Zodiac Academy 8

I don't know how to create words right now. I feel so many things...I feel SO happy and also REALLY scared. I feel irritated but also fulfilled. I feel like we came so far but also didn't go anywhere. I'm thoroughly enamored with this series, these characters and this world. This book is the kind of read where you specifically take your time and read slow so that it doesn't end. You know its a good story if you're doing that to keep these people around for as long as possible. A triumph in the series, Bravo to the sisters on this epic journey. I am SO THRILLED we get one more book. ****SPOILERS**** Starting this book was HARD, because of where we ended with the last one. I was so emotional, I chose to hope stepping into it that we would meet Darius again, I DID NOT give up. I wouldn't give up. And I have to say as the chapters went on and on I started losing hope. At one point when another chapter came and went and he wasn't back I was so upset I started balling uncontrollable muttering things like "I just don't understand" and "why is this happening, why would they do this?" Darcy and Orions torture was extremely tough to read BUT...I was content in a way because they had each other. Obviously there were times I wanted to hurdle through the pages and bitch slap anyone who was hurting them but again...they had each other and Tory didn't have Darius OR Darcy. When Tory finally made it to Darcy I was so sad for her that Darcy decided to stay but honestly I was happy with that decision. I think 1. it was the correct thing for Darcy to stay with her mate during and 2. it gave Tory the push she needed to complete her mission. It stung yes, but I believe in my heart of hearts its what both the twins needed to continue. Why was I irritated throughout this book you ask?! Yet again its another ENTIRE book where Seth and Caleb don't just express their true feelings to each other. Its INFURIATING! Their inner dialogue needs to become actual words because I swear if I have to listen to them yearning for each other without admitting it again I will RIOT! There were so many times I was like "this is it....finally they're going to admit their love!" and NOPE! If they don't get Elysium mate status I swear I will lose my absolute mind. I was happy mostly with everyone else, I was extremely happy that Xavier got his wings back. I thought the sisters wrote his trauma of losing his brother and mother really well, very relatable. There was so much trauma in this book, but that was expected because we lost such strong characters in the last book. There was a perfect amount of comic relief to go with that trauma. The balance was so well done. I enjoyed the secondary characters chapters, breaking up the main characters dialogue was needed in this book more than ever purely because of the stuff they were all going through. When Tory finally made it to Darius I was an absolute sobbing mess of a person. Then he bowed to her and I was shaking I was crying so hard...then they danced and it seemed like all was lost and this was the actual last time they would see each other and I was inconsolable, It was midnight and I was crying so hard my husband woke up to see if I was okay. He had to help me put my kindle down on the nightstand I was so upset. THEN...badass f-ing Tory, she fricken did it! And all of a sudden they were back and I was jumping up and down. The biggest FU to the stars ACCOMPLISHED! So much tension lifted off my shoulders. I know its a book but these people are a part of me now. The ending, back at the Academy, all the nostalgia was executed perfectly. The battle was intense and crazy and perfect. But then right as Darius walked up to everyone the twins were taken away and trapped in that damn place. DAMMIT! I needed the heirs reunion, I needed Xavier reunion, I NEEDED ORION AND DARIUS REUNION! I know we need a cliffhanger but COME ON! This book is special, this series is astounding and I am a happier human for having found it to read.

I was so angry when I found out this wouldn’t be the last book. However, I really enjoyed it! I am only giving this 4 stars (which is still good) BECAUSE some of the plot is just dragging the hell on. At this point, I’m not certain that the next book will be the last. But there were some truly lovely moments in this book as well as some funny scenes. Nothing too heartbreaking! ***SPOILERS**** •The quest to drag Darius back from death. I’m in the middle on this one. Part of me is ecstatic that he’s back! I can also see how bringing him back showcases just how far Tory will go for ones she loves, especially him; how dark she is willing to become. But part of me thinks that it would’ve been better if his death was final and she returned without him. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Would it have been sad? Yes. Would it have been an HEA- maybe if at the end of this series she joined him in death where he was waiting for her? •Seth and Caleb have moved forward a step just to take 2 steps back. It’s honestly just annoying at this point to drag it on like this. •Darcy and Orion were terrific as always. And holy hell Stella’s sacrifice. My **only** issues with it is that it seems like Stella only pulled through BECAUSE she realized that Lionel wanted nothing but to use her. So, what was Stella really giving up since she had nothing? That’s my logical thought process. Emotionally, though, it tugged at my heartstrings- since emotions aren’t always logical. •I had guessed it but was so happy to finally know who the man with the painted smile was! •The giant nest idea- brilliant! It’s really nice to see everyone come together. The book wasn’t flawless and it could’ve certainly been 3/4 the length (though I enjoy chonky books). And I’m still mad this isn’t the end. But it was a delightful read!

