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katara
The Awakening by Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti
Series:
Zodiac Academy #1
Genre:
Magic, Astrology, the Fae, Romance, Paranormal, Supernatural, Academia, Fantasy, Dragons, Vampires, New Adult, Enemies to Lovers, Book Series, Bully Romance, Urban Fantasy, BookTok, Dark, Werewolves, Spicy Romance
Publication Date:
July 13, 2019
Read Date:
June 1st, 2023
Date Finished:
June 1st, 2023
Rating:
3.5/5
Blurb:
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.
Review:
Trounced as a cross between Harry Potter with a mix of astrology and spice, this book has been heavily campaigned on BookTok as the one book series you need to read or have on your TBR. There had been no negative views, at least not in the reviews I had seen. I had planned to read this book earlier in the year but I was distracted by other pretty books and other recommendations that came from BookTok. Of course, many were hits and misses but with so many misses that were offered as recommendations, I came into this book series with a lot of expectations.
At this moment, I am not sure where my expectations and rating for this book lie. I managed to devour this book pretty quickly. While Harry Potter seems to be the inspiration for the book, there seemed to be other books that were woven nicely into this tale. I am not sure which ones as it has probably been a long, long time since I last visited those realms that I am not sure my assessment is clearly right. I have seen people say that there seems to be a mix of Winx and Avatar: The Last Airbender. While I do somewhat agree with the latter of the realms, I don't quite see it being a complete part of the idea. I see more of Astrology being a bigger portion of the series. After all, we do see some forecasts for the twins' upcoming day, which often tend to come true.
Told from both twins' pov, Tory and Darcy have been pretty much living on their own. Recently, they have been tossed from their recent foster home and made to fend for themselves that is until one day, a professor named Orion appears and tells the girls that are part of a whole different filled with the fae and other creatures. The moment the twins step into the academy, they are made to feel they don't even belong. Even worse, the Celestial Heirs have begun to make their lives miserable. After all, each of their families has been controlling the throne since the death of the king and queen. It was even believed that the twins were supposed to be dead. Now Darcy and Tory have to navigate through this whole new world as well as try to learn about the power they contain within them. That is if the Celestial Heirs will just back off and let me be.
Much like the Harry Potterverse, there are four houses and each one is held by the Celestial Heirs who are the Prefects/Captains of their respective houses.
House Aqua - Max Rigel
House Terra - Caleb Altair
House Ignis - Darius Acrux
House Aer - Seth Capella
And each member of the fae within the academy fall into each category ranging from Vampire to Dragon to Minotaur and Medusa and even to the rarest like hydras and phoenixes. While most know what category they will fall in, many won't know until the Reckoning, I believe.
There are a lot of secrets going on in this first book and a lot makes way too much in the first book. The Nymphs are killing off other fae and have become the biggest threat to the school. On top of that, we get glimpses into the twins' parents. Not really enough to establish if the King truly was horrible as they are being told. Of course, there are pieces here and there that he was a tyrant but not much. Plus, someone in the shadows is controlling the whole scene.
I did manage to devour this book within a few short hours. It does have some room for improvement so I am hoping that with each book it does become a bit more enjoyable.
