nineinchnails's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

a decent novella and gives a lot more context to darius and orion’s relationship as well as their upbringing. i’m very glad i read it after book 2 cause i think if i read this before book 1 or before book 2 it would have taken a lot of the intrigue out of it for me 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

lotte5322's review

Go to review page


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

dkgreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional tense 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? No

4.0

Well, this kinda explains some things…. On to the guy’s version of The Awakening to garner more insight.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

briochebun's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

2.75 out of 5 ☆’s.

”To me, chaos was more beautiful than calm.”

ੈ✩‧₊˚

I’ve seen sooo many individuals ranting and raving about this series, so I decided to give it a shot! :) 

ੈ✩‧₊˚

Given the fact that this is a prequel novella, I admit that I didn’t expect too much from it.

While I am glad that “Origins of an Academy Bully” gave me a lot of insight into the pasts of Darius and Orion — and how their lives intersect — I wasn’t a big fan of the numerous comments regarding Mildred’s appearance in chapter six.

I understand that the series is categorized as a bully romance — so I expect the characters to act unseemly at times — however, the plethora of remarks that were made about her unpleasant appearance were a bit of an overkill in my opinion…

Why did her “ugliness” have to be mentioned about seventeen times within eight pages?

☆ Spoilers Below ☆

”Looking upon her face had almost shocked me into choking to death. I quickly looked away from the hideous girl and grabbed a glass of wine to wash away the offending lump of bread.”

”The stern look in his eye surprised me; it was as though he was giving me a warning about something but all I’d done was half kill myself over a lump of bread and an ugly girl.”

”Congratulations,” I muttered, not subjecting myself to looking at her face for a second time.”

”This was a meal to celebrate the Awakening of the four Heirs to the Celestial Council. Seth, Max, Caleb and I were the future rulers of our kingdom, so why the hell was this troll-faced girl even here?”

”I’m fifteen,” Mildred said, her voice low enough to be mistaken for a man’s.”

”No Dragon was going to marry a Sphynx or a Griffin unless they were foolish enough to fall in love with one and risk the ire of their entire family for muddying the bloodline. Though as I glanced at Mildred from the corner of my eye, I couldn’t help but wonder if she had a bit of Minotaur in her because her face and broad shoulders certainly shared qualities with a half bull.”

”Caleb caught my eye from further down the table and less than subtly mimed puking into his soup as he looked at her. I fought against a laugh, biting my lip in amusement.”

”I was pushing him and I knew it, but how the hell did he expect me to just sit here while he married me off to this walking dog turd beside me?”

“He couldn’t force me into a life of misery married to an ogre just because she had Dragon blood.”

”I looked to Mother. Beautiful, vain, perfectly put together Mother whose only interest was appearances. Surely she wouldn’t want to see her handsome son tethered to this wretched creature?”

”Perhaps another option will present itself before you’re wed,” she said slowly, her lips pursing with distaste as she looked upon the troll who might be the mother of her grandchildren if Father got his way.”

”I looked at Mildred, hoping that she might share a little of my displeasure at this suggestion. Sure, she wasn’t being pushed towards an ugly asshole, but did she really want to marry a total stranger?”

”She looked back at me with her misshapen eyes, but I didn’t find the horror I hoped for there. Her mouth was shut but those huge teeth which filled her lower jaw still protruded through her fleshy lips. The idea of kissing that mouth was more than horrendous. I wouldn't do it. Never.”

”But what would I get from this union? A pig ugly wife and gremlin children.”

”For years I’d endured the misery of being a part of this family and I wouldn’t bind myself to some woman I could never even look upon with desire let alone love.”

”I was checking on my friend who'd just been forced into an arranged marriage with his goddamn cousin. Who may or may not have looked like the wrong end of a rhino.”

”But just in case you do, I'm not available as a godfather to your goblin kids.”

I understand that her appearance is unpleasant because of her lineage — but nothing else could be said about her? 

ੈ✩‧₊˚

While I did have some qualms with this novella, I am looking forward to reading “The Awakening” and meeting other characters! ♡

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

lifeofchrstnlvly's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Dragons, werewolves, vampires, and sirens? Count me in. The writing is simple to understand. Plot and story are laid out plainly making it easy to read. The magic system is good. It kept me entertained enough to decide I'll continue reading the series.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

_egg_wash's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark sad slow-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

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kat1105's review

Go to review page

dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

katvou's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...