Broken Fae is the fourth book in the Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac series by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti, the dark and twisty prequel to Zodiac Academy set five years before the events in Solaria.
The Ruthless Boys series blends dark fantasy romance, reverse harem (why choose), dark academia, and murder mystery vibes, all within the same universe as Zodiac Academy and Darkmore Penitentiary, complete with the Orders and familiar magic system fans love.
In Broken Fae, Elise Callisto reels from the aftermath of Vicious Fae, where the stars brought her and Leon together in their divine moment. Still determined to uncover the truth behind her brother’s death, Elise also has to navigate how her relationships with her kings have shifted. Meanwhile, the plot surrounding Felix Oscura reaches a crescendo, and the Black Card’s activities peak in this intense fourth installment of the prequel series.
Read our full summary and review of Broken Fae below.
This post contains spoilers.
Broken Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac)
Description
Just as we were finding a way to get past our difficulties, my kings and I have been shattered by a twist of fate.
And while we’re left reeling from the wheel of destiny, our enemies are only growing more powerful.
Felix Oscura is haunting Alestria with his bloodthirsty need to steal the power of the clan he was never destined to rule over, and the illusive King is growing closer to taking control of the entire city.
With challenges around every corner, and the mysteries behind my brother’s death slowly starting to unravel, I don’t know if I’ll be able to overcome the will of the stars before it’s too late…
Tropes
- Dark Academia
- Reverse Harem (RH/Why Choose)
- Found Family
- Murder Mystery
Review
Who is your favorite King?
Who is your favorite King?
Overall Impressions 😊
Although I’m really enjoying the Zodiac Academy universe, my stamina for Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac is starting to wear thin. This sometimes happens to me with why choose series. Once the main tension between the characters is mostly resolved (in Elise’s case, whether the Kings of Aurora Academy killed her brother Gareth and their desire to keep her only to themselves), the story shifts into spicy-for-the-sake-of-spicy territory, and I lose interest.
It’s not that I don’t enjoy spice, but I’m far more invested in the tension and the overarching plot. Once that slows, so does my excitement.
Another hurdle is my inability to connect with Elise. She continues to be pretty insufferable, and combined with the plot feeling stretched too thin (this honestly could have been a trilogy, maybe even a duology), my enthusiasm is fading.
That said, Broken Fae isn’t a bad book. It’s just more of the same, which left me feeling meh. There are still questions keeping me curious, like how she’s going to mate all of them and who actually killed Gareth. At this point I’m just happy I’ve made it to the last book so I can get back to the main Zodiac Academy series.
Perfect For Fans Of… 🌟
This series is a wild mix of romance, fantasy, murder mystery, dark academia, and reverse harem.
If you already love the world of Solaria, Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac adds a dash of mafia romance chaos into the mix.
The Twisted Sisters’ writing style carries their signature Zodiac Academy humor, but here everyone is a little poorer and not quite as childish, which makes for a fun contrast.
Broken Fae leans hard into the why choose genre, so if you’re a seasoned reader of series like Bonds That Tie, Blood of Hercules, or Psycho Shifters, you’ll likely vibe with this installment even more than the earlier ones.
And if you enjoyed the cutthroat politics of the fae and want to see Solaria through the perspective of its biggest troublemaker, you’ll probably have as much fun as I did with this one.
Characters 👥
I’m still not an Elise enjoyer. In fact, I might even be an Elise hater. She’s giving major pick me energy, and outside of her quest for revenge and her attraction to the guys, she doesn’t feel like she has much personality. On top of that, she often comes across as inconsiderate toward the Kings, which makes it harder to connect with her.
Leon Night, however, continues to be the ray of sunshine in this sea of repetitiveness. He’s the epitome of a golden retriever boyfriend, and honestly, he might be my favorite character in the entire Zodiac Academy universe.
Dante Oscura and Ryder Draconis are equally intriguing. I’m curious to see how they’ll navigate their gangs while balancing their growing connection to each other and their ongoing war for control of the entire city.
And then there’s Gabriel Nox. Now that he’s unlocked the Sight, he’s developing more personality, but he still feels a bit one-dimensional.
I love every interaction between the boys, the friendships and bromance between them being the shining star of this entire series. I really haven’t read a RH that does justice to the friendship between the MMCs and this one hits that found family spot in an incredible way.
Worth mentioning: I still don’t care for Rosa. Which doesn’t bode well for Darkmore Penitentiary, although I’ll admit I’m intrigued by the whole Moon Wolf angle.
Plot 🗺️
Here’s my major gripe with Broken Fae: it somehow feels like either nothing is happening, or the same things keep happening on repeat. The Kings want Elise to themselves. Elise doesn’t want to be tied down. Rinse and repeat.
