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Zodiac Academy: The Awakening

Book 1 in the series:Zodiac Academy

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'Zodiac Academy: The Awakening' follows the journey of twins, Darcy and Tory, as they transition from the mortal world to the Fae world of Solaria. Enrolled in Zodiac Academy, the sisters must navigate a world of elemental powers linked to the Zodiac signs while facing challenges from the ruling Celestial Houses who seek to make their lives difficult. The plot revolves around the twins discovering their powers, dealing with bullies, and uncovering secrets about their royal heritage, all while forming alliances and facing forbidden romances. The writing style is described as engaging, with a heavy influence of Astrology in the world-building and character development, creating a story that captivates readers with its twists and shocks.

Characters:

The twin protagonists, Tory and Darcy, are portrayed as strong yet different, navigating a landscape filled with both supportive and antagonistic characters, particularly bullies.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is described as basic and at times clumsy, featuring repetitive language and poorly developed dialogue, although it offers moments of humor and character interaction.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot primarily revolves around two twin sisters, the Vega twins, as they face relentless challenges and bullying in a magical academy, fighting to harness their powers and reclaim their rightful place.

Setting:

Set in the Zodiac Academy, the story unfolds in a magical realm called Solaria that is rich with supernatural beings and is intricately linked to astrological themes.

Pacing:

The pacing is generally quick, maintaining constant action with occasional slow spots aimed at character development and emotional moments.
My heart thumped a warning tune in my ears. I lifted my head, the bathroom below me familiar and haunting. I didn't have to do this. Breaking and entering. Although technically I wasn't breaking anyth...

Notes:

The book is packed with action and drama, with the Vega twins constantly facing challenges.
The word 'shiver' appears frequently throughout the book; some find it repetitive.
Professor Orion is a standout character that makes readers blush with his appearances.
There's a memorable and humorous quote about a toothbrush being dunked in a toilet.
Bullying in the book is intense, so it comes with a trigger warning for sensitive readers.
The twins have unexplored powers despite being described as powerful.
Magic in the story is based on the Zodiac signs, which influences characters' abilities.
One of the main themes includes the twins discovering their royal heritage and fighting for their rightful place.
The series is known for its cliffhangers, which keep readers eagerly anticipating the next installment.
Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti, the authors, have received mixed reviews, with some readers loving the series for its depth and others critiquing the writing.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings include bullying, emotional abuse, and themes of violence, which may be triggering for some readers.

Has Romance?

The book features a prominent romantic subplot alongside the fantasy elements.

From The Publisher:

You have been selected to attend Zodiac Academy, where your star sign defines your destiny.

If you're one of the Fae , elemental magic is in your blood. And apparently it's in ours. As twins born in the month of Gemini, we're a rare breed even in this academy of supernatural a-holes.

Changelings were outlawed hundreds of years ago but I guess our birth parents didn't get the memo. Which means we're totally unprepared for the ruthless world of Fae .

Air. Fire. Water. Earth.

No one has ever harnessed all four of them, until we arrived. And it hasn't made us any friends so far.

As the rarest Elementals ever known, we're already a threat to the four celestial heirs ; the popular, vindictive bullies who happen to be some of the hottest guys we've ever seen. It doesn't help that they're the most dangerous beasts in the Academy. And probably on earth too.

Our fates are intertwined, but they want us gone. They've only got until the lunar eclipse to force us out and they'll stop at nothing to succeed.

We never knew we had a birthright to live up to but now that we do, we intend to claim our throne.

We can't expect any help from the faculty when it comes to defending ourselves. So if the dragon shifters want some target practice, the werewolves want someone to hunt or the vampires fancy a snack then we have to be ready. But we've been looking after each other for a long time and fighting back is in our blood.

Today's horoscope: totally screwed.

This is a full-length medium burn novel that is the first in a university-age academy series. Expect forbidden love and bully romance with mature content suitable for upper YA readers and onwards. more

Ratings (168)

Incredible (27)
Loved It (56)
Liked It (28)
It Was OK (18)
Did Not Like (20)
Hated It (19)

Reader Stats (436):

Read It (165)
Currently Reading (8)
Want To Read (176)
Did Not Finish (23)
Not Interested (64)

4 comment(s)

It Was OK
1 week

Junk food in book form. Fun but not life changing. The prose is rough and the plot doesn't feel like it's planned out.

 
Hated It
1 month

Writing horrible characters horrible everything horrible to me

 
Loved It
1 month

This book took me completely by surprise, found a blog review that really sold it to me, and I fell in love almost instantly with the series. Only reason it wasn't a 5 stars for me is how fast everything was happening, which I find got better paced in the following books.

Nevertheless, I 100% enjoyed the storytelling. I think the characters were charming and had great developing arcs, definitely fell in love with them learning how to control the different Elements and found sympathy for the struggles the Vega Twins had to overcome to both adapt to a new world but also trust people and stop feeling like every turn of events everything was going to fall apart.

The selling point to me was the star related content and it honestly was very well inserted to be both realistic and also completely magical at the same time.

I also want to highlight the multi-POV which I think makes it so interesting because we get an insight of many character personalities, and also how it handled the Darcy-Lance situation building the tension up to end up being sweet but really hot at the same time. Impeccable writing all around!

 
Hated It
1 month

One of those books where everyone’s aggressively sexual all the time and constantly smirking, and the predatory boys are maybe (?) facing something forcing them to act that way, but we still don’t know the larger power players at work by the end, and tbh you can’t really uwu soft boy your way out of the crap they put the Vega twins through. (The Vega twins are written as though they are the same person. Idk why there are two girls. They seem to just be the same girl twice.)

 
 
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