even though the word "alpha" was used in here about twenty times too many, and I began eye-rolling at the mention of a muscled chest (because of course, it happened every time something with a dick walked on stage).
I've developed a bit of a reputation on this site for being a picky snob and that's probably true, but my standards are actually pretty low. All I ask is to be entertained. This book more than served me up in that regard and I've already got book two on standby. I'm wildly jealous of the authors for thinking up this delicious, slutty hodgepodge of Vampire Academy, Harry Potter, and Cruel Prince, and now I guess I have to read thousands and thousands of pages of this self-indulgent fanfiction to find out how it ends.
#BYE
4 to 4.5 stars -
3.5 stars
Everyone in this series is a fucking asshole - and when I say asshole I mean it in every sense of the word:
➽ Sexual assault? Okay
➽ Drinking everyone's blood? Great
➽Cyber bullyingactually EVERY form of bullying? Sure, why not
➽ Getting a mere detention for almost killing someone? Fitting
➽ Teachers completely not giving a shit? Obviously
➽ TEACHERS joining in on the fun above? Totally acceptable
➽ Everyone being a horrible human -sorry fae**- being AND ACTING LIKE IT'S COMPLETELY NORMAL?? JUST DANDY
Let's also not forget some cringy teenage talk from the early 2010s. Words like bae should not be used in any form of literature, even this semi-trash.
But you know what? I still really enjoyed this book.
And as the laws of physics like to say The things Anna enjoys most are the things Anna can't properly fucking review.
But here are some random thoughts:
♊ If Harry Potter + Winx Club had explicit (maybe kinda awkward) sex = this would be their love child
♊ PLZZZ why does Seth's order remind me of this:
♊ Orion is the worst teacher ever. He deadass comes late to everything, assaults, insults, and bites his students while just overall hating everyone😭😭😭 I love this guy.
♊ This book is so addictive but the writing sometimes gives me a headache.
♊ The heirs are literally the worst but also.......😗they kinda cute though (except Max. Hate the mf)
♊ I know many people love Darcy and Orion more as a couple and my question is ¿porque?
I mean they're great but Tory and Darius take superiority on my chemistry scale.
♊ These love triangles are giving me life. I love the drama.
♊ Imagine how much time would've been saved if they all acknowledged the fact that the twins ARE NOT interested in the throne. They could band together because they literally have the same goals, like are they slow or what💀?
♊ Boy will I sound like a total dickhead but....Darcy's reason for dyeing her hair? LMAO.
I expected something way more poetic than some crap about emotional pain being less visible than bruised knees.
Especially after hearing Tory's story. The poor girl almost died and here Darcy is talking about her blue & black knees like her hair😭. Her emotional pain is very valid btw, but I don't know why she had to bring her knees into this.
♊ The drowning was not dramatic enough. SHE NEEDED TO DIE FOR AT LEAST 10 MINUTES SO DARIUS FEELS LIKE SHIT AND REGRETS HIS ENTIRE LIFE. But this bitch didn't even make him sweat😒
♊Orion shook his head, his face painted with disappointment. “I thought you of all the Heirs were better than your parents.”
I'm so glad I read the prequel before this because then I wouldn't be able to understand-
NO FEEL how fucking savage that was. I felt that shit in my toes.
♊ Anyways, I hope Darius suffers an eternity after that ending. And Orion just plays all these dumbasses and becomes the king himself🤡 -
3.5 Stars🔮🌟
I can see why this series is so addictive, mostly in a junk food wattpad way. I hadn't planned on reading the next book immediately after the prequel but I couldn't focus on any of the other books I was reading. I straight up inhaled a 500 pg book and it felt like half that cause it was delicious fluff 🧁
This series would make a great tv show, the setting is basically a NA new-age Hogwarts and the Vega twins are just... dope. Gen z and cool and so relatable. Honestly CW channel where you at this is so your vibe ⤴⤵͖ ⤴⤵͖ The magic system was a lot of fun and in terms of being clear, concise, and easy to understand,
JLA pls take some notes.
The things that I didn't like come down to personal preference. While I liked the idea of the four elements (air, earth, water, and fire) and having an heir represent each element, the concept brought us rather close to reverse harem vibes, which admittedly I try to avoid. They never crossed that line, but it was still there. I didn't like that Darius would let his friends manhandle Tory and that both twins were dealing w multiple love interests. On the other end of that spectrum, if I was into RH, I'd feel blue balled by the setup for it that the book doesn't follow through on, so either way you look at the romantic concept of the four heirs, I don't really think it's winning. The only heir that is relevant and compelling as of now is Darius, so I can definitely do without the other three shitstains.
Darius: perfect for tory, lots of potential, want him to lean into the misunderstood bad boy thing and out of the egotistical douchebag thing
Caleb: his energy is at an 8-9 and i need him to bring it down to a tolerable 2-3. his only personality traits are being spineless, obnoxious, and mounting tory
Max: never heard of him
Seth: wish i could say i'd never heard of him but unfortunately i have and he's a twerp like caleb
However, ⚡️the shining light⚡️
Orion: king of never missing, dunk after dunk after dunk"Your real parents swapped you with the twins born to that couple."