The one interesting shift here is Elise officially mating with Leon and watching the others work through that, but even that conflict resolved itself way too quickly.
I still find myself wondering if Gareth is actually dead or if someone else is involved, maybe even one of the professors. Titan, perhaps? The mystery should be driving the plot forward, but instead it feels like it’s just circling. And Gabriel’s storyline with the Black Card is frustrating. He was so prominent at the beginning of Shadow Princess, and now he’s just a hot guy with wings.
My Favorite Quote to Hook You 📣
“There is only one person who can run rings around a king, Elise,” he said slowly. “Let alone four of them at once.” “Oh yeah?” I joked. “And who’s that?” “A queen. So maybe it’s time you started thinking about what good you want to do now that you’ve been crowned.”
Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti, Broken Fae
Writing Style and Narration ✍️
As for the bigger city-wide gang war, like who controls Oscura Clan, Old Sal, or the Lunar Brotherhood, I honestly don’t care anymore. It feels stretched too thin. At this point, I don’t even care who the King is. I just want the story to wrap up so I can get back to Zodiac Academy.
The writing style continues to be the saving grace of this series. It is funny and clever, and I loved moments like Elise joining Leon’s pride and Leon kidnapping the boys for a bonding weekend. Those scenes had me kicking my feet.
I am still enjoying the multiple POVs. It is nice to get into the boys’ heads and experience the world from different perspectives. All of their voices sound unique, even if they feel a bit flat at times, which I think is more about my own fatigue with this cast.
Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac – Broken Fae Synopsis
Time to pick your magical destiny: which Order do you belong to?
Time to pick your magical destiny: which Order do you belong to?
The Aftermath of Elise and Leon Becoming Elysian Mates
After the events in the tunnels beneath the school and the stars making Elise and Leon make a decision in their Divine Moment, the other boys ask Leon to take Elise home. They are heartbroken as a Fae can only have one Elysian Mate.
Leon’s family is overjoyed by their mating and welcome her to the pride. She’s groomed, fed and subjected to other lion traditions like wrestling and letting Leon win to accept her place in the pride. Elise is beyond happy that Leon is her mate, but she still wants the other boys. Although having a mate is supposed to make you lose interest in anyone else, Elise still thinks about the storm dragon, harpy and the basilisk she’s grown to love.
She spends the summer in the Night family’s estate with her lion shifter, reading, connecting with Leon and trying to reach out the other guys. They do not answer her and cut contact with her. She doesn’t bring up her despair about being separated from them, since the will of the stars seems to be putting her and Leon together. She also does not want to offend Leon.
Elise continues to think about Gareth’s death and the illusive king. Knowing her brother got involved with something much deeper, she wonders what else is tangled with her brother’s murder.
Dante, the leader of Oscura clan, faces war within his clan with Felix Oscura taking children of her clan members to coerce their parents in joining him. He’s also heartbroken that Elise is with Leon although Leon is his best friend and he loves Elise. He doesn’t respond to her and wants space.
Ryder Draconis, leader of the Lunar Brotherhood is withdrawn into himself and going back to his old ways of suppressing his emotions.
Gabriel Nox now with the fully unleashed power of the Sight continues to be plagued with visions of Elise and Leon together and cannot move on. He even tries to be with another girl but he wants no one but Elise.
Returning to Aurora Academy
Upon returning to the Academy Elise continues to try to explain the guys her feelings are unchanged and she misses them and at least be friends. They try to keep their distance but time and time again, they find themselves getting close to Elise.
Ryder and Gabriel begin spending time together after Ryder asks for help for finding Mariella. Gabriel reveals he can only see visions intentionally if he’s close to the person he’s looking into. Ryder and Gabriel begin forming a reluctant friendship that blossoms into a real brotherhood.
The conspiracy around Black Card begins unraveling, the king proving himself to the the biggest asshole of Solaria. Elise’s quest for vengeance becomes something larger as it is revealed that the King wants to absorb other fae’s power to challenge the Celestial Council.
Gabriel joins the Black Card to try to gain more information about Gareth. Before joining the Sight takes him to a cave where he finds two mortal skeletons with a ring on them. Zodiac Academy Spoilers I’m pretty sure these bodies belong to the Savage King and his Queen . The ring burns a tattoo of phoenixes on his fingers making him immune to the King’s dark magic.
Gareth’s journals reveals that he joined The Black Card upon Dante’s request to befriend and watch over his cousin. However the King’s dark magic has drawn him in and he’s lost his autonomy. He starts rising in the Black Card’s ranks, realizing being given more freedom is the only way to gain his ability to choose back.
