i’m not a huge fan of dual timelines but this one did something to me. i cried in the first chapters during the tthis was magical in all the best ways
i’m not a huge fan of dual timelines but this one did something to me. i cried in the first chapters during the thanksgiving scene. i was nervous in the second interaction of “now” elliot and macy. they just had all this chemistry that made me feel like i was about to fall off a cliff. like i was excited by the adrenaline but nervous about the consequences even though it was wholly my choice.
it’s amazing when books get me so excited that i tune the world out and i feel like i’m existing with them. i thought i’d hate reading about them as kids but i adored it. i normally want to scream at characters for not sharing their feelings but i also felt the nerves of “what if this goes wrong” bc they had such a perfect thing going for them that the potential for more seemed dangerous.
i loved how relatable macy was. wanting someone so bad but being terrified of that heartbreak again. it’s so easy to expect people to jump head first but when you’ve experienced true heartbreak it is absolutely a risk to take the leap and i understood why she was cautious yet honest with herself.
and elliot, sheesh. i loved the adorable geeky kid who still had it in him and still wholly was in love and honest about how much he loved macy. it was painful and beautiful.
i could’ve done without that extra dramatic bit, but i still loved this book. i can’t believe it’s been this long since a christina lauren book caught me off guard and had me so invested. ...more
4.5 stars. honestly i adored this. it gave a very real look into the struggles of being in a relationship and then working towards building a friendsh4.5 stars. honestly i adored this. it gave a very real look into the struggles of being in a relationship and then working towards building a friendship and love again. the humorous parts kept this from being a super emotional read, but i loved how both the H & h had to realize they were both at fault.
i do wish we had an epilogue and maybe more focus on the series, but other than that, this story was awesome.
also is it just me or do covers like these keep you from wanting to read the books. i’m not super into the cutesy covers, i may or may not despise them. but i’m glad i gave this a chance anyway....more
───･ﾟﾟthe only deception was this cutesy cover disgusing one of the best romances of the year───･ﾟﾟ･ﾟﾟ
✦「so good i was ready to suffocate myself
───･ﾟﾟthe only deception was this cutesy cover disgusing one of the best romances of the year───･ﾟﾟ･ﾟﾟ
✦「so good i was ready to suffocate myself 」
⇢ disclaimer: i did have an idea of the premise but i swear this book knocked any and all assumptions i had out of the water ⇢ i was on the edge of my seat bc lina may have despised aaron at the start, but the tension and chemistry was always there ↳ before the actual deception, the author gives the characters time to develop a confusing relationship outside of the hate we see from pg one ⇢ while the first part of this review will ft me shouting my love, pls continue to the end where i share why this was a 4.5 ✩ instead of perfect rating
✦「it took painfully pining to a whole new level 」
⇢ g o d . . . when i tell you lina and aaron fucking pined for one another, believe me ↳ they were practically panting for one another, which had me panting for T H E M ➳ the shining scenes that captured my heart: ⇢ the auction: ↳ while prior to this event you can feel the attraction between the two begin, it’s here that we see the “warring” emotions they have. after this scene, i brought insomnia among myself bc at this point i could not put this book down ⇢ THEN A DAY BEFORE THE TRIP: ↳ ❝it’s like you want me to beg. is that something you’d enjoy? me begging?” … “is that what this is? you like bringing me to my knees?❞ ↳ I WAS READY TO OFFER MYSELF UP ON A PLATE AFTER READING THIS ⇢ day of the trip: ↳ proving that romance isn’t smut, but using words to create sexual tension even B E T T E R than smut *cough* aaron taking the crumb off her face and t h e n eating it *cough* ⇢ t h e - t r i p: ↳ soccer scene may have turned the temperature up, but aaron sharing how they met / fell for one another had me waiting to eat out of his hands ↳ THE FIRST FUCKING R E A L KISS, i swear to god, the sexiest scenes are the scenes without actual sex
✦「so close to perfect, yet not quite there」
⇢ this book would’ve been so fucking perfect if not for the unnecessary and EXCESSIVE DRAMA ↳ the author should’ve just written lina’s fear about a workplace relationship extended a bit more than that one scene ↳ however, she did NOT and didn’t do that scene justice. THEN added the dad drama. if this book wasn’t so good beforehand, i probably would’ve given up ⇢ i also didn't buy into her hesitancy bc of her past ex, so i could've done w.out it ⇢ other than that, and the cover (is it just me or am i the only one who doesn’t like the overly done cute covers) this book would’ve been spectacular...more
(currently re-reading the series and it's still as enjoyable as it initially was)
───･ﾟﾟ☆･ﾟﾟ5 brilliant stars. zodiac academy is the new book series
(currently re-reading the series and it's still as enjoyable as it initially was)
───･ﾟﾟ☆･ﾟﾟ5 brilliant stars. zodiac academy is the new book series that got me wrapped around its beautifully written pages───･ﾟﾟ☆･ﾟﾟ
➤ this bk is like crack for me bc once I started it , it didn’t get put down until i was half way through bk 2 and it was 4am. im gonna need other authors who do bully romances to take notes bc this is what i want and expect from it if you say its bullying/enemies to lovers.
