Reviews with content warning for Car accident - The Awakening

Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

The Awakening by Susanne Valenti, Caroline Peckham

66 reviews

maregred's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny 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? It's complicated

2.0

Content Warnings

kat52's review against another edition

Go to review page

1.25

That .25 is entirely because although the writing is terrible I still want to know what happens. I really wanted to like the because powers based on the zodiac sign is an idea that's been circling my head for years but this reads like a high school creative writing assignment.

The idea is great, the world building wasn't terrible....the setting as a school was just a poor easy excuse for the characters to be in forced proximity and to have a teacher/student trope. The "romance" is almost entirely the victims lusting after their bullies but the worst part is the dialogue! Aside from whether teenagers really speak like that offline, aside from the paragraphs while apparently dancing "almost pornographically, BILINGUAL PEOPLE DON'T SPEAK LIKE THAT!!!

Content Warnings

aubrieanne's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

jesshart8's review

Go to review page

dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

savvyrosereads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Rating: 3/5 stars

Twins Tory and Darcy learn they’re the long-lost heirs to the throne of Solaria—if they can graduate from a magic school where most of the student body wants them dead.

Eh? I was warned that the writing of this series left a bit to be desired, so I went in prepared, but I cannot stress enough that the writing is…not good. If you need top-tier writing to fully enjoy a book series, this is not for you—there are a lot of grammar/punctuation issues, the pacing is bizarre, there are loads of ridiculous cliche phrases (and the use of random out-of-context Spanish words to make sure we realize one of the characters is Latinx). The plot was also a little bonkers, and each of the characters made a series of bad decisions and overall drove me nuts.

That said, the world these books are set in is unique and pretty fun, and I found myself intrigued by the magic system and generally wanting to know what would happen next. My friend Hannah has compared these to movie theater popcorn, and I totally agree with that. Is it the best meal? No. Will you keep eating it if there’s a bowl sitting in front of you? Yes. For that reason, I’m definitely going to continue the series (though I don’t expect to go that quickly, which is why I’m planning to do individual reviews as I go!)

Recommended if you like: books about magic boarding schools, yes including the one you’re thinking of right now; dark/bully romance (I’m told—there was very little romance, dark or otherwise, in this one); popcorn fantasy

CW: Loads of violence/bullying/attempted murder; discussion of death of parents; references to foster care abuse/neglect

Content Warnings