Reviews with content warning for Torture - The Awakening

Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Awakening by Susanne Valenti, Caroline Peckham

39 reviews

donna_bx's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? No

2.0

Awful. Absolutely awful. I downright HATED the bullying and abuse. It really spoiled what would have been an excellent book if it was differently and didn’t have an OUNCE of ridicule, bullying or abuse.

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bewildbird's review

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dark medium-paced

3.5

I'll say 3.5ish stars for this one

This was such an infuriating and addictive read. I picked it up because of how hyped up these books are across all social media platforms and boy is it chaotic, in both a good and bad way.
I really liked the world building and the take on the zodiacs, elements, and different orders that they're classified into.
The writing at times felt like the authors were trying a little too hard to sound like teenagers, and the characters say "err" entirely too much when uncomfortable or confused.

The book takes a dual POV between the two Vega twins, Darcy and Tory, who are the long lost heirs of Solaria. From the jump, Darcy is the soft, sweet, clumsy twin while Tory is the hard and edgy one. Typical yin-tang twins. They find out early on that they hold the powers of all 4 elements, which is extremely rare, as most Fae only have one or two. They get to a magical academy to earn back their birthright - the throne of the kingdom. Here they meet the 4 heirs that were supposed to co-run the kingdom up until the twins were found, and now they're pissy they wont be in charge anymore. Throughout the entire book, these 4 heirs and their friends make the lives of the Vega twins miserable. bullying, harassment, humiliation, all of it.
and somehow these girls don't even attempt to defend themselves or even learn how to. not really. They just let it happen to them and cry about it afterward. They apparently forget that they can harness all 4 elements and don't even attempt to call on those powers 98% of the time they're being tormented, which makes absolutely no sense to me. And no one else steps in to stop it either until the very end. AND THEN after all these heirs have put them through, they still let their guard down around two of them and start to ~trust~ them after a few sweet kisses and pretty lies. like, are you for real?
Everyone is complete dicks to them, except for a handful of people, and they have the nerve to be assholes to someone who is reaching out that olive branch and be supportive of them? I get being annoyed at being called "your majesty" BUT THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE whether you like it or not. You need all the friends you can get, sweetheart. suck it up. Geraldine is a sweetheart. Stop being rude for no reason.

The romance takes a back seat in these books, though potential couples are hinted at
and i might be in the minority here, but I'm just not digging the hints at Darcy being with Professor Orion. I get that she's an adult so it's not "wrong" but I've just never gotten onto the teacher-student forbidden romance hype train. I find it creepy and predatory, whether she's 18 or not. I know I, myself, once I hit the age of 20 and up, I still looked at 18 year olds as being too young for me. So it's just... not my cup of tea I guess.

BUT all that being said, I still enjoyed the book and will continue the series. Probably my new guilty pleasure that I shouldn't like but still do

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charhollyx's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

First 200 pages were quite difficult to follow, as it always is when you start a new fantasy book.
But the last 200? Jesus Christ…
I felt sorry for the heirs, then I hated the heirs, then I really hated the heirs.
I thought the twins’ sexual fascination with them to be a little unrelatable seen as the heirs were torturing them daily and that. I love a sex scene and an enemies to lovers, but it felt a bit strange to read about sexually fantasising over a man who is actively and publicly trying to make your life a living hell by bringing your nightmares to life…
Favourite character is Orion by far!!

I have a feeling that Diego is the secret villain and the heirs will just be misunderstood… but I can’t see myself liking them again.

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ladyknight88's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I can't quite tell if I like the main protagonists or not. I think it all stems a little to their drinking habits. If they know that they turn into idiots that make bad decisions when they drink - wouldn't logic say that they should stop? Maybe a I'm a bit of an old fogey! Especially as they don't seem to learn any lessons at all and even know this happens. Very weird to me. However, it wasn't a bad read. I enjoyed the writing style (other than the swearing) and I found this world interesting and the girls sure do have guts and an inner strength which I do admire. Just... not.... sure.... about the bully romance bit.

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shortstackkat's review

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dark tense fast-paced

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

1.5

I hated pretty much everyone this entire book. I was waiting for the “Carrie” moment where the twins finally kicked the heirs asses < but it never happened.> I can enjoy an enemies to lovers trope but this straight bully romance is not appealing at all. I groaned every single time the sisters had an internal debate about fighting their lust for a bunch of dickwads <who tried to kill them multiple times as a joke.> The only reason why I gave it two stars is because I do want to know when that kick ass moment will happen (because it has to) and find out what the grand mystery is between which fae class the twins are and who is behind the dementor attacks.

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