“nO oNe HaS eVeR bEeN aBlE tO TaKe It BaCk” god, shut up already. No one had ever had 4 Elysian Mates before yet the Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac series exists, so clearly our main characters are exceptions. I predict it won’t be unheard of for very long.
Also, as happy as I am that Orion is alive, it further solidifies that the authors are too scared to kill their characters. If Orion is that integral to the plot, kill another main character first that isn’t that integral like I DONT KNOW MAYBE SETH? Show us that the stakes are real. As devastated as I was, the fact that the book ended on that scene was sort of telling that he wasn’t truly dead. I went a whole 7 hours without even starting the next book because I was so sure he would come back. Because there’s no real stakes.
There is no bladder bitch alive than Geraldine Grus and I want to be her. Everything she does is iconic and effortlessly perfect.
God, can someone PLEASE put Washer down? Save me from this hell. There’s no way there’s not a single fae in that school who’s had enough and takes matters into their own hands at this point.
Still not a huge fan of Tory, but god, I love her bond with Xavier. I love that she was so willing to put her own safety on the line to offer him the protection of the public. I love that it had absolutely nothing to do with her feelings for Darius and was exclusively the result of her wanting to do the right thing by her friend who she cares about.
The b in the Seth/Caleb bromance is clearly about to stand for buttplay. Couldn’t care less, though. Make it a novella.
I want to be stressed about this turn of events but I just can’t bring myself to be because there are no true consequences for any of these characters. Of course Orion will get out of this because he’s a main character with plot armor and even if he weren’t, Darcy is one of the main main characters and the authors wouldn’t permanently devastate her like that. It’s obvious Seth is firmly out of the running (good because I don’t think anyone was rooting for him) with him being so attached to Caleb emotionally. Diego was a plot device to goad Orion into staking his claim on Darcy. There’s no one else to soothe the ache of this happening. No one for her to turn to. Given that, there’s no real threat to Orion. This will work itself out and that frustrates me because SOMETHING catastrophic needs to happen and actually stick otherwise there’s no point in being emotionally or mentally attached to these books. (The ending doesn’t count because Darcy proved retroactively that the Phoenix in them is infinitely more powerful than any external factors.
These books are too long. Break it up and work on pacing. Zodiac Academy is officially suffering from Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac syndrome.
I am nowhere near any semblance of surprise over Diego. I predicted it from the beginning. That being said, he doesn’t resolve the no stakes complaint. Seth proves it further. Diego isn’t a central or integral enough character for anything that happens to him to matter big picture.
Okay, I’m taking a break from this series for my own sanity. My pre-break conclusion is this: Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac clearly exists to establish that not as much is known about Elysian Mates as the main series wants you to believe, however, that is not well enough established through Elise’s story.
On top of that, the magic system is flimsy as hell. These hard and fast lines are established but then the main characters are so special they can break those barriers in the magic system. Since it keeps happening, it’s like, okay those aren’t actually full stops in the magic system.
The societal aspect is also flimsy. Power is valued above all. So, what authority do these teachers have to meet out detention? Why is murder illegal? If Darcy and Tory are so much more infinitely powerful than every single other being in existence and are now able to competently wield their power, why do these teachers have any authority over them? As the most powerful fae, all they have to do is say no? As Darius proved when he told Tory to just say no to Prestos or whatever the hell the fire magic teachers name is. Tory does, and boom, no push back because she’s way more powerful than the teacher. So, Highspell rolling up and being a turd fucker only makes me ask why we aren’t still keeping that energy? It’s putting plot before character in my opinion. Tory and Darcy need to be oppressed and smacked down by this new teacher for the sake of the plot, so Tory’s character takes a hit as a result and she does something that’s not like her. She regularly stands up to Washer, so, again… why is this one different?
I feel like the systems in place aren’t secure enough and the authors are just ignoring their own rules for the sake of making sure the story plays out the way they want it to. I’m not putting the series or world down permanently, but I’m definitely taking a sanity break until book 6 arrives.
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