Genre: high fantasy, romance "Joining the school Pitball team hadn’t actually been on my to-do list. That went more like this… Let me start by saying I'm no fan of RH novels. That simply doesn't work for me. But this one was golden. I actually liked it. Even though, in all honesty, so far it wasn't really a RH. More like a love triangle (or whatever geometrical shape you get when there's one girl and 4 guys). “Or maybe I want to see if you can be tamed.” An important observation before properly starting this review is that, if you want to read all the three series set in Solaria, this would be the proper order: Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac, Zodiac Academy and Darkmore Penitentiary. I started with Zodiac Academy and I now I remember there were mentions of the characters from this series there too. 》》The Plot《《 “Aren’t you supposed to say something about how pretty I look?” She coiled a lock of lilac hair around her finger, swinging her hips as she put on an overly girlish expression.
Tropes: enemies to lovers, RH, magic academy, rival gangs, :who did this to you?"
Series: Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac #1
Cliffhanger: Yes
Spice: 2/5 🌶
Rating: 5 ⭐
1. Find out who killed Gareth.
2. Kill that motherf*cker. Slowly.
3. Figure out the rest of my life (presuming said murderer doesn't kill me first and I don’t get caught)."
I started reading this because I absolutely loved Zodiac Academy and I wasn't ready to leave Solaria behind and, even though they aren't on the same level, I actually liked this one. The fact that Gabriel Nox is part of the story, definitely helped. (For those who didn’t read Zodiac Academy, Gabriel plays an important part there too)
“What if I can’t?”
“Then maybe I wanna know what it’s like to run free with you.”
“You don’t look pretty,” I growled and her expression slammed into bitch gear, but I didn’t give a sh*t. “You look like the most lethal poison I’ve ever seen. It’s f*cking divine.”
Elise Callisto joins Aurora Academy with one goal in mind: find which one of the four Kings of the Academy was responsible for her brother's death and take her revenge. Her plan? Use the fact that none of them is aware she's Gareth's sister, get close to them, figure out who's guilty and kill them. While dealing with school. And staying out of the fight between the Oscura Clan and the Lunar Brotherhood, the two gangs that run the town and the Academy.
I can't say there's a lot of action, but you get mystery and romance, snarky comments from brooding and non-brooding Fae, a smarasss female MC, some spice and a few gang fights. The chapters are shared between Elise, Leon, Gabriel, Dante and Ryder, with flash backs from Gareth's perspective before his death. I liked this present-past combination, which definitely adds up to the mystery.
》》Characters and Relationships《《
“Come to the Spring Formal with me,” I said. “It’ll be fun.”
“Pah,” Ryder spat behind my hand but I ignored him. “As if she’s into dancing at pathetic school parties with pathetic f*cking Lions.”
“Not that that’s any of your business, Ryder.”
“If I decide it’s my business, it f*cking is.”
“So?” I asked hopefully, leaning forward in my seat.
Gabriel was walking by and he halted with a terse frown on his face. “Did you just ask Elise Callisto to the Spring Formal?”
Dante appeared, looking over her shoulder. “What’s going on? Did you just ask Elise to the ball Leon?”
“Oh f*ck my life,” Elise muttered.
Teasing, snarkiness, brooding and spice are the main things that come to mind while talking about these characters. And I definitely love that.
🧛🏻♀️
Elise 'Ella' Callisto"Besides, I didn’t want to live my life believing it was all mapped out for me. I wanted to be free, wild, make wrong choices and learn from them or not. Become my own person with my own flaws and own the responsibility for whoever I was, not blame any of my failings on fate."
She's a total badass Vampire, with air magic and a powerful will. Determination and lack of fear, paired with a hot-headed tendency to act and a troubled past make her quite interesting and definitely enjoyable to watch through this revenge quest. I like how she's definitely attracted to the four Kings, but she keeps her head clear even when she indulges herself here and there. One of the things I found remarkable? She got Dante Oscura and Ryder Draconis to be her Sources.
“He’s my Source!”
“Then I’m your Source too.”
Jealousy really does drive men to do crazy stuff. As Aelin Galathynius would roll her eyes and comment: "territorial Fae bastards".
🦁
Leon Night - Nemean Lion Shifter and part of a very powerful family of renowned thieves"Leon started telling me about the pranks he’d pulled in school so far and he’d only been here a month. He’d swapped sugar into Ryder Draconis’s morning eggs instead of salt, causing Ryder to hit his minion so hard he went to the ward, he told Dante Oscura a dark-eyed woman was out to kill him so he broke up with two girlfriends and glared at any dark eyed girl until she left him the hell alone. He’d convinced Gabriel Nox he was moulting by scattering black feathers behind him wherever he went, and he set off the fire alarm more times a day than was even funny anymore."
Well, Leo the Lion is totally fun. And he's captain of the Pitball team. He's charming and sweet in a mischievous way, used to have girls ('Mindys') falling at his feet and doing all the work for him and giving me strong cinnamonroll vibes. But a cinnamonroll who could definitely kill you.
“Well aren’t you just a strawberry dipped in yoghurt?” I said to a strawberry dipped in yoghurt as Mindy placed it in my mouth.
See? Definitely cinnamonroll vibes.
