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Book Review: Caged Wolf (Darkmore Penitentiary #1)

Rating: 4 stars

What do you do when the guy you’ve loved since you were fourteen is sent to the most dangerous prison in Solaria for saving your life?

Okay, so maybe he doesn’t love me back. And maybe getting sent down would seem insane to some, but I’m Rosalie Oscura, champion underground cage-fighter and alpha werewolf from the infamous Oscura Clan. My family wrote the book on criminal organisations and I’ll be ruling this place by the time the next moon rises.

Then I just need to get to work on busting us the hell out of here. ‘Us’ being me, the lion shifter I’ve loved for ten long years, and the most notorious criminal in here – a sinful incubus who’s been condemned to isolation for committing an unspeakable crime.

What’s the worst that could happen? I mean, short of being rejected by my mate, the black-hearted werewolf who rules over my sworn enemies, or getting myself noticed by the sinister vampire guard who has a dark vendetta against me. But how likely is that?

The trouble is, I need the help of those four alpha males to get out of here. And they happen to hate each other almost as much as they hate me.

But I always did love a challenge. And I never did learn when to back down. So how hard could it be to make them accept me as their leader?

Caged Wolf was previously titled ‘Darkmore Penitentiary’ and is a dark, shifter RH with rejected mates, age gap romance, enemies to lovers, psychos, violence and steamy scenes recommended for readers aged 18+.

It is set in the world of Solaria after the events of Zodiac Academy and Dark Fae and contains some character crossover but can be read as a standalone series without having read the other books.

Caged Wolf, the first book in the Darkmore Penitentiary series, was an enjoyable read for me from beginning to end. Like the rest of the series by these authors, this book had multiple points of view and I enjoyed reading the character’s perspectives that were in this book. I love that this series’ main character is someone in both the Zodiac Academy and Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac series that I enjoyed seeing even though she wasn’t a main character.

What this book did well for me was keep me engaged through the story. I feel like the story in this book so far moves along at a steady pace with just enough happening to keep you as a reader eager to find out what’s going to happen next. I feel like what helps with that is the setting as the place Rosalie is in is no ordinary prison. It’s a prison for the most dangerous criminals in the world of Solaria so anything is bound to happen each day she’s there.

What I also enjoyed about Caged Wolf is the character’s points of view we get. I especially found Cain and Sin’s chapters interesting. I loved seeing this story told from Sin’s point of view because of him being an Incubus and is the whole reason Rosalie is looking to bust out of Darkmore Penitentiary. I find Cain’s perspective interesting as well because of him being a guard at this prison and seeing his interactions with all the inmates even though I don’t know whether I like his character or not just because of the way he acts throughout the book. I enjoyed reading the chapters from Ethan and Roary’s points of view as well as they are characters I recognized from reading the Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac series and I enjoyed seeing them here.

What I appreciate about this series so far is that while there’s some romance, I feel like this book was more focused on what was going on to Rosalie in Darkmore Penitentiary instead. You see her different relationships with these guys and how she interacts with them. However, her focus is more on her finding a way out of the prison than developing a relationship with any of these guys. And I enjoyed that because while I enjoyed the last series I read by these authors, it sometimes felt like the plot focused more on the main character’s relationships than on what she was trying to set out to do. So while I want to get to know the characters in this series and see how they develop as the series goes on, it’s nice to have a main character focus on what she’s looking to accomplish.

If there’s anything in Caged Wolf that I have criticisms about it would have to be something in the plot I noticed when reading this book and how this book ended. So what bothered me in the plot of this book has to do with the rivalry between the Lunar Brotherhood and Oscura Clan, which played a huge role in the Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac series. The reason this bothers me with this book is because after reading that series from what I understood, both gangs were no longer at odds with each other. But in this book with the way Ethan acts towards Rosalie as their relationship continues to develop, I feel like I’m missing something here. I know this series takes place years after the other two series I’ve read so I’m thinking maybe the discrepancy I noticed has to do with information I don’t have yet. But it bothers me because its pretty clear from reading this book that the rivalry between the two gangs is still going on.  

With the way this book ended, I’m not completely sure how I feel about it. I enjoy what we find out from Rosalie’s perspective with regards to what’s going on in the Psych unit and the ensuing chaos Sin caused for her so that she could get in there. I enjoy these components near the end of the book because I feel like we find out there’s more going on in the prison than Rosalie expected. And I’m interested to see how this information correlates to the overall plot in this series as I continue reading it. However, what I didn’t like about the end of the book is how Cain acts. While I find his character interesting and want to get to know more about him, I felt like the way he acted at the end of this book was completely unnecessary. Especially because Rosalie saves his life when she very easily could’ve decided to let him die. It made me dislike his character here and eager to see her get back at him for it.

Overall though I enjoyed reading Caged Wolf, the first book in the Darkmore Penitentiary series. Like the rest of the book these two authors have written, the story had me hooked from beginning to end and the characters whose perspectives this story is told through intrigued me to continue reading to see what would happen next. Really excited to read Alpha Wolf, the next book in this series to see what happens next to Rosalie and the rest of the characters in this series.

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Book Review: Warrior Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac #5)

Rating: 4 stars

I’ve been thrown into the den of a monster.

