Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - The Awakening

This is not a "bully romance". It’s pure abuse. Emotional, physical and sexual. The MCs say "no" all the time but they continue nonetheless because "the fae only respect power". They get lectured on the fact that they don’t know anything about their world, yet no one tells them anything, which also results in the reader having zero understanding of the world-building.

Also that hinting teacher/student relationship? Ick. Especially since he’s abusing her as well. 🤢

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faduma's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

1.0

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azgetslit's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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jnaeraeshele's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is by far my favorite series. Ever. It has stolen my life. I think about it every day. Darius Acrux is a wet dream.

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_alyssar_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

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reaganalexis's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

I am a complete sucker for fantasy romance and bully romances so this book was perfect to me! The world building was pretty good. I think in an attempt to build a huge world it may have become a little over complicated (i.e. the ever long list of different Orders) but overall I didn't think it was too hard to follow. I also think part of that is on purpose. The reader learns with Tory and Darcy as they take on this completely new world that they know nothing about. For a lot of it, the reader is just as in the dark as they are, which I think creates a bond between the reader and them. The premise of the book is like a more adult and sinister Harry Potter, and it also gives me some of the same vibes as Wednesday (the show), in terms of the Orders and the secret murder stuff. Still, it's much darker and heavier than both of those.

Tory and Darcy are badasses and I was rooting for them from start to finish. The Heirs are assholes but the part of me that loves bully romances is still waiting for the point where at least one of them redeems themselves.

This is book is pretty explicit with the abuse of Tory and Darcy from basically the entire school so if you aren't into that, you won't like this book.

There are still so many unanswered questions and I'm excited to see where the series goes.

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isamoledo's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I’ve never been more mad while reading a book.

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axahean's review

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3.5

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