Reviews

The Awakening by Susanne Valenti, Caroline Peckham

Only show reviews with written explanations

linngoss's review against another edition

3.0

Objectively is this a good book? No.

Will I still read the sequel? Absolutely.

I want to start off by saying, as can be deduced by the 3 stars, Zodiac Academy: The Awaking, is not perfect. In fact there were number of issues that usually are dealbreakers for me in this book. My 4 main concerns being:

1.) Lack of goals achieved (or even mentioned) for the protagonists
2.) Little to no character development
3.)The story seemed to repeat itself (the Vegas get cornered by the Heirs while going to class more times than I can count with there being no other real storylines)
4.) I’m not sure how to say this one but, especially, I had a hard time believing that the characters were over 18 years old, having to constantly remind myself that I wasn’t reading a YA novel about high school…. (Hopefully this makes sense

caitlin01's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

what illegal substances were in those digital pages? because i am frothing at the mouth for my next hit.
surprised? yeah, me too.

2.5/5 stars.

i understand that this is the literary equivalent of when i magically lose three days because i fell into 4 seasons of love island, so please know i'm not pretending this is shakespeare's career defining play, but there were still some things that i had problems with, so hear me out.

i spent this entire book feeling like something about this was so harry potter meets divergent ~~meets wattpad~~, and i spent the entire book being right. it so belongs in the early to mid 2010s dystopian craze that swept up the world, and i kind of love that.

honestly, it's just so much fun. absolutely mindless reading. and it has a pretty unique rhythm of consistent, intermittent adrenaline rushes, up and down and up and down, that are just so addicting, in comparison to a writer like sarah j maas whose style is building up to a big thrill at the end.

the magic system here is actually very interesting, even if it felt a bit messy in the beginning.

(sidebar to talk about how unrealistic the beginning was. no one in chicago's rent is 2000 for a few months. and also why couldn't they just get jobs??)

and anyways you know that? i actually didn't hate the main characters!!
that being said, i did hate just about everyone else though.

geraldine is hands down my favorite character, because the comic relief through her character was perfect.

but going a little bit darker, i am not a bully romance person.
this book is a lot, and while i'm not usually one to be triggered by something in a book (other than dramatically flying off the handle because i feel like it), it's pretty dark.
the fmcs seem to be able to handle it, but that honestly doesn't much soothe my concerns about it. it also rubs me the wrong way that these people are going to be love interests because ew.
the whole thing makes me very uncomfortable, but i've been told it gets better so i'm hoping! but that was the primary reason this wasn't a 3 star or higher.

also, i don't like orion. he's a bully and he's very pushy and rude and so it doesn't feel endearing to me, just icky.

another thing- I COULDN'T CARE LESS ABOUT HOW MUCH TESTOSTERONE THEY HAVE.
i am so sick of reading the word alpha unironically.
it's bringing up long buried buried omegaverse fan fiction trauma i thought i was well and done with.

overall, i had some complaints, but it was fun! don't mind me launching my ass on over to book two-

inesacrow's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.5

gothgirlsreadingnook's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

It was a rough beginning…. Didn’t think I’d get through it, but honestly it’s an amazing book. The world building and the characters are absolutely amazing.