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yarisbooksandbevs's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Emotional roller coaster. Idk how I can write a full review but omg did my heart get stomped on pieces together then ripped out multiple times. I want to cry. EVERYTHING HURTS. I loved it though
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Car accident
alliecatk's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
this is the book where everything hits the fan, and you realize you are in for a world of heartache as the series progresses.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Torture
autumnwitch14's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death, Torture, Sexual content, Murder, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Slavery, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use and Classism
Mind control- characters are forced to do things they don't want to and are not in their right mind while doing sonineinchnails's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
these books are not good for my blood sugar at ALL i can't remember the last time i've felt so anxious and excited reading a book: or spent so long continuously reading a book that i missed breakfast, lunch, and dinner. the writing (specifically the prose) has improved quite a bit imo but even if it hadn't the plot manages to capture my attention so entirely that it doesn't really matter. i love angst and most of the characters were suffering so even though it's a lot of pining (i usually am not a big fan) i was obsessed!! the first half-ish was probably too slow paced but i really enjoyed it because there was a lot of character development (and suffering) and relationship development.
i think this is the first time i've felt them make progress with each other without them completely backtracking afterwards even if it is tentative and fragile progress. i am pretty much a tory girl now i think; she's so stubborn and prideful and argumentative and moody and insecure and vulnerable and loyal i would die for her!!! she feels very real and i feel more connected to her than i expected to at the start of the series. i think it might have been another case of me finding a character (ever so slightly) irritating because they remind me so much of myself that it's painful. some of her decisions and actions are questionable to say the least but it's more and more understandable the more we see of her chapters.
that goes for all the main characters if i'm honest since they get even more development + growth and even the ones i was iffy about i've kind of softened to. i'm still not obsessed with darcy and orion together (torydarius clear them any day) but i think i've come out the end of this book not hating them together so much... whatever makes darcy happy i guess! i do think the gap between them in terms of power imbalance/their dynamics is starting to close so it feels like they're closer to an even playing ground, if that makes sense, which is making me less icked out over them now. torydarius had so much development in this book and i was almost glad for the reason that they were suffering in this book because i don't think we could have got so much good without all that bad (in this context at least) but i'm hoping they get some sort of reprieve from the turmoil in the next book cause i don't know how much more i can take of it. ALSO torydarius felt very buffy x spike coded here like specifically season 6 the episode where the house falls down i'm obsessed with them.
the last half of the book made me feel sick because i was cycling through ITS JOEVERš and WE ARE SO BACKš„³ every 5 pages. honestly i don't even know what to say about the ending because it feels like there's so much going on but things just seem insanely grim. the only thing comforting me is the fact that i've finished 2 series by this duo now and if history (and the steadily increasing page count of ZA books) is reliable then i'm sure we will have a novella-sized epilogue by the time the final book comes out. i usually hate epilogues that long because they feel pointless and needlessly excessive but i think after all this suffering i will probably need it.
i think this is the first time i've felt them make progress with each other without them completely backtracking afterwards even if it is tentative and fragile progress. i am pretty much a tory girl now i think; she's so stubborn and prideful and argumentative and moody and insecure and vulnerable and loyal i would die for her!!! she feels very real and i feel more connected to her than i expected to at the start of the series. i think it might have been another case of me finding a character (ever so slightly) irritating because they remind me so much of myself that it's painful. some of her decisions and actions are questionable to say the least but it's more and more understandable the more we see of her chapters.
that goes for all the main characters if i'm honest since they get even more development + growth and even the ones i was iffy about i've kind of softened to. i'm still not obsessed with darcy and orion together (torydarius clear them any day) but i think i've come out the end of this book not hating them together so much... whatever makes darcy happy i guess! i do think the gap between them in terms of power imbalance/their dynamics is starting to close so it feels like they're closer to an even playing ground, if that makes sense, which is making me less icked out over them now. torydarius had so much development in this book and i was almost glad for the reason that they were suffering in this book because i don't think we could have got so much good without all that bad (in this context at least) but i'm hoping they get some sort of reprieve from the turmoil in the next book cause i don't know how much more i can take of it. ALSO torydarius felt very buffy x spike coded here like specifically season 6 the episode where the house falls down i'm obsessed with them.
