#za8

[incorrect-fantasybook-quotes]

(Seth on the phone with Orion)

Orion: Turn around

Orion: No, the other way

Orion: Again, the other way

Orion: No not there, one more time!

Seth: OH MY GOD WHERE ARE YOU?

Orion: I’m not there yet, but the thought of you aimlessly turning around in circles amuses me.

[fallingstarze]

Tory & Darius Vega officially take the 2nd spot in my top 3 fav couples right after Feysand. i cant describe how much i love them and how fuckin powerful they and their love is. THEY. ARE. EVERYTHING. i've legit never cried so much in my life over characters.

credit to the artist.

[calming-chaos]

[open-at-the-close]

I'm just going to vent here for a minute because I think it's really rude of people to complain about a book on a fan page run by the actual authors, which is what everyone seems to be doing on Facebook, so I'm going to complain about it here instead. This latest Zodiac Academy book is my least favorite in the series so far, which is disappointing because we were all so excited for it.

Zodiac Academy 8 sorrow and starlight spoilers ahead

Let me start by saying I didn't absolutely hate it, there are definitely things in the book that I did like. There were just more that I didn't like.

Did I like Miltons chapters from inside ZA? Yes....but I've read them before. His chapters were just a combination of Dumbledores army hiding from Umbridge and Neville staying behind while Snape was head master.

The riddle that Tory solved on the ferry? Read that before too.. in ACOTAR. And it feels especially weird to have scenes so similar to Harry Potter and ACOTAR when these authors have to know that most of their audience has read those books too.

Let's talk Seth and Caleb... I am doneee with them. They dragged this out too long at this point. The last book I got it, but to continue it throughout this entire book felt forced, they have both said this TO EACH OTHER that clearly show they have real feelings and then they're just written to suddenly be complete idiots to continue dragging this fight out. I will say however the scene where their moms come in? Pure gold. That one was definitely a win.

Everyone being worried about Tory diving too deep into dark magic... We have already read this with her in the shadows. Do we really need that storyline again? Can we also just take a minute to address the fact that eather is an ancient forgotten magic that is so old no one knows how to teach it to her, but a few weeks with a book and she's completely mastered it and is using it like it's her own personal fifth element?

The fallen star... another villain.. I don't hate this storyline, I just wish that it had happened earlier or that they had at least taken anyone out before he was introduced. I feel like no matter what they do in this next book it's going to feel rushed. You're telling me that they have had nine books to take out Lionel... Which they have STILL NOT DONE. But somehow in this very last book they are going to take out Lionel, Lavinia, creepy shadow child, and a star God?

And finally.... We just spent 1200 pages...twelve hundredddddd pages waiting for everyone to be reunited, and you're telling me that when we start the next book there will be fake Vegas and they're gonna have to figure it out and find the damn twins again? I truly have no desire to spend hundreds of pages waiting for another reunion. If A Darius does IMMEDIATELY notice that fake Tory does share his heart beat and Orion doesn't immediately know that's not his blue I might just throw the whole book away.

That is all.

[artemisandhersilverbow]

instead of racing for my 2022 reading goal... i'm admitting defeat and digging into ZA8 instead. it's my last week of vaca and i deserve it. but lord... this hurts.

[yazthebookish]

I just finished Zodiac Academy 8 and now I can finally breathe 🤡

[bookishbethanyerin]

• Review: Zodiac Academy Sorrow & Starlight •

Not gonna lie – I find it extremely hard to review these books because I love the series and characters and world so much.

But here goes nothing.

This book was both exactly and nothing like I expected. I figured it would be emotionally heavy and would take the main cast of characters to new lows, but never expected how thoroughly grief would be explored. The theme was smartly, devastatingly, effectively managed through the (many) character POVs offered by the sister writing duo as they showed the many different ways people cope with grief and trauma, from the graceful and healthy to ragged guilt and rage-induced toxicity to attempts at normality interrupted by crippling waves of pain. Was it fun to read? Not particularly. But it was well-done and an important emotional journey for this entire cast of characters.

I also admired how the dual, but separate journeys that Tory and Darcy undertook were executed, with each sister tackling challenges that ultimately helped them gain qualities they initially lacked and had always relied on the other twin for. Plus, it was extremely cool to see the sisters putting their own creative spins on tried-and-true classic hero storytelling arcs.

Now. Did the book *need* to be 1,244 pages? Did we *need* all those extra character POVs? No. Do I wish we had been given a little bit more time to breathe into the spots of joy and humor in this book (*especially* one in the last 5%)? I do.

But despite that and definitely because of all the places this book went that subverted my expectations or surprised me, I loved this book.

Yes, I sobbed until I thought I was having a panic attack, gasped in complete shock, yelled in frustration, and laughed myself silly.

Yes, it’s long and heavy and takes a toll.

Yes, some parts were maddening and horrifying and wobbly.

Yes, it feels like the plot only moved a little bit forward.

But by the end of this book, our characters are vastly different – and I can’t wait to see where they all go from here.

[kwilber-art]

“𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨.” 👑🔪