Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Awakening by Susanne Valenti, Caroline Peckham

149 reviews

autumnwitch14's review

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I enjoyed the world building very much. I wish it focused more on the fantasy elements outside of just supernatural races. I wouldn't say this book is much of a romance even though it describes itself as a bullymance. Maybe later in the series, but this first one in particular barely has any outside of a little flirting (in between all of the sexual assaults)
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earlieststar's review

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-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

2.5

im cringe but im free
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cait's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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geooo's review

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

1.0

Trash.
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nineinchnails's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

the writing style/prose is somewhat juvenile and wattpad-esque (i'm familiar with it from devouring brutal boys of everlake prep in november so it's not too jarring) however every time i was forced to put this down i was itching to pick it back up. it's definitely laced with something. the worldbuilding was super fun and interesting to read despite clearly pulling inspiration from other sources. everything gets revealed at a steady pace so even though it's a lot to juggle with i think they managed to pull it off; there's the magic academy thing (sorted by houses), elemental magic, fae orders, and probably more i'm missing at the moment. the world is super addictive for me but i could be biased because i fell in love with harry potter when i was 7 and that probably permanently altered my brain chemistry. this feels like a fusion of harry potter, the cruel prince, and winx club but adult and it's so captivating. it reminds me a little of the magicians tv show too (haven't read the books yet which is probably a cardinal sin) because it's an academy for adults but it's not quite as dark and satirical in tone imo.

the pacing probably isn't for everyone since the book moves pretty slowly but it focuses on character development and worldbuilding which is definitely my preference in fantasy. it makes me kinda wish we had chapters from the boys' pov but i'm hoping we'll get that in at least one of the later books. the pov being split between both twins might be annoying too since i did struggle remembering where one twin left off in their last chapter occasionally but they're both distinct enough for me to know who's chapter is whose so it could be a lot worse. considering how long this book is i should be pissed that barely any action happens but idk what to say it's like crack and it definitely didn't feel 400+ pages long. i really liked the characterisation of the twins and more importantly their relationship - it didn't ever get ugly between the two of them. despite all the shit they went through and the manipulation they faced they didn't let anything come between the two of them and it was really sweet. it kinda reminded me of my own relationships with my sisters (when we aren't at each others throats over stealing clothes or something) and felt realistic in that the traumatic shit we went through only made us more loyal and protective of each other instead of competitive.

there's probably more to say but it's nearly 1am and my brain is failing me so to conclude: this book is super OTT and you absolutely will get secondhand embarrassment but if you can suspend your disbelief (and have heeded the trigger warnings) you'll probably love it just for the pure entertainment. yes this book is unserious as fuck but i am seated!
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lottelangford's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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jamby4546's review against another edition

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

2.25

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thewildbookcase's review

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dark emotional funny sad 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? Yes

4.0

What I struggle with when writing this review is I hate almost everything that happens to Tori and Darcy in this book. I find 99% of the characters irredeemable and their actions entirely inexcusable- but this book is GRIPPING! I am dying to see the Vega twins rule the kingdom. 

I really enjoy the absurdist / farcical elements of this series. I know people say it’s not “high quality writing” and I understand why they say that. However, I think the Twisted Sister knew exactly which elements they wanted to emphasize the stupidity of- and the exaggerated features are there to entertain, which they do so successfully. 

I also really love Geraldine who is just someone I wish I had in my life. I love the Vega twins- I think their rise from the ashes is going to tell an amazing story. I love that the series uses elemental magic and I love how easy and quick it was to read. 

However, I knew from the first interaction that Tori and Darius will get together but it’s difficult to reconcile who Darius is now and who I know he will be
because burning her clothes and forcing her to expose her body against her will
lost all romantic credibility in my eyes. 

I also hate passively abusive people like Caleb.
Oh- I can’t “harm” you because it’s against the vampire code. Well inaction is an action and it helps the oppressor. At least he feels guilty about it but wtf.
 

Don’t even get me started on Lance and the other teachers.
Lance dragged them to ZA against their will and then treats them like shit- and Darcy has a crush on him?
Talk about abusive. 

I know it’s a bully romance and I know this world has a different understanding of what’s “normal” or accepted but it’s genuinely so aggravating. Yet I can’t stop reading. This is such a binge worthy series and while much of the world building makes my blood boil, an awful lot of the dialogue makes me laugh. 
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rmesquirrel's review against another edition

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mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

These books are supposed to be very spicy? It was a 450 page book and there was a 3 page vague description of heavy petting. 
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shaykay's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

5.0

You can only hear about this series on TikTok or in the book world. Zodiac Academy was everywhere, especially last year. It has calmed down a bit this year but is still a super popular series. When a series is super hyped, they really intimidate me. Plus, I just haven't been into anything supernatural, and everything I used to pick up has been very contemporary/traditionally published, so Zodiac Academy was nowhere near my TBR. But this year, I've been picking up some crazy random books and decided to dive deep into this series. Now, I went in as blind as I could, but at the same time, I knew a lot about this series because it's been all over the place, and I honestly really liked this book. I felt confused about who was who because the book switches between Darcy and Tori's POVs, and since they are twins and the book keeps going between their POVs, I struggled to figure out who was who. But overall, I get the hype and really like what the story is starting to set up. I hope to get to the point where I can tell the twins apart. Everyone struggles with that, but it does get better in later books. 

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