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A review by theferalhousewivesbookclub
Dark Fae by Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti
4.0
Spice: 1/5
Plot: 4/5
I’m going to do my damndest to keep this review spoiler free for the first book lol. I’ll give a warning if I slip up though!
This is the first book in the prequel series to Zodiac Academy, so technically you can read it before reading ZA, but I think most people recommend reading it right in the middle. It’s like this big controversial reading order thing, kinda like TOG lol. So I read the first 4 of Zodiac and then jumped to Ruthless Boys. I’ll read all 5 RB books and then go back and do ZA 1 As Told By The Boys and then jump back into ZA5. And yes, that’s confusing as fuck unless you’ve gone down the Zodiac Academy rabbit hole lol.
So for those who don’t know, RB is a reverse harem! Fuck yes! If y’all don’t know by now, I fucking LOVE a good why choose. It’s set in the same fantasy world as ZA but it’s definitely a more gritty, side of it. Think like wrong side of town, or wrong side of the tracks with gang wars and a lot more violence and poverty type deal. Which is actually something I really like about this series! It’s quite the contrast to Zodiac in that regard.
Our FMC, Elise is this badass vampire who’s on this crazy revenge mission, which I fucking love. She’s feisty as all hell and isn’t afraid to stand up to the four “kings” of the school, so it’s still very much giving CW Network vibes with all of the drama lol.
Now the kings - Dante Oscura, Leon Night, Gabriel Nox and Ryder Draconis. I’m not going to give you details because that would ruin some shit and I really do think people need to go into these blind! Ryder is easily my favourite, cuz fucking OBVIOUSLY lol. The way he’s written, his powers, WHAT HE SHIFTS INTO, holy hell is it next level brilliant. Fucking chefs kiss. Now Gabriel is firmly in second place, but homeboy is about to give me whiplash and it’s kinda starting to annoy me. I really like him as a character otherwise though haha. So then we have Leon and Dante and they’re currently vying for biggest douchebag, but Dante might actually be in the lead. I dunno what it is about these two but it’s gunna take some masterful writing to get me on board with them lol.
As of right now, I wouldn’t say that RB is as good as Zodiac Academy (sorry everyone! lol) but it has the potential to be. I think if I can start liking the other guys a bit more and the story picks up a bit in the second book, it’ll give ZA a run for its money. I especially like how the Twisted Sisters are interconnecting the two series and I’m really excited for the crossovers that are gunna happen down the road! I live for that shit haha.
Soooo, would I recommend this. Absolutely! I think it’s going to be a really amazing addition to this world and that reading this series is only going to make Zodiac that much better moving forward.
Xo
- J
Plot: 4/5
I’m going to do my damndest to keep this review spoiler free for the first book lol. I’ll give a warning if I slip up though!
This is the first book in the prequel series to Zodiac Academy, so technically you can read it before reading ZA, but I think most people recommend reading it right in the middle. It’s like this big controversial reading order thing, kinda like TOG lol. So I read the first 4 of Zodiac and then jumped to Ruthless Boys. I’ll read all 5 RB books and then go back and do ZA 1 As Told By The Boys and then jump back into ZA5. And yes, that’s confusing as fuck unless you’ve gone down the Zodiac Academy rabbit hole lol.
So for those who don’t know, RB is a reverse harem! Fuck yes! If y’all don’t know by now, I fucking LOVE a good why choose. It’s set in the same fantasy world as ZA but it’s definitely a more gritty, side of it. Think like wrong side of town, or wrong side of the tracks with gang wars and a lot more violence and poverty type deal. Which is actually something I really like about this series! It’s quite the contrast to Zodiac in that regard.
Our FMC, Elise is this badass vampire who’s on this crazy revenge mission, which I fucking love. She’s feisty as all hell and isn’t afraid to stand up to the four “kings” of the school, so it’s still very much giving CW Network vibes with all of the drama lol.
Now the kings - Dante Oscura, Leon Night, Gabriel Nox and Ryder Draconis. I’m not going to give you details because that would ruin some shit and I really do think people need to go into these blind! Ryder is easily my favourite, cuz fucking OBVIOUSLY lol. The way he’s written, his powers, WHAT HE SHIFTS INTO, holy hell is it next level brilliant. Fucking chefs kiss. Now Gabriel is firmly in second place, but homeboy is about to give me whiplash and it’s kinda starting to annoy me. I really like him as a character otherwise though haha. So then we have Leon and Dante and they’re currently vying for biggest douchebag, but Dante might actually be in the lead. I dunno what it is about these two but it’s gunna take some masterful writing to get me on board with them lol.
As of right now, I wouldn’t say that RB is as good as Zodiac Academy (sorry everyone! lol) but it has the potential to be. I think if I can start liking the other guys a bit more and the story picks up a bit in the second book, it’ll give ZA a run for its money. I especially like how the Twisted Sisters are interconnecting the two series and I’m really excited for the crossovers that are gunna happen down the road! I live for that shit haha.
Soooo, would I recommend this. Absolutely! I think it’s going to be a really amazing addition to this world and that reading this series is only going to make Zodiac that much better moving forward.
Xo
- J