the last half of the book made me feel sick because i was cycling through ITS JOEVERš and WE ARE SO BACKš„³ every 5 pages. honestly i don't even know what to say about the ending because it feels like there's so much going on but things just seem insanely grim. the only thing comforting me is the fact that i've finished 2 series by this duo now and if history (and the steadily increasing page count of ZA books) is reliable then i'm sure we will have a novella-sized epilogue by the time the final book comes out. i usually hate epilogues that long because they feel pointless and needlessly excessive but i think after all this suffering i will probably need it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Sexual content, Body horror, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Grief, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcoholism
Minor: Abandonment, Car accident, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Death of parent, War, Infidelity, and Police brutality
student/teacher relationship, incarcerationrainbowsandbookshelves's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Sexual content, and Blood
weefreesuzie's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
selestre's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Torture, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Kidnapping, Medical content, Confinement, Grief, Self harm, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Gun violence, and Addiction
shaykay's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
4.0
I'd like to know if it's where I've been reading these back to back or what, but I need to gain momentum. It just feels like so many things are repeating itself, and this endless cycle is getting rough. But I didn't realize that the series wasn't completed! I thought that was one of the reasons I started it, but now I'm still trying to figure out what to do. I'm not hating the story, so I will power through the rest and read the last book when it comes out. Let's see how things go with Fated Thrones.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Bullying, Violence, Confinement, and Sexual content
allie_treacherousreads's review
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Moderate: Murder and Child abuse
inkdrinkers's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"I'd offered her the world, but I'd waited too long to do it."
Picking up immediately after the events of Shadow Princess, Cursed Fates throws the Vega Twins into the startling reality that life has become much more than academy bullies, and real darkness creeps in as their fatal enemy.
I finished Shadow Princess on January 10, 2023. I just finished Cursed Fates on September 8, 2023. It took me seven months to mentally, emotionally, and physically prepare to tackle this book. I had countless friends warn me that it was rough, that it was like putting your soul through a blender and hitting the highest setting. I tried my best to prep and I still came away gasping, upset, and blindsighted.
I don't do spoilers in reviews. But what I will say is this is easily one of the best written of the series so far. There are SO MANY moments that, in reflection, hint at so much of the plot. It's very well done and I'm both extremely upset and also thrilled that I enjoyed the pain this much. I was a wreck for 80% of the book, peppered in with some laughter because there were some truly amazing scenes that I will never forget. Can I rectify that with the sheer amount of pain I'm feeling right now? I don't know. I just know that I spent a good portion of my highlights just screaming obscenities and knowing I signed up to me emotionally tortured.
There's something about these characters that have just utterly wrapped themselves around my soul. I genuinely love every single one of them, I want to fiercely protect them all. And I know I'm in for some absolute hell and trauma with the next few books. But I can't help but be ready for it, because I want them to get their happy ending SO BAD.
I really, really love these books. I love this world and I love how insane of a ride it is. I'm back in my Zodiac Academy era, everyone better watch out.
Content warnings: Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse
Picking up immediately after the events of Shadow Princess, Cursed Fates throws the Vega Twins into the startling reality that life has become much more than academy bullies, and real darkness creeps in as their fatal enemy.
I finished Shadow Princess on January 10, 2023. I just finished Cursed Fates on September 8, 2023. It took me seven months to mentally, emotionally, and physically prepare to tackle this book. I had countless friends warn me that it was rough, that it was like putting your soul through a blender and hitting the highest setting. I tried my best to prep and I still came away gasping, upset, and blindsighted.
I don't do spoilers in reviews. But what I will say is this is easily one of the best written of the series so far. There are SO MANY moments that, in reflection, hint at so much of the plot. It's very well done and I'm both extremely upset and also thrilled that I enjoyed the pain this much. I was a wreck for 80% of the book, peppered in with some laughter because there were some truly amazing scenes that I will never forget. Can I rectify that with the sheer amount of pain I'm feeling right now? I don't know. I just know that I spent a good portion of my highlights just screaming obscenities and knowing I signed up to me emotionally tortured.
There's something about these characters that have just utterly wrapped themselves around my soul. I genuinely love every single one of them, I want to fiercely protect them all. And I know I'm in for some absolute hell and trauma with the next few books. But I can't help but be ready for it, because I want them to get their happy ending SO BAD.
I really, really love these books. I love this world and I love how insane of a ride it is. I'm back in my Zodiac Academy era, everyone better watch out.
Content warnings: Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Bullying