Zodiak

Zodiac #1

by Romina Russell, Jakub Radzimiński (Translator)

Pierwsza czesc porywajacego galaktycznego cyklu inspirowanego astrologia. Swiat stanal na krawedzi chaosu: galaktyke Zodiaku i jej Dwanascie Domow nawiedza seria zaburzen pogodowych, niosacych smierc i zniszczenie. Rho, 16-letnia mieszkanka konstelacji Raka, ma przed soba najtrudniejsze zadanie. Musi przekonac nieswiadomych Straznikow pozostalych jedenastu domow, ze zaburzenia moga byc zwiazane z powrotem Ochusa, mitycznego zalozyciela Trzynastego Domu. Tylko, kto uwierzy nowej Strazniczce Domu Raka? Wyscig z przeznaczeniem trwa...

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance, Fiction, Mythology, Space

462 pages, Paperback

First published December 9, 2014

About the author

Romina Russell (aka Romina Garber) is a Los Angeles based author who originally hails from Buenos Aires, Argentina. As a teen, Romina landed her first writing gig—College She Wrote, a weekly Sunday column for the Miami Herald that was later picked up for national syndication—and she hasn’t stopped writing since. When she’s not working on ZODIAC, Romina can be found producing movie trailers, taking photographs, or daydreaming about buying a new drum set. She is a graduate of Harvard College and a Virgo to the core.

Reviews

[Erica Ravenclaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

☆ ☆

No spoilers and colorful language abound! I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 65% because...


Are you thinking about reading this book? Well, let's just get right down to business, shall we?

WARNING this book contains a love triangle.

WARNING this book contains a speshual 16 year old snowflake goddess out to save the GALAXY.

WARNING this book contains scientific NONSENSE.

WARNING this book is every YA book you've ever hated, but wrapped up in a pretty new facade.


I've always found astrology really interesting, it's something I've read a lot about, I don't believe it holds any water but it's entertaining as hell. Out of all the books I got at BEA this was one of the few I was most excited about, because duh. I put this book down about two weeks ago, and have had zero desire to pick it up since. You know why? Because I know how it's going to end, and I just can't fucking do it. I know who she is going to pick in the love triangle disaster, and I can't stand. I know how this is going to end, and I don't give a crap.

Here is an idea, how about you YA authors stop peddling the same fucking garbage story, and come up with something new. How about instead of the blonde, controlling, "I will always save you" guy getting the girl, maybe she picks the one who ENCOURAGES HER TO BE HERSELF, the one who challenges her, the one who makes her think, the one who makes her feel invigorated and alive for fucking once? I know it's a pipe dream but every time I pick up one of these books I think this might be the one, the one who says "fuck you" to the YA standards and writes a protagonist with some self worth.




Not this time.


The world building is pretty fantastic, most of the time. It's far and away the best part of this book, and it almost makes up for lack of an actually interesting plot. So once upon who-knows-when Earth died out. Then there were the 12 immortal guides of the Zodiac or something... and they abandoned their immortality to created/inhabit their own... planet/s/moons/thing... and somehow the people of this planet embody the attributes of their astrological sign. Honestly, it was a bunch of nonsense, but because the author doesn't spend too much time establishing this, it's easy to gloss over, sort of. I mean, the simple trick here would have to disassociated these people of this galaxy from Earth as we know it, just make a new universe and all of this stuff would have made a heap more sense. I tried really hard to put it all together in my mind and decided that I didn't actually care anymore, and stopped.



The author hits her stride creating these worlds, first we meet Cancer and her moons, then Gemini, then Virgo, and so on. It's detailed, it's beautifully written, it's complex, it's the golden heart of this book. I'd even go so far as to say, if this kind of YA plot doesn't irk you, it's possible you might love this.

 Although they are all human, as we might understand, they are in fact each a unique race of people with it's own science, social structure, and values, it's completely fascinating. If I were to ever pick up this book again, it would be to see the rest of this incredible universe the author created.

I cannot read this story anymore, and by this story, I mean the same thing YA authors have been peddling since the dawn of time. It needs to stop.

[Sandee is Reading · Rating 2 out of 5]

RATING: 

We're forbidden from dating - or loving, or marrying, or even kissing - each other.

If you were a sane person, would you have these thoughts when YOU know that the entire world you know is falling apart?

Would you?

I am angry. I am very angry.



Let's just start with that.

I loved this book. Loved. I loved the first half of this book. I would have defend this book for all its misses on the first half. I would tell them all the good things about it. I would tell them that the world-building of this book is just brilliant and unique and absolutely magnificent. I cannot begin to tell you guys, but… but.. THE SECOND HALF OF THE BOOK HAPPENED!!!!