"That's not true. You're insane. Why would they do that?"
"My guess? You were in danger," he said with a shrug. "Or maybe you just annoyed them as much as you're annoying me right now and they decided to swap you for less irritating twins."
Orion turned to the board, writing on it with his digital pen.
YOU ARE NOT UNIQUE.
"Miss Vega if you're not standing up in the next three seconds, you're going to regret it," Orion barked.
"Which Vega?" Tory asked, barely concealing her jibing tone.
Orion's eyes snapped to her. "The one who has tried to individualise herself by dying the ends of her hair blue. It has failed by the way."
Safe to say that Orion can dunk on me any day of the week. I'm excited for more magic, more Darcy & Orion, more Tory & Darius, but I see a lot of frustration in my future @ pointless love triangles cough cough Caleb 😒 Let's hope at least Seth is out of picture in the Darcy/Orion ship.
PS. this is the third book i've read where the hero tries to drown the heroine and at this point i might create a bookshelf to start collecting all these precious gems -
2.5 stars
This is honestly a book I'm shocked has so many high ratings...yikes. The writing wasn't that great and there was just too much going on and not enough romance. Like, what is this world?? I'm so confused. I know it's a series, but there are different paranormal creatures but there are also elemental powers and royalty and evil animals and coercion and tarot cards and astrology and Schoo "houses" and...what?? I felt like too much was thrown in and not explored enough. The bully aspect also really didn't work with me. It was very tropey and cheesy and not exactly well written. Then, the girls are very naive when it comes to blindly believing and following the people who bully them...THEY LITERALLY HATE YOU SO WHY ARE YOU FOLLOWING AND TRUSTING THEM? It was annoying. They also blindly trusted someone anonymously messaging them and I was just so frustrated with their decision. Literally everyone hates you and is bullying you and you're going to trust a random anonymous person who is messaging you? SURE. Also, are they supposed to be sophomores in high school or college? I thought they were in college, but the way they acted had me questioning if they were really supposed to be 16...
This follows twins Darcy and Tory, and the story is told in their dual POV. It was SO HARD for me to differentiate the chapters between who was who. They were not written differently at all and I really struggled remembering whose chapter I was in. Then, neither one of them even have an inkling of a real romance until probably 80% in. For a romance series, I really need the romance to develop early on for me to have an investment into the series. I just didn't care by the time anything developed. And the ending wasn't that much of a cliffhanger like so many people were saying and I was just left not impressed. I don't see myself ever picking this series back up... -
4.5*
𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 <3
My anger has only slightly dialled down, simmering under my skin after finishing the book. There’s just so much. 𝘚𝘖 𝘔𝘜𝘊𝘏 I want to do to these guys *𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺*
First of all, I’m in love with the way these authors have gripped my heart in a fist and shaken me to the core. I just can’t wrap my head around all the shit the girls went through and just… wow. 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐔𝐏 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒?!
I didn’t expect to feel all this rage. Honestly, I didn’t expect much but I 𝘿𝙄𝘿 expect lots of tension and angst. 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘉𝘖𝘐 𝘋𝘐𝘋 𝘐 𝘎𝘌𝘛 𝘑𝘜𝘚𝘛 𝘛𝘏𝘈𝘛 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘕 𝘚𝘖𝘔𝘌．
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜! I love all of that catty drama, the powers, the world-building and most of all the 𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗔.
𝗗𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗬 𝗩𝗘𝗚𝗔 is my favourite twin so far. I love her so much! I love that she’s strong when she least expects it. I love that she might not be confrontational but she has standards and won’t take shit from any of the guys. 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭. She’s so easy to relate to and I find her personality so endearing.
I can’t help but love her more bc of *𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒎* a 𝘾𝙀𝙍𝙏𝘼𝙄𝙉 𝙎𝙊𝙈𝙀𝙊𝙉𝙀 idc Idc.
[𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐇, 𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐈𝐌 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔! ] 💘💕💗
I still love 𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗩𝗘𝗚𝗔 though! She’s such a feisty and full-of-life personality and her banter makes me start chuckling at the most inopportune moments. I love the way she’s not scared of conflict and the fact that she doesn’t bow before any of them. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐭, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐠𝐚𝐟. It’s elite entertainment for me though 😂
𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 ‘𝙄 𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨’ 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚’ 𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗡. THE MANN THAT HE IS-
Gahhh he is so HOTT I can’t keep up. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐲, 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤, 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐚 𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦. I’m always left panting for more. Just more… ANYTHING from him.
His lessons are 𝑺𝑶 𝑭𝑼𝑪𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑨𝑴𝑼𝑺𝑰𝑵𝑮 I crack up Every Single Time.
Something so deranged and dramatic happens in each lesson. You’ll always find me longing for his motivational sentences. They’re priceless.
𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙚-𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙨? *𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑚𝑦𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓*
I’ve been kinda spoiled on who ends up together with the twins but I wouldn’t say it spoiled anything for me because it just made every interaction they had, that much more exciting. It came to the point where I highlighted entire pages because I was so giddy about every exchange.
Talking about every interaction, 𝙒𝙃𝙔 𝙒𝘼𝙎 𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙀 𝙃𝘼𝙍𝘿𝙇𝙔 𝘼𝙉𝙔 𝙍𝙊𝙈𝘼𝙉𝘾𝙀!?
I was impatiently 𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 and 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 over every morsel of verbal sparring they had. 𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱’𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻���𝘄?!
And that one scene was hot ngl. But it wasn’t what I wanted!!
（𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵 ?？𝘖𝘧 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥. ）
And then 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 20% 𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅, 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅. My heart took a toll of brutal beatings every time the twins went through shit and I want to lash out at The Heirs for it.
I want to stand them in a line and punch their ugly (𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐡 𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐭) faces one after the other, in quick succession.
Then kick them behind the knees and listen to the crack of their bones as they hit the ground.
And then beat them even more while they’re down there.
Like I want to see them 𝐁 𝐄 𝐆 for forgiveness.
I want them to 𝙂𝙍𝙊𝙑𝙀𝙇 at Tory and Darcy’s feet.
Seth... 𝐒𝐄𝐓𝐇 𝐈𝐒 𝐆𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐘 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 *𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬*
The urge to aggressively shout and break things is at an all-time high rn.
Ugh, I need help. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒑𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒂𝒈.
Me, skipping off to the next book, knowing full well the havoc it’ll unleash on my emotions.
𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲:
Why was it so hard to picture twins in my head?! I found it so difficult but it’s all okay now though. It took some time and now I’m happy with the Darcy and Tory I have in my head. (𝘐𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘮𝘢𝘰 <3 ）
𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀: 🎧
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0Q0...
They’re going to be in the comments section!
The character limit for the review won’t let me add them here 😭😭
𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀:
They’re also going to be in the comments section!
𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝗯𝗲𝘀:
The vampire diaries - L.J. Smith
Harry Potter - j.k. Rowling (lol)
Divergent - Veronica Roth
Corrupt - Penelope Douglas
THIS REMINDED ME SO MUCH OF THE TV SHOW: Legacies. But imagine that on steroids!
———————————————————————
Me, stomping around my house, fumes coming out my nostrils, cursing The Heirs to hell and everything painful.
I’ll be back after a salty minute bc I need to process. No one talk to me. -
So I read this book....
and it wasn't that bad.
I am totally kidding. It was AWFUL. Jesus Christ, possibly one of the worst books I have ever read. But not THE worst book... (cries in flock and exodus)
Tory and Darcy are torn out of the human world and thrown into this gossip girl school for paranormal bully creatures because BAM, they have powers and are the real heirs to the throne of SOLARIA. Also they're twins.
No, this is not a Winx Club episode, and for the first 10 chapters I was fuming thinking this was a copy of one of my favorite cartoons of all times but they actually didn't go that far. Let's start with the fact that this book was sold to me as a: TEACHER-STUDENT BULLY ROMANCE.
There was bullying allright.
You guys know me, I am a sucker for bully romance and teacher-student tropes. I thought this was going to be super hot, I also adore urban fantasies and this had the perfect recipe. Until the main characters were coerced by their classmates to do the chicken dance in front of that said teacher.
The actual chicken dance. I wish I was joking.
HOW IN THE WORLD AM I SUPPOSED TO BE ATTRACTED TO THIS?
Bully Romances are supposed to be intelligent and demeaning in a hot way, not in a: "I wish I could jump off a building from second hand embarrassment way." I thought the teacher was going to insult her intelligence, not laugh about her flapping her arms like wings.
I am not going to lie, if people weren't waiting for me to write this review I probably would have DNFED right there, but I kept going.
They throw EVERYTHING your way. We have unicorns, dragons, vampires, sirens, werewolves, hydras, harry potter house points (which I learned to ignore)
you are going to have to learn to ignore a lot of things if you want to read this series.
For the first 60% of the book I was so bored and confused, that I decided to play a game. "Take a shot every time someone gets bit in the neck FOR NO DAMN REASON."
My family is officially concerned. I have an AA meeting next week.
The entire plot of this book feels like someone took all the stories you started coming up with after you got your first Ken Doll in third grade.
I HATE YOU BARBIE
NO I HATE YOU
I AM GOING TO BURN DOWN YOUR HOUSE
*throws both barbie and ken across the room*
There is ZERO sex, no spice, public humiliation without any emotional return and at certain point you start feeling STUPID for reading this.
Then you get to 65%. If you got this far, you are a war hero.
That's when they inject you with the same drug they inject Grey's Anatomy fans to make sure they watch all seasons.
The train wreck you cant stop watching. Zodiac academy actually gives you compelling characters, and I CAN'T BELIEVE I AM SAYING THIS: a world building that makes you feel like you're on crack but it makes sense because it is atmospheric. OH and hot bully dudes who will break your heart.
