Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Origins Of An Academy Bully by Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti

2 reviews

inkdrinkers's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"I wanted to choose the kind of man I was going to become and not just blindly follow the path laid out by my father."

Technically a prequel to Zodiac Academy (and set during Ruthless Boys), this short follows Darius at fourteen having his early Awakening, and the fateful night Lance Orion lost his future. 

This was TOUGH to read after just finishing seven. I won't lie, it was a little like willingly stabbing myself with multiple swords, but I'm really glad I picked this up. I was already curious about this (because we get details, but not much in the grand scheme of things) from the main series, but I really enjoyed how succinctly it spanned the "true beginning" of the series.

I would highly recommend only reading this after getting through book four/book five! I think it made the reading experience better knowing certain plot points.

Content warnings: Child abuse/physical abuse (on page), Death, Incest (mentioned in arranged marriage), Confinement, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia/abuse of power (brief mention)
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crinkledmochi's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

to start with the negatives;

i wasn’t really a fan of it the scene where orion bites darius and there’s like a sensual moment between them cause darius is literally 14 at the time,,, like we get that vampire bites can get a little risqué but that easily could’ve been left out in my opinion
 

another thing that frustrated me about this prequel was that we learned so much yet so very little. most of what i read towards the end was a big question mark. 

on to the positives: 

this was way more refreshing i guess since there wasn’t a huge romance focus and a bit more lore/backstory so i really appreciate that 

the stakes in this felt high even thou you know the characters are gonna be fine, i wish book one read more like this as it felt more of a large info dump 
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