Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - The Awakening

A fae 'mirror world' that has the Spanish language and Facebook but no knowledge of what consent is or like... how to be decent to each other.
-5 stars - I don't understand how a bully romance is compelling
+1.5 stars - I want to be a pegasus shifter
-1 star - peagsus and unicorns are not the same thing
+2 stars - the siren magic is cool
+.5 star - the prank where Darcy jumped off the stair was actually funny

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samellecooke's review against another edition

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4.5

I was really nervous to start this series, for a few reasons. First, it's not a short journey and if I was gonna do it, I wanted to do it right...so we're looking at embarking on a 20 book journey. Daunting.

Second, it's a bully romance. I've only read one other and while I ended up getting into it and liking it, it was definitely rough going. This held true for Zodiac Academy. The relationships are really complicated and dark. There is very little consensual anything happening in this book. If you can set that aside...then you'll probably be ok.

I really like Zodiac Academy as a school. The magic system is great so far. We've only dipped our toe into the pool in this first book. I was hoping to find out the twins Order, but should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

Everyone is keeping secrets and I have no idea who the real villain is or what the real problem is, but I'm excited to find out.

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jessi920's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

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

2.0

This is not supposed to be YA, but it feels very YA. There are numerous amounts of noncon moments, which I don't see noted in a lot of reviews. It's ok that professor Orion does things to Tory and Darcy without their consent, because he's hot. What?!? Tory and Darcy also keep magically forgetting that the heirs are trash... because they are also hot.

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mzmoon829's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I think I am too old for this book. It feels very YA. None of the decisions anyone made in this story made any sense. Not sure if I'll continue the series but the concept of the book is so great, execution was lacking. I don't really even find myself rooting for the main characters half the time.

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