Zodiac Academy: The Awakening

By: Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti

Narrated by: Bridget Bordeaux

I’m a Gemini. Impulsive. Curious. Headstrong. A twin. Heir to a throne I know nothing about. And it turns out, I’m Fae. But of course, there’s a catch - all I have to do to claim my birthright is prove that I’m the most powerful supernatural in the whole of Solaria. And sure, technically that’s true, as I’m the daughter of the Savage King. But the bit they didn’t put in the brochure was that every single Fae in this Kingdom would claim my throne if they could.

The school they’ve sent me to is both dangerous as sh*t and one helluva party. Vampires bite weaker students in the corridors, the Werewolf pack has orgies in the Wailing Wood at every full moon, and don’t even get me started on the dark and twisted ways the Sirens use their powers on people’s emotions, or how my sinfully tempting Cardinal Magic teacher hosts detentions that leave people needing therapy. Classes are totally interesting if you manage to live through them. And that Gemini star sign I mentioned? It now determines my elemental magic and affects my destiny, so learning astrology is essential if I’m going to beat down my classmates - which is actively encouraged, by the way.

My biggest problem is the droolworthy Dragon shifter who has his eyes on my throne. He and his three psycho friends are determined to make my time here hell. All I’ve got to do is survive. But fate might have other ideas. Dammit, why couldn’t I have gotten a letter to Hogwarts?

This is a dark, bully romance - don’t go expecting a sweet school for magic with friends around every corner. Fae fight for everything they own and Zodiac Academy is a cutthroat school for students aged 18+ where only the strongest prevail. There’s no Dumbledore here to save anyone’s ass, and Lionel Acrux will give Voldemort a run for his money in the evil dictator category. So hold onto your stardust (broomsticks not required) and get ready for a bumpy ride.

©2019, 2020 Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti (P)2024 Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti

This is not ‘hot bullying’

This is not my first bully romance by any means, however the bullying in this gets progressively worse and irritating. In other bully romances, yes the guy is horrible and cruel but they show moments of kindness, there’s some balance. This story had very few such moments.... The twins are the victims yet you can’t help but dislike them too. I’m not looking for a Mary Sue but dang can’t they learn more? The authors barely talked about them practicing at all! We don’t have to be at the point where we can kick the celestial heir’s bums but not even their minions? Seriously? And apparently it’s like that until the 5th book, Not sure if I can hang on long enough even though I love the story’s premise and astrology.

Maybe I’m just old?

To preface, I’m 30. I started reading adult fiction recently; I loved FBAA and ACOTAR. I also love Harry Potter. I’m not the biggest fan of fantasy that heavily converges with our world, and this novel felt more focused on high school drama than plot. Sometimes it’s nice to let world building occur without interpersonal relationships overshadowing it / driving it. I’m going to give the second book a chance, hoping that the characters mature, but it is quite juvenile for me. I rolled my eyes many, many times. I heard great things about this series, I suppose I should’ve checked the ages of those raving about it! The narration is great, they fit the characters well.

It’s ok

Definitely YA, story line was a little all over the place and predictable. I think a younger audience would enjoy though.

I have trauma now

this whole series gave me ptsd. while it was good and just the type of spicy that I love to read about, nothing ever went well. I eventually lost all hope around book three. anytime something could go horribly wrong it did and in the worst ways. it wasn't predictable and I stopped hoping things would work out. I had to separate myself from the characters completely to get as far in the series as I did and still couldn't bring myself to finish it. if you want your heart and soul wrenched from your chest to be stomped and spit on and shattered into a million pieces then this is the series for you. I will never recover from this.

It’s okay..

I’m very dyslexic so I read and listen to my books at the same time.. the audio book is veryyyyy different from the physical. SEVERAL sentences and paragraphs left out completely, things said completely wrong.. I had to keep pausing the audio book to read because that’s how much was left out. It hardly matched and was overall frustrating.

Could be a win but....

I really struggled to finish this one. Up front, not my style book. It could have been SO good. Really like the world created but struggled with the main characters. Between not having common sense, not learning from mistakes and the drooling school girl premis I just can't . And that is so sad as I really liked the creative world based on zodic signs and mythical creatures. In the end I won't be reading the rest. Again just not my style book. Even with people saying it gets better a few books in I just can't suffer until then for a maybe.

So Good!!

Love this book, well written and i cant wait for the rest to hit audible!

Absolutely loved it

Zodiac Academy is such an outstanding audiobook.Darcy and Tory are twins that have lived all their lives in the mortal world from foster home to foster home.One night, Professor Orion appears in their small apartment and they discover that, They are Fae that belong to Solaria, the Fae world. They are royal princess, heirs of the throne.they possess magic. Since they are Royals,their inheritance is massive but they need to graduate from Zodiac Academy in order to get access to their inheritance. However the 4 Celestial Houses are currently ruling Solaria since the twins parents died and their Heirs are also studying in Zodiac. As they want to rule in the future they will make the twins life hell so they drop out and they go back to the mortal world. The world building is outstanding. If you noticed by the title it is heavily influenced by Astrology.Fae have Elemental powers linked to their Zodiac: Earth,Fire, Air & Water. The academy is split into 4 House linked to each power and each Heir is the Head of one House: Also Fae have Order forms so you can fine Vampires,Werewolves,Siren,Dragons and multiple more. Caroline and Susanne have done an outstanding job developing the characters so you grow to really care about them. Bridget Bordeaux did a fabulous job bringing this book to life and justice bringing the character to life. I could not stop listening to this audiobook wanting to know what was gonna happen next. I highly recommend you to listen to this audiobook

So where is the rest

I see at least 4 volumes. Will they be on audible? This isn’t right at all.

Love Love! This series

I’m really enjoying this series, it’s almost as if I can’t wait to finish one book to dive into the other. I hope the authors and producers are working on getting the entire series on audible because I can’t wait!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️