Dark Fae

slow start but im hoping this is world building

4.5 ⭐️ I enjoyed this book so muchh it had me giggling and shit! I just love Elsie and the way she had Dante, Ryder, Gabriel and Leon all wrapped around her finger! They were down so bad for her and I loved to see it… I like the cult plot line and I’m excited to see where it goes but also please I need more Gabriel and Elsie 😭

4.5 ⭐️ I enjoyed this book so muchh it had me giggling and shit! I just love Elsie and the way she had Dante, Ryder, Gabriel and Leon all wrapped around her finger! They were down so bad for her and I loved to see it… I like the cult plot line and I’m excited to see where it goes but also please I need more Gabriel and Elsie 😭

woah

An amazing start to a new series. The characters are amazing and the mystery is well written. I NEED to know what happened!!! Having not read Zodiac Academy, i wasnt sure what to expect with the writing and characters. But man oh man was this a fun read, so glad i waited till they were all out and i could binge them all. No bullying in this one, just one jealous girl who doenst cause too many issues, but Elise is a strong character. n The multi POV makes this a great story to see all the sides of the story, and more crumbs for what happened to Gareth. Leon and his Mindy's annoy me and i dont see myself liking them as the series continues. Leon is good for a laugh though. Ryder and Dante are swoon worthy, and i hope their banter continues in to the other books. Gabriel needs to chill out a little bit, and i hope we learn more about his history and story with Gareth. Overall an amazing start, but those damn Mindy's...grrrr

** spoiler alert ** this book really caught my by surprise. i started reading it because i was needing some za content until the final book comes in december. i missed solaria, the magic, the angst, everything. and so far with book 1 finished, it did not disappoint! elise is such a badass and reminds me of the twins in some ways, especially with the confidence she carries. i have never read a RH before but i am pleasantly surprised!! i love all the love interests and i love that i know three of them in the future where the za books take place. it’s also slightly darker than za, with more of a mob vibe with more morally grey characters which really has me interested. ryder and dante?!? i love them and how they are on opposing sides but equally care for elise. leon reminds me of seth and i looove learning about gabriel’s past and his path finding love for elise. i’m so intrigued to see where the story goes from here! i’m so curious to see how gabriel and elise end up together as they are elysian mates, but i do love the journey, the romance and the thrill this series has taken me on so far and i’m loving that i’m hooked similarly to how i felt with zodiac academy!

Zodiac Academy explains things a lot better. If someone picked this up first, they wouldn’t understand anything. Other than that, great.

Ruthless boys of the zodiac? Maybe it amps up in following books but compare this to book one of zodiac academy and these boys are lovely. Not that I’m hoping for them to be bad I’m just saying I don’t think the series name is right.. This book was average and mostly because Elise is boring. One of the kings killed my brother and I will avenge him, but I also would love to have sex with all of them… ? Girl what? Also just she’s on this whole mission to find her brothers killer with no proof he was even murdered, like he OD’d and that’s all we know. And reading her brothers perspective there’s clearly secrets he kept from her so maybe he developed an addiction? I just think it’s wild to assume murder and to also assume suspects based on next to nothing. The Boys Leon. The Lion. I mean even the authors acknowledge this is cringe. Also a man that does nothing for himself? How revolutionary. Ick. Next. Dante. It seems the authors decided to give him a second language and a gang and that was enough substance for him. Boring. Next. Ryder. I don’t know what it says about me that Ryder is the one I most intrigued by but here I am. I’m wanting more of the book to be about him and the past we kept getting hints of that made him crave pain. Who hurt you baby? And the basilisk visions… way better than the chamber of secrets 🐍 Gabriel. The imagery of a fallen angel is working to make me like him and his mysterious ‘sight’ but the tension in the relationship between him and Elise isn’t convincing. It’s lacking the chemistry she has with the other boys. I guess that’s on purpose, I don’t know? I’ve only read the first three books of zodiac academy but the concept of Elysian mates has been brought up there too, I’m wondering how many books it takes before they are forced to make their decision under the stars? If this is a reverse harem series I’m guessing if Elise is anyone’s Elysian mate she either turns it down and becomes star crossed or we wait until the final book? I’ll continue this series but only because it’s tied to ZA, I’m not all that invested in the plot here I’m just after the character development.