➤ i skimmed some reviews before i started it and felt slightly misled bc it was compared to other fantasy series, and while i understand the slight similarities, this series feels unique.
➤ 「the world building and plot hit me like a shot of espresso, had me flying through the pages, unable to put it down」
⇢ tory & darcy vega are the formerly lost princesses of the fae, soon to inherit their thrones after finishing their studies at zodiac academy. the only problem is they’ve been in the mortal world for 17 years and have competition in the form of four heirs (darius, caleb, max, and seth), who aren’t going to relinquish their claim to power either ↳ of course competition isn’t the only thing to worry about, nymphs who steal the powers of fae are another issue the vega twins must deal with. ⇢ the world building is influenced completely from the zodiacs + a whole range of magical creatures who can also wield elemental power ↳ it might seem overwhelming, but the authors did an impeccable job at not info-dumping
➤「the characters are the like the sweetener that had me salivating for more」
⇢the sister duo you didn’t know you needed ↳ tory is the wild child, loud mouth, and constant defender of her sister. im aware not everyone likes her, but personally, she has the badass attitude, while also displaying real emotions that many of the “im not like other girls” characters fail to do (*cough* raven from BOBH *cough*) ↳darcy is the caress, to tory’s bite. unlike her sister, she’s friendly and shier. she might be the softer of the twins, but i promise she also has a “take no shit” attitude ⇢heirs: pretty sexy, but fully assholes ↳ the men do bullying right. all bully romances feel vanilla in comparison to what ive just read. absolutely horrible, but soooooo damn good
➤「budding romance and some spice?」
⇢ the professor/student thing isn’t really my jam, but the potential is interesting bc orion is a grade-A dick ⇢ maybe im wonky, but something about dudes terrorizing you as you terrorize them back seems like a delicious recipe for a yummy romance (or is that just me?) ↳ controversial take, but while im a dedicated & LOYAL darius + tory shipper, caleb is a damn good candidate as well ↳ don’t kill me but i also still like seth more for darcy
───･ﾟﾟ☆･ﾟﾟzodiac academy: supernatural bullies and beasts･ﾟﾟ☆･ﾟﾟ─── #0.5 origins of an academy bully #1 「the awakening」 ⧽ 5 stars #2 ruthless fae ⧽ 5 stars #3 the reckoning ⧽ 3.75 stars #4 shadow princess #5 cursed fates ⧽ 4.5 stars #5.5 the big a.s.s. party #6 fated throne #7 untitled...more
⇢ how do you get a girl back into the mafia world when she despises it so? you give her a sexy anti-hero who can charm the pants off an ice queen that⇢ how do you get a girl back into the mafia world when she despises it so? you give her a sexy anti-hero who can charm the pants off an ice queen that you end up adoring, that’s how.
elena lombardi is known as the oldest sister w. a tongue so poisonous she's alienated most of her family. even though, she was wronged the worst.