Oh god I want to rip the pages of my book to pieces!

I am very, very upset.



The story stars with Rho. Our special little snowflake. Who I actually thought was deserving to be a special little snowflake. knfksdgnakfgakf!!!

Okay... Going back.

Rho has been reading bad omens from the stars. And when she read for her final exams, what she saw was no different.

Then the vision appears - the same vision I've been seeing for a week now; a smoldering black mass, barely distinguishable from Space, pressing into the atmosphere past the Twelfth House, Pisces. Its influence seems to be warping our Crab constellation out of shape.

But of course, no one listened to her. These adults think because they're older than her, she would not be able to read anything right. They accused her taking nonsense.

"How many times do we have to tell you, Rho? Your clever theories and imaginative stories have no place in astrological science."

I don't blame them for being skeptical because she doesn't even use the material she was supposed to be using to read the stars. It's called an Astralator if I'm not mistaken. Why doesn't she use it? Because she's fucking special. Yeah. And I was okay with it, at the time.

Anyways. Back to the story.

Then she brushed it off. She was like. Okay. No one wants to listen to me. Fine. So she went off with her friends. They were going to perform that night in front of a crowd. She's a drummer of their band. (see. she's special and talented) They were going to start performing on stage when a something hit the moon they were in. It was a disaster. A lot of people died of course. Bodies were floating around.

Bodies are everywhere. Floating past each other peacefully, three or four feet above the ground. None of them have woken up.

Rho and her friends were still disoriented with what happened. But Lodestar Mathias (the guy our main protagonist has her googly eyes on) found them and took them to a ship that would take them back to Cancer.

So each Houses of the Zodiac has their own Guardian. The Guardian of Cancer has just passed away. Guess who they chose take her place?



Rho

I hate this girl. I hate her so much. I hate her more than I hate Celaena. I didn't like Celaena, but at least she was using her brain and not her emotions all the time. Rho was a freaking special flower. She knew how to do everything. She could do everything without even struggling. Coincidentally, her mom trained her to be this special girl who could do a lot of stuff no one else can, like read the stars without a Astralator.

"Surprise registers in his indigo blue-eyes. He knows me. Warmth spread through my skin, like I'm being bathed in the light of Helios again."

Can you guess which page this passage is from? Page number 7. Fucking page 7 and I already see an insta-love. I actually disputed this with a friend of mine who read the book with me and I said no, it isn't exactly insta-love. Because she already had a crush on him before or something. But after the story progressed, especially towards the ending, she mentioned something about loving him since she was a kid of something and that just really threw me off. I hated that.

I could take perfection in characters just fine. I wasn't pissed that Rho was a freakin' Mary Sue. That wasn't my issue with her. My issue with her character was how boy crazy she was. I hated that shit. I did not like it in any books. Add love triangle to the mix and it is a recipe for disaster. This book proved it. It also proved that no matter how amazing your story is, or how fantastic the world you created is, if your main character is too weak or is genuinely annoying, a book would end up being terrible.

And don't get me started with the cheating. Oh mfo... I hated that. I hated that she doesn't know how she feels completely for one that she has to try and test who she really wants.



F*ck you Rho really.

Matias

What can i say? I didn't like this guy at all. I never liked him on the first part, didn't like him towards the middle, and in the end, I still didn't like him.

His character was so flat and boring. I can't feel any sympathy for him at all. I don't get why he is so cold and uncaring. Probably because like all the other older people in this book, they don't respect the opinions of anyone younger than them. I think Matias suffers from that too.

Hysan

He is the only character in this entire book that I was able to really like. He was this smart, funny, and a very supportive type of character. He was almost too perfect. And I wasn't complaining. If it wasn't for Hysan, I would have really really really hated this book. He reminds me of Nikolai from the Grisha Trilogy. If you have read that book, you'll understand why I like Hysan.



If you hate love triangles and insta-love, you might want to pass this book up. The romance in this book was so terrible. I wish this part of the story just got cut off because, i think it wasn't necessary. This book was already good without the complication of a love triangle.

Oh and there would be cheating too. I hated that so much! I can take love triangles. I can take insta-love. But I would never ever think it's okay to sleep with someone and realises you want the other guy, then kisses him all in one day.



No. Just no.



The world that the author made for this book was phenomenal! I can't even begin to say how fantastic and expansive it was. It was so unique. I don't think I have ever read anything like it. I was enchanted by this whole world in the galaxy where people were sort of segregated by the Houses of the Zodias. Our main character is from Cancer, then you mean other people from Gemini, Virgo and all the other houses.

