Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - The Awakening: As Told by the Boys

i don't think i've ever read this kind of retelling before (where i've already read 90% of the story) but i was just desperate to hold off on whatever agony and anguish is coming for my favs in book 7. there isn't much to say about the book since it's pretty much a 1:1 retelling of the first book in the series but there were a few scenes that gave a lot more insight into the guys' motivations and how conflicted they were. seth just came off as cruel and petty here so even though i know he improves eventually it was still a little disappointing to see how much he was revelling in the opportunity to humble darcy as payment for something she had nothing to do with (directly). she didn't even know he was mad at her never mind why he was mad. the foreshadowing was strong here so i'm glad i read this when i did or it probably would've spoiled some of it for me. it took me a lot longer to read because i obviously knew almost everything that was going to happen so it wasn't the most interesting read - i can definitely see myself enjoying it a lot more as a tandem read with the awakening on a reread though!

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aubrieanne's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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readwith_e's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny medium-paced

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

3.75

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casey_497's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-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

3.5

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lotte5322's review against another edition

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3.0

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dkgreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

There’s two sides to every story, which is why I freaking love dual POV books. I’m glad I decided to read this before jumping into book two, because having a peek into the boys’ heads during the events of The Awakening was super enlightening. However, now matter how compelling the reasons behind their actions were, I still hope the twins come into their power and completely hand the boys their a$$es.

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briochebun's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

4.25 out of 5 ☆’s.

”The darkness is your closest friend, but it’s time to let it go.”

ੈ✩‧₊˚

This retelling of the first novel FAR exceeded my expectations!

(I still cannot believe that I had such a wondrous — and at times painful — time reading about these events that I already knew the outcome of…)

Going into this novel, I was a bit worried that my decision to read “The Awakening: as Told by the Boys” before ”Ruthless Fae” would prove to be an unwise one because I would be interrupting the flow the story (therefore potentially sending me into a slump if I didn’t end up enjoying ”The Awakening: as Told by the Boys”).

Now that I’ve finished the novel it’s clear to me that I did in fact make the correct decision by reading this first! (yayyy 🥳)

ੈ✩‧₊˚

Getting to see everything that the male characters were up to during the events of TA was an eye-opening experience, and I’m sooo glad that I got more insight into their personal lives as well as their thought processes (especially Caleb’s) during all of the chaos…

ੈ✩‧₊˚

I’m just itching to begin “Ruthless Fae“ and continue this story! ♡

P.S. Orion still owns my heart.

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katvou's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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