ZODIAC ACADEMY stressed my aries sun

don't blame my star sign blame this writing
no plot, no character development, and also no knowledge of astrology either - are the tiktok girlies alright? ZODIAC ACADEMY tells me that not really
thanks may for catching my mistakes!!!
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[@ChrisHarperBooks]

Maybe it's the socialist in me, but nothing described to me in these books has convinced me that *any* character should rule anything larger than a 13x13 cell. The older I get, the less "random teen is chosen to rule a country despite their lack of knowledge or ability" appeals to any part of me.

[@noraeable]

I just watched Cari can read's reading log of this series yesterday, and her slowly losing her sanity and patience and dnfing because she just couldn't anymore after 3 books made me realize she has more patience than I ever will. I was thinking this morning that I wanted to look up other reviews for the reactions alone, and seeing this review pop up made me so ridiculously giddy.

[@eleya11]

Reads with Rachel also has a super entertaining rant review on this!

[@SamSlamJam]

A lot of these book tok books full of tropes read like an instagram aesthetics reel. Just snapshots of romanticized moments in time, which is why I think so many of us can see how clunky and flat they are. There's no substance or story, just pretty people placed in aesthetically pleasing environments, and it seems to me that it's indicative of how much social media has raised these younger readers who are always on tik tok. They love the quick gratification of tropes and scenes that aren't really built up or worked for. Just instant melodramatic scenes filled with extremes of love and hate that would work better as a painting/drawing but lacks the substance needed to create a coherent story. And there's nothing inherently bad about that, but it's what's causing this new wave of making superficial, amateur stories popular and published. And it feels like so many are coming out all the time since social media is in our every day lives and we're constantly exposed.

[@MaryaHach]

The editors of Zodiac Academy were swapped by changelings and replaced with succulents

[@gustavedore1073]

I laughed out loud 😂

[@MayBarros]

I CANNOT WITH THE SYNOPSIS

[@MayBarros]

The plot you came up with is good! You could write it XD

[@emmyrose233]

Cannot agree more with the rant about tropes. I'm sick of books being advertised with the tropes present rather than an actual synopsis, ie "enemies to lovers!! Grumpy×sunshine!! Only one bed!!" Like STOP. GIVE ME AN ACTUAL PLOT SYNOPSIS. Tiktok has helped make book publishing such a shallow process to the point where absolute garbage can be traditionally published just because it checks a few tropey boxes.

[@rainydayjules]

Listen, you can’t write a book with characters classified by zodiac signs without making me think of Homestuck. And as many problems as Homestuck has, it’s infinitely better than like 90% of these tiktok books lol

[@ReadswithRachel]

“Not to be a person who quotes Coldplay at people” 💀

[@mayrarara]

I came from Cari Can Read’s video…& as a bilingual person…dear god I could NOT with Diego & the terrible Spanglish

[@wewillfightthis]

This is a public cervix announcement: please get regular smear tests!

[@kkurajam]

As someone who wrote Winx fanfiction with murder and alcohol in my notebook when I was 9 this book sounds exactly like it, this level of writing shouldn't get published

[@umuu2]

Brave of u to share. Thank you bc I too have been there lol

[@CommanderDarcy]

The great thing about being Gen Z is that most of us don't care about Harry Potter that much, I watched all the movies and I'm just 🕴🏽 "why so famous?", y'know? As a Darcy, we do not claim Darcy Vega (also I laughed hard the first time I heard "Tori Vega") Lou, como é carregar nas costas tanta sabedoria pra resolver todos os plots ruins sem nem se esforçar???

[@gustavedore1073]

So they did write a book about zodiac without knowing bare minimum about zodiac? What in the 50 shades is this?

[@luciameetsbooks]

"millennials we have kids, not me thank god the only thing i have is a cat" i-💀

[@lordarthur2165]

I write and read fanfiction, so usually I hate hearing "this read like fanfiction" because it doesn't mean anything, fanfiction aren't all the same. However when you read the synopsis I agreed with you and looking back at the other tik tok books like Lightlark (I don't remember how to write it) and The night and its moon, they do feel so derived from other works of art that I can see why you are calling they fanfic-like. I can't unsee it now, it's so obvious.

[@moustik31]

I love astrology and I would have been done for a good book with a a magic system inspired by the zodiac. For now, I guess, I'll keep enjoying The Last Airbender and pretend this book doesnt exist.

[@chrystals.4376]

Zodiac based Magic from the days of old had two main types, one which is Sign based and focused on health matters, and the other Constellation based that are more varied in results, particularly since a few of the brightest Fixed Stars were part of those Constellations

[@Kat-ge7nn]

I read the first two books and after watching this I'm reading book 3 because apparently I am a masochist.... At least I get some good laughs bc HOO BOY book 3 has a sex ed scene and it's wild

[@loureadingthings]

Book three has a WHAT

[@chrystals.4376]

Classical Astrology has more to do with Fate (including death) and Temperament, not so much personality, and Astrological Magic is much different in old Grimoires than in books like these-or games like Elden Ring for that matter.

[@TheMissDistortion]

You perfectly summarized why I have a hard time taking recommendations from TikTok. A lot of creators do read tropes instead of books, and often badly executed problematic tropes too.

[@lol-lb5pm]

the most people who have been transphobic towards me are harry potter fans and it makes me sad bc harry potter meant a lot to me as a kid. someone recently implied the new hogwarts game is more important than trans people dying.

[@eleya11]

I just don’t get how tropes (especially enemies to lovers) and a high spice level have become the main determiners for how good a book is, most of these TikTok books as that.