Also the mythology of each Houses about the bad guy was just so... great! I loved really how each and every Houses has their own character, based on the Zodiac signs. It was so good. I loved it.



Zodiac was set in outer space. Humans no longer live on earth. They are now living in another part of the galaxy where instead of living in different countries, they belong to different Houses of the Zodiac. And each houses, had their own unique thing.

I loved everything about this the setting, just like with the world building. This was also well thought out and executed very well. I liked how detailed everything was in regards to the place and also the type of people who are living on that specific place.



* The world building was where this book was the strongest. I would rate this book an A+ without a doubt, if I solely rate it on that aspect.

* The settings were beautifully done. The author made me feel like I was really actually there with the characters.

* The pace was fast. There was never a dull moment (even when the main character was being ridiculously stupid)

* The author's writing style was something I was able to easily get into.

* The villain was pretty good too. He was a presence that wasn't there all the time, but you know he's there. He was menacing that way.



* A too-stupid-to-live main character. She was really the main reason I rated this book lower than it deserved because her character wrecked everything this book was trying to accomplish. She did not deserve anything at all.

* The romance. I love my romance in books, but when it's written so badly, it would really throw me off the entire story. And this one did just that. I hated how the main character focused more on her love life than anything else. That was just fucked up. I hated that.

* The adults here were all stubborn morons. I hated how they all stick to what they know because they're older. That is such a bad trope to use in a book like this. I felt that these older people were more of the villain in the story rather than the main villain who was actually causing the chaos from the background. These people who thinks they know better because they're older are what was causing their world to crumble. I guess that was the point of the story, but still, I didn't like it.

* This book suffered from the missing parent syndrome. Both her parents were absent, except from the prologue.

* There wasn't really any explanation why Rho's mother taught her the things she knew. It was all very convenient that she her mum taught her all of these things. But there was never really any explanation on why her mum taught her stuff. At least as far as I remember



This book broke my heart.



I really loved this so much and I think that is why it bothers me and upset me so much! I actually thought this was going to be a great book. I still thought of that even at around 45% in. There were issues with the main character which were tolerable on the first half, but the next half was so godawful.

Would I recommend this book, not really. Because despite my addiction to the entire world the author made, I just could not recommend reading about a character like Rho. I just could not. I just really wished this was better. I really did want to love this book. The author was pretty nice in commenting on my post about it on Instagram so it's a shame I had to rate her book lower than 3 stars.

[Isa Cantos (Crónicas de una Merodeadora) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro se merece todas las estrellas de todas las galaxias, constelaciones y universos posibles. Dicho esto...

¡WOW! Zodíaco es un libro increíble que combina elementos distópicos, viajes espaciales de ciencia ficción, un montón de personajes increíbles y, por supuesto, una historia que no te deja despegarte de sus páginas hasta que la has acabado.

De verdad, Zodíaco me sorprendió muchísimo porque empecé a leerlo pensando como "sí, bueno, otro libro más en el espacio y encima con todo el rollo de la astrología", PERO NO. Todos los prejuicios que tenía los fui desechando a medida que iba pasando páginas y me iba sumergiendo en la historia del Zodíaco, en cómo las vidas de los personajes cambian de la noche a la mañana, en los sentimientos de Rho, en sus dudas, en la ambientación, en todo.

Porque, sí, uno de los puntos fuertes de este libro es que la ambientación se vuelve real y está tan bien descrita (y no en plan pesado y todo de un tirón) que de verdad te sientes en los diferentes planetas, Casas, naves y lugares que conforman el Zodíaco. Y es que esto de meter al lector en situación y hacer que se crea toda una nueva galaxia, todo un nuevo mundo y todo un nuevo sistema de cómo funcionan las cosas no es fácil, sobre todo siendo este el primer libro de una tetralogía. Por lo general los autores intentan explicarnos TODO sobre el escenario de una saga o trilogía de un plumazo en su primer libro y eso los vuelve lentísimos; sin embargo, eso no pasa aquí. Romina Russell va sacando a cuentagotas todo lo que necesitamos saber (al menos hasta ahora) sobre el Zodíaco, no nos abruma con información que no podríamos procesar en pocas páginas, sino que la va distanciando para que sea una inmersión progresiva y no un clavado en el agua, jajaja.

