Book Club: What I Read In December 2022
Welcome to the first edition of my monthly book club! Each month I will be reviewing all of the books I read and rating them out of 5 stars. I have always been an avid reader, especially fantasy romance novels, but unfortunately, none of my friends enjoy the same genres as me. So instead of looking like a lunatic and discussing my favourites with my cat, I figured I’d write about them instead!
December was definitely not about variety for me. I got hooked on the series Zodiac Academy, so unfortunately (but honestly, fortunately) this book club has turned into a full-on review of this series. In 2023, my goal is to read at least one non-fiction book and then however many fiction books I can fit in each month. With that being said, here are all the books I finished in December!
Warning: there may be some minimal spoilers ahead- read at your own risk!
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1. Zodiac Academy: The Awakening
Name: Zodiac Academy: The Awakening
Author: Caroline Peckham/Susanne Valenti
Pages: 434
Rating: ★★★
Spice Level: 🌶
I was super excited to start the Zodiac Academy series. I have seen it all over booktok for SO long, but I already had too many series on the go to start it at the time. I’ve finally caught up on my TBR (To Be Read) list and was able to get started on the first book in the series.
The book starts off by introducing us to two twins, Darcy and Tory. They are trying to survive on their own in Chicago after being kicked out of their foster home when they turned 18. The beginning chapters really highlight the struggles that Darcy and Tory faced in their lives after their parents died when they were babies and they had to jump from foster home to foster home. After attempting a break-in and stealing a motorbike in order to scrape up enough cash to make rent, it’s apparent that the twins are really down on their luck. That is until a hot, handsome man who just happens to be the youngest professor at a secret magic academy stalks them and breaks into their apartment to tell them they’re actually the long lost Vega princesses from another world called Solaria and he’s here to whisk them away to discover their new-found fae powers (which of course, they’re suddenly the most powerful fae in a world they didn’t know existed).
I’m not gonna lie… I was cringing so hard at the writing style in the first couple of chapters I almost put the book down for good. There was something about the dialogue between the characters that was super juvenile and unrealistic- it felt like the dialogue in a really bad Netflix rom-com (think Kissing Booth). I’m glad I stuck it out though because it does become more natural towards the end of the book and I really am a sucker for a powerful female main character (or two in this case!) but I came pretty close to DNF-ing (Did Not Finish) this series.
We’re introduced to the “heirs,” four ridiculously good-looking but oh-so-mean guys by the names of Seth, Max, Caleb, and Darius. These heirs are out to get the Vega twins as they think the twins are out to steal their future thrones. The boys bully the twins for the entirety of the book while also simultaneously lusting after them in a very confusing back-and-forth (but I hate to admit that it really does build on the slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers theme that I love.) The twins have to navigate the constant hatred from the heirs, learning to harness their new powers (which appear to be pretty useless at the moment, even though they’re the most powerful??) and trying to de-code mysterious messages from a source that claims to be on their side and is warning them about the future.
I ended up becoming pretty engrossed in the world that the authors build throughout the book, which helped me gloss over some of the weird back and forth from the characters. I’d rate this book 3/5 stars- good enough to continue on with the series, but not one of the best-written books I’ve ever read.
I’m sure you can take a wild guess as to what the next book on my December reading list was…
2. Zodiac Academy: Ruthless Fae
Name: Zodiac Academy: Ruthless Fae
Author: Caroline Peckham/Susanne Valenti
Pages: 538
Rating: ★★★★
Spice: 🌶🌶
The second book in the Zodiac Academy series was definitely better than the first, and we finally get a taste of some romance towards the end.
The book starts right where we left off in book one. Darcy and Tory are coming up with a plan to get revenge on the heirs after the trauma they caused the girls. This becomes a theme throughout the book and it’s actually really enjoyable. The twins get their revenge in a more subtle way, but it builds up throughout the book and causes significant damage to the heirs and their reputations (which is very satisfying).
We also get some more romance in this book (and even some spicy chapters finally!) There is a forbidden romance with Darcy and a weird love triangle with Tory. It’s hard to understand how the girls can be so cool (and even hook up with) the guys that almost killed them but it also helps build the tension so I guess it’s kind of hit or miss.
We’re also introduced to the current reigning lords/ladies of Solaria, including Lionel Acrux (Darius’ Dad) who is supposedly this big bad guy. The girls willingly attend a party at the Acrux’s super-mansion with a bunch of people who would love to see them dead which really didn’t make much sense to me. It definitely added to the plot (and romance) but logically it shouldn’t have happened. The twins have almost no control over their powers and they’re walking into the lion’s den (or dragon’s den in this case) where they could easily be killed, yet they dress up and get drunk and do not have a single fucking care in the world. I will also say this event took up wayyyyy too many chapters than was necessary and I kinda struggled through some of it, but in the end we’re finally rewarded with a Darcy/Orion hookup that is just TOO GOOD (love them).
The next few chapters are all about Pitball (the magical school sport in this series.) It definitely felt like it was trying too hard to be quidditch, but it was still fairly entertaining. It does lead up to the big finale, but I’m not so sure we needed so much detail about this one particular match of the game. I will say that it leads to so much more character development for Geraldine, who is slowly becoming a favourite character, so it wasn’t all bad.
Overall, I would rate this book higher than the first one at 4/5 stars- definitely hooked me more than the first book and was an enjoyable read overall.