I once thought one of my ruthless boys could be the killer I’m hunting. They’re all dark, deadly and more than capable of brutality. But now I’m held by the King I’ve been stalking in the shadows and when I unmask him, he’ll realise he made a huge mistake in taking my brother from this world.

My Kings are coming for me, I know that in my soul. They’re on their way to rip me from my enemy’s arms and tear him apart for me. My heart beats to the sound of their names. But I won’t wait around to be rescued.

Everything has led me to this moment and I’m ready to destroy the Fae who stole my brother from me. Secrets will be uncovered. Destiny will be decided. Death will deliver us all in the end. No one will escape the conclusion of this story without blood on their hands. I guess it’s a good thing I’m a Vampire then, because I just so happen to have a taste for blood.

Warrior Fae, the last book in the Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac series, had some twists and turns I didn’t see coming. The ones that surprised me the most were finding out the truth surrounding King’s identity and finding out about Elise’s relations. King’s true identity threw me for a loop because I wasn’t expecting it at all when I read this series because I didn’t feel like I got a hint of it in the earlier books either in any way. There was nothing in these books that gave me the idea that this character was actually King, and I felt bad for Elise since she had a good relationship with this Fae throughout the series. I also appreciate the storyline surrounding Elise and her Vampire relations because I wasn’t expecting that here as it explains a lot with what happened and why Elise didn’t have much in family besides her mother and Gareth growing up. Both of these things were something I didn’t see coming but I felt like brought a lot of pieces together for me regarding the storyline in this series, so I appreciate them both.    

I wasn’t overall too surprised in getting the truth about how Gareth died though as I felt like I had that answer earlier in this series even with this book’s predecessor hinting at another possibility. I also wasn’t all too surprised about how Ryder’s gang reacted in this book because I felt like that was to be expected due to his relationship with his members throughout the series. Both of these aspects of the plot felt predictable to me because I felt like I knew they were going to happen before reading this book. Though I was surprised at the new identity Ryder ends up taking on as it took me this book to realize that character makes an appearance in the Zodiac Academy series several times.  

However, I did enjoy continuing to see all of the relationships between all of these characters grow in Warrior Fae. I feel like character development continued on with this book, especially with all of the guys. I feel in particular that Dante, Ryder, and Gabriel had the most character development in this book with regards to each other. In particular, I was pleased to see the progression in Ryder’s character continue because I feel like he’s the one in this series who’s had the most growth out of Elise’s guys. His relationships with both Dante and Gabriel developed really well for me here and was happy to see him and Dante no longer hating each other. We saw his relationship with Gabriel grow in Broken Fae, but I felt like it grew even more in this book than the last. I believe its because out of the guys in the group, he felt like he could relate to Gabriel the most because neither one of them for so long felt like they really had anyone they could trust but themselves.

What I also enjoyed with Warrior Fae was seeing all the answers Elise was looking for regarding Gareth falling into place and them defeating King. While I felt like I already knew what happened to Gareth before reading this book, I was happy to see Elise get the answers she was looking for when it came to her brother and her finally getting the closure she deserved. I also enjoyed getting to see some of her memories with Gareth in this book because we were able to find out what her relationship was like with her brother before he attended Aurora Academy. While seeing those memories was sad at times, I also am glad that she had some memories of him that she could hold onto despite the pain she went through with losing him. I also enjoyed the moments in this book when they all fought against King because they were finally all able to take him down. While I feel like this is a moment that could’ve happened sooner in the series, the way it happened I enjoyed every minute of it.

While I’ve already mentioned some criticisms I have for this book earlier in my review, there are some I need to talk about. The biggest criticism I have for Warrior Fae (though this might be more of a criticism for the series as a whole than this book in particular) is how long it took for the plot to develop. I enjoyed seeing Elise’s relationships with these guys continue to grow and their relationship with each other as well. But I feel like that took up more of the book than defeating King and finding out who killed Gareth. While I don’t mind it because I love seeing all of these relationships and how the characters are able to relate to each other, there were moments when I was ready for the fight to happen with King already. Not necessarily because I was ready to finish this series, but because I feel like there was a lot of build up to it as I’ve read this series that I was ready to see it unfold. As much as I’ve enjoyed reading this series and seeing all of these relationships develop, I feel like there was a lot that also could’ve been taken out for us to get to this point.

Another criticism I have for the final book in the Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac series is the ending. While I overall like that these characters get the happy ending they deserve, I feel like some of the epilogue is just too much. I was interested in seeing what happened after they all defeated King but the way the authors chose to go about it wasn’t what I was expecting for this series. Yes, it was nice to see Elise and the guys lives once King was out of the picture, but there were some chapters in the epilogue that I felt weren’t needed because they didn’t add to the overall story.

But overall, I enjoyed the last book in the Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac series, Warrior Fae. While I’m sad to have finished this series by these authors, I have another series by them that I’ve already started reading and will be looking to review here.

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Book Review: Broken Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac #4)

Rating: 4.5 stars

The stars have torn us apart.

Just as we were finding a way to get past our difficulties, my kings and I have been shattered by a twist of fate.

And while we’re left reeling from the wheel of destiny, our enemies are only growing more powerful.