Además de todo, los personajes me fascinaron, tanto los buenos como los malos. Desde un primer momento vemos a Rho, una chica de Cáncer que, aparentemente, está fallando todas sus pruebas, pero el libro poco a poco nos va demostrando que hay mucho más en ella que una simple estudiante. Hay secretos que ni ella misma había descubierto pero que estaban escondidos en su infancia; hay cosas que descubrirá que puede hacer y no lo sabía. Rho es ese tipo de personaje que acompañas a lo largo de todo su viaje, no sólo porque el libro esté contado en primera persona, sino que la sientes muy cercana a ti por la manera en la que va narrando todo lo que le va sucediendo. Pero, precisamente porque el libro está en primera persona, te enteras de todo al mismo tiempo que Rho, así que te sorprendes con ella, amas con ella, sientes con ella, temes con ella... TODO.

Voy a parar aquí un momento para hablar del conflicto interno que sentía yo con respecto a Mathias y Hysan. ¡Ay, por Helios! Por si no lo han adivinado, estos dos chicos son los galanes del libro, son los dos personajes que van a hacer que te debatas eternamente, que no sepas a quién vas a apoyar, que... te van a hacer suspirar con sus frases y gestos de conquistadores, cada uno a su estilo, claro está. No les voy a decir nombres a partir de ahora, pero sí les diré que toda la primera mitad del libro estuve apoyando a uno, pero terminé enamorándome del otro, jajaja. ¡Vaya manera de escribir que hace que mis sentimientos cambien de un momento a otro! Es que ese personaje del que finalmente me enamoré era tan magnético que... nada, que me muero de amor y de fangirleo interno y... ¡se me acabaron mis post-its por señalar todas las cosas bonitas que decía y todos sus gestos!

En cuanto a la historia, vuelvo a decir que me sorprendió muchísimo. Una amenaza que puede acabar con las doce Casas del Zodíaco y a la que nadie puede ver excepto Rho. Un monstruo legendario que se ha escondido en cuentos de niños durante eones y en el que nadie cree ya. Intrigas de espías y grupos terroristas intergalácticos. Pequeñas historias de cada una de las Casas del Zodíaco. Una historia de amor bastante sutil. ¡Dioses! Es que este libro lo tiene todo y lo va desentrañando (que no completamente porque es el primero de una tetralogía) en el ritmo justo, así que, por supuesto hay un montón de cosas que no sabemos y que necesito leer YA en las secuelas. Y no supero los giros de trama del final, asskjhfadkhfdlkl.

Confía sólo en lo que puedas tocar .

En resumen, si quieren leer un gran libro, TIENEN QUE leer Zodíaco. Crónicas de una Merodeadora lo súper recomienda <3.

[Juliana Zapata · Rating 5 out of 5]

No se por donde empezar con este libro, tengo que decir que quedé maravillada con la construcción del mundo, con la narrativa, con los personajes, con la historia, con la autora, con todo.

El mundo del Zodiaco que creó Romina es tan extenso y profundo como el mismo universo, me encantó el viaje entre las casas, conocer los perfiles o patrones de los nacidos bajo cada signo, la dinámica, política, costumbres y tecnología de las casa Cancer, Géminis, Libra, Virgo y Aries. Obviamente estoy esperando una visita a mi casa Escorpio, muero por conocer mi planeta y a mi gente.

La idea de trabajar los signos del Zodiaco como una historia de fantasía es maravillosa, todas las personas se pueden sentir identificadas dentro de sus casas, todos tenemos un lugar dentro del Zodiaco y por lo tanto dentro de este libro.

Los personajes son maravillosos, Rho a pesar de ser muy ingenua, no es para nada tonta, todo lo contrario, es decidida, luchadora y centrada. Algo muy particular me sucedió con los personajes masculinos y el triángulo amoroso de esta historia, generalmente cuando leo este tipo de romances, siempre tengo muy firme mi chico preferido, pero en este libro al igual que Rho, sentía que amaba una parte de los dos, que los dos me aportaban cosas muy diferentes y que ambas me gustaban. Matias y Hysan son con el día y la noche y siento que necesito de ambos.

El conflicto de la historia queda claro desde las primeras páginas y tiene un desarrollo trepidante, lleno de acción, de conflictos, de dudas y respuestas. No me esperaba nada de lo que sucede en este libro, cada capitulo me fue sorprendiendo y atrapando mas. El final fue lo que menos esperaba de todo, me niego a creer que algunas verdades son ciertas, sigo teniendo esperanza.

Definitivamente es un excelente primer libro de una saga, explica perfectamente el mundo que plantea, tiene personajes maravillosos con los que es imposible no encariñarse y tiene una narrativa que no te deja abandonar la lectura en ningún punto. Quedo con mucha ansiedad por saber como seguirá la historia de Rho, guardiana de la cuarta casa del Zodiaco.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** WIN A COPY OF ZODIAC! ***



***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

Zodiac by Romina Russell
Book One of the Zodiac series
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: December 9, 2014
Rating: 4 stars
Source: ARC sent by the publisher

Summary (from Goodreads):

At the dawn of time, there were 13 Houses in the Zodiac Galaxy. Now only 12 remain….

