This one hurts. The relationships deepen or become more nuanced. Not a whole lot actually happens until the very end but we see the girls start to embrace their power and a new important character is introduced (he is a cross over from another series, which adds to the fun). And Geraldine Grus becomes quite possibly my favorite secondary character ever. Then once something happens plot-wise, it really happens. The last hour or so is a whirlwind. Both the romance and spice are elevated in this one too. 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ / 💖💖

Ends on major cliffhangers.

i feel like the writing has improved a tiny bit in this book but i'm not sure if it's just that i've gotten so accustomed to it so i don't know if any judgement i make in this review will be accurate. i know a lot of people hated tory in this book but as much as she was frustrating i understood her and i don't think i ever really disliked her. what's crazy is darcy was overwhelmingly my fav twin in the first couple books but i think that's now shifted to tory somehow. i'm probably biased because i too am prideful, stubborn, and constantly self sabotage so who am i to judge? i don't want to spoil anything outside of what is already known from the first 3 books so i'll just say almost all of the characters seemed to make progress only to backtrack or revert to their book 1 antics and it made me want to throw my phone at the wall.

also i have probably already said this a bajillion times but whilst i love darcy + (somewhat like) orion individually i hate their relationship. it's not even that it's forbidden or that it's a student/teacher relationship necessarily (because they are both adults technically) it's the dynamics: in a fantasy world there is definitely the opportunity to make it feel less gross (like how underage drinking in solaria is completely normalised) and that just wasn't the case imo so most of their scenes ick me out so bad. i know he cares about her a lot and does a lot for her but i don't like the way he goes about covering up his favouritism to save face sometimes because he just takes it too far imo. darcy is better than me for sure because i would not have tolerated that even once. the only time she's actually seemed to have a backbone was when she was pissed on tory's behalf, which is pretty in character for her but it's still hard to read. this book would've been rated higher if there was less darcyorion but alas!

i'm interested to see how tory and darius' relationship develops because they're both so similar in the worst ways (for a romantic relationship) and i can't see either of them actually compromising for each other as it stands. i know promises get made and words get said but that's an entirely different issue from either one of them delivering on that. they both have deep rooted trust issues, lack communication, and god knows what else + i have yet to see either of them making significant progress on that but i'm hoping it'll slowly happen over the next books and i am very excited because they have potential. tbh i find it hard to hate either of them because despite their very irritating behaviour i understand them (most of the time) and i feel like they have understandable reasons for their twisted logic.

the plot outside of the relationships was insane in the best way pretty much every time i had to put this down i was anxious to pick it back up. i was probably being overly paranoid because there was a lot of long slice of life type of scenes but i just felt the vague feeling of imminent threat the whole time and it was making me super anxious. i feel like the authors kinda make a lot of this stuff as they go along when it comes to the worldbuilding but that's part of what makes it so fun for me to read cause a lot of it feels very balls-to-the-wall crazy and unhinged. even the twins being mary sues is really fun for me cause it just feels really self indulgent whenever they're not fighting for their lives i love it! also yes this book was unnecessarily long but i love these characters and this world so idc!! 

So these books are enormous. They are all 500+ pages, and for the most part, we are focusing on Tory and Darcy's story. We also have the same cast for most of these books as well. I'm finally grasping who is who when the POV changes, but this one, we are starting to pull away from the school some. We're starting to focus more on the world. I was obsessed with it because these twins were born into a family that's supposed to rule over this world that we have no knowledge of outside of school. Plus, we got to spend more time with the guys. However, things are starting to get stale with them. Literally, the whole time, it is like 3 steps forward and then instantly a million steps backward, and it's been really rough getting through all of this. I wish we started wrapping things up since these books are so ginormous, but it's like always waiting on the next foot to drop. 

I don't know what else to say other than this book has so thoroughly broken me.

At the end of Zodiac Academy: The Reckoning, Tory and Darcy Vega were brought before their worst enemy yet, and though they ended the night with the knowledge of their order emerging, the events of the evening only brought forth more questions and more issues. It's time for them to step into the world of Solaria as fae, and potentially, as queens with their eyes set on the throne and the men who can help them secure it - all while battling an overwhelming darkness that grows stronger at every moment.

I'm genuinely sitting here in tears because I don't know what to say or think about the last ten percent of this book. Actually, I don't even have a star rating logged right now as I type this because I don't know if the sheer emotional weight has settled on my shoulders yet, or if it'll turn to rage the moment I give myself some time to process the sheer events in this book. I think I'm finally grasping the absolute wrecking ball of events that happen in these books. It falls into a sort of pattern - especially with my knowledge now after reading Ruthless Boys of Zodiac, I know for every impossibly wonderful high, there is a truly crushing low that makes you question everything.

This book was (I believe) written to be the true climax of the series. Which, again, falls in line with what I know from Ruthless Boys. I knew it would get bad, but I think I was too stupid to realize just how bad I had it coming. And now I'm baffled because on one hand - I absolutely adored the way Tory's character was written in this book. I know a shit-ton of people do not agree with me on this, if other reviews are to be believed, but the sheer darkness in her character and the movement of her arc left me a little breathless, especially at the end. I have more than enough room in me to be mad, but also impressed that the authors committed to the decision and went full-throttle with it - because when does Tory Vega ever do anything half-assed?

I think I'm just going to ramble now about my favorite scenes, which are all the ones in the palace. Because I've read RB and had it spoiled, I know about the boy and the mystery surrounding that, and I had a lot of sheer freaking hope we'd get that moment in this book. Instead, I found myself sinking into the tidbits of knowledge we did get about the Savage King, the Vega's mother, and what potentially might lie in their futures from glimpses hidden away in the past. The entire section from Christmas onwards was one of my favorite portions of anything in this series, including the absolutely devastating ending. It emotionally wrecked me, but in a way that I have to be a little bit impressed over.

I simply don't know what to think. So I won't. But I think I've at least come to the conclusion that this is getting five stars from me for the sheer weight I feel resting on my chest right now. Gone are silly pranks and careless hookups - the fight for the throne is upon us.

Also, Seth Capella can choke. Leon Night would never.

Content Warnings: blood, mild violence, suicidal thoughts and self harm (present throughout this book heavily), sexual content, alcoholism, drugging (brief scene halfway through, antidote is given), physical and emotional abuse by a parent, and probably more that I'm missing.

Chile…. 

I’m over it like I really tried to figure why I’m still reading this series like yes they are a mess and slightly entertaining but these books are truly bad (and problematic). Especially after having read this one in particular I can not keep going I just can not.