It seems like only yesterday I was turning the pages of Zodiac, book one in the Zodiac quartet. Yet here I am attempting to review the third installment. Black Moon is without a doubt my favorite book in the series, and here's just a snippet of what you can expect: action, kissing, a royal ball, magical creatures, suspense, betrayal, and deception. What more could I ask for??
What I love about the Zodiac series is that each book expands, deepens, and complicates the plot of the series. Each new development really heightens the urgency and makes the readers invest in the story that much more. Black Moon takes place two months after the end of the last book as Rho takes on her new status as Wandering Star and investigates the Marad terrorist group and other potential threats to the Houses.
I love the extensive culture and worlds that Romina crafts from the twelve Zodiac Houses. It's fascinating to hear about their different gadgets and technology, their values, culture, and how they go about their everyday lives. We visit three new Houses in this book, and I like how this book really devotes time to explore these Houses and the characteristics of their worlds. Romina creates some amazing elements in the different Houses and some of my favorite scenes are just her descriptions of the diverse and fascinating settings. Her world-building has always been a strong suit and she really let her imagination run wild in this installment. I was also relieved by the lack of information dump in this book. Sci-fi novels tend to be very complex by nature as the setting is greatly expanded to an entire galaxy with lots of advanced technology and such, but Romina found the perfect balance.
Rho has definitely changed from the innocent and naive protagonist that she was at the beginning of Zodiac. I like that Rho really asserts herself in every situation and is growing into the leader she was meant to be. She trusts her instincts more and she's less afraid to listen to them. I felt like this book moved at a much quicker pace because of Rho's maturity and decisiveness. Rho's romantic entanglements also straighten up in this book which I greatly enjoyed!! The romance and swoons are spot on. :)
Black Moon also captures space politics in an interesting way. A new political party, The Tomorrow Party, has formed and I liked seeing the workings of the politics. Although this novel takes place in a setting so unfamiliar to us, Romina still chose to address issues we face in our lives.
Romina's superb writing has consistently gotten better as she writes more books. I thought the pacing and flow of this book was the best of all three. Her plotting was stellar as well as we see all the details from the previous books and Black Moon building up towards something even greater to come in the final book. It'll be a painful wait but definitely worth it.
Overall if you've read any of the Zodiac books I highly recommend you continue the series as each subsequent book gets better! If you haven't started the series and would like a sci-fi adventure novel then this is the series for you.