The Awakening (Zodiac Academy #1) by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti Book Review
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Title- The Awakening (Zodiac Academy #1)
Author- Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti
Publisher- Dark Ink Publishing
My Rating- ★★★★★
Goodreads Rating- ★★★★3.96
Fantasy | New Adult | Dark fantasy Romance | Dark Academia | Urban Fantasy | Magic | Bully Romance
The Amazon.com and Wall Street Journal #1 bestselling dark fantasy romance series from authors Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti
CONTENTS
Blurb
MY REVIEW
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Blurb
You have been selected to attend Zodiac Academy, where your star sign defines your destiny.
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 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.”
My Review
No wonder these books are so popular! This story is super addictive and has so many fantasy tropes I love.
Things that tick the boxes for me:
Mysterious magic school
Vampires
Fierce female protagonists
Lots and lots of magic
All the paranormal beings- shifters, werewolves, dragons, pegasus, + so many more
Lots of mysteries
Secret fae world
Rags to riches with a twist
Great sexual tension
Arrogant heirs (hot but twisted)
Morally grey vampire Professor
Long lost heirs/ secret princesses
Faebook (instead of facebook- so silly, but I love it)
Zodiac Academy has been described as Adult Harry Potter or Hogwarts if it was run by Voldemort, and this is what grabbed my attention in the first place and hooked me in. I love the world, the school, and the insane dynamics between all the characters. It is dark and brutal, but also whimsical and magical at the same time.
But it is very much a bully romance, so if you don’t like seeing protagonists go through hell then this might not be for you. It’s kind of like how the sisters are treated in the Cruel Prince, but worse, so if you weren’t into that, this might not be your thing.
World Building
The world building is amazing. There are so many different things going on that it’s hard to keep up with, but this is something I really like because it feels like there is a lot of depth to the world and lots of things to learn throughout the series.
Zodiac- Fae are linked to their zodiac signs.
Elements-Each student has control of one or more elements (air, water, fire, earth)
Order-Each student is born into an order which can be another form and determines how they replenish their magic. A few include: vampires, dragon shifters, sirens, werewolves, pegasus shifters, harpies, and there are many more.
Magic Source- Each order replenishes their magic via a different source. Eg Vampire=blood, sirens=emotions, dragons=gold etc.
Magic- each person has different levels of power for their own element. It’s a society where power trumps everything else and the most powerful always take what they want.
Characters
Darcy and Tory- I loved the two main characters. They do well to put up with all the shit that’s thrown at them. They were both very different and were fun to follow, though I did get confused with the POV at times and had to go back and check whose chapter it was (which is annoying to do on an eBook).
The Heirs- I didn’t like any of them, but why would you? They were all complete arseholes and bullies. They all make for great villains and I’m looking forward to seeing how they develop throughout the series. The tension between them and the twins is just awesome. Love it!
Professor Orion- He was my favourite character. A bit of a psychopath at times and very inappropriate for a teacher, but he is wonderful. A morally grey professor who is a vampire that doesn’t seem to know boundaries makes for a great character. He reminded me of professor Snape at times, but then other times he just seemed silly. I look forward to seeing more of him in this series.
Plot
Darcy and Tory are dropped into a power crazed fae world in a mysterious magic school they know nothing about. Every day is a battle against the four heirs who see the girls as a threat to their throne. Four heirs that are not only powerful, but also manipulative, devious, and hard to resist.
Mysteries keep popping up and danger awaits around every corner…
Summary
So good I’m going to go read the rest of the series now.
Harry Potter x The Cruel Prince x The Hunger Games + dark romance
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“He was dangerous in all the right ways and I knew without doubt that the fire in his eyes would burn me up if I strayed too close.”
About the Authors
Caroline Peckham
I'm a #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Zodiac Academy series. I write all things dark romance, from fantasy to contemporary, high school bully to mafia, there's bound to be a book for you!
Me and my sister Susanne Valenti now write books together and we've built the most amazing, fun, crazy reader group on Facebook which we would LOVE you to join. Be the first to get teasers of upcoming books, plus interact with us daily, asks us questions, make friends with other book junkies and find your reader home.
Follow Caroline on social media
Susanne Valenti
I'm Susanne Valenti and I co-write books with my sister Caroline Peckham. We love dark romance and characters who will break your heart, stomp on it and laugh over the pieces before putting them all back together in the end.
Follow Caroline on social media
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