Rhoma Grace is a 16-year-old student from House Cancer with an unusual way of reading the stars. While her classmates use measurements to make accurate astrological predictions, Rho can’t solve for ‘x’ to save her life—so instead, she looks up at the night sky and makes up stories.

When a violent blast strikes the moons of Cancer, sending its ocean planet off-kilter and killing thousands of citizens—including its beloved Guardian—Rho is more surprised than anyone when she is named the House’s new leader. But, a true Cancrian who loves her home fiercely and will protect her people no matter what, Rho accepts.

Then, when more Houses fall victim to freak weather catastrophes, Rho starts seeing a pattern in the stars. She suspects Ophiuchus—the exiled 13th Guardian of Zodiac legend—has returned to exact his revenge across the Galaxy. Now Rho—along with Hysan Dax, a young envoy from House Libra, and Mathias, her guide and a member of her Royal Guard—must travel through the Zodiac to warn the other Guardians.

But who will believe anything this young novice says? Whom can Rho trust in a universe defined by differences? And how can she convince twelve worlds to unite as one Zodiac?

What I Liked:

Ahhh, I have been waiting for this book for SO LONG. Before BEA 2014, before it had a cover, before it seemed like everyone else had heard of this one. Science fiction? Astrology? Wars? A girl named after a Greek letter? Awesome! Totally up my alley! I'm so glad to say that for the most part, this book did not let me down.

Rho's world has actually been turned upside down. She's been seeing a dark mass in her star readings, something that no one else has been seeing. Then Cancer has been attacked, and suddenly, Rho is thrust into the role of Guardian of Cancer. She must travel to each of the planets to warn them about the mysterious dark matter that is forming, and the myth that isn't a myth - Ophiuchus and the Thirteenth House is real. But who will believe her? And who will stand by her side, when all twelve Houses don't trust each other - exactly what Ophiuchus wants?

Science fiction! Ah! I love anything that has to do with space, honestly. This book gets really into that kind of science fiction - there is a lot of hyperspace hopping and planet traveling and intergalactic crazies. Well - maybe not intergalactic. Intragalactic? In any case, I love the depth of the science part of this book! Russell does an excellent job of creating and constructing this science fiction world - a world that is completely fictional (thus, not futuristic). The world-building is phenomenal and very believable and fun to read.

Also, how cool is it that my star sign is the same as the protagonist's!? Go cancer!

Also, it is worth noting that while I LOVED the original cover, I think the new cover is awesome! I would have loved a copy of the book with the old cover as well as the new cover... but ARCs (and finished copies) have the new cover. Right? Any ARCs with the old cover? Someone let me know. Ha.

Rho is an interesting character. She isn't perfect, and I didn't always agree with her decisions. She doesn't expect to be a Guardian, so I totally feel for her. She is an excellent student (something I'd like to think I relate to), an apt observer, and a clever mind. She doesn't let others' disbelief in her stop her. Her own planet didn't believe her when she started to talk about the potential of Ophiuchus being real.

Rho also doesn't let a tricky and confusing romance shake her. She is determined to visit the Houses and warn them about the impending doom that is Ophiuchus, but no one will listen to her - save a Libran ambassador, Hysan. Not even Mathias, the Lodestar she appointed to protect and serve her, believes her claims.

As you can probably guess, there IS a love triangle in this book. Not sure how it will go in the series (for obvious, spoilery reasons), but in this book, there is a love triangle. Russell does a really great (and cruel) job of making readers love one boy in the first part of the book, and then love the other boy in the second part of the book. So, basically, I actually really like both guys, and I'd hate to see one of them get hurt. Hysan is charming and flirtatious and a secret genius. Mathias is protective and skeptical and quiet. Both are different, but I really like them both, as characters AND as love interests.

The plot of this book follows Rho's journey to each House (which are planets) to warn them about Ophiuchus. None of the Houses really believe her, and with each House visited and warned, Rho's reputation both grows and splinters. I love seeing her tested, House after House. I feel like Rho definitely wises up from beginning to end.

The ending is... interesting. Nothing is really resolved, which is sort of how a first novel in a series functions. So much is occurring within Houses, in Rho's Guardian life, with Ophiuchus roaming about, in Rho's romantic life. Rho is definitely confused, and isn't about to make a decision in terms of a relationship anytime soon. Which is smart.