You spend enough time in the madhouse, you start talking to the walls too.
It's Alice in Wonderland all over again. Yes, I am Alice. I don't wanna go among mad people but I feel like I've been dosed heavily with LSD and there's not much I can do at this point.
SO I FUCKING GET IT.
I will be reading the second book and I hate all of you for it.
3 stars for entertainment.
PS: Please read this like a comedy, and think of every possible trigger warning in the book before you jump in.
-
1 star. DNF. Complete trash. Cringey forcibly immature MC who talks like this: ”I’m smiling like a hyena on crack”.
I’ll stick with HP fanfiction on Wattpad, I’ve read incredible works there by very talented people, even in their teens, who can write better than this.
7/19/2021
$.99 on Kindle US today 4/20/2021! -
Wow that was an enjoyable ride. Y'all were not lying when you said it's amazing.
It's fast paced, interesting..so damn interesting and full of DRAMA. It never got boring. The plot is intriguing and kept me hooked. I could not keep this down. The whole concept of Zodiac Academy is super interesting to me. (Though, I would like to be defensive and say am not into Zodiac and horoscope in reality😂). The writing could've been slightly better in my opinion.
Darcy and Tory are such great leads. I can't wait to see how their story unfolds later in the series. They clearly hold a lot of power and potential and I definitely want to see them unleash their full powers.
Don't get me started on the narcissistic Heirs. I really didn't like them at all..at least not in this book. Bully romance? No..It was just bullying. They're manipulative thugs. Though I sense redemption in Caleb? Or maybe not; will just have to wait and see.
I definitely liked Orion from the beginning 🥵 (I have issues).
Overall, pretty enjoyable. Can't wait to start with the next one😀 -
Yes, three and a half stars for the execution, but honestly this is addicting af.
-
disclaimer: I was basically half asleep while writing this and didn’t have the motivation to write more ignore the mistakes <3 +spoiler warning
[ 3.5 stars ]
“The most important thing I’d learned in life? You can’t trust people. And you especially can’t trust boys with wicked smiles and equally wicked intentions.”
I just wanted to say I'm in love.with lance orion
I SAID IT
Was this another level of fucked up?
absolutely.
I need to brutally murder and castrate every single heir 🥰🔪
moving on...
this wasn't a masterpiece in any sort of wayonly lancevery much trashy but... entertaining! the twins did some questionable things but I'll still defend them idgaf <3
the plot:
➣ rags to riches or in this case poverty to royalty (well almost...)
➣ the vega twins basically getting "bullied" (almost killed yes.) emotionally, sexually physically abused by the four “heirs” with an ego the size of Antarctica because they won't let them take the fae throne.
➣ CULTS?//?/?/?/?
➣ murder mystery?
yes, that's basically the entire plot
the characters:
➣ I LOVED THE TWINS. LOVE THEM. I honestly expected two whiny pick-me fmcs but they surprised me with their strong badass personalities (yay feminism!) and don't ask me to choose because I simply can't thank you <3
➣ Jacob wannabe, toothless, Edward wannabe, pinky pie: I wish you all a painful death <3 (DARIUS BETTER GROVEL OR ISTG-)
➣daddy lanceProfessor "I crack my student's head open" Orion: look. babe you don't have to feed off darcy anymore.I can be your personal juice box okay? no questions asked. crack my head open and call me a dumbass bitch please <3"Orion rested his hands flat on his desk and peeled his upper lip back. My heart took a freedive into my stomach as his canines extended into sharp points. He grinned darkly, then ran his tongue across them as they retracted once more."
oh, that sound? those are my ovaries exploding I'm so sorry don't mind me <3 darcylance are going to own me I KNOW IT“Do you want me and my sister dead?” I pinned him with my hardest, most unwavering stare. For Tory. For me. I had to hear his answer, even if it was a lie. His eyes softened, running over my face with the faintest of frowns. “No, Blue. I don't.”
I'm just going to leave this here.
bye.HES ALREADY SO SOFT FOR HER I AM SOBBNG
Tory and Darius are still nonexistent. I can't forgive him for what he did to tory. I do think deserves a redemption arc after reading the prequel but for now, I still need to kill them (death sentence your honour)
➣ the world-building, the drama, was just amazing. fantasy usually puts me in slumps but this had me hooked from the first sentence and I'm so surprised this I finished this in a day
so just read this ( don't if you're easily triggered because I was but chose to ignore that) if you want to escape reality, fall head over heels in love (I’m so in love it hurts help) with a hot silver fox (???) vampire, feel so much rage that will make you want to commit murder-
going to resume reading book 2 now thank you for reading this chaotic mess I call a review <3
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I’m either going to love or hate this series there’s no in between -
Hi. My name is Cecelia, and I am a Zodiac Academy addict.
What a roller coaster of epic proportions and un•put•down•able series! It is impossible not to get sucked in and be completely consumed. This is my emotional tornado of choice, the BEST ride, and a family I love coming home to.