Felix Oscura is haunting Alestria with his bloodthirsty need to steal the power of the clan he was never destined to rule over, and the illusive King is growing closer to taking control of the entire city.

With challenges around every corner, and the mysteries behind my brother’s death slowly starting to unravel, I don’t know if I’ll be able to overcome the will of the stars before it’s too late…

Just like with its predecessor Vicious Fae, Broken Fae had me hooked from beginning to end. There were a lot of twists and turns in this book, and I felt like the plot continued picking up the pace, making me want to find out what would happen next.

I feel like Gareth’s point of view in this book was better than in the previous books because we get a much better idea of what he’s thinking of doing just days before his death. I especially enjoyed seeing his interactions with King that we get because we know he’s starting to get into the inner webs of this cult and was interested to see how it all plays out for him. We also know there’s a possibility of something else happening that I wasn’t at all expecting from this series, which made me want to continue on to find out how things go. I don’t want to be hopeful with regards to the potential the authors have opened up here in this book regarding what happened to Gareth, but the possibility that things aren’t what they seem has me even more invested to see how everything plays out in this series.

What I also enjoyed when reading this book was continuing to see the different relationships between all of the guys Elise is with. After the ending of the previous book, these relationships were definitely put to the test. But I did enjoy what I did see of their dynamic once they all realized how much Elise cares about each of them. I especially loved seeing the beginning of a friendship between Gabriel and Ryder and I feel like all of these guys are growing in their own ways. One of my favorite moments with the guys in Broken Fae was when they were all together for Christmas. Even though it wasn’t something they all had planned to do together, I really enjoyed that moment because it felt like the calm in this book before everything went crazy.

Just like with Vicious Fae, the pacing in this book was just right for me. It felt like we were getting a lot of insight into King and the members of the Black Card along with seeing all these relationships continue to grow. I definitely felt some character growth in this book with Gabriel and Ryder. For Gabriel, I feel like his growth came in realizing what Elise needs to be happy instead of acting possessive of her. I also feel like he’s the character in this series who’s actually helping Elise get answers to what happened to her brother. With Ryder, I felt a lot of his character growth came with him realizing he had more than the two emotions tattooed on his wrists. I also felt his growth through his continued rivalry with Dante and the truth Dante ends up revealing to him in this book that he didn’t know anything about. I feel like we see a lot more of Ryder’s character in this book as he’s finally embracing his feelings towards Elise and is actually starting to heal from his dark past. And I’m completely here for all of it.

While the plot involving Gareth moves slow sometimes, I feel like there’s a lot that happened here in Broken Fae that had me interested in reading to find out what happened next. Everything that happened in these pages had me hooked on seeing how everything in this series would play out. From finding out how Leon’s brother Roary ends up in Darkmore Penitentiary to the final fight against Felix and seeing Gabriel join the Black Card to get answers for Elise, there was a lot that happened in this book in comparison to the rest of the books in this series that had me reading to see what would happen next with all these characters. I’m at the point now with this series where I want to find out how everything turns out for Elise and all of these guys as well as find out who King is and get answers regarding Gareth and can’t wait to read the final book in this series Warrior Fae to get these answers as this book has left me in so much suspense despite how much I loved every minute of it.

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Book Review: Vicious Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac #3)

Rating: 4.5 stars

The King will fall.

While I continue my hunt for the Fae who killed my brother, I have to try to keep my heart away from the vicious boys who could be responsible for his death.

But as my investigation leads me down a dangerous road and answers seem closer than ever before, I’m whisked away to the elite school, Zodiac Academy, with the four Kings, and my heart becomes more vulnerable than ever.

There are so many secrets left to uncover, and I sense something terrible is about to come to light. But I’m in so deep to this dangerous labyrinth, what if this road only ends in blood?

Out of the books in the Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac series so far, Vicious Fae has been my favorite to read. I feel like it’s the book in the series where the story is finally coming together to me. Elise is finally starting to get some information regarding those she believes are involved with Gareth’s death and we are seeing her relationships with all of the guys starting to really take off. I like what we learn about Gareth from his point of view in this book because we are getting more clues into his relationships with Ryder and Dante months before his death.

I enjoyed reading this book because of the dynamic between her and all of these guys. You can see how much each of these guys cares about her and understand why she likes each of them. I especially enjoyed seeing the beginning of a friendship between Ryder and Leon. Their interactions throughout Vicious Fae with all the Lion King references were hilarious to me, and I love that they actually had them watch the Lion King together with Elise. I especially like that out of all the guys, Leon seems to understand what she wants and tries to do what he can on his part to make her happy by trying to bring all of the guys together and form a friendship with them. And I feel like in this book in the series, we are slowly starting to see them understand that Elise cares about each of them and they actually starting to accept that about her.  

With this book, I also liked that the plot was actually starting to pick up. In Savage Fae, while I enjoyed seeing Elise’s relationships with these guys, I felt like her looking into Gareth’s death took a backseat and that the story was mostly focused on her dynamic with all these guys instead of her focusing on who was responsible for her brother’s death. But in this book, I feel like she’s getting some information about who’s responsible for his death and is making steps towards getting more information than she had before. However, I know a large part of that is also due to Gabriel because in this book, he was doing some investigating on his own using what he could of the Sight to gather information for her. And I feel like I really appreciate that about him because I don’t know if the plot in this book would’ve moved forward if it wasn’t for the information he was able to get Elise.

