What do a heartless Dragon Shifter, a cold-blooded Basilisk, an arrogant Lion Shifter and a brooding, tattooed Harpy have in common…?
Me.
Elise Callisto. Vampire. Angel of vengeance. And a girl on a mission to destroy one of them for murdering my brother. I just don’t know which one did it yet. When I kicked the ass of a Werewolf who was high on a new and dangerous drug called Killblaze, his … murdering my brother. I just don’t know which one did it yet.
When I kicked the ass of a Werewolf who was high on a new and dangerous drug called Killblaze, his final words painted a dark reality for me. The King of Aurora Academy killed my brother. The trouble is, there’s four kings at that school and each of them have motive and cutthroat natures.
Aurora Academy isn’t a place for the faint of heart. To put it lightly, my town is the asshole of Solaria where the dodgiest Fae in the kingdom reside. The school itself is divided by the two gangs who run this town. The Lunar Brotherhood and the Oscura Clan. And guess what? Two of the kings run the gangs at the school, their hatred for each other so fierce I hear a day doesn’t go by without blood being spilled in the halls.
I might be a petite, lilac-haired girl who looks like a fragile doll, but they haven’t been introduced to my fangs yet. And they don’t know why I’m really here. Or that I’ll do whatever it takes to bring down the Fae who took my flesh and blood from me.
I don’t believe in fate, but I do know this… the King who killed my brother is a dead man walking. And I’m prepared to sacrifice my heart, body and soul to ensure I get my revenge.
This is a reverse harem series set in the world of Zodiac Academy four years before the Vega Twins were Awakened. Expect some character cross-over, dark and hot romance, and a twisted murder mystery which will leave your head spinning.
more
Obsessed and Blown Away!
How do I begin to express the mind trip and emotional spiral this series has sucked me into???
I’ve got nothing but praise for the Ruthless Boys of the Zodiak. The cherry on top of the tongue (Elise’s favorite flavor!) is the voice performance by Keira Stevens and Troy Duran. Standing ovation. Keira puts tears into her narration whenever Elise’s heart is breaking over her dead brother, FIRE when she’s angry, taunting, teasing, fear, and friendship. She’s a one-woman wonder who drowned out the world around me as she gripped my ears between her lips.
Troy Duran’s performance of FIVE different males is utterly masterful! I’m in complete awe. He could have been five different performers based on the skill he used to give each male their own unique voice and personality.
I am nearly finished listening to book 2. As of this writing, there is one more of the books in audio (book 3). PLEASE tell me book 4 and 5 are in the works for audio!!
The story and characters are larger than life. Their dark pasts and secrets add to the mystery and allure of every second spent in this addictive world of magic, Fae, paranormal Orders, corruption, and courageous sleuthing.
Part of me wants to binge, another is trying to hold back to put withdrawals off a little longer.
Dark Fae is book one in the Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac series. It’s told in multiple person POV.
Elise has enrolled in Aurora Academy to find out who killed her brother. She learns that there are four kings in the school, so it’s going to become a challenge to find out who committed the crime. I enjoyed the storyline, all the chemistry and connections she’s experiencing with the kings. I’ll definitely be reading book 2 to see how the authors take this story.
I know you guys are SO excited about my release of Taken by Twilight coming up, and I wanted to release something else in the genre to hold you over.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I’m currently on book 4 of this series, and it just gets better! Definitely worth a read if you like gritty alpha males, badass heroines, and really steamy scenes.
This book hits all the feelings! The FMC comes from a life of struggle, her brother/ best friend is murdered, her mom has her own Demons to fight and the FMC is trying to figure out what to do now. Between paranormal gangs, a school full of crazy hot heads and trying to find her brother’s killer Elise has to watch her back. I had no idea who the killer was and the last chapter made my jaw drop!
This was an intriguing one it’s a fantasy reverse harem academy read set in a fictional world of Fae where everyone has a particular order that they belong to and where magic is normal. Elise Callisto is of the vampire order she decides after her brother dies under suspicious circumstances to infiltrate the Aurora academy where he was a pupil and discover just who is responsible for his death. His demise has left her with a burning need to avenge him at all costs but all she knows of his death is that there was a king responsible and at the academy, there are four options to choose from.
