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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I picked up The Awakening for my Garden of the Books book club in July. I had the hard copy, but after everyone raved about the dramatized audiobook, I switched over. Big mistake. This was honestly one of the worst books I’ve read (or listened to) in a long time.
Tori and Darcy Vega are twins who get kidnapped from Chicago and dropped into Zodiac Academy, where they’re told they’re the long-lost heirs to Solaria. Sounds intriguing, right? Except the entire book is just one long string of cruelty. The heirs and professors bully them nonstop—coercion, humiliation, assault, you name it. Instead of learning magic or finding allies, the twins are forced into nightmare scenarios that had me cringing, not rooting for them. Professors are just as awful as the students, and absolutely no one steps up to help.
The “romance”? Don’t even get me started. Vampire professors and students claim the twins, feed on them without consent, flash them, coerce them—this isn’t dark romance, it’s straight-up assault. I couldn’t figure out how anyone found this entertaining, let alone hype-worthy. By the time one twin’s hair got chopped off and the other almost drowned, I was done.
I can see how some readers might get swept up in the chaos, but for me, it felt like cruelty for shock value with zero payoff. I won’t be reading more of this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Abandonment
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A little slow at first but by the end I was into it and keen to see how the story develops as the series goes on
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
I was pleasantly surprised! Action, twists and turns, and enough burning questions that I jumped right into book 2 when I was finished.
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No