🐲
Dante Oscura- Storm Dragon and leader of the Oscura Clan“He does that when he’s turned on,” Gabriel spoke his first words of the day and I could have punched him for them as a smirk danced around his mouth.
“And happy,” Laini added.
“And being an asshole, so it never really stops,” Gabriel said and the new girl laughed.
Powerful Dragon born from a family of werewolves, Alpha male with Air powers and definitely dangerous. I loved how he, Elise, Laini and Gabriel Nox share a dorm. It gave some really nice scenes between his infatuation with Elise and his teasing and animosity with Gabriel.
“Gabriel!” he barked at me. “You do it on purpose. Admit it. Just f*cking admit it.”
“Define admit,” I said, mocking him. Not rising to meet his arguments was the best tactic to piss him off. It was hilarious.
“By the stars, I hate you,” Dante growled.
While he clearly hates Ryder and is rather predisposed to fighting with Nox, Dante has a sort of friendship with Leon, both of them being in the Pitball team.
🦅
Gabriel Nox - Harpy and gifted with the Sight, the only Fae at Aurora with two Elements (air and water)“Funny how you only hear the things that interest you, isn’t Gabriel?”
“Why would I take an interest in things that don't interest me? That’s f*cking moronic.”
He's such a brooding Fae I can't help but laugh. He's a really asshole compared to how I've seen him in Zodiac Academy and I love how he's one of the most powerful Fae at the academy. He doesn't really talk much and everyone is used to that and when he does talk he tends to be rather teasing and it's usually to piss Dante off. Or anyone who looks at Elise for too long.
I glanced around a little nervously and my gaze caught on Gabriel who just happened to be right behind my shoulder.
“What are you staring at?” he snapped and my lips parted in surprise.
“I’m not entirely sure,” I replied icily. “But my best guess would be the result of a turkey mating with an asshole.”
His relationship with her was a proper hot and cold game, giving us a proper show between spicing things up and fighting, sweet and snarky, mean or pure gentleness.
“You’re so beautiful, Elise Callisto,” he said seriously, his thumb brushing over my lips.
“I didn’t know you’d ever even looked at me before now,” I teased, unsure how to react to his intensity.
“I haven’t stopped looking at you from the moment you walked into our dorm. I’ve seen your pain, your sorrow, your light and your fire. And it isn’t enough. You captivate me.”
I know from Zodiac Academy that Nox has found his Elysian Mate, but I also know from there that Dante has a wife so now I'm overall confused and I just can't wait to see how this love situation will develop.
🐍
Ryder Draconis - cold blooded Basilisk and leader of the Lunar BrotherhoodRyder:
Is Cinderella planning on giving me a twirl on the bleachers before the ball?
Elise:
I’m no princess. And I don’t twirl for anybody.
Ryder:
Blame that last message on autocorrect. It meant to say: Is the sh*t-hot vampire planning on sinking her teeth into my veins before the ball?
He's the one that screams danger from miles away. His element is Earth and his Order is super rare. Add a daredevil attitude, a blood feud as well as a personal hatred for Dante, a well known emotional range limited to pain and lust and a social life limited to followers and not friends and you've got his main portrayal. He's deep on a level that has yet to be discovered and I definitely wait to see more of his layers.
“Why? Do you wanna make this rendezvous a regular occurrence?” he asked roughly, his eyes scraping over me in a way that shouldn’t have been legal.
“Are you offering to be my Source?”
“How about we make a trade?” Ryder asked, a glimmer in his eye. “I’ll let you keep sucking on my neck, so long as you start sucking on some of my other body parts too.”
His entire interaction with Elise is interesting and she's definitely not what he was expecting, surprising him constantly. And you know the "who did this to you?" trope? It's here, you guys!!!
“Why are you crying?” he asked, his voice a dangerous growl. “Who hurt you?”
See? Told ya.
》》Highlights《《
1) I loved the Zodiac Academy references.
"Dante was a solid Airsentry and though he was no Lance Orion from Zodiac Academy, we still might have had a shot at beating their asses if we were all on top form in our next match against them."
2) "Define yours."
3) The strip club with a Lionel Acrux impersonation number.
4) The banter between the boys and the constant competition.
“You should watch your tongue,” Ryder snarled when he couldn’t get through. Ha.
“Oh I do. I watched it pretty well as it slid into Elise’s mouth the other day actually.”
“Leon,” Elise snapped, baring her fangs at me.
“Surely that’s not actually true?” Ryder demanded of her, incredulous. I wasn’t sure I’d seen that emotion on his face before.
“It was just a kiss, who cares?” She focused back on her work and I continued to grin.
“I care. Ryder clearly cares. That’s over sixty percent of us. Majority wins.”
5) Cindy Poo
6) The everyday announcements by the Principle
7) Ryder entrancing people and making them live all those visions
》》Conclusion《《
I'm definitely reading the next book. I'm intrigued, I really want to know how it ends and I am willing to go through with this series despite it being a reverse harem. It's fast paced, in that enjoyable and catchy way Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti manage to entrance us. It has spice, violence and a bit of bullying, so make sure to check the triggers first.
"I’d looked into the Devil’s eyes and lived to tell the tale. I wouldn’t be caught out the next time. And there would be a next time. Because I was closing in on the answers I sought. And I wouldn’t stop digging until I unveiled them and their guilty blood was spilled."