The school is currently a battleground formed of two separate gangs an extension of the city. There’s the Lunar brotherhood and the Oscura Clan each with a king at their helm. Needing to get close to both of their leaders Elise attempts to stay unaligned whilst also managing to draw the obsessive attention of both men.
We have Ryder Draconis a basilisk shifter and lunar, Also Dante Oscura a rare storm dragon who is alpha of the clan, Leon Night lion shifter and master thief and Gabriel Nox a harpy with two magic elements and future visions. Each is totally unique with various individual traits and Elise feels drawn to all one of them despite her current suspicions.
Ryder is all pain and dark lust whilst Dante is more dark sensual arrogance these two are also mortal enemies who hate each other vehemently. Gabriel is very much a loner with a still quietness it’s obvious he has secrets and initially tries to push Elise away. Leon is all golden hair laid back arrogance but with a keen sense of likeable fun. Each definitely wants to claim Elise for their own but she is determined not to be contained and manages to forge ahead building pathways all whilst staying neutral and unaligned. But the more elusive she is the more the males seem to want her.
This is slow burn reverse harem and we are still building up to the main event. This was well written and every character here felt diverse and had fabulous individual chemistry with Elise. I’m excited to see how this proceeds going forward and the finale here with Elise finding herself in mortal danger only brings forth more questions. It’s multiple POV and we also get some perspective in the past from the brother Gareth. I also found the Faebook inclusion amusing. This was imaginative and I’m definitely going to be reading the next one in the series.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
http://www.beckiebookworm.com
I borrowed this book via the Kindle Unlimited program and am choosing to leave a fair and honest review.
I must admit that I binged the first three in this series before writing any reviews.
The best part of this series is the deliciously damaged broken boys – the four Kings of the school Sherilynn (Kenyon) McQueen couldn’t do better, and that’s saying a great deal.
Elise hacks her way into Zodiac Academy after the mysterious death of her brother, Gareth. She goes undercover to find the murderer. Her main suspects? The four Kings of the school, Gabriel the Harpy, Leon the lion shifter, Ryder the baskilisk and Dante the dragon shifter. Each of the boys is a criminal in his own special way and each is deeply damaged. As she begins to dig into the school, she finds even more suspects and more trouble than any young vampire should get herself into, ever!
A sexy, dark and slightly disturbing academy romance that, as the final page, is not a reverse harem, Dark Fae drives the reader deep into the Elise’s back story.
The writing never lets the reader catch their breaths as we move from exciting and terrifying action piece to scaldingly hot sex scene. Even the classroom scenes are tense.
All the main characters, including Gareth, take their turns as the narrators. This gives the reader a deeper sense of their trauma. Their voices are unique, allowing us to know who is speaking when.
Ms. Peckham and Ms. Valenti create an amazing world, where the Fae live. The Fae, in this series, are not the Sidhe that populate much of the urban fantasy market. Instead, they are shifters of many kinds who are also gifted the magics of their zodiac sign as well as other gifts.
The writing itself shifts between poetic to deeply brutal, both of which are stunningly beautiful. At times, some of the writing justifies reading this series on it’s own.
Of course, it isn’t only the beauty and the brutality of the writing that is fantastic. The sex scenes begin at scalding in the first book to so hot they leave the reader panting.
Various suspects are thrown in, to keep the mysteries of who murder Gareth among of others. As this review (which will appear on each of the first three books) is of the first three books, I can’t tell you all of the mysteries without leaving spoilers!
5 stars out of 5 for each book.