Zodiac Academy Sorrow and Starlight is the eight book in the Beasts and Bullies series by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti. I really enjoyed this book, in fact, I binge read it in one day. ZA7 left us with quite the cliffhanger. I really enjoyed ZA8 and can appreciate the pacing and build up to arc resolution. I think that the Twisted Sisters concluded several of the prophecies brilliantly and in ways that I did not anticipate. I adore the characters in the Zodiac Academy series and enjoyed seeing more depth and development as they were all forced to fight. ***spoilers below*** I loved the conclusion arc of Darcy’s curse. The dove that became a hunter = Stella saving Orion and Darcy. Heartbreaking. Redeeming. The fight scene that followed with the Shadow Princess was chef’s kiss and I cannot wait to see how the shadow dog companion plays out. Tory left me in awe. Her arc to save Darius was stunning. The scenes of their reunion and her defiance of the stars was emotional, well written, and beautiful. The twins reunion and promise to always be there for each other: “I’ll always love you as you are right now, and I know you’ve been through a lot. I want to know this new you… When I look at you, I will always see the firl who took on the whole world for me, even when we were skinny little orphans with nothing and no one to love us. We loved each other, and that kind of love is greater than all else. It’ll never die, no matter who we become. No matter who else we love now too. At our core, we’re still us.” When the sisters were finally reunited and crowned, recognized as Queens. Amazing. Their sacrifice though in regards to breaking the curse on their family and returning the star… The book ending left me with worries. I know there is only supposed to be one more book in the series. I am glad that Tory and Darcy are reunited. I worry that there are a lot of loose ties to pull together in one last book.