❝I was the child of a sinner, and sin was in my blood.❞
dante salvatore is wrongfully accused for a murder he didn’t commit, but stands trial to protect the youngest lombardi sister whom he adores, yet finds himself charmed by the coldest one.
❝If enough people treat you like a villain, you become one.❞
⇢ i’ve never found myself really interested in the lombardi world until i found out elena was
⇢ finally getting her story. apparently most people hate her bc she was so cruel in the the evolution of sin trilogy, yet i thought she’d be the most intriguing. her fiancé leaves her for her sister and yet she’s the villain of the story? no thanks.
⇢ dante was filled w. so much life and charm it’s no wonder elena was meant to be his. he didn’t see her ice castle as something to be wary of, rather found it as something worth getting to know. he finally is someone to choose her and i simply fell for it.
⇢ gd also did a great job at researching. sometimes stories that ft mafia plots can be overwhelming and most of us read it for the romance, but the author found the perfect balance.
⇢ i can’t freaking wait until the second half to be released next week....more
━the book may be a 5 stars for enjoyment and 3 stars for its story telling, it has earned the paragraphs upon paragraphs i've written
☽ i initially
━the book may be a 5 stars for enjoyment and 3 stars for its story telling, it has earned the paragraphs upon paragraphs i've written
☽ i initially gave this 5 stars bc for the most part i enjoyed this story and still did w. my most recent re-read. (my theory on future books will be at the bottom)
the good about this fourth installment:
→ nesta archeron. she's a complicated h to get and i do understand the hate she gets. a lot of it is deserved, but this book made me love her more ⤷ she's never going to be a gentle female, rather a raging fire that protects or demolishes. she's the angry heroine whom i fucking adore bc we so rarely get that in female characters. ⤷ i love her bc of her flaws. her tongue is sharp and she wields it so well. her kindness is so quiet and rare that she's too fearful to hand it out so boldly.
→ female friendship: the shining star of this story was not the romance, but the beautiful friendship that bloomed ⤷ emerie & gwyn gets the nesta everyone else wish they got. she's herself with them bc she never had to be anything else.
→ nesta being cold was actually an enjoyable part of this story ⤷ we got to see her mind as she said such cruel things. sometimes it was regret (most times), but also just her ability to hit the nail on the head w. her insults really show how much she pays attention. she may be lost to her own pain, but not completely that she doesn't know what's going on. ⤷ she's relatable in a way other SJM characters aren't
→possibly controversial, but i liked how much she hated rhysand ⤷ i still love him dearly and completely understood why he didn't like nesta, but it was just so nice to not have someone obsessed with him. she didn't hate him the way other people in prythian did, but wholly bc the inner circle was obsessed w. him for being good and she scoffed at that. ⤷ yes it makes no sense and nesta is a pain in the ass, i just enjoy how she doesn't feel things the way other characters do.
→W I N T E R S O L S T I C E scenes: ⤷ nesta dancing. she finally gets her moment to shine and i loooooooooved it all. also possibly-slightly-just-a-bit shipped her w. eris for a moment ⤷ cassian dancing w. her <3 ⤷ azriel's gift for nesta ⤷ THE EPIC SCENE OF CASSIAN GIVING HER HIS GIFT AND DECLARATIONS FROM ONE ANOTHER
→ cassian. he really is the embodiment of a good male.
the bad:
→ this was a sjm book that didn't completely feel like an sjm book. ⤷ i think telling a romance in one book is vastly different than anything sjm has ever done before and it's an adjustment. the ACOTAR series is heavily character driven in comparison to TOG which was plot driven.
→ too much was going on and not enough focus on the romance aspect ⤷ the push + pull between cas and nesta was so good, but i wish they got more open and honest scenes. so much could've been done w. one of those last scenes where he said shackled, but SJM kind of left us hanging
→ the smut. ⤷ it feels blasphemous but the smut was too much at times. im glad she left it for cassian and nesta, but it felt like sjm was forcing her way out of YA and she could've done it w. more finesse. on the bright side, it was still hot.