I loved this book Elise is so strong willed and bad A**. I love her character. Her love for her brother and wanting to find out who causes his death and her vengeance pulls you in. The four kings at the school are all completely different but pull at you all the same. It is hard to hate them and you keep hoping that Elise will get closer to them. There are so many things to feel and the bouncing back in time to hear what was going on with Gareth makes the story even more intriguing already got book to and moving on to read it can’t wait to see what happens next
This book is insane! I love it! These are some top notch characters who are so unique. Elise is just a powerhouse. Sassy, confident on the outside and a wreck on the inside. Ryder is so deliciously dark. Leon is just Leon! Gabriel is very mysterious. Dante is intense. This plot is so strong and dramatic. Keeps you addicted in the best possible way!
I loved the author’s wit and banter they crafted between the characters. The way they interacted felt very real and authentic. Great world building and character development.
This is the first book I’ve read from this author and it was a good paranormal read with a cliffhanger ending. I enjoyed the characters in this series a lot. There’s hate, revenge, friendship, jealousy, secrecy, suspense, a lot of sexual tension and angst between the characters in this story. There’s something about all of them that will either make you hate to love them, or love to hate them, but you will feel some type of way about all of them. I enjoy the banter and friendship between Leon and Dante, the darkness inside of Ryder and the mystery of everything that comes with Gabriel. Elise is searching for answers of what happened to her brother and his possible killer. However, she gets more than she’s searching for but a mate isn’t one that she wants. This story is written in a way that keeps you wanting more without truly giving you a lot, but it’s so entertaining that once you’ve finished the story you realized that there wasn’t a whole lot you really learned about Gareth’s killing. The story actually moves at a very slow pace but with there being no dull moments in this story, and because it is so captivating and well written, you won’t realize it until the very end. With that being said I will read the next book just because I love the dynamic and relationships happening between Elise, Leon, Dante, Gabriel and Ryder and I really want to see what role Cindy Lou had in Gareth’s death because I’m sure she had something to do with it in one way or another. I just hope I get more answers to everything in the next book but this story is one I will be recommending to my paranormal book loving friends.
The first book gripped me right away! the characters and storyline are amazing! I want to know what happens right now! Very well written!
This was my third time re-reading this book, and it’s still amazing! I love everything Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti write, but this book was my intro to them and, hot damn, do I not regret it. I wish I could go back in time and read this book for the first time again – which is the hallmark of a great series IMO – that you want to feel the magic of getting to know these characters over and over.
We start the series off with Elise starting at Aurora Academy in the quest for vengeance to find out more about her brother Gareth’s death. She knows a “King” has a part in his death, and the school has four Kings. She has to get close to each of them to find out more information and piece together the mystery of what’s happened.
The world-building in this book is AMAZING. I love what the Sisters have done in creating and expanding the world out from their other series Zodiac Academy: The Awakening. The mixture of creatures, elements and zodiac signs is masterfully done and builds an exciting world where only the strongest fae comes out on top. I want to live in Solaria, so badly!
FMC!
Elise is my Queen! I love her so so so very much. She has a mission, and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get there. Along the way, though, she isn’t opposed to learn and have some sexy times. I love how well-rounded the Sisters have written her – there’s something within her that strikes a chord with each of the Kings.
The Kings!
Leon my Lion King – Dante my Dangerous Dragon – Ryder my Sexy Snake – Gabriel my Hot Harpy. These guys are everything you want in a harem! I love each of them individually, with Leon at the top of the charts.
I love the tension between Dante and Ryder in this book. The hatred for each other but developing feelings for the same woman is a compelling storytelling device. Seeing it develop through the series is amazing.
The Smut!
This book builds up sooo much sexual tension between Elise and the guys! There’s loads of hot moments and a few sexy times in here. Yes please.
Oo wow wow this book was amazing my first time reading these authors and I was blown away. Meet Elise and the ruthless boys of the zodiac the ending was a cliff hanger and will be diving right bk into the rest of this series.
My favorite quote is below it rings so true
And everything I’ve lost has only strengthened my soul. I won’t flinch at the worst of you because there is no best of me anymore.”