I also enjoyed in Vicious Fae seeing them all go to Zodiac Academy together. I especially enjoyed seeing all of their interactions with Orion and seeing the beginning of Gabriel and Orion’s friendship. I appreciate the authors bringing in the scene that was referenced in the Zodiac Academy series with regards to how Gabriel and Orion’s friendship started as that was something I wanted to read, and this book didn’t disappoint with including it. I also enjoyed seeing their interactions with the Heirs in this book before all of the events that took place in the Zodiac Academy series. And I enjoyed seeing how Dante acted towards Lionel on his first meeting with him. I knew already how much Dante didn’t like him but didn’t realize how far back his dislike towards Lionel began.

With the ending of this book, I’m torn between how I feel about it. I enjoyed the action part of it where all of the guys are working together to save Elise. However, I’m unsure how I feel about what happens afterwards as I feel like it puts a division between Elise and the guys when they were all starting to finally get along. Its not that I don’t like who she has that moment with because out of all the guys, he’s the one who I feel like understands what she needs to be happy and she’s able to laugh and have fun with him. And I found myself once it happened wanting to see where things are going in this series from there. But at the same time, I know its going to cause a divide with her other relationships and am not completely sure if it’s what needs to happen.

However, I overall enjoyed reading Vicious Fae, the third book in the Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac series. I feel like it did a wonderful job picking up where Savage Fae left off, and there was more plot wise that happened along with Elise’s relationships that’s made me want to continue reading this series to find out what happens next. I also loved seeing these characters getting to go to Zodiac Academy and seeing the beginning of the friendship that formed between Orion and Gabriel. Definitely looking forward to reading Broken Fae to see where this series goes from here.   

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Book Review: Dark Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac #1)

Rating: 4 stars

What do a heartless Dragon Shifter, a cold-blooded Basilisk, an arrogant Lion Shifter and a brooding, tattooed Harpy have in common…? Me. Elise Callisto. Vampire. Angel of vengeance. And a girl on a mission to destroy one of them for murdering my brother. I just don’t know which one did it yet.

When I kicked the ass of a Werewolf who was high on a new and dangerous drug called Killblaze, his final words painted a dark reality for me. The King of Aurora Academy killed my brother. The trouble is, there’s four kings at that school and each of them have motive and cutthroat natures.

Aurora Academy isn’t a place for the faint of heart. To put it lightly, my town is the asshole of Solaria where the dodgiest Fae in the kingdom reside. The school itself is divided by the two gangs who run this town. The Lunar Brotherhood and the Oscura Clan. And guess what? Two of the kings run the gangs at the school, their hatred for each other so fierce I hear a day doesn’t go by without blood being spilled in the halls.

I might be a petite, lilac-haired girl who looks like a fragile doll, but they haven’t been introduced to my fangs yet. And they don’t know why I’m really here. Or that I’ll do whatever it takes to bring down the Fae who took my flesh and blood from me.

I don’t believe in fate, but I do know this… the King who killed my brother is a dead man walking. And I’m prepared to sacrifice my heart, body and soul to ensure I get my revenge . This is a reverse harem series set in the world of Zodiac Academy four years before the Vega Twins were Awakened. Expect some character cross-over, dark and hot romance, and a twisted murder mystery which will leave your head spinning.

Dark Fae is an interesting story told in a world I’m already familiar with that’s mixed with murder, mystery, and intrigue. What I feel like this story does well is the different points of view we get from the characters in this series. I feel like in this book, we get different perspectives that I find interesting to read. Also some that are familiar too since three of the characters in this series were also in the Zodiac Academy series too. What I find interesting about the perspectives we get in this book is that not only did I get to learn more about characters from that series that I was intrigued by when I read those books, but we also get some chapters about events that happened in the past from Gareth, Elise’s brother as well. I find his chapters interesting because we find out what exactly he was up to when attending Aurora Academy and his relationships with the Fae Elise believes are responsible for his death. We get to see his dynamic with the characters Elise is getting close to and get to see what his life was like.

What I also enjoyed when reading this book was seeing the different relationships Elise had with the guys who she suspects might be responsible for her brother’s death. Each of them are so different from each other that its interesting to see her interacting with them and seeing how they each feel about her as well as see what’s going on in their lives in this book. Each of the guys I find intriguing for different reasons, but I find the dynamic at Aurora Academy intriguing as well due to the two gangs that attend the school. I find the gang dynamic at the school interesting because Elise describes the clear division/territories at the school with regards to the gangs. I also find it interesting that if you’re not part of one of the gangs, the leaders will usually try and get you to pick a side even when you make it clear that you have no interest in joining their group.