→ besides feyre, and occasionally azriel, the inner circle sucked ⤷ i understood it all completely bc nesta was awful before, but i've always found nesta's anger more relatable than feyre's quiet. so i just wished that maybe amren had nesta's back.
→ the ending ⤷ WHAT IS SJM OBSESSION W. MAKING CHARACTERS GIVE UP POWERS I HATE IT I HATE IT
☽ my theories for the next book('s): disclaimer- i doubt anyone will comment on this, but if you do and it's to argue w. my theories, don't waste your time !
➤ next installment is azriel + gwyn ⤷ the novella was about az w. hints of gwyn (the shadows sing around her and she's a singer). elain is only there to mislead us and add drama ⤷ gwyn is thriving in the night court in a way that the last archeron sister is not (literally mentioned in the winter solstice chapter about how black drowns her out etc)
⤷ azriel feels inferior w. mor and elain which is why he doesn't ever really go for them. they're also the type of females that need saving (at least to him) which plays into his self-fulfilling prophecy of only being good enough when protecting ↳ gwyn has already been saved by him and has finally got the skills to save herself, she doesn't need az like that. so their relationship would be more balanced. and i think keep azriel from feeling like less. i think w. gwyn he'll have to keep her from feeling that way due to her past.
⤷ mates are two halves of a whole: az + gwyn aren't opposites, but merely two halves that complement one another. neither would have to change who they are for the other and i love that. plus there's a budding friendship and az is really a part of a journey w. gwyn.
⤷ another one of the reasons i don't think az will be w. elain and will be with gwyn is bc in this book nesta changed feyre's and her own anatomy to be able to brith illyrian babies. she did NOT change elain's. ⤷ i believe gwym being half nymph will somehow allow her to be able to mate w. az safely.
➤ the final book will be elain + lucien ⤷ it makes no sense for elain's book to be next bc there's nothing about her character that would really make readers want to hear her story. no breadcrumbs were left the way it was for feyre and nesta. ↳ a book has to come before elain's bc in that book we'll get to learn more about who elain is. whether it be jealousy or anger. she hasn't displayed anything remotely captivating enough yet that makes me want to hear her story, which is why the next book will give it to us
⤷ elain + lucien will be a great story because she currently doesn't want him. not only does it make 0 sense for her to be w. az, i doubt sjm would break a mating bond. i'd lose faith in her stories + mating bonds bc of it tbh ⤷ however, elain + lucien would be a great story bc of the resentment elain probably has for him. she lost everything partially due to him. this resentment would be so interesting in a story where she can't stand her mate.
⤷ elain is not meant for the night court. she's sunshine. and w. lucien being helion's only heir (that we know of) it would make sense for her to go there. feyre doesn't want her in the spring court and that's not really where she belongs either.
⤷ the final book will also be elain + lucien bc there's been a good build up to beron being a problem and i think it'll continue in the next installments. ⤷ eris having a huge role in this book also leads me to believe he'll get some redemption arc. not in the next book bc that's too soon, but in the final one. i also think his story w. mor will come out then...more
i wish i had the words to fully describe how amazing i found this book. i started this series last year and never got around to reading this. i think i wish i had the words to fully describe how amazing i found this book. i started this series last year and never got around to reading this. i think it’s bc i read jagged first and was holding a bit of a grudge. anyway, i’m glad i waited bc it was the perfect freaking book to read. i needed this.
i screamed and cried reading this. it was intense, it was magical, it was thrilling, and so bloody romantic... i am hesitant to say this, but methinks alec possibly replaced mike as my favorite man of this series. i’m unsure bc i’m currently holding a grudge against mike bc of vi (whom i’m not really a fan of).
this is the type of KA that i adore. when everything just feels perfect bc her writing makes it impossible to think of anything besides the story you've been sucked into. so glad that the first book of 2021 that caught me was her. happy to say this is the first book i've read this year that is going into the best books of the year....more
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