This is the series that started me down the path of these ladies, and let me tell you it is incredible! There is a darkness to this series, but it doesn’t overpower the plot and it makes the characters that much stronger! The Leon is flipping hilarious and adds a lightness to the story that brings you to tears. Ryder is by far my favorite, who doesn’t love a bad boy with a soft spot for only you? I have read all of the current books for this series and they just keep getting better and better! Who the hell is King and why are they so afraid that they won’t show their face?? I need answers!
I am not usually one for Revers Harem books but I absolutely love this series!
Elise’s brother Gareth was murdered, and nobody knows who did it or really cares. Elise gets a lead that the King of Aurora Academy was responsible. The problem is that there are 4 of them. Now Elise needs to enroll at Aurora and figure out what happened to her brother.
I absolutely love this book and with the final book in the series coming out on March 31st, this is the perfect time to start. This is a bully/enemies to lovers slow-ish burn revers harem. I love that you get chapters from everyone’s POV, even Gareth, depicting the events leading up to his death.
As always, with C&S books, you should expect the unexpected. This was a great start to the Ruthless Boys Series and I have been sucked in. I have loved getting to know some of the characters that have made cameos in ZA.
Elise is a kickass heroine that is trying to uncover her brother’s murder. She hacks her way into Aurora Academy to try to discover what happened to Gareth. She meets Dante, a storm dragon and the leader of the Oscura Clan. Ryder, a basilisk and the leader of the Lunar Brotherhood. Leon, a lion shifter that is charming. And finally there is Gabriel, a harpy, strongest fae in Aurora Academy and has the gift of sight.
Each one tries to worm their way in the with new girl, but Elise will not give into any of them fully and doesn’t align herself with any of the gangs she is there strictly to uncover what happened to Gareth, even if it gets her killed herself.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I was hanging on to the edge of my seat for the last few chapters.
Another great book that is unpredictable! As Elise searches for her brother’s murderer she encounters the four Kings of the school. She believes one of them is responsible for his death. But which one? Will she fall for the murderer? Are all of the kings responsible for her brother’s death or is there someone else that she didn’t even consider?
This book…. I honestly have no words. I loved it that much. Once I started reading it, I literally could not stop. I’m pretty sure I didn’t get any sleep while reading this.
Elise is an interesting character. She’s completely capable of taking care of herself – she’s no damsel in distress. She attends this academy for one reason only: to find out who killed her brother. She’ll discover what happened at any cost. She’ll doe whatever is necessary to solve his murder. The book revolves around this mystery, and Elise’s journey as she follows the clues. The guys in this book all knew her brother in some way, and you have no idea what their involvement was in his life and death. The book has flashbacks that show what was going on with her brother leading up to his death, leaving you even more curious as to what happened to him. Basically, you have no idea what happened to her brother but you can’t wait to find out. This mystery was so complex, and leaves you with so many questions!
This quest of Elise’s isn’t solved overnight. It’s the main plotline in the book. While the guys are intriguing and the romance between them and Elise is amazing, that’s only part of this incredible book. This review may not make the most sense, but honestly, it is seriously one of my all time favorite books.
The feelings you get while reading this, they are raw; they make you laugh and cry all at the same time, leaving you completely absorbed in this world. If I could have given it more stars, I would have. I highly recommend it.
Pain and grief had carved anything soft and gentle out of me. This was all I had now. My thirst for vengeance was even sharper than my thirst for blood. And I’d get it no matter the cost.
Well this one was quite the catch. I loved the 4 Kings, they had me in stitches! I have a favourite and it’s Gabriel. And Elise is an amazing “little monster “.
Yeah, I can’t wait to read more.
Holy freaking cow!! The sisters have done it again!! In book 2 we’re finally getting glimpses into the past that are slowly giving answers to questions from the 1st book but at the same time are adding more questions. I love how a couple of the guys are starting to realize that Elise isn’t a one guy kinda gal and who seem to be ok sharing, while another is beginning to realize he needs her in his life. Ryder is still being his stubborn self but with that ending, that O.M.G. ending!, I’m hoping he’s going to come around and be who I need him to be. Please tell me book 3 is gonna be ready soon?!?!