Scan barcode
A review by nikitanavalkar
The Awakening by Susanne Valenti, Caroline Peckham
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Crap on a crazy cracker! Okay okay, I get it now. I get why y’all are addicted to this series. I mean what in the mirror dimension did I just read? It’s all happening here at Zodiac Academy and Imma just kick back with my popcorn.
I’d heard all the Harry Potter for adults comparisons but I never gave them much thought. But this really is like a fucked up version of Hogwarts that’ll screw with your head and leave you wanting more while questioning everything from your morals to your sanity. It’s like watching a doped up cocktail of Riverdale and Vampire Diaries and has that same crack-y quality that makes you want to binge watch all the seasons even as you’re shaking your head. It’s a goddamned millennial dream. Like the 13 year old inside of me was squeeing at all the drama and the 32 year old that is me was was thrilled by the possibility of sm-t. Okay both versions of me were thrilled by that possibility. There’s Fae, vampires, wolves, pegasi, sirens, dragons! The me that grew up with books like St Clair twins and later House of Night approves. All the delicious dark academia vibes complete with uniforms but make it college, aka Hogwarts with a chance of hanky panky.
Tory and Darcy are the chosen teenagers here so to speak, but refreshing in that they’re street smart and self aware, not immune to bad decisions but owning them regardless. There’s a nice helping of self deprecating humor in their internal monologues, and each of them has distinct personalities. Tory is the brash twin with a penchant for bad boys and knows how to handle them for the most part, Darcy is the softer twin but by no means naive and with a fairly level head. Don’t get me wrong, the book lives up to its promise of bullying galore, everyone including the faculty is atrocious, the very idea of discipline is ridiculous, and it’s all fun and games until the real cruelty begins. The way the twins face the haters and stand up to the Celestial Heirs while fighting their magnetism (barely) is weirdly exhilarating and gave me an evil sort of joy, but then I never claimed not to be broken. 🤷🏽♀️
I’m not even going to touch the “romance” of it all with a 10 foot pole, though I have thoughts, but there’s bound to be a lot of growth and hopefully groveling before we go there, because y’all, the Fae ain’t playing. It’s a Fae eat Fae world, and everyone’s out for blood. The only thing I don’t get is, why even pretend to start out in America when the writing, right down to the slang and spelling is so very British? I know, not that important, but it made me scratch my head.
I’d heard all the Harry Potter for adults comparisons but I never gave them much thought. But this really is like a fucked up version of Hogwarts that’ll screw with your head and leave you wanting more while questioning everything from your morals to your sanity. It’s like watching a doped up cocktail of Riverdale and Vampire Diaries and has that same crack-y quality that makes you want to binge watch all the seasons even as you’re shaking your head. It’s a goddamned millennial dream. Like the 13 year old inside of me was squeeing at all the drama and the 32 year old that is me was was thrilled by the possibility of sm-t. Okay both versions of me were thrilled by that possibility. There’s Fae, vampires, wolves, pegasi, sirens, dragons! The me that grew up with books like St Clair twins and later House of Night approves. All the delicious dark academia vibes complete with uniforms but make it college, aka Hogwarts with a chance of hanky panky.
Tory and Darcy are the chosen teenagers here so to speak, but refreshing in that they’re street smart and self aware, not immune to bad decisions but owning them regardless. There’s a nice helping of self deprecating humor in their internal monologues, and each of them has distinct personalities. Tory is the brash twin with a penchant for bad boys and knows how to handle them for the most part, Darcy is the softer twin but by no means naive and with a fairly level head. Don’t get me wrong, the book lives up to its promise of bullying galore, everyone including the faculty is atrocious, the very idea of discipline is ridiculous, and it’s all fun and games until the real cruelty begins. The way the twins face the haters and stand up to the Celestial Heirs while fighting their magnetism (barely) is weirdly exhilarating and gave me an evil sort of joy, but then I never claimed not to be broken. 🤷🏽♀️
I’m not even going to touch the “romance” of it all with a 10 foot pole, though I have thoughts, but there’s bound to be a lot of growth and hopefully groveling before we go there, because y’all, the Fae ain’t playing. It’s a Fae eat Fae world, and everyone’s out for blood. The only thing I don’t get is, why even pretend to start out in America when the writing, right down to the slang and spelling is so very British? I know, not that important, but it made me scratch my head.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Bullying