Overall, I'm pleased with this book! I've been begging and pleading for it, and then it dropped into my lap - which is cool with me! Thank you, Razorbill! Now, the wait for book two...

What I Did Not Like:

The love triangle is the only reason why this one isn't getting five stars. Seriously, I enjoyed the book that much. I'm not sure how the romance will go in the remaining books in the series, but in this book, the love triangle is clear. Rho is torn between both guys - but the thing is, I can totally see how she is. The situation makes sense, ish. I still don't like the presence of the triangle (it's not necessary, honestly), but I get it. Kinda.

Would I Recommend It:

If you love science fiction, then DEFINITELY check out this book! There aren't nearly enough awesome space-related science fiction novels in YA literature these days... Beth Revis's Across the Universe series, Amie Kaufman/Meagan Spooner's Starbound series, and Imogen Howson's Linked series are three other really great example of space-related science novels!

So, if you liked any of those books, definitely check out this one! And even if you haven't read any of them, pick this one up anyway.

Rating:

4 stars. What a wonderful debut! I'm so glad that my instinct was correct with this one, and that the story did not disappoint. That would have been heartbreaking! What's really heartbreaking is waiting for the next book...

[Sophia Sardothien · Rating 2 out of 5]

OKAY *Takes deep breath* here we go *sniff*

I always found horoscopes, astrology and similar stuff interesting but I never really get a chance to read much about it, therefore I'm utmost excited when I heard about this book before BEA which I never get a chance to go cries anyway it was in my MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2014 I was dying to read this I even set up a count down to the day it release.

Note to future self
Do not hold high expectations with books, sometimes it will end up disappointing you like hell

IT WAS SO SAD WHEN I HAD TO DNF THIS BOOK IN 67%
I I THOUGHT I COULD MAKE IT THROUGH I REALLY REALLY DID
IT WAS ONLY 33% TO GO AND I CANNOT MAKE IT
I'M SO SHAMED OF MYSELF

This book is about a girl name Rhoma Grace who's a sixteen year old from the the "house cancer"
Astrology the fourth sign of the zodiac. in biology also known as a disease caused by an uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in a part of the body While her classmates use measurements to make accurate astrological predictions aka logical nerds. Our lovely Rho is unique, special, one of a kind looks at the stars to make up stories bla bla bla. One day a typical situations occur- her house being attacked. DUN DUN DUN But, a true Cancerian who loves her home fiercely and will protect her people no matter what, Rho accepts.

*Slow claps* INTERESTING RIGHT (no sarcasm intended)

Okay I'll start of with the ONE thing I remembered why I like about this book; the world building. Using the astrology we already know the author added a lot of different and interesting elements, which made this book captivating and new to read about.

OKAY NOW THE THINGS I DID NOT ENJOY IN THIS BOOK
The writing style was difficult for me to adapted, for some reasons I just did not like it maybe because the author used present tense? Anyway is really not her problem. But I do know one thing I CANCERIOUSLY HATE THE TERMINOLOGIES I guess is just a personal thing, okay so every house there's a guardian the keeper of the house? something like that. And they're called holy mother . REALLY???
I'm not one to often use examples from the book but god IT'S SO WEIRD AND ANNOYING

"We're running out of familiar faces. I'm only asking for your help. And... if you can spare your friendship."
He bows. "As you wish, Holy M-"
"What I wish," I said loudly, before he can finish, "Is that you use my name. Rho." If Mathias ever call me mother, I will die.

Now perfect example why I hated the terminology in this book, aha and it's not only me who doesn't like it even our darling Rho doesn't like it. Another reason why I DNF this book is that the plot was just pure boring, it seems like nothing really happens. I could deal with weird terminology and not so great writing style (In my perspective) but I just could not stand a sic-fi novel that nothing really has happen in the freaking 60% of the book.

Speaking of our darling Rho, I did not like any of the other character either JUST ANYONE name it and I'll tell you I hate them. Rho our protagonist is special AHAHA TO ME she's just another annoying, brainless and stupid protagonist to me. Note to authors, stubborn female leads are so last year okay that was a bit harsh, but really no one like stubborn and stupid and reckless female protagonist who thinks they are so mighty. One thing about Rho is that she wanted to save the entire universe *claps* here's the thing don't dream big until you accomplish small, she can't even save her own house how the hell is she going to she save the universe galaxy "sighs". She's not brave people, she's stupid. I'm sorry but I just did not like Rho at all in fact I hated her. Hmm, as the holy mother did she do anything productive? I guess she did but I must have missed it because I was falling asleep and wasn't paying attention.