** spoiler alert ** Is this a joke? I wish it was a joke. This is one of the WORST books I've ever read. Actually I had to stop reading and download it as an audiobook. This has good ratings because people read this BEFORE they read Zodiac Academy, I'm convinced. Because if they had read ZA before this, they too would give it 1 star. I don't know what happened to the writing, but this reads as unsmutty fanfiction. The beautiful, witty, creative writing you saw in ZA? GONE. Good thing they didn't try to sell these books first or the authors certainly wouldn't have the fandom that they have now. I wanted to be nice in this review, I did. Initially, I thought I was just bitter. Hungover even from ZA. But now I have read another series (ACOTAR, which the author too ruined after the 3rd book), and come back to this and the feeling is still the same. Elise is honestly insufferable. She's not witty, she's not smart, she's not anything she thinks she is. I wanted to love her SO bad being that she was Gabriels mate in ZA. I wanted to find what made him so smitten...but I'm left feeling like he was robbed of what he truly deserves. I'm all for a good hoe phase, but Elise is...different. She thinks with her pp and her pp only. "I'm just thinkin with my dick. My shit dumb" 🎶🎶yeah that's Elise. These men possibly murdered her brother and she's like "he looks fuckable" 20 million times. At this point, fuck them all and move on. You clearly stopped caring after you fucked Gabriel. She gives me Tory Vega vibes...but on a dumber, weaker, hornier more insufferable way. Half of the time she had me agreeing with Cindy Poo. Gabriel acts like a school shooter. There I said it, everyone's thinking it. I don't know how she managed to make me not care for him, but she did. I heard this changes throughout RB though. Leo? I heard he carried the series but all I got from this is a stoner lion who likes to steal but treats ELISE well, not women but Elise alone. Ryder, well he likes pain of course! That's all we know about him though since the authors took it upon themselves to tell us that and only that about him 2000 times. I like him, but only because I am admittedly a toxic person who enjoys crazy intolerable men as a side gig. Dante, well he's actually just Diego, just as a dragon and "Faetalian"...I honestly think the authors have white, english speaking friends and english speaking only. Because the way they write bilingual characters is cringey at best and straight up insulting & prejudice at worst. I truly truly don't know how they fucked up so much, the characters and world building in ZA was UNMATCHABLE...but this, it's like they saw how popular ZA got and some of their other series and then decided to just shit stuff out for relevance. I know I sound like I hate the authors but I actually don't. "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed". Yeah we all know what that means when someone says that. Plot? What actual plot. I mean yes there was a plot but nothing that had me excited to pick up the book everyday. Nothing worth stretching out over multiple books as these authors enjoy doing so much. Word vomit, the plot was word vomit. I could have written this and sold it to someone on Fiver for them to take and make their own. Maybe that's what they did tho, idk. Anyways, I wanted to read these slowly as well as Darkmore to stay connected to the world until Book 8 of ZA drops...idk when or if I'll pick up book 2 RB. Maybe I'll try Darkmore again, it seemed less lazy, more thought out. Or maybe I'll just start ZA again, but with a playlist to vibe this time. Who knows.

Not gonna lie this was kinda boring so I don’t feel like I’m winning right now with this series but imma keep going I’m being told it gets better.

Elise is determined to find out what happened to her brother. She decides to join Aurora Academy to find out who killed him. She come up with a plan and sets her eyes on the 4 kings of the school. But she discovers so much more is going on at the school. Will she find out who killed her brother or will she lose herself?

5 ⭐️

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book and i am so glad I did. It contains everything i want out of a read. A mysterious murder, a revenge plan, alpha assholes who hate each other but have a soft spot for the same girl, a kick-ass, take no shit heroine and an unpredictable story. This book had me on the edge of my seat every time new information was revealed i still have no idea what the answer to the mystery is. I can't fault it.

ok, here we go again, another series by these two lovely ladies that will crush my heart and shatter my soul... cannot wait!

3.8 🌟