Trigger Warning : torture, death, violence//war violence, confinement, sexual assault, grief, abuse, hate crimes, self harm, suicidal thoughts, bullying, classism, toxic relationship, animal cruelty, abandonment, gaslighting, misogyny This is the first book in the series that was hard for me to get through. I enjoy the multiple POVs, but this was pushing me to my limit. Some of the points of view really take you out of the main story lines, and don’t add anything to the overall plot. That really started to irritate me, and I definitely sped read through those parts. Parts of this book also just felt way too similar to previous books in the series just switching Darcy and Tory’s roles. I feel like there are definitely large parts of this book that could’ve been cut out or cut down and combined with the previous book and the final book. It really felt like the authors were just trying to stretch out the story by any means necessary. I was honestly a little disappointed, this book is definitely the worst in the series in my opinion. Alright now that, that’s out of the way : warning spoilers ahead. Let’s take stock, Darcy is a shadow beast, Orion made himself Lavinia’s slave, Gabriel is captured by Lionel, the Heirs are being used to feed Lavinia’s dark magic, Darius is dead, and Tory is a shell of a human being. So, things are clearly just going great, right ? Glad we’re all on the same page now. At least, we start off with Darcy getting to speak with her parents. I really enjoyed this scene specifically. I had been wondering what Merissa and Hale Vega were like for most of the series, and all we had were second hand accounts. This scene might be what convinces me to read Beyond the Veil. I wasn’t really planning on it, but I don’t know now I’m wondering if it would be worth it to read that book as well. Tory and Geraldine also rescues the Heirs within the first 10 chapters, with relative ease. Per usual we are being given hope in the beginning of the book that things might turn out okay, but they won’t because this isn’t the last book. The Heirs finding out that Darius died is almost as difficult to read as the chapter where Tory is grieving his loss. You can really feel how close they all were, and it honestly made me tear up. The authors do a really good job with representing the different ways that people grieve. The heirs all have different reactions and feelings surrounding Darius’s death. It’s very relatable. There’s no way Darius is really like dead, dead right ? Tory has to find a way to save him. That’s the only explanation I will accept. At first, I was a little annoyed by the Milton chapters, because it takes you away from the main plot, but I actually ended up liking the different perspective it gives. Milton is still at Zodiac Academy living under the orderist laws that Lionel has enacted. It’s also a break from the general intensity of what the Vega twins, Heirs, and Orion are experiencing, while still giving you a better idea of how Lionel is really impacting day to day life in Solaria in a negative way. Justin’s chapters however, are just pointless. I don’t get what these are adding to the plot if anything they’re diverting from the general plot of the book. They just seem unnecessary. The whole Darcy being a shadow beast, and Orion being enslaved to Lavinia for 3 moon cycles is difficult to read. The feeling of hopelessness permeates every page. I, honestly, read through these parts to get past it as quickly as possible. Darcy and Orion have been tortured so much throughout the course of these book, the fact that the stars FINALLY decide to do something to protect them is the only reason I could get through their chapters. The stars protecting Darcy and Orion’s mating bond prevents Lavinia from being able to torture Darcy and Orion by using Orion’s body. It doesn’t stop Lavinia from repeatedly stabbing him and bringing him to the brink of death, but it at least prevents her from sexually assaulting him. Of course, the other Heirs have taken up Darius’s mantle of believing they’re more worthy than the twins of ruling Solaria. They’re literally in the middle of a rebellion that is supporting the Twins, and that is being effectively run by them but they still somehow believe they’re more worthy ?! Just because they grew up in Solaria ? Make it make sense. It makes a lot more sense that Tory and Darcy are cursed because they are phoenixes. We’re getting more pieces of the puzzle, but it’s still just not fully clear what happened with the imperial star and what promise was broken. I felt like this whole part with the memory flashback could’ve been done in a more clear and concise way, even if you wanted to hold back some information from the reader. I had to reread through parts to make sure I was understanding what the authors were trying to convey. I’m living for dark side, I’ll do anything to get Darius back, Tory. She has become so ruthless, but in a positive way. Tory is not only fighting the stars for Darius, but also against Lionel and his oppression. It’s everything I wanted from her in this book, and it definitely makes sense with her personality. Thankfully, she is eventually successful and she brings Darius back by binding their lives together. It’s actually really romantic for Tory. Of course, everything seems like it’s going great. Orion breaks Darcy’s curse, and they reunite with Tory and Darius. The Heirs ( including Darius ), finally, accept that the Vega Twins could make decent queens, and they bow to them. Then, everything goes wrong again. Darcy and Tory are forced to confront the star that created the Imperial Star, Clydinius. The broken promise is revealed. Clydinius wants to become human. The twins plan to kill the star falls apart because of course it does. Clydinius steals the Vega twin’s likenesses and their magic, leaving them locked in a cave…. That’s the end. I’m really wondering at this point how the authors are going to wrap everything up in the next book. It seems like instead of starting to tie up story lines that they’re just creating more. I’m going to soldier on, and read the final book in the series. Wish me luck. Tropes List : chosen one, fated mates, enemies to lovers, found family, forbidden magic, slow burn, grumpy x sunshine, age gap, forbidden romance, friends to lovers, magic academy

This was my most anticipating book of the year. I’ve been obsessing and dreading it since the cliffhanger in book 7. It is also one of the longest books I’ve read but yet I still wanted more. I just can’t get enough of this series. It never leaves me filling empty or bored. There were so many emotions when reading any scene whether anger, happiness, or pain. Honestly I love all the characters (okay well not the bad guys) but every book I seem to have a new favorite and this one didn’t let me down. It’s one of the things I love about Zodiac. Even after 8 books I find myself growing towards characters I didn’t like before or even care about. No, I will not tell you who I’m talking about. Okay, fine. It’s Washer, are you happy? I also loved how much planning and brainstorming had to have gone into this. There were times I had to go back and read parts of the previous books to see if I missed something. It makes it more enjoyable for me cause it’s kinda like trying to solve a mystery while reading. Every ah ha moment brough a smile to my face and I felt like I was a detective that just solve a major crime. But of course these sisters don’t make the glory last too long. With all the revelations were more questions. My absolute favorite thing about this book and series in general is the growth. All ofl these characters have been through so much and come so far (no, I was not just singing the chorus to In the End) and still struggle but what I love is their perseverance. They keep going no matter how hard the battle is and we see that so much in this book. I’m can’t believe we are almost at the end of their journeys. I’m dying to see what is to come and got my helmet and knee pads ready cause I already know it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.