I also found the two gang leaders themselves interesting as well. You have Ryder Draconis, the leader of the Lunar Brotherhood, who is of the Basilisk Order and has the word pain tattooed on one knuckle and lust tattooed on another. As Elise gets to learn more about him, you discover that there are a lot of dark parts to his past. Then you have the leader of the Oscura Clan, Dante Oscura. He’s a Storm Dragon in a family full of Werewolves and to me, gives off Italian Mafia vibes. He’s also a character that I’m already familiar with due to reading the Zodiac Academy series, which he also makes an appearance in, and is someone in that series I also liked as well and wanted to learn more about. What I found interesting about both of them is seeing their dynamics within their gangs in comparison to how they both act around Elise when she’s around. I also felt like I saw a lot of depth to both of their characters while reading this book as there’s more than meets the eye with both of them but in different ways. And I was invested with each page to learn more.

Another thing I enjoyed about reading Dark Fae is the murder mystery element that’s in this book and Elise’s character. I wanted to learn like she did about what had happened to her brother. And seeing her willing to do whatever it takes to get to the truth of it made me continue reading to find out what would happen next as I know I’m nowhere near close yet to finding out what happened. But with how much I enjoyed reading this book, I’m okay with that as I don’t mind continuing to get lost in the story to see how everything unravels. What I like about Elise is how strong she is despite her brother’s death. Yes, she has some moments where she’s extremely vulnerable, but I feel like those moments from her aren’t common and its understandable since she hasn’t really fully dealt with her brother’s grief.

If I had to choose something with this book to criticize it would have to be the end of this book. Its light in comparison to the books in the Zodiac Academy series, but I felt like I was left with so many questions by it because it felt so unexpected to me. I wasn’t expecting what happened to Elise to happen. It felt like the authors added something plot wise into the story for Elise to want to look into without giving any indication as to how it ties into her brother’s death and that was frustrating to me.  

Overall, I enjoyed reading Dark Fae, the first book in the Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac series. Really interesting read with characters I wanted to know more about and told from different perspectives with some familiar faces that I was more than happy to see. Enjoyed getting to learn what happened to Gareth during his time at Aurora Academy and seeing Elise’s dynamic with the guys she believes might be responsible for his death. Also enjoyed learning about how the two gangs operated along with learning more about the gang leaders and seeing Elise’s character continue to develop. Can’t wait to read the next book in this series Savage Fae, to see how the mystery in this series continues to unravel.

3

Book Reviews: The Big A.S.S. Party (Zodiac Academy #5.5) and Seth On the Moon (Zodiac Academy #5.6)

I decided with these two novellas to pair them into one blog post with both their reviews. I figured it made sense as they are the last two novellas in the Zodiac Academy series, and I wanted to make sure to review them but didn’t think it would make sense to have one blog post for both of them. It also made sense to me because of how they are both numbered as being books that take place during the fifth book in the Zodiac Academy series, Cursed Fates. So I will begin first by discussing The Big A.S.S. Party followed up by Seth On the Moon.

The Big A.S.S. Party (Zodiac Academy #5.5)

Rating: 4 stars

Once upon a moon, the wild wind whispered in my ear that the true queens were returning to Solaria and I made it my mission to open up their path to the throne so that they could slip right in like an oily oyster.

Now, on this most special and wonderous of days, the very day of their birth – I will prove myself to be the most loyal and dependable of their followers. Though of course, Venus is in my chart and Lady Petunia has caught sight of the bothersome barracuda once more.

Max Rigel is my most sinful of temptations, the shark in the dark who wishes to lure me to his sea cave and I don’t know if I’m Fae enough to resist him for long.

But one thing is for sure, I will make certain the Vegas get the big A.S.S. party they deserve for their birthday or I’ll die trying. Succulent squids be damned!

This is a 25k novella set in the world of Solaria during Book 5 of the Zodiac Academy series, Cursed Fates, featuring Geraldine and Max as they attend the party of the century and try to resist the lure of the moon as it pushes them together once more. It’s full of slippery salmons and more buttery bagels than you can shake a stick at and is best read after Cursed Fates.

This novella was such a delight to read for me. What I enjoyed about The Big A.S.S. Party is getting to see all of my favorite characters coming together to celebrate Tory and Darcy’s birthday. I especially enjoyed seeing what happened at the party told from the perspectives of Geraldine and Max. They are both interesting characters in the series and seeing the two of them interacting together in this novella was great. I know from reading this series that there’s chemistry between the two of them and seeing it even more so in this novella was wonderful.

What I also enjoyed about this novella is the other Heirs as well. At this point in the series, the Heirs and the twins are actually really starting to get along and I loved that Darius, Caleb and Seth had attempted to do something for the twins even though Geraldine didn’t approve of it. I really think the twins if they had known would’ve appreciated it since neither one of them seemed really into having a big party like what Geraldine had planned for them. I also loved that Darius had gotten the twins a gift and getting to read about how they reacted to his gift to them was so adorable.

Other than being way too short, there wasn’t anything about The Big A.S.S. Party that I didn’t enjoy. I found it lighthearted and a good escape from the darkness that’s in the rest of the Zodiac Academy series as there wasn’t anything bad that happened in this novella to any of the characters. There were a lot of funny moments, such as when the Heirs set a trap for Mildred so that she wouldn’t attend the party and ruin it for Tory and when Geraldine and Seth both cast illusion spells on each other in order to make Darcy laugh that made this novella such a delight for me to read. And with how dark this series tends to get, I’m glad that this novella at least had some light and humor in it to take away from the dark that encompasses the rest of the series. 

