Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti: Zodiac Academy - The Awakening

In the first of a series Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti shows that your fate can always change but may be not for the better:

Twins, Tory and Darcy went from one foster home to another growing up, but now that they are living on their own, they are struggling to keep a roof over their heads. That is until they find out that they are changelings and not only are they Fae but Heirs to the throne. But there are many that do not want Tory and Darcy to return, and at the head of this is the Heirs. The sons of the four power houses, Air, Fire, Water, Earth, and they have plans to rule in their stead. So they have hatched a plan, make Tory and Darcy’s lives a living Hell at school, who comes out on top, it will be whom ever have not only the most power, but the highest Will.

This is the first book a I have read by Peckham and Valenti and I won’t lie I totally picked it up because it was touted as Harry Potter but for adults. And let me tell you I did not want to put this book down. Every moment I would get in to read even a page or two I was. I think this also says something about the writing style, as it was easy to read and follow what was happening.

I don’t think I have read a bully romance before this book, so i was not sure what to expect, or like what level of bullying does it get to. And let me say it gets pretty extreme in both the mental and physical by the end. Is it all a bit heartbreaking and disturbing at times? Yep but it kept me glued to the pages. Also the idea of consent is played with quite a bit in this book, especially when it comes to the Heirs, teachers and other teachers using their powers on Tory and Darcy, as they are easy prey as they don’t know how to use their powers.

I was drawn more to Tory as a character than Darcy. Tory just has the bad girl don’t give a fuck attitude down, was slightly more of the risk taker of the two (though Darcy does try at times) and not one to show her feelings at all. I just found that with Tory’s POV more interesting aspects of the plot seemed to happen to her rather than Darcy’s. I found with Darcy’s POV a lot of it was about Lance and more Lance.

There are ALOT of POV and do we really need all of them? I mean I understand why we need them from Tory and Darcy’s POV as well as Lance but do we need them from all the heirs? They sometimes are just saying the same things but in a different way and for the most part they have the same feelings about Tory and Darcy. It just felt a bit repetitive at times and I struggled a bit to remember who’s who especially at the beginning.

I’m really interested in learning more about the Nymphs and their desire for magic. I feel like there was some sort of betrayal in their history that started this war. I also want to know why their dad was called the Savage King. Like what did he do to really earn that Title? 

I thought it would be spicier that it was, people always say this is a spicy series but I am going to guess that happens at a later in the series.  I also found it a bit predictable at times, like you knew that the Heirs planned a lot of the time, as we have their POV.

I really enjoyed the start of this series and am prepared to keep going on this series. I really need to know what happens after the ending of this book, as wow it was intense. I really look forward to seeing where Peckham and Valenti take the characters and series.

Enjoy!!!

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