If you are wanting to give up, I urge you to keep reading. Get through the second book before you toss it. The Awakening has a lot of bullying — that only makes the girls stronger. Stick with it and you will see how the relationships evolve.
These writers have done an incredible job with world-building, belly laughs, romances you root for, fierce friendships, and knee-dropping gut punches!
How much is rent in Solaria these days? Might have to postpone my acceptance into Hogwarts.❝
He chuckled darkly and the sound made my toes curl…
He was dangerous in all the right ways…
…why am I even turned on by Lord Voldemort’s hotter, younger cousin?
Whatever you think you know, you will soon learn there is much more that you don't.
But until that day, you're mine, Blue. -
No, this wasn't for me.
Notes:
🅐 This wasn't strictly a bully romance, it was more like a difficult romance that was super hard to read and just a ton of bullying.
🅑 The romances were super confused. Two MCs both with love triangles that somehow merged a little and created a love hexagon? No thanks.
🅒 The two main characters were confusing, they were twins and super alike, so it was like reading the same character with the same thinking just different name.
🅓 Didn't actually like any of the characters, most apparently were just shallow mean people, no depth to their character at all. Not realistic.
🅔 The actual 'Zodiac Academy' had very little to do with the story, apart from giving you some horoscope predictions, I couldn't see the whole 'zodiac' inside this book. Shame.
I can understand why some people might like this 'bully romance', but in my opinion I have read way better bully romances that are actually romances, not just bullying. I can see why people might enjoy this but it wasn't for me.
→ 1.5 stars -
This was a fun introduction to what will hopefully be a really great and long series!
✅ I REALLY ENJOYED DARCY AND TORY as main characters. Even though they were twins, they each still had a distinct personality and a lot of spunk (especially Tory!)
🆗 THIS WAS MY FIRST BULLY NOVEL and I was nervous to read it because a bully romance really didn't seem like something I would like. I can't say it was my favorite, but I'm just happy that I didn't end up hating it. I can definitely see how this has the potential for some really amazing character arcs though!
✅ THE ZODIAC SIGNS signs were fun and interesting. I am definitely not a horoscope person, but I thought the horoscopes Darcy and Tory got every morning were clever and it was funny how Tory just completely disregarded them each time
✅ LOTS OF MYSTERY around the fae world so far and I'm excited to find out more in the sequels. The school felt like a mixture of Harry Potter and Avatar: The Last Airbender, both of which I'm always here for 😍
🆗 THE ROMANCE... I'm not quite sure how I feel about the romance yet, especially with the whole bully thing. I've read some spoilers so I have a pretty good idea of the direction the romance will take and I'm excited to see how it progresses in the sequels!
Overall, I enjoyed this book and will try to get to the sequels as soon as I can! I am soooo ready to start seeing Darcy and Tory stick up for themselves and turn into badasses. There are seven books total so I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with what I've gotten myself into lol -
What is wrong with me??? I should hate this bully tale!!! The list of TW is probably longer than the book itself. I’m so ashamed of myself for enjoying it! (Just kidding 😈)
Twin sisters Darcy and Tory were orphaned as babies and grew up in foster care. Since turning 18 they’ve been struggling to make ends meet. Until one day a handsome and a rather rude stranger appears at their shabby doorstep to give them their Harry Potter moment; they are actually not human. They are Fae, potentially powerful and rich, currently almost late for their first day at the magic academy.
Now that academy… Remember the worst bully from your school? Now imagine he is a hundred times worse. And there’s four of them, plus their army of minions, and they all are out to get you. If you’re lucky the school staff indulges them, but if you’re less lucky, your teacher is also a bully. Basically our Zodiac Academy offers a large variety of physical and emotional abuse forms available to all students. And everyone involved seems to be pretty ok with that. Cozy, right?
You are probably wondering WTF. And that’s an excellent question! Cause I still don’t fully comprehend how come did I enjoy this book so much that I’m about to start reading the next one.
Maybe it’s the incredible fast pacing that keeps your attention all the time? I was constantly wondering what was coming next, cause NOTHING in this book is predictable.
Maybe it’s the intricate worldbuilding which is so wonderful I’m still picking up my jaw from the floor? Srsly, if they weren’t all so evil I’d just move in there.
Or maybe it’s these two badass sisters who always have each other’s back and fearlessly (ok sometimes with a healthy dose of fear) stand up to the bullies?
No idea folks, but thanks for making me read this, the hype is totally justified! -
this is why im terrified of men
-
Okay so I have a lot of thoughts. But let me start by saying these books are definitely for pure enjoyment. I wouldn’t recommend this if you’re look for amazing writing, great character development, etc. I didn’t expect much reading this book and I didn’t get much BUT I would be liar if said it wasn’t entertaining. I would also be a liar if I said there isn’t a part of me that wants to read the rest of the series (spoiler alert: I probably will). Nevertheless, this first book is a little on the rough side but I see why people enjoy them (to a certain degree). 2.5 Stars
First, this is a bully romance. That being said, everyone should go in expecting the main characters/potential love interest to not be great nor likeable; however, this book takes it a step further which is probably going to put a lot of people off. The bullying is relentless and downright cruel and even I thought there was a chance for redemption until I got to the end and became completely disgusted. It’s hard to see them as being any sort of love interests when they are all so damn cruel. I wasn’t invested when Darcy and Tory decided to give these assholes a chance because in my mind there is no way I would be attracted to anyone that was so cruel. Was it like watching a train wreck? Absolutely. Could I look away? Absolutely not. And that’s what makes this series so captivating. It’s downright horrible and wrong, yet there’s something about it that makes it addicting.
