Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - The Awakening

Although I really enjoyed Tory and Darcy and I found the world building really interesting, the amount of non-consensual acts in this book almost made me DNF. About 3/4 of the way through, the girls just resign themselves to the abuse. The sexual encounters feel tense and forced, especially after the excessive and constant bullying the girls face.

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haley_j_casey's review against another edition

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Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

0.25

I truly believe this is the worst book I've ever read, from the writing itself to the content.

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arianna_bauer's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense

1.5

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mandysknight's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

I read this so you don't have to.

Honestly, I don't understand how this one has such a big following - or so many books in the series. I can guarantee that I won't be continuing. Which is a shame, because I THINK there might be a decent story here (somewhere deep down), but I can't get around the writing and writing style, firstly.

But also the:

- Bullying. Not only is it super not fun in general, but my GOD was it overused and BORING. Like 417 pages of bullying is not it.

- Lack of consent. Look, I get it. The Vega twins are annoying (sorry not sorry), but this entire school is putting them through it, doing things to their bodies and using them, and there is blatant disregard for the word "no". Consent is sexy.

- The stereotypical alpha male combined with the bitchy female. The men in this book USE and ABUSE and TAKE and BULLY and it's disgusting. And the women? Standing by as passive bystanders, perpetuating the idea of being good for nothing more than a bitch fight, gossip, and pettiness.

You know, I kept reading the book because I thought there must be SOME redemption somewhere in here. But there isn't. It's an entire book of beating two women (let's be real, two 18 year olds) down who have already had a really shitty life. They're thrust into a completely unfamiliar world, and no one gives them any kind of grace, and anyone offering any help or explanation comes with a price.

If this was it for you, good, I'm happy for you.
But this was not it for me. This might be one of the most disliked books I've ever read in my life.

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arkiwi88's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

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halladayb's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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brittelyza's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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elizzabethanne's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny fast-paced

Loveable characters? No

2.5

Was this good? No. Am I going to read the next book… *sigh* yes. Anyway, I don’t recommend if you have any experience with sexual harassment/assault or bullying because I feel like it could be very triggering and definitely made me feel super uncomfortable at times. On the other hand, if you want a silly goofy time romantasy that’s addictive and can look past the walking red flags all the men display in this book…yeah this is the one for you. I have definitely found my guilty pleasure series of the year 🤦🏻‍♀️

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