   Seth On the Moon (Zodiac Academy #5.6)

Rating: 4 stars

Seth On the Moon is a bonus chapter in the Zodiac Academy series. It is told from the perspective of Seth Capella, the Heir who’s Order form is a werewolf and is about his trip to the moon. At first, I was hesitant on if I should do a review on this just because of how short it is, but with Seth being one of my favorite Heirs in this series, even though I honestly love them all, I figured I might as well since I’ve read it.

What I enjoyed about this chapter is getting to see more of Seth and Caleb’s relationship with each other. I love them as a couple and even though neither of them seem like they want to admit their feelings to each other and I find that aggravating at times, I really loved reading this chapter and getting to see a little more of their dynamic together.

What I also enjoyed about this chapter is Seth’s excitement about this trip. I could feel it just from reading about it and I couldn’t help but be happy for him. I was really excited to read this to find out more about his experience on the moon and this definitely didn’t disappoint. Even though this chapter was very short and wished there was more about this trip, I enjoyed what I did get to read about his experience.

Like with The A.S.S. Party, this chapter was full of so much light in comparison to the rest of the Zodiac Academy series and I was here for it completely. I also found it very entertaining, especially with the story Seth shares about him and Caleb going to the mortal world with the Edward Cullen reference, how great his family’s PR is with spinning things, and his attempts at trying to get to go on the moon before the events in this chapter. All three of these stories made me chuckle and I couldn’t get enough of reading about Seth’s shenanigans. I also found Seth’s behavior once on the moon hilarious as well even if he did end up doing something inappropriate, but still enjoyed this chapter nonetheless like I did the rest of the Zodiac Academy series.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Seth On the Moon despite how short it was and found it a great last read for me with regards to the Zodiac Academy series until the final book comes out.        

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Book Review: The Awakening As Told By the Boys (Zodiac Academy #1.5)

Rating: 4 stars

The Vega twins are alive.

Those five words circle in my mind like an oncoming storm. They change everything about the future we thought had been set in stone. They challenge everything we were raised to be and the stability of the entire kingdom.

They’re coming to our academy looking for the life that was stolen from them, but we can’t let them take it back. So much hangs in the balance and we can’t risk the arrival of two naïve princesses destroying everything we worked so hard for.

I have trained in dark magic, overcome all challenges, and stood in the shadow of Lionel Acrux for far too long already. I won’t let them come between me and his downfall. Which means they have to go before they discover how powerful they truly are.

This is a retelling of the first book in the Zodiac Academy series from the point of view of Orion and the Heirs and should be read after you have finished the original story. It includes scenes from alternative points of view as well over 50k words of additional content and scenes which have never before been revealed. So prepare to step into the dark minds of the Zodiac boys and watch out for the heartbreak and carnage that will ensue.

Oddly enough, I enjoyed reading this retelling of the first book in the Zodiac Academy series better than the first book. I don’t know if its because of having read the whole series before coming back to read this and having a better understanding of the Heirs’ characters than when I originally started reading these books. But I enjoyed reading The Awakening As Told By the Boys better than The Awakening.

What I enjoyed about it was seeing the first book told from the perspective of the Heirs along with Orion. As the reader, I saw how they all reacted to the twins appearing at the academy along with what their motivations were to get them to leave the school. I will say it doesn’t at all excuse their behavior to me in this book, but I do feel like I have a better understanding of their actions and what motivated them to go as far as they went. 

I especially enjoyed seeing Orion’s point of view in this retelling as his reactions from the first time he met Darcy were adorable. I also felt like out of everyone here, he was the most logical when it came to the twins being a threat. I feel like him and Caleb are the first ones here who realize that maybe things aren’t what they seem and that maybe the twins aren’t as big of a threat to them as they expected. I especially loved that at the end when he discovered what the Heirs had decided to do to try and put the twins in their place, he was concerned with their actions instead of being completely on their side. It was like he realized that what was going on wasn’t right and that things should’ve been handled differently. It made me like his character even more than I already did because it showed he wasn’t completely biased when it came to everything the Heirs did.  

What I also enjoyed about The Awakening As Told By the Boys was continuing to see Orion and Darius’s relationship. I especially enjoyed seeing them going after the Nymphs and trying to find out where they were hiding. I felt like having this information about them was important to understand their actions later in the story. I continue to enjoy the dynamic between Orion and Darius even if the relationship they have with each other at this point was forced upon them because you can tell even with the bond how much they both care about each other.

What I didn’t like about this retelling, however, was seeing a lot of the same scenes that were in The Awakening, just from another character’s perspective. While I loved having these character’s perspectives on what happened in the first book so as to better understand their actions, it also felt like déjà vu and like I was reading The Awakening over again. I know it’s a retelling of the first book, and that the point is to get other character’s perspectives on what’s happened, I just wasn’t fond of seeing all of the same scenes again. Especially when there’s some content added, but its not much other than what we can expect when it comes to Darius’s father Lionel. Then again, Lionel’s actions here weren’t a surprise to me and were exactly what I was expecting.

Despite how much the Heirs have grown on me, I will continue to also dislike the ending of this book and how they treated the twins throughout. The only thing that made it more bearable for me here is Orion’s reaction when he finds out what the Heirs did. Even knowing what I do from reading this retelling, I still don’t agree with their actions because it shows at this point in the story how they’d treat those who they perceive as a threat to them even if those they deem a threat truly aren’t.