Speaking of Darcy and Tory….they aren’t really developed. In fact, in a lot of parts of the story it’s difficult to tell the difference between the two characters. Their voices are echoes of each other without distinctive qualities that make them stand on their own. They’re also extremely naive. If someone treats you like garbage, then your best bet is to probably not trust them going forward no matter how much they try to convince you otherwise. Especially when this people are currently engaging in a power struggle for their right to maintain their claim to the throne. For two girls who had been through so much in the foster care system who grew up learning to trust no one but each other, I was shocked by the sheer dumb moves they made during the course of this book. It was like they forgot everything they had been through and trust me when I say it comes full circle in the end.
In addition, there were some issues that I had with some of the magical abilities and representation of characters. The coercion “spell” rubbed me the wrong way a little bit because it doesn’t respect the autonomy that characters should have over their bodies and that can definitely read as assault. There isn’t any diversity in this so don’t go in looking for any. One character is coded as Latinx but at the same time he felt like a caricature.
So, if I had so many issues with this book why would I continue? THE DRAMA. This book doesn’t have great writing, but the drama is addictive. I was literally aching to figure out what happens next and even though it’s poorly written the world was intriguing. I was invested in learning more about the school and how this community of Fae functioned. Plus, there is a subplot of some sinister darkness coming into play and I feel like it’s going to play a big role in the rest of the series. Is the character development great? No. Is the writing great? No no no. But this book is like sitting down with a bag of chocolate covered pretzels saying you’ll just have a few and then you end up eating the whole bag. Is that good for you in the long run? No, but it was a hell of fun ride when you ate each and every pretzel.
Overall, I think that you’ll find varied feelings about this book. People are going to enjoy for what it is while others are going to see it as having too many problems. I personally fall somewhere in the middle. I don’t know if this is something I would recommend to everyone either. -
I mean the writing is *not* it but the plot is irresistible!! Granted, super cheesy- but it gives me everything I want. It reads like fanfic and I’m not going to complain
-
✅ Characters
✅ Pace
✅ Addictive quality
✅ World-building
✅ Magic / Faes
✅🆗 Plot
🆗 Mean girl drama
❗️❗️Trigger warnings: bullying, almost drowning
Ok, this was not the best book I’ve read this year plot-wise, but it has this strangely addictive quality and I can’t help but want to know what will happen next…Tears never did anyone any favours, but sometimes they just needed to fall.
Tory and Darcy are trying to survive in Chicago with no job and no money. That is until the mysterious professor Orion tracks them down and brings them to his realm because they are none other than the lost heirs to the throne of Solaria. Tory and Darcy want nothing to do with the throne and ruling Solaria, they only want their inheritance, but before they can have it, they need to go to the Zodiac Academy to learn to control their powers. They also need to survive the four celestial Heirs who were supposed to rule the country until the twins were back and who are currently the kings of the Zodiac Academy.
The world-building is a strength of this book. The complexity of this parallel world, with all the species, the different magic, and the influence of the stars and zodiac signs, was well thought out and developed, and I loved it. I am not a believer in horoscopes, but I liked how it was integrated into the student’s everyday life, and how it had a real impact on their powers, their personalities, and even whom they got along with.“Where I’m from I found out the hard way that this life will throw all kinds of crap at you, but the one thing you don’t have to accept is other people’s bullshit.”
Tory is the feisty twin who’s always standing up for herself and can’t back down from a fight. She and Darcy are very different, but I loved them both. Her strengths are so different from Darcy’s, but they complete each other and they rely on each other so much, it was heartwarming to see their sisterly love, and how they were always there for each other.“My deepest fear is being cast aside, my heart crushed by trusting blindly again. So I’ll never let anyone in again.”
Darcy is calmer and quieter, but she is still very interesting and I loved her quiet strength. She has moments when she is bold and can be quite a badass when she is pushed. I was pleasantly surprised to see that she could defend herself and even had a “mean” side to her when she was being bullied because I was a little afraid at first that she would be a pushover. I relate to her more than to Tory, but I still love them both.The most important thing I’d learned in life? You can’t trust people. And you especially can’t trust boys with wicked smiles and equally wicked intentions.
