Zodiac Academy: The Awakening Paperback – September 8, 2021

This story had me on the edge of my seat and left me dying for more! The plot twists, the relationships, the CHARACTERS!!! I loved every bit of it. Can’t wait to find out what happens next.

This is a review of books 1-4 in this series, not just the first book. I liked book 1 but I love the next 3 so stick with it even if you are on the fence with the first book. Very addicting. Spoilers ahead:What I like:The twins, Darcy and Tory, are very different characters so you do get a unique perspective with each chapter. They are not clones of one another at all. The Heirs all have distinct voices too, as well as teachers and friends. The characters are very well developed in this series and if you put the book down and come back later in the middle of a chapter, it's easy to tell whose POV it is.Darcy and Tory are not instantly good at everything and nothing comes easy to them. They have to fight against a lot of adversity and also learn magic and explore their potential capabilities without being miraculously fantastic at everything, unlike many other book characters in other stories. The struggle is real, and fantastic to read about.The bullies are actual bullies. Super nasty. No false bullying, this is the real deal and you really feel for the girls and HATE the guys at certain points.The world building is great, and it is a dog eat dog world that isn't going to change to suit the needs of the main characters. They have to change perspective to navigate their surroundings as they are.Darcy and Orion. Hot hot hot!What I don't like:Darcy and Tory aren't very motivated to learn beyond what is being introduced to them by teachers despite being tormented every single day. If I was being harassed by more powerful beings but knew I was intrinsically more powerful, I would be spending every waking moment figuring out how to best them. Instead they are learning what first years learn and that's it. I wish they showed more initiative to practice and learn skills so they aren't so easy to bully.The hot and cold with Darius, Seth, Max, and Caleb can be tiring. One day they are besties with the girls and other days they are so cruel. It's not as consistent as it should be one way or another. This goes beyond their well laid plans to con the girls. That I understand with the hot/cold thing because they are planning horrible things that demand gaining a level of trust. But beyond that, they have days where they are friendly and days where they are absolute enemies so it's a little odd.Lack of critical thinking skills and cleverness. There are solutions to the issues between the Heirs and the Royals than just doing what the Heir parents want them to do. The Heirs don't even want to do half of what they do, but they can't seem to think their way out of the box. Orion is the only one who seems to troubleshoot in any way about how they could all make their situation work to everyone's advantage. Along these same lines, the Heirs do know that Darcy and Tory are going to be very powerful beings to reckon with, but they alienate them over and over again. Poking the bear so to speak doesn't seem like the best strategy when you know that your power will pale in comparison in the years to come. How do they think they will actually hold onto their seats as heirs when they will be outclassed in a short amount of time? Teamwork is the obvious best option. If they couldn't pull teamwork off, a long deception would be a better strategy than the inconsistent bullying. I have the feeling that the characters will get there eventually, but it is taking a long time for them to puzzle this all out.I don't want to give too much away but I highly recommend starting this series. I have lost sleep because I can't put down the books and I am so glad I gave it a chance. It has some issues, but you just have to roll with it and enjoy the story. All the drama! Definitely superbly entertaining.

While the main plot was really interesting and I will keep reading the series, there are several things that were bothersome and made this book drag for me.First of all I really did not like all the sexual implications between the two main female characters and the four main male characters, especially when most of the interactions were more like sexual harrassment. I found it off-putting that the girls seemed to like the abusive tendencies of the male characters all throughout the book. A hint of tension here and there is good, but it was constant and made the story redundant and unpleasant to read manytimes.I also found some of the writing shallow and downright cheesy, depending on the character. The supporting characters said so many cliche, cringey lines that further made the story less powerful.I really like the concept of the main characters finding themselves and their inner strength through all the obstacle thrown their way, but I was put off by how sexualized everything was, especially since a lot of that tension was boys constantly trying to dominate the girls and them liking the sexual harassment. The book seemed to focus more on that than the building of the girls’ powers and abilities.I hope the next book empowers the twins, as the end of this first book finally got to a point where they want to rise to the challenge of finding their inner strength and put an end to the bullying and domineering from the heirs. I want to see the girls empowered!

I loved this! I absolutely ate this book up. I loved the world building and I thought the magic system was really interesting. I enjoyed the magic school setting and following the Vega twins as they navigated this new to them world of magic and secrets.There was never a dull moment in this book. Something was always going on to keep my attention. I’m really excited to see how Tory and Darcy’s characters grow as the series progresses and they learn more about Solaria.Read this if you like:♈️ Enemies to lovers♉️ Found Family♊️ Twin bond♋️ Elemental powers♌️ Magic School♍️ Dual POVI can’t wait to continue this series!

I got this book because I love the fantasy genre and this series in the dark academia subgenre is really popular on the internet...I see great reviews everywhere. And, full disclosure, this is my first dark academia read. But, I'll admit I really struggled with this book. It's an easy read and it goes fast...I finished it in no time flat. But I thought the intro into the story went too fast and then I literally loathed every character in it. The world is so nasty and rough...something of a Harry Potter in college where even the professors are mean and weird. I do appreciate the world the authors have created...not an easy task. The various shift forms, spells, and empty throne storyline is very good. WHICH IS WHY even though I struggled with this book, I went and bought the next one. I just need to see where the story goes which, I guess, is score one for the authors. If you've never read dark academia before, I'm going to say this is probably a good place to start.

This book is so well written it created an entirely unique experience that swept over my imagination and illuminated my consciousness with incredible description. It was as if I was there in the academy feeling, seeing and hearing the story as if I played as a character there. I would recommend this book to anyone who has any kind of connection with fantasy and adventure.