A review by cozybec
The Awakening, by Susanne Valenti, Caroline Peckham
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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
4.0
Oh holy hell, did I ever expect to like this book? No. Did I absolutely fall in love with it? Yes.
Tory and Darcy Vega are twins who haven't had the best of lives - think A Series of Unfortunate Events - but the hits keep coming and they won't stop coming. They managed to flee their abusive foster father and have been stealing and hustling to make ends meet in their hometown of Chicago when suddenly a mysterious man shows up and claims they're the long-lost Fae princesses of a world they've never heard of. And y'all, that's only the first CHAPTER.
I'm going to get what I disliked out of the way first: the formatting of this book is such a hard pill to swallow. Every chapter had a POV from each twin, meaning that chapters feel like they're double the length they actually are because once you finish one twin's POV, you're often thrust back into the other one. They should have cut their losses and split every POV into a new numbered chapter because I genuinely lost where I even was in the book in the middle. Add in some poor editing, the most "we're new to this world and everything is Awful" plotline ever, some truly TERRIBLE actions by the love interests, some very cringe bullying scenes, and you get a nice little cocktail of a miserable reading experience for the first 60% but...
Then you get past that 60% and you suddenly realize why so many people love this.
I'm planning on doing a whole video about this series where I talk about everything in detail - but I'll leave my loves about this book to talking about the fact that it appealed to the tween in me who so deeply craved these kinds of stories. The stories where the characters are just beaten down at every chance and every turn, the stories where you just can't help but feel terrible for the main characters because no one ever gives them a break or throws them a bone, but they never give up. I thought I'd end up disliking both Tory and Darcy for multiple reasons, but instead I found myself absolutely rooting for the two of them every time someone knocked them back a peg and they turned around and kept swinging.
I will say, I think these books will appeal to anyone, like me, who trolled the depths of fanfiction dot net in its heyday. If you sorted by newest fics because you've read all the others before, if you clicked on OC fics because you wanted to experience the character entering this world you loved for the first time again, if you stayed up until 3am reading hundreds of thousands of words and getting lost in the same world, characters, and story just in different fonts and different scenarios - these are for you.
Onto book two.
A comprehensive video covering the entire Zodiac Academy series will be coming soon from me. I'll update the reviews when I have the link for you all.
content warnings: heavy bullying (a very prominent plot point), child abuse, abuse, sexual content (80% in, light graphic scene), age gap love interest, and some general cringe but once you turn your brain off, it's so much fun.
Tory and Darcy Vega are twins who haven't had the best of lives - think A Series of Unfortunate Events - but the hits keep coming and they won't stop coming. They managed to flee their abusive foster father and have been stealing and hustling to make ends meet in their hometown of Chicago when suddenly a mysterious man shows up and claims they're the long-lost Fae princesses of a world they've never heard of. And y'all, that's only the first CHAPTER.
I'm going to get what I disliked out of the way first: the formatting of this book is such a hard pill to swallow. Every chapter had a POV from each twin, meaning that chapters feel like they're double the length they actually are because once you finish one twin's POV, you're often thrust back into the other one. They should have cut their losses and split every POV into a new numbered chapter because I genuinely lost where I even was in the book in the middle. Add in some poor editing, the most "we're new to this world and everything is Awful" plotline ever, some truly TERRIBLE actions by the love interests, some very cringe bullying scenes, and you get a nice little cocktail of a miserable reading experience for the first 60% but...
Then you get past that 60% and you suddenly realize why so many people love this.
I'm planning on doing a whole video about this series where I talk about everything in detail - but I'll leave my loves about this book to talking about the fact that it appealed to the tween in me who so deeply craved these kinds of stories. The stories where the characters are just beaten down at every chance and every turn, the stories where you just can't help but feel terrible for the main characters because no one ever gives them a break or throws them a bone, but they never give up. I thought I'd end up disliking both Tory and Darcy for multiple reasons, but instead I found myself absolutely rooting for the two of them every time someone knocked them back a peg and they turned around and kept swinging.
I will say, I think these books will appeal to anyone, like me, who trolled the depths of fanfiction dot net in its heyday. If you sorted by newest fics because you've read all the others before, if you clicked on OC fics because you wanted to experience the character entering this world you loved for the first time again, if you stayed up until 3am reading hundreds of thousands of words and getting lost in the same world, characters, and story just in different fonts and different scenarios - these are for you.
Onto book two.
A comprehensive video covering the entire Zodiac Academy series will be coming soon from me. I'll update the reviews when I have the link for you all.
content warnings: heavy bullying (a very prominent plot point), child abuse, abuse, sexual content (80% in, light graphic scene), age gap love interest, and some general cringe but once you turn your brain off, it's so much fun.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, and Cursing
I tried to tag every content I could remember, but if you're diving into this series, please find a friend who's read them and ask about specific triggers!