I will not talk about the Heirs separately as they are all jerks for now. I imagine that in my reviews of the next books I might have different paragraphs for each one of them as their personalities will become more defined, but so far, they are all pretty much the same. I have to say though, that there is potential here for great redemption arcs and hate-to-love, and I am excited to see how things will evolve between the Heirs and the twins. I will say though that Caleb intrigued me, and Darius seems to have a nicer side hidden somewhere… I think his scheming with Orion might not be as bad as we think it is… At least not that bad for the twins, because they were still talking about killing people. Seth is the easygoing one, but because of that I trust him even less than the others, he pretends to be nice and sweet, only to stab you in the back, that,s even worse than being an outright jerk like Max.And why am I even turned on by Lord Voldemort’s hotter, younger cousin?
I met Orion in the Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac series, and I loved what little I saw of him, but I don’t recognize him in Zodiac Academy. I am really wondering what happened to him. We saw a change in attitude at the end of Ruthless Boys, and whatever happened probably explained why he went from a sports superstar to a bitter and very unprofessional teacher. As a teacher myself, I was shocked to see what he got away with, but at the same time I wanted to applaud him at times because I’ll be honest, there are times when I wish I was allowed to whack my students’ heads on a wall too. 😅 While I find him intriguing, and I know he’s more complex than just an angry teacher, I am not 100% sure that I like him for now, but knowing the HUGE hype surrounding him, I imagine that I will fall in love with him and his sexy ass soon too.“Don’t worry, Marguerite,” I said soothingly. “It’s not your fault that he needs them to get his motor going. I’m sure your hairy bush does it for him once you start bouncing about on his lap.”
One thing that I did not really enjoy was the jealous girlfriend drama. I don’t mind the bullying, I was expecting it, and I know it can build interesting relationships between the Heirs and the twins, but the whole jealous mean girl squad with their bitching, spreading rumors, and being stupid jealous teenagers annoyed me so much. It’s the main reason I stay away from academy/school settings, and hopefully, it will take the backseat in the next books, because I’ve been through high school and all the mean girl crap, I’m too old to relive it even if it��s through a book. It feels too juvenile for me to enjoy or relate with. At least the Heirs have a “valid” reason to hate the twins, the other girls are just being insecure and stereotypical dumb bimbos who think they’re better than everyone else, and that their boyfriend is perfect and they are meant to spend their life together when it’s clear as day that their boyfriend doesn’t give a shit about them. Can you be more cliché? I don’t think so.“Remember the A.S.S love you!” she cried and several people who heard her started laughing. Really? That was the name she went with? The ass club?
“Asses,” I breathed in horror. “They’re a group of asses and they don’t seem to realize it.”
So while I found the plot to be a little weak, and the mean girl drama annoyed me, I am dying to know what will happen next, so I will be reading the second book for sure. There is also a side of ridiculous that I enjoy so much! The teachers all have weird names linked to what they teach, and the A.S.S. club is so intense! The authors clearly know that it’s over the top at times, but they just roll with it, and it’s honestly highly entertaining.
Origins of an Academy Bully ⭐⭐⭐
Fanart by Atouchofmagicdesigns
Follow me on Instagram 🙂 -
Darius. Max. Seth. Caleb.
I will chop off your fucking dicks and feed them to my goldfish. God, what a bunch of assholes.
*rage buys the second book*
------------------------------------
It's time to find out if this is going to be another obsession or if I end up wanting to strangle every single person in this book 🙈
I have the indistinct feeling that I will need a lot of patience for these boys. -
What was this
Here are my non-spoiler and spoiler thoughts :
https://youtu.be/xm7Dxl_fGmw -
Darcy/Tory - idk, i can't keep them apart, neither do i want to learn to - constantly going "oh yeah, he tried to kill me but he's just so hot you know?" has the same energy as the Dahmer thirst traps on tiktok
you all have fun with your bully "romances" and sex addicts' fever dreams, but i'm too old for this
i honestly don't know how you do it. this not only gave me a headache but i will also blame it for the sprained ankle and food poisoning i "acquired" in the time i tried to read this.
dnf @33%. thank god
Ridds agreed or i might have had to threaten her -
the writing in this book completely threw me off, i just couldn’t stand it.
-
4.5/5
No one is more surprised than me to be really enjoying this series so far (writing this review before I finish book two). Honestly it’s just such a fun series? I hate to be critical with novels all the time because it honestly takes the fun out of it. And this series is, in my subjective opinion, good both with a critical perspective and in a casual perspective.
I think most people know what this book is about, but the jist of it is that the Vega twins, Darcy and Tory, discover they are the long lost royal princess in a whole new world. They have to learn to harness their powers at Zodiac Academy in order to claim the throne (but they don’t want to, yet 👀). But the issue is the Heirs, four boys who should have inherited power to rule over Solaria. All the characters are written very well, and I’ll get into them more later!
The world building is actually very well done. Everything with how magic and Order forms are decided based on your astrology information and bloodlines was very cool. How everything works was simple to follow but not overly simple where it was boring.
Darcy is one of the twins. She’s so cool. She’s less outspoken and first compared to her sister, but she’s still a very compelling character. She can be a badass in a more quiet way and be bold at times, and the combination is really not represented in fantasy much- a heroine is their very very bold or very timid. Darcy’s outlook on things was very interesting and she overall was very relatable to me!