Elise, in the secret location, above the Sparkling Uranus (the strip club Old Sal runs), finds cash, new identities and the dark book the King is looking for. Elise begins thinking Gareth might have faked his death as his only out from the Black Card.
In Gareth’s journal, it is confirmed that Gareth indeed tried to escape his fate by faking his death, but Elise obviously doesn’t get to see the flashback chapters.
Elise realizes she can’t be monogamous with Leon despite the stars mating them, she misses the Kings too much. The two of them talk with Leon being relieved that Elise is finally talking to him about it, and all he wants is her to be happy. They decide to explain the other guys this is what they want.
The guys eventually start warming up to the idea of being in a relationship with Elise despite her being mated, wanting any part of her she’s willing to give.
Gabriel sees a vision of Mariella’s location. They find Mariella and Ryder finally exacts his revenge, letting go of his past.
The Heist at Lionel Acrux’s Mansion
Orion tells them the only way to read the dark book they found without sacrificing his soul is by obtaining a spy glass Lionel Acrux owns. Dante attends the dragon guild’s holiday party and Elise attends as his date.
Rosa, Dante’s Unawakened Moon Wolf cousin, Roary and Leon infiltrate the mansion to steal the spy glass.
However, they are found and Roary helps Rosalie escape but it leads to him being caught and get sent to Darkmore Penitentiary.
Rosa, having always had a crush on Roary, is devastated and she swears a Moon Oath to get Roary freed. (This is the foundation for Darkmore Penitentiary series I believe, but damn Roary is stuck there for 15 years?)
Lionel Acrux uses the heist gone wrong to his advantage and demands Dante joins the dragon guild and give his storm power to him as needed in order to keep Rosa out of the prison. He also demands Dante has offspring with his niece to make more storm dragons.
Felix Oscura Attacks the Academy
Gabriel has a vision that Felix attacks the academy and ends up killing Ryder. Thanks to the sight the five of them having spent the night together are awake in time to be ready for the attack. They all begin fighting Felix and the wolves he brougth with himself.
Ryder helps Dante during the fight much to the Brotherhood’s ire despite the fact that they are sworn enemies and saves Dante’s life.
It is revealed that Felix has tortured Rosalie to get her to turn to his side which she refused.
Elise uses her vampire gifts to help her during the fight, Dante uses the storms, Ryder uses her earth magic and Gabriel fights with both his magic and the Sight.
At the end, they kill Felix, ending the civil war within the Oscura Clan, with Dante consolidating the power of the clan once in for all. He is finally the leader of the Oscura clan with no challengers.
A Bromance Christmas Trip
Leon kidnaps the boys to a cabin for a Christmas trip so they can bond. Wanting to form a pride of his own with Elise, himself and the other three kings, he locks them in a cabin and suppresses their order form.
Dante reveals to Ryder that his clan did not kill his father, his father gave his life willingly to end the war between them once in for all.
The boys make Christmas presents and decorate the cabin for Elise.
When Elise arrives, the five of them realize they can make this work amongst themselves.
Ruthess Boys of the Zodiac Broken Fae Ending Explained
Gabriel finds out that the King is planning to conduct another ritual and Eugene Dipper is the sacrifice. The five of them decide to put a stop to the King once in for all.
Elise uses her vampire gifts to get Eugene out, but is dosed with Killblaze.
The guys manage to disrupt the ritual but Elise having been separated from the guys and emptied from her magic is ambushed by the King.
The King reveals he needs a vampire to siphon of his magic and kidnaps Elise to use her in her rituals.
The guys, devastated of losing Elise make a promise that they’ll do anything to get her back.
Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac Broken Fae Spicy Chapters
How Spicy is Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac: Broken Fae (Book 4): 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Whether you want to get to the heat or want closed-door modifications here’s the list of spicy chapters below.
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 18
- Chapter 22
- Chapter 23
- Chapter 24
- Chapter 26
- Chapter 30
- Chapter 37
Tinfoil Hats On: My Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac Book 5 Predictions
- More Elysian Mates happen
- Elise gets pregnant?
- One of the professors maybe Mars or Titan is the King.
Because why choose when you can click this link and have them all? 💋📖
All in all, I enjoy the Solaria universe, but the Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac series is stretching out a bit too long. I’m ready to see this plot wrapped up so I can get back to the current timeline series.
I can tell we’re sliding into spice for the sake of spice by the mid-to-late ending of this book. More power to the readers who enjoy that, but for me it’s less fun. Give me tension. Give me yearning. And please, give me more Leon.
Did you like Broken Fae? I hear most people enjoy the later books more than the first, which is not the case for me. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
I’m heading into Warrior Fae next to wrap this series up before I dive into the two prequels. Sign up for our newsletter to get notified when new posts go live.
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