A review by zabeishumanish
The Awakening by Susanne Valenti, Caroline Peckham

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

4.5

I totally understand why this series is so popular. Tory and Darcy are super compelling characters and the world-building here is insanely complex yet still comprehensible.  Bully romances are really not my thing and all of the magical aspects incorporated into the bullying made the story a bit too intense for my taste.  If you're a fan of bully romance though this probably won't bother you. 

The story isn't a romance, despite romantic elements (bully romance specifically), the book ends on a cliffhanger with no happy relationships in the book.

There are a ton of consent issues in this book. While none of those issues are around sex, the twins have no bodily autonomy whenever a vampire decides to feed on them and no mental autonomy in terms of the coercion magic, and emotional manipulation from the sirens.  These consent issues being brushed off as part of the fae power structure makes sense in the world-building but has the potential to be more triggering than direct violation of sexual consent.
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