Tory is definitely more fiery and ready to insult, which I also adore. I think that her strengths are much different than Darcy’s , but they both are very well written. I can’t decide which one I like more honestly. I also have to love how well their sisterly bond is written, and it’s so refreshing to have good sibling relationships in books. They always put each other first and I adore it.
Now, to the Heirs. Sigh.
Hands down, Caleb was my favourite. Of course, I don’t 100% like any of them because they’re assholes and terrible people in my opinion, but you can still admire their good and attractive qualities, I think. Caleb was honestly pretty funny and hot. He was definitely the most intriguing heir to me, and I think he has lots of depth we can see soon.
Darius was my second favourite heir. I didn’t like him that much overall but he was enjoyable at some parts of the book. But overall I think he needs a major redemption arc if he ever can be someone I genuinely like. He can be sweet at times but the stuff he does outweighs any good he has or could do, in my opinion.
Seth I did not like. He was so so weird. I just thought that he was the oddest character and honestly really mean as well. I couldn’t connect to him at all and even after seeing some parts to him that could make us sympathize with him, I flat out couldn’t.
Max was so useless. I actually forgot he was there half the time. This boy was barely in this book honestly. I have zero opinion on him besides I don’t like him, but I know next to nothing about him anyways.
Oh, and last we have Orion . I didn’t really like him. He was okay but he was a terrible teacher and I don’t understand the hype surrounding him. He’s just not for me, I guess.
The plot was slow as this doesn’t really take place over a long amount of time, it is pretty day by day. I enjoyed it. The plot was easy to follow and the seeds were planted for conflicts that will , I assume, be expanded on in the future. Most of it was an introduction which I was fine with.
Lastly, the romance. There isn’t much. Darcy x Orion I’m uncomfortable with, being a teacher and student, even if they are both adults. I don’t see any chemistry between them either. On the other hand, Tory x Darius already has me extremely interested. I can feel the connections and chemistry between them and it‘s definitely intriguing to me.
Overall I really liked this book and am excited to continue the series :)
The Awakening - 4.5
Ruthless Fae - 4
The Reckoning - 5
Shadow Princess - 5
Cursed Fates - 5
Fated Throne - 5
Heartless Sky - 4.5
Untitled #8 - TBR -
“Do you want me and my sister dead?” His eyes softened, running over my face with the faintest of frowns. “No, Blue. I don’t.”
I really really liked this book! It’s so original and interesting. There’s a lot of drama going on, it’s fast paced, definitely super enjoyable! And I LOVE THE TWINS. Darcy is the cutest and Tory is an absolute badass. 🖤
This book starts out with a warning: “Note to all students: Vampire bites, loss of limbs or getting lost in the wailing wood will not count as a valid excuse for being late to class..”
I freaking love that.. How are you not already hooked?
My favorite part is probably Orion.🥵
This man is so hot, I can’t. I love the whole grumpy thing, and that scene outside the dance when he was almost biting Darcy 🫣. Screaming.
We probably shouldn’t be ok with the whole professor/student dynamic, but I'm so invested in themmm.
As you are probably well aware when considering reading this, it is a bully romance. Although without really any romance so far. The heirs are just bullies and I don’t know how to feel about them yet.
We have Darius; this man has issues. I’ve read book 0,5 so I get why he’s so screwed up. But still, he is. I do feel like Darius and Tory have huge chemistry, even though they haven’t really been romantic.
Seth: I really started to like him, well, THAT’S RUINED. He’s the worst and we should push him off a cliff.
Caleb is weird af. I was starting to warm up to him, he was a little less mean, which is apparently where my standards are at. But I don’t know now. The ending changed everything.
Max exists. That’s all.
The rest of the school are all dicks and everyone needs therapy. -
okay so when i first read this i just thought it was OKAYish but now reading this i really like it. i think i read it way before it’s time. i’m keeping this at a 3 stars because although it was good, i was really fucking bored. it didn’t need to be 400 pages but i digress. i’ve recently gotten into astrology and tarot cards so now that i know some stuff this book really hits for me. i also think the first time i read this book i went in for the romance and because it wasn’t much i was bored.
now that i know it doesn’t have much romance i could focus much more on the world and i love it. it is a lot going on but i like that? it’s like not your typically paranormal book and i like that there’s more depth to it. i also like how they have things like siren’s, vampire’s and werewolves. those are my favorite kind of paranormal creatures so that was something i enjoyed my first read.
when i first read this book i couldn’t understand why they’re bullying the girls because clearly they’re powerful and special but upon my reread i realized it’s because they’re intimidated and because they’ve ruled for so long and these two random “mortal girls” come out of nowhere to steal their throne.
side note this book is like a carbon copy of harry potter just more updated and tweaked about. i don’t really care that it was like harry potter, it’s fine i guess but damn the similarities were getting crazier the more i read.
lastly, i DONT like teacher student relationships but y’all.. this book got meeee.
