Okay I’m very pro poly relationships where it’s a woman dating 3 separate guys who all live together and raise a family together not caring who the father is (literally my favorite thing in the Netflix show, Sense8) but this did not give that. Look the Zodiac Academy isn’t some genius work of literature. I loved the characters and the plot and the world. I think they’re all great, but definitely they could’ve been better with more editing and shaving the rough edges. It’s clear that this series isn’t even close to the level of ZA. It’s very much just erotica with no plot AND it throws away the rules established in ZA. I hate that I read this and now it’s ingrained inside my head but so glad that the authors at least left this part of Gabriel’s life vague in ZA that I can at least pretend this never happened.
 
It’s established that not only are Elysian Mates extremely rare, but it’s even rarer to find your mate. So you’re telling me this average vampire with no significant power has not only FOUR Elysian mates but that she also found all of them? Absolutely not. The explanation that she has four E.M.s because her soul was fractured is also insulting to the poly community AND doesn’t make sense. She wasn’t born with a fractured soul and fate is set in stone AND meeting your E.M. isn’t fated. By the time her soul was fractured, she and the guys were already adults. 

I know this is just a book, but nothing pisses me off more than continuity errors (and I mean major ones). I liked Elise at the start of the series, but she’s just this selfish two-dimensional character that in no way seems like the perfect match for Gabriel let alone the three other men. She says she’s there to avenge her brother’s murder but it’s clear she’s burying her grief under lusting over these four guys, who all happen to be prime murder suspects. Another serious theme that could’ve been addressed in the series if this was an actual serious series. But it’s just straight smut. 

Additionally, Elise’s explanation for wanting to date these four men at once (which is totally fine and within her rights) is that she doesn’t want to entrust her heart to one person because it gives too much power to one person. Which is not what being poly is at all. It would make more sense that these separate relationships taught her things about herself and the men learned how to open up about things and learn about themselves. There definitely could’ve been a natural development where she could trust one person to hold her heart and that person happened to be her E.M. and the others could’ve been her Nebular Allies. Also, she says she loves these men and they love her but why? They don’t know much about each other and everything is superficial. Mostly just sex and lust driving them to each other. The entire books she’s constantly arguing with the men about how she doesn’t want to be trapped in a relationship and controlled (totally understandable) and she feared being forced by an E.M. bond to love one person and hurt the others. But then the E.M. bond is forcing the four men to relinquish what they want and now they’re all stuck with each other. It just doesn’t sit right with me. It’d be way different if there wasn’t E.M. bonds and they all CHOSE to live together and raise children. 

The entire series could’ve been 3 books MAX. This series is exhausting and it just stretches out the King mystery way too long. 

I will admit I do like Ryder and Dante a lot. I think Ryder is funny and Dante is loving. Gabriel is more cringe and I definitely like him better in ZA than in this series. Leon is just as annoying as ever. And after 5 books, I don’t like Elise at all. I think she’s vapid and selfish to an absolute fault. A two-dimensional character with the personality of a walnut. The “little angel”, “angel”, and “little monster” nicknames were so cringe. 

That all being said there were moments that I thought were funny, sweet, and entertaining. I just wish it had the depth that ZA has and wasn’t just 5 books of porn.