Title: The Awakening
Author: Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti
Audience: 18+ , Fantasy , Fantasy Romance, Paranormal fantasy
Page Count: 436
ISBN: 9781080415041
Publisher: Dark Ink Publishing
Series: Zodiac Academy book 1
This review contains no spoilers!
Tori and Darcy are twins who grew up going from foster to foster home never really having anything or really a place they considered home. They finally turned 18 and lived in a tiny studio apartment together. They didn't have much but they always had each other. Tori would steal bikes to help make ends meet and they worked very hard for the little things they did have. Until one day they were ripped out of their world and found themselves in a foreign place called Zodiac Academy. They are the lost princesses and have all 4 elements fire, air, water, and earth which no ones ever had before. This puts an even larger target on their back.
This is an absolutely horrible book but I wanted to know what was gonna happen next. Tori and Darcy are only here to get their inheritance they want nothing to do with being princesses. But they are a threat to the four celestial heirs so they plan on making sure they make the twins' life's hell. Tori and Darcy are at the bottom of the food chain at Zodiac Academy so that means they are going to get a lot of hell coming their way. They hold their heads high and go through the gruesome inhalation. Every step of they way they are getting bullied and are always on high alert. However they still find themselves in the worst situations.
Aspect of this book that I like. I like how the book shows multiple point of views. It switches between Darcy and Tory and give insight into who they are and their different relationships with the other charters in the book. For instance Darcy seems to be more into making friends and Tory seems like she doesn't want to be friends with anyone. I also really like how Tori and Darcy don't really give up. They understand that there at the bottom but they are also strong and hold their heads up high. They challenge the Heirs in ways that infuriate them but the Heirs also deserve it.
The magic system and world building, in my option, is fun and exciting. There's not to much world building its basically a college campus so there is some insight to the building and how they accommodate the students. How they will help them learn about their magic and how the building will cater to their magic. There are 4 different types of magic - Fire, Water, Air, and Earth and that's pretty self explanatory. They also get something called an order which can emerge at anytime. An order is something you can shift into or force from something like memories or emotions. There are vampires, wolfs, Pegasus, Dragons, seers and many more. Also how your zodiac sign and star alignments are incredibly important to everything Fae.
Things I don't like. How violent and flat out mean the heir's are. They go above and beyond to wreck their lives. The four boys have their moments where they are very nice but they flip the switch so fast, it's heartbreaking. But at the same time Tory and Darcy have already been through so much it's really dumb of them to think these guys even care for them in the slightest. There is not really a good balance in this book because the twins get beat down so much in this book but they don't have very many wins. For example they get bullied a lot but oh they get to learn about their magic but they're still starting at the bottom. But its not really a win to go to the school because they are so far behind they don't know the basics like shielding their mind.
I would recommend this book to someone who wants to read a book where the main characters get beaten in almost every way - mentality and physically. Also they don't have much going for them however they do have things to look forward too. There is no spice in this book but definitely an 18+. This book made me cringe and also at times made me very uncomfortable so I was hooked.
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The Awakening Book Review Ratings and Recommendation
Rating: 4/5
Recommended: Yes -18+
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