OH HERE WE GO Rho's other two love interest, ahaha both of them are so boring I'm just going to skip them. But I am going to talk about the crappy romance. Okay normally I don't mind love triangles, I'm not one to hate it if appropriately used and severed a purpose. BUT IN THIS BOOK I know I have no right to judge, but there is really no use of another shitty love triangle. The beauty in YA sci-fi or fantasy novels is that the romance is not like typical NA novels. The romance feels real and it connects with the readers emotions. BUT NO I ONLY FELT EMPTINESS AND BORINGNESS. The romance in this novel is extremely forced, sometimes I think there is no immediate need of romance in the beginning of the page, it could be slowly developed in.

Anyhow I'm pretty disappointed with this book, I really did want to like this book, the author herself is a really nice person :) I really hope the second one will be better then this one :D

Recommend to people who
- want to try something new
- adore love triangles
- umm weird terminology
- go on a adventure that serve no purpose to the world, just only to feel the romance?

HOPE THIS REVIEW HELPS :)

[Ashleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as digital ARC.

3 Word Summary: Space travel--clever.

I'm super into made-up cultures, which is what drew me to Zodiac in the first place. I mean, four houses in Harry Potter--interesting, five factions in Divergent--nice, 12 freaking houses in Zodiac---YESSSSS. Truth be told, I was hoping for more interaction among the signs. (Aka, I'm Aquarius, and I want to be represented by a main character...) But, turns out a big part of the book is that the houses aren't united, so I'm sure I'll get more of what I want in the future.

There's plenty here that held my interest, like Rho's rise to power, everyone's obsession with using the stars to predict everything (and thinking they know everything), and all this hot, forbidden lovin'.

My favorite part: everyone's favorite Libran children's morality tale: the Case of the Alphabet Murderer.

[Erin Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

In accordance to FTC guidelines, I must state that I received a free galley copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads program.

Romina Russell's debut novel, Zodiac, is both out of this world fantastic and stellar. Trust me and the bad puns - you don't want to miss this book. Ms. Russell creates a new kind of world in the science fiction genre that both teens and adults will want to explore for years to come.

In the first book of the proposed trilogy, Russell introduces readers to a futuristic world whose inhabitants are descendants of the people from our world. Parts of this story are revealed in the book, and Russell definitely proves to her readers that she didn't just dream this world up in one night. There are allusions and references to stories that we know, but they've been altered so that they now belong in this futuristic solar system named after the Zodiac.

Ms. Russell's world building is fantastic. I truly believe that people are going to compare her to some of the top names in YA with this book just because of all of the details that she includes in Zodiac. It's so full of new and original vocabulary that describes not only simple devices to all kinds of new planets and moons. (She even includes a glossary on her website so that readers can look up these terms.)

The characters in Zodiac are also creative and innovative. Even though they represent people from a future society, they still hit close to home. Readers can pick up on how far this society is removed from Earth, but still relate to how human they remain.

Rho Grace, the novel's protagonist, has faced a lot of adversity in her young life, and it truly shows. Her rise to power is quick, and she faces it the way that any teen would. She's a little scared and confused. She is a unique character that will leave readers wanting more after they finish the last page. Rho is supported by two great groups of supporting characters - her friends and the people with whom she journeys through the far reaches of the Zodiac.

Yes... there is a love triangle in Zodiac. If you're one of those people who choose not to read books because of the inclusion of love triangles, I'm asking you to give this book a chance. The inclusion of the love triangle in no way takes away from the impressive plot.

The many twists and turns in Zodiac will leave readers wishing for more. Sometimes you find a book that's predicable, but that is not the case with Zodiac. I was shocked and surprised multiple times while reading this delightfully wonderful book.


Full review can also be seen on The Hardcover Lover.

[Maria Drago · Rating 4 out of 5]

WARNING: spoilers ahead. View at your own discretion. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