Honestly I don't know how I feel about this one..let me just say I LOVE THIS SERIES and the CHARACTER and the AUTHORS! But this book took me soooo LONG to finish..I started it when it first came out and I took a break from it then I started it again recently and it still dragged out for me..I couldn't agree with a lot that was going on..and the characters really started to annoy me and then they add a new type of magic that I don't really get and I'm not even sure the authors or characters do either..idk 🤷🏻‍♀️ This book did have its good parts but I just felt like the good didn't out weigh the bad..all in all it was a good read not my favorite but a good read nonetheless and that ending was great not what I was expecting but enough to reel me back in and wanting to read more! And I can't wait to see what comes next! 💙❤️

I actually finished reading this a few days ago but I needed time to process everything before I sat down to write this review. I’m not gonna lie, this book is looooooong! I would be reading for hours only to look down and realize that I had only gotten another 10% through the book. I honestly don’t think I’ve read a book this long before because usually when I’m reading a book anywhere near this long it can sometimes be hard for me to get into it and I find it hard to want to pick the book back up. Happily, that didn’t happen with Sorrow and Starlight and as soon as I put my kindle down so I could be an adult, I was counting down the time until I could pick it back up. I went through the full range of emotions reading this book. I’m not going to lie, I cried a lot during this book, but I’m also a very emotional reader. But even though there are plenty of sad parts in this book, there are also some hilarious moments that will have you literally laughing out loud, some moments that make you want to rip your hair out (I’ve never felt so edged by a book, iykyk), as well as some kick *$$ moments that will have you cheering for these characters that we all love so much. There were so many parts of this book that I loved and I feel like this may be one of the best books they sister have written to date. And the ending? It actually wasn’t that bad, especially compared to Heartless Sky! Meaning, that while there is a bit of a cliffhanger, you can safely read this book and not have your heart ripped out at the end and then have to wait for the next book. After reading this, I’m even more excited for ZA9, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it!

This book was better than I expected, particularly after reading the reviews. Let me preface this by saying I have loyally followed this series since the beginning, and have been members of the sisters Facebook page since they were trying to gain 2000 followers. Clearly I'm a huge fan. However, in the grand scheme of things, this book was not as good as I was expecting of the sisters, even after finding out this was not going to be the last book in the series. In comparison to the rest of the books in this series, it was boring and filled with irrelevant and pointless points of view that added absolutely nothing. The kindle version is over 1200 pages long. Very little actually happens until the last 200-300 pages. It's slow going with minimal action. I'm all about having more pages to read, but they absolutely need to be relevant and moving the story forward. Unfortunately, this book doesn't make a ton of progress. This book picks up where 7 left off, which ended with everyone being torn apart, tons of losses, and great deal of heartache - not uncommon for the sisters nor is it something I'm complaining about. However, Tory spent the whole book basically "why me"ing because of Darius and Darcy. She is absolutely within her right to be frustrated and irrational as she is grieving. But the fact that she is upset that Darcy is making decisions that mean not "siding" with Tory - when Tory would absolutely stick by Darius (as proven in this book) no matter what, even over Darcy - is absolutely ridiculous to me. I am slightly bias because I do prefer Darcy out of the two, but this book just pushed me to dislike Tory more. Luckily, Lance and Darcy got to spend a majority of this book together so that made my heart happy. This book ends with the whole gang reunited to fight off mysterious new beasts that Lionel conjured up / found that were attacking the academy so at least everyone is together. The Heirs also finally recognized the twins birthright and the counselors began to understand their true might. This makes it seem like a good ending. However, the end of this book heralds a brand new villain - which I'm not looking forward to. The sisters had previously stated this was to be the last book, only to announce a few months before the book dropped that there would be a 9th book because they couldn't complete it in one book. I am now incredibly skeptical that the sisters will actually be able to keep this promise with the introduction of a new and bigger villain added to the story. I am warily looking forward to book 9, hoping it will be more action packed than this one, and actually resolving things instead of just adding new things to the story when the story was supposed to be ending. If the sisters want to continue with this story line, I am absolutely thrilled. But I don't want them to keep saying every book is the last book because they feel the story continues to take new directions. Cliffhangers in books are something I am absolutely it let okay with. Cliffhangers I'm real life (e.g. the sisters uncertainty with the amount of books) is not okay and something that I can't get behind. If you aren't sure, just be upfront and say you aren't sure how many more are left in the series instead of thinking each book will be the last...until it isn't. Other than that, I will continue reading the sisters books.