But overall, I enjoyed reading The Awakening As Told By the Boys. It was nice to see the story told from their perspective despite feeling like I was reading The Awakening over again and to get a better understanding as to why they acted the way they did throughout. I’m looking forward to reading the novella that’s also a part of this series The Big A.S.S. Party next as I know I’ll enjoy it as much as I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read with regards to this series.

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Book Review: Origins of An Academy Bully (Zodiac Academy #0.5)

Rating: 4 stars

Dark magic is forbidden at Zodiac Academy. That’s why I hide it so well.

But now I’m supposed to mentor Darius Acrux: the son of the most ruthless Dragon Shifter in Solaria. If he’s caught using blood magic, he’ll lose his claim to the throne.

The problem is? Our families are up to something, and we’re determined to find out what. No matter what dark power we must turn to…

Welcome to Zodiac Academy, where your star sign defines your destiny.

As the Fae of the future, you will soon learn the merciless way to claim your power. Life among the Vampires, Shifters and Sirens is no easy ride, but if you can make it through your exams, you might just be able to harness your inner strength and earn your place among the elite. This is a prequel novella set four years before Zodiac Academy: The Awakening, Book 1 in the Supernatural Bullies and Beasts series.

While I already knew most of what was going to happen in this novella, I enjoyed reading Origins of An Academy Bully. It gave me the perspectives of two characters in this series I’ve enjoyed getting to know from the main books in the series, but at a time before the events in the first book and before Lionel’s terrible reign began.

What I enjoyed about this novella was getting to see Orion and Darius’s friendship prior to their Guardian bond. I knew they both were close before that bond forced them together, but actually getting to see their friendship before was great. You could see how much hope they both had for their futures before it was stolen away from them as well as see them already looking to do the right thing by trying to stop Lionel.

I especially enjoyed getting to see some of Orion’s relationship with his sister Clara. While their relationship didn’t do much to change my thoughts on Clara other than trying to understand why she made the decision to align herself with Lionel (as none of the chapters in this novella were told from her perspective), it did help me understand Orion’s actions throughout the series itself and why he and Darius were working so hard together when it came to going against Lionel.

What I was hoping for with Origins of An Academy Bully was that we’d get more backstory into these characters from before the Vega twins arrived. While I feel like we did get some, I felt like this novella was too short for my liking. I wanted to see more from it besides seeing Darius and the other Heirs Awakening. I wanted to see what their time was actually like at Zodiac Academy when they first started attending the school and see them begin learning the elements they each harnessed. I also wanted to learn more about Clara too before she had become Guardian bound to Lionel. I wanted to find out what started her choosing to work with her mother Stella and Lionel as I feel like we don’t ever get any backstory on her throughout the series. If that meant getting some chapters from her perspective, that would’ve been fine with me.

Despite how short this novella was and what else I was hoping to get out of it, I enjoyed reading Origins of An Academy Bully. Looking forward to reading next The Awakening As Told By the Boys because I know I’m going to get a much better perspective on the Heirs’ actions and the choices they made in the beginning of the series when I initially didn’t like them.   

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Book Review: Sorrow and Starlight (Zodiac Academy #8)

Rating: 3.5 stars

All stars must fall.

Bloody, lost, broken. We live to fight another day. But with so much stolen from us, can the fates ever twist in our favour again?

My sister and I have been torn apart by shadows and despair, and now we each stand alone. Our sorrow is spun like a web, trapping us tight, and I fear our enemies will soon come to feast upon our souls.

But if I have my way, the merciless sky will have dealt us its final fortune. It’s time for us to take back the power that’s been ripped from our grasp and turn the tide of this war.

All stars must fall, and all Phoenixes must rise. Long live the Savage Queens.

While I enjoyed this book in the Zodiac Academy series more than its predecessor Heartless Sky, it isn’t my favorite book in the series either. What Sorrow and Starlight has done correctly is pull you within its pages emotionally. With the way the previous book had ended, I knew my emotions would be all over the place at the start because most of the characters hadn’t discovered who all they lost until the beginning of this book. It especially made me emotional when we saw all of the Heirs along with Xavier mourn the loss of someone important in their lives. As someone who’s lost an important person who’s been such a big part of my life, I felt like I could relate to the characters when they were mourning their friend. So I feel like this book in the series did a good job of pulling me into reading it emotionally.

I also feel like this book did a good job of character development with the Heirs. After everything that happened in Heartless Sky to them, I feel like they all were at a point where they realized that they cared more about their relationship with the Vega twins than taking the throne. I believe losing one of their own made them realize how rough life can be and that they actually care about their friendship with the twins more so than ruling Solaria. I also enjoyed seeing Darcy continue to grow and become a stronger Fae despite the curse and seeing Orion being hurt to try and help break the curse of the Shadow Beast. Their relationship continues to be one of my favorite relationships in this series as you can see how much they both love each other and what they would do to protect who they love. I also just feel like Darcy’s character as well gets better each book because despite what happens to her here, she still doesn’t break and gives those around her a chance even when she’s been hurt by them. You see this here once the curse is broken and she decides to befriend the Shadow Beast when she realizes the beast was also being controlled by Lavinia. Seeing Darcy like that made me realize just how much I love her character in this series.  