3. Zodiac Academy: The Reckoning
Name: Zodiac Academy: The Reckoning
Author: Caroline Peckham/Susanne Valenti
Pages: 640
Rating: ★★★★.5
Spice: 🌶🌶🌶
Next up is the third book in the Zodiac Academy series- The Reckoning. This book was my favourite so far. After the big finale of the second book, the students and staff at Zodiac Academy are still reeling. However, Fae do not take time to mourn the dead apparently so Principal Nova decides to go full steam ahead with The Reckoning- essentially like magical exams in this world. The students have to pass a trial for each of the elements they have (for the Vega twins that means 4 trials) plus the big finale called The Reckoning. In addition, it is “Hell Week” where the senior students get to literally make life a living hell for the first-year students as they try to pass their trials.
I enjoyed the trials for the most part, but it felt like Darcy and Tory had no real struggles throughout. Which on one hand makes sense as they’re supposed to be the most powerful Fae in Solaria, but they have been struggling to control/learn their magic up until this point so I was expecting some more roadblocks to pop up for them. Maybe I missed where the other students were struggling more than them but in my head it didn’t fully add up.
In between these trials, we finally get a full-on Darcy and Lance romance where they confess their feelings for each other and bang (a lot), officially starting their forbidden teacher/student romance. I really do enjoy their relationship- I love a grumpy asshole who has a soft spot for the love of his life and I like that the authors still have him being a dick to Tory even though he’s now with her sister. We also find out a lot more about what Lance and Darius are doing to overthrow Lionel, and having their POVs makes me like the two of them even more (and allows me to be way more forgiving of Darius for all the trauma he’s caused the twins.)
While Darcy and Lance are cute, I’m still on team Tory and Darius. There is something about the dark bad boy/tough cool girl dynamic between them that had me giggling at the goddamn pages as I was reading. This is the SLOWEST of slow burns with no real end in sight, but at least their relationship seems to be progressing finally. The bike race and Tory meeting and bonding with Darius’ brother Xavier was definitely a highlight for me from this book. I also am currently on board with Tory constantly reminding Darius about all the shit he did to her- we do NOT let men off the hook that easy just because they’re hot. But getting Darius’ point of view and seeing how he’s realizing his feelings for Tory just GETS ME. I cannot wait for more of them in the next book.
Finally, we get to the finale of the third book which reveals the Vega twins’ order forms. This was actually really cool (I won’t spoil it here but don’t read the next review if you don’t want to know!) and I think it will make a good plotline in the series.
This book I rate 4.5/5 stars. I relate way more to the characters, there’s a lot of action and romance, and it ended on a good cliffhanger for the next book.
4. Zodiac Academy: Shadow Princess
Name: Zodiac Academy: Shadow Princess
Author: Caroline Peckham/Susanne Valenti
Pages: 684
Rating: ★★★
Spice: 🌶🌶🌶
Okay, I have a bone to pick with this book. Not only did it make me turn on my favourite character, but it was also so doom-filled and dark and there was SO much miscommunication that it was just not that enjoyable to read. Like… everything went wrong. And trust me, I’m not looking for a book that’s all happiness and good luck and the characters get everything they want. But give us SOMETHING!
Darcy and Tory have two big secrets to hide from “Daddy Acrux” now: they’ve emerged as long-forgotten Phoenixes, the most powerful order form to exist (of course) and they secretly have the scary fifth element of shadows that Lionel accidentally passed to them. I was hoping we would get to see more of the twins trying to master these two new elements in their lives, but we barely get a chapter for each. There are so many instances in the book where Darcy/Tory/Lance/Darius “feel the shadows” and they’re supposedly learning how to control them, but how?? It’s like they have these lessons with Lance behind the scenes and just start getting scary nightmares every night. I feel like we could have delved a bit more into these lessons instead of just getting one or two.
We’re also introduced to the first major hurdle in Darcy/Lance’s relationship (other than it being fully forbidden and completely secretive) which is them getting caught in the middle of doing the dirty by Seth. Firstly, how in the world was Lance Orion stupid enough to go to a student party where he then proceeded to hook up with his student-girlfriend AND DIDN’T EXPECT TO GET CAUGHT???? I was yelling at them the whole time I was reading it. Second, I am so OVER the back and forth between the heirs and the Vegas twins. Do they like them or not?? They’re all hooking up with each other and half of them are in love, yet now Seth is back to being an asshole to Darcy and making her life miserable? I get that this particular drama with Darcy and Lance finally caused a riff between the twins which I was expecting to happen at some point but still, it’s getting a bit exhausting trying to figure out who likes who.
Speaking of, the Darius/Tory romance in this book made me want to rip my fucking hair out. I LOVED them up until this point, and I was still fully on board when they FINALLY hooked up (which was steamy) but Tory made me want to punch her in the face during this book. As I said in the last review, I’m fully on board with her giving Darius shit for all the terrible things he’s done to her, but now she’s really just messing with his head and being stubborn for no reason. I’m a little disappointed because we see Darcy progressing and becoming more powerful and mature throughout the books, but it’s like Tory is staying in the same spot and continuing to make the same mistakes. She made me so frustrated I started to dislike her, which is upsetting because I loved her so much in the first three books.
While this book was my least favourite so far, the finale definitely tops the rest of them. I figured Darius and Tory were mates (same with Darcy and Lance although that hasn’t been confirmed yet) but making them choose so early on while they still hate each other??? It makes me dislike how stubborn Tory has been even more. On the other hand, I could see that bringing Lance’s sister Clara back from the shadow realm was a terrible idea from a mile away and I was right. But the ending… I won’t spoil it but OMG. I know it can’t be true but I was still in shock.
This book is a 3/5 stars for me. The ending chapters definitely saved this book, but I can’t fully forgive it for making me question the sanity of my favourite character.
What books did you read last month? I’m always looking for new recommendations so let me know down below! Watch out for next month’s book club!
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