[@anacecilia1387]

I never read the book, so I thought the bullying was because of the idea that fairies have questionable morals. If the bullying actually has a purpose, then I'm curious, HOW are you going to get someone else's position as heir by bullying them? If it was murder, it would make sense, because you could be the next heir in line, but just bullying feels confusing? What's the plan here?

[@9gagHasMySoul]

They're trying to make them drop out of the school because that's central to this heir thing but I couldn't tell you why

[@anacecilia1387]

@@9gagHasMySoul ohh, that makes sense. So dropping out in this universe is the same as murdering someone to get closer to being heir. That makes things surprisingly less brutal than the alternative, or at least it just feels like that because there was this other magic school YA novel where students died all the time.

[@lianai.9795]

There is no plan. This was written in the 'bully romance' genre, therefore bullying, sa and abuse are mandatory 😂

[@Ambarfing]

Not the public cervix 💀💀💀💀💀

[@nasrinthebarbarian]

ASTROLOGY MY IMMORTAL?! I'm dying. I'm dead.

[@jesss8861]

I’m late to this but I was born significantly premature. Should have been a Capricorn if I was born on time and was born a Virgo. Would my powers follow my gestational sign or the sign I was born under even though I was early? That would be interesting.

[@applebonker141]

I 💯 agree about letting Harry Potter go I have watched lou and Rachel's video about Zodiac Academy and the fact that the authors plural (!!!) published the book in a state like how it sounds hurts me deeply. Like okay whatever, you want to play with the aesthetic of a magical school? Okay fine: come up with a plot and characters and system of magic. Worldbuild. Like you said, its instant gratification to write like how "Zodiac Academy" sounds like it is with just tropes and nothing else. Also did anyone else hear the idea of characters based on the zodiac and think "Fruits Basket"? 😅

[@bonnieking6338]

I watch quite a few Book-Tubers, and I've noticed a trend in the books you all review: the synopsis equates to modern movie trailers--the entire book is basically in the synopsis. When did that start happening? When did it stop being "standard" to give a general idea with a bit of mystery so that a reader wants to read to find the answers? Meh.

[@valeriarossini543]

the thing is "classes are interesting... if you manage to survive through them" is actually a fun line!! It's campy and tongue-in-cheek and that's how the whole book should have been imo

[@oniplingz]

so, booktok is basically a bunch of otakus reading tons of isekai that are the same shit over and over and over again

[@eliselapuce]

You're not the first one to say it's shit, and yet somehow, I still want to try it. I don't know what's wrong with me, my TBR is almost at 1000 and there will never be enough time in my life to go through it, why would I want to waste my time like this?

[@NateReadsDiversely]

You being an Aries makes so much sense! In the best sense of the word.

[@lora5030]

Why do we still have hp references in books and book descriptions, I'm so tired😮‍💨😑

[@umuu2]

Zodiac academy sounds like a hate crime to me

[@mcjordie]

Omg that book description

[@JessTalkingBooks]

Witchings is a much better revised MG version of Potter.

[@DomLesTrebian]

It sounds like a terrible late 90s, early 2000s irreverent school/college comedy. Although, I would probably watch Harold and Kumar go to Zodiac Academy.

[@PurpleManatees]

THANK YOU FOR ACKNOWLEDGING THE VICTORIOUS NAME RIP OFF

[@Amedyr]

Hearing about all those shitty books with fae creatures in them instills me with so much dread that my comics are just as shitty... I launched volume one last month but I started writing it before this fad, I promise! T___T

[@ThePeachGirlDiaries]

As an Aries sun, this title is everything

[@nogazuroff7340]

Someone looked at Winx club, HP and Avatar and asked: "What if we mix them?"

[@araneljones]

You know, thinking about the whole "HP is my identity" vibe is that saying you live Potter is more of a shorthand for how you want life to be than worshiping only at the Rowling alter. I have a number of friends who still love HP, and every one of them is a well rounded soul with other, many other, aspects. It's just easier to describe oneself quickly that way. As far as the "sexy Hogwarts", no. This is sexy Hogwarts fanfic. Publishers need to get better standards again.

[@Juli6SS]

We have kids...not me, thanks god, I have a cat😆😆😆 I laughed so hard - thank you!!!

[@ln4750]

Just a guess but I feel like Orion is supposed to be Sirius? Like an AU where Sirius became a professor. That or he's supposed to be Snape XD

[@astrozombieandfitch5020]

“Astrology My Immortal” 💀

[@kkurajam]

Como uma geminiana é CLARO Q as mulheres q escreveram esse livro são geminianas e CLARO q fizeram a protagonista uma gemiana herdeira de todo o poder do mundo e é a pessoa mais importante do universo SLAY kkkkkk

[@eleya11]

The series was also written by sister which is 😬😬

[@ScorpionFlower95]

"harry potter isn't even that good, it just provided good escapism" so.... basically did what every book does? but yeah, f jkr. also, for some reason i thought you had read this but i guess i had it mixed up with gothicana(???)

[@CamelDance]

That's not basically what every book does, some books make you think and change how you see the world. Escapism isn't bad, but there's a reason why Ursula Le Guinn is considered a literary great while JK Rowling is not.

[@ScorpionFlower95]

@@CamelDance the reason le guinn is considered a literaly great, is because she has written multiple great books, besides the chronicles of earthsea and from what i have read about her was a brilliant woman. jkr's only claim to fame is harry potter because no one else cares about her other stuff and her infamous fall from fame. but i bet that if you were to ask people that read harry potter as children, most of them would say that those books touched them and changed the way they viewed the world. i personally haven't read those books, but most of the books that have done what you described in your comment, for me, were middle grade/teen books. and let's not pretend that a fantasy series about a boy going to a wizarding school (t.c.o.e, not h.p) doesn't do escapism as well.