What I also enjoyed about Sorrow and Starlight was continuing to see the magic within its pages. As much as I hated Orion and Darcy being trapped, it was interesting to me to see the curse that Darcy was fighting against. I also found myself interested in learning more about the dark magic Tory was using and seeing if she’d be successful in getting Darius back. As much as I hated the circumstances both of the twins found themselves in, I continued rooting for their relationships and seeing things turn around for them for the better.

While I wasn’t particularly fond of the ending of this book for several reasons, there were some things I did enjoy about it. For starters, the majority of the endings in the Zodiac Academy series are dark. Usually they involve something bad happening with the twins and some of the other characters. However with this book in the series, I found the ending light. I think its because for once, things aren’t going terribly wrong for all of the protagonists in this series. And both Darcy and Tory are successful in getting what they want before this book in the series ends even if it doesn’t particularly all happen the way they want.

Despite these things I enjoyed about this book, I had a lot of issues with Sorrow and Starlight too. While Xavier’s chapters didn’t bother me as much as they had in Heartless Sky, I felt like there were a bunch of characters whose perspectives were completely unnecessary. While I was interested to find out what was going on at the academy, I didn’t feel like Milton’s chapters were necessary. There were also other characters who had chapters like Milton I didn’t care about, such as Mildred and Vard, who both only had one chapter in this book that didn’t really add anything to it for me. I wouldn’t have minded having more chapters from Lionel and Lavinia’s perspectives because that would’ve given me more of an idea of what they were planning as this book went on. But chapters from Milton, Mildred, Vard, and even Justin I felt like dragged the book on unnecessarily.  

Another criticism I have with this book in the series I’ve had with one of the others before and that would be Tory’s character in Sorrow and Starlight. Once again, she’s practicing with dark magic but this time, she’s not consulting anyone about it. She also makes a whole lot of terrible decisions where she goes off and does dangerous things on her own without letting anyone know where she’s going or what she’s doing. As much as I usually like Tory, whenever the authors have her character acting like this, I have a hard time feeling for her and what she’s going through. And in this book, that happened a whole lot for me because she practically acted like she didn’t care what was going on in the world anymore until she was able to get Darius back and save her sister Darcy. While I understand how much grief/pain she was dealing with, I just feel like the way she acted in this book didn’t feel right/fit her character. I feel like we’ve seen so much growth with her, but then we see her character regress in the series anytime I feel like we’ve seen her learn her lesson from a past experience.

I also continue to feel like Seth and Caleb’s relationship now continues to drag on. Even more so in this book than the last because even other Fae notice how they act around each other but yet they both act hard headed/stubborn and refuse to express to each other how they feel. And in this book, it annoyed me more than the last because you can feel the chemistry between both of them but neither one of them seems to want to voice what’s happening. I really feel like they’d make a great couple, but I’m at the point where I’ve given up on that as this book quashed any possibility of that happening to me. I know we still have one more book in this series to go so I know things could easily change, but right now I’m just not seeing it.

Like Heartless Sky, I felt like this book missed the plot entirely. There were three main plot points in this book from what I read, but I felt like in this book the authors kept trying to add things into the story that didn’t belong. Elements to the plot that made this book longer than it needed to be but also introduced us to more advisories than the protagonists need. The next book in this series is supposed to be the last one, but I’m having a difficult time seeing how they’ll end this series with the amount of content I felt included in this book alone. My thoughts on that are they more than likely will find a quick way to close up certain plots in the story so that the focus will be on defeating Lionel, Lavinia and the new antagonist that’s included at the end of this book. But with how much was in the story here, I’m trying to imagine how that’ll happen.

I also both liked/hated the ending of this book in the series. I’ve already mentioned earlier what I enjoyed about it, so now let me explain why I hated the ending of Sorrow and Starlight. For one, I feel like things still aren’t close to being done with this series. I feel like at the end of this book, Darcy and Tory both made a terrible decision that changed how things were going for them when things seemed like they were going much better. While I don’t completely blame either of them for the decision they made as they wanted to make the promise that had been cursing their family for generations come to fruition so that their odds against Lionel were better, I also feel like the choice brought on a whole lot more problems for them too. It introduced us to another antagonist everyone is going to have to put up with along with Lionel and Lavinia and everything else that happened in this book. And I just don’t see how the last book in the series is going to be able to end with all of the loose ends that still need to be tied up because of what happened in this one.

Overall, I did enjoy reading Sorrow and Starlight more than its predecessor. The beginning of the book pulled me in emotionally, the character development with some of the characters continued in a way I liked, and I enjoyed seeing the magic that was in this book in the series. My issues with this book were seeing too many chapters for characters that aren’t relevant to the story, seeing Tory’s character regress once again, seeing Seth and Caleb’s relationship continue to spiral, and too much being included in the plot that’s not needed. While I’m sad to have finished the main books in the Zodiac Academy series, I’ve decided to read the novellas that take place in between books in this series as I wait for the release of the ninth/final book as I still feel like I haven’t gotten enough of this world and its characters despite this series’ flaws.

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