First off: Awesome ending! Totally thought her brother was gone, but then; NOPE. He's alive! Phew! They had me going for a second there.
Anyways, Zodiac was way better than I thought It'd be. I'm usually not into all the space-y stuff, but I actually liked this book. It could've used a little more action, but eh, no book is perfect. I find that fans of Cinder by Marissa Meyer and maybe Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo might like this, and maybe even some Throne of Glass lovers. This book is adventure-y, romantic-y, and downright wicked. I mean, they have all these fancy gadgets, like Waves. And I love how all the Houses have their own type of Waves.
It's totally awesome that I won this book in giveaway listed by Penguin Canada, too, by the way. Thank you for that! It's the first time I've ever won a book, and the first time I have recieved something physical in the mail. Thanks!!
I love Romina's writing style; it's very unique and the use of numerous fancy words doesn't hurt. (Me likey). She has some pretty awesome characters, like the main character Rho; she's not completely selfless, but she's still kind and determined and smart. Her plans aren't always completely thought out, but that's what I like about her. The only thing is, I was so disappointed when Rho broke up with Hysan!
I LOVE YOU HYSAN!
Damn you, Mathias.
But I love him, too. It's complicated.
Anyways, yeah! Those are basically my thoughts on this book.
Again, thank you for the ARC. :)
Side note: I just wanted to point out that the author, Romina Russell, is from Buenos Aires, Argentina, which is exactly where I am from. It's so cool! And my mother's name is Romina, too.
:D
Other side note: I'm a capricorn.
PEACE OUT!

[Rachel (APCB Reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initial Thoughts: Ooh this one was good! Awesome world-building. Great concept. Exciting. This is what a space book should be like!!

Read the full review @ A Perfection Called Books

Review:

The concept of this book really shined through and made me enjoy Zodiac. The concepts and ideas imagined by the author were extraordinary. I was so caught up in it all. It was so innovative and so very fun and interesting.

Although a bit green, I thought the writing was quite good. There were twists and turns in the plot, lots of action; this book got progressively better and better! I felt Romina managed to pack a lot of content into her book without making it seem too long. The pacing was wonderful, and my attention was held throughout.

Introducing an entirely new world is extremely difficult. Romina dumped quite a bit of information in the beginning of the book which, although necessary, made things a bit confusing. After the initial influx of information and setting the scene though, Romina spread more descriptions and introduced new ideas and elements throughout the book so it wasn’t overwhelming.

I love how flawed these characters are. It makes them more realistic and endearing. So there’s a bit of a love triangle. I didn’t mind the love triangle since it wasn’t a main part of the book; it wasn’t even addressed until the end. Although with the ending we have, I’m not sure if it would be considered a love triangle anymore...

Overall I really enjoyed Zodiac, and thought it was a great YA debut! I’d highly recommend this book if you’re in the mood for a fun book about space.

[Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The world in this book was brilliantly constructed but with the amount of info packed into this book and the disconnect I felt towards the characters this book fell flat for me. However after getting to speak with the author I am much more excited for the second book and what is to come for the characters and the development of the story.

[Adele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another sci-fi book that has so much potential….

THAT IT TOTALLY FILLED! Let me tell you, I was soo skeptic about reading Zodiac. Im really glad I got the chance to read it. Not only is Zodiac really unique and interesting, from the first page I was -literally- pulled into this story. And Zodiac is soo action packed, its crazy. Crazy good. I couldn’t put the book down!

Zodiac really takes the who House thing seriously. Like, Russell took our zodiac signs and personified them to the max. Its so cleverly insane that the storyline and all of its characters work really well together. Which also means that there are a lot of stereotypical things that each planet/House would do. Which is again, great. I was really infuriated at the stubbornness of the Scorpio House. The only time Ive been ashamed to be a Scorpio, to be honest.

Zodiac is so action packed. With all the fight scenes, the love scenes.. Heck, the flashbacks are even action packed. But Zodiac is also filled with emotion. So much emotion. It is so easy to get swept up into everything that happened in this book. There is so much heartache.

The main character; Rho, is a great MC. But she’s been through a lot too. And I mean, A LOT. One of the great things about Rho is that she sticks by what she believes in, even when people tell her to do differently. And when people try to bring her down, she just shines even more. Rho is honest to herself in all of the best ways. She does what she perceives to be right for her people, and her home. And she protects the ones she loves. In Zodiac, Rho is pulled every-which way, and with that I gotta say, Rho is such a resilient character. At the end of the day, she truly does what she believes in. And in this first book, Rho is such a hero.

I need to say though, that there are a few things that bothered me in Zodiac. First, there’s the customary love triangle. Which is painful, really, to go through. And then there’s the CLIFF HANGER at the end. AGGGH.

IM SO EXCITED FOR THE NEXT BOOK!

[Meli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me sorprendió muy, muy, muy gratamente. Mucho más elaborado de lo que esperaba y tiene muy buena pluma. Romina crea unas imágenes sumamente impactantes y bellas con las palabras.

Me gustó mucho, me alegra haberle dado una segunda oportunidad (lo tuve como un año abandonado, pobrecito), y mi corazón está roto en mil pedacitos pero cierro mi año de lecturas con broche de oro :D

[Kamalia · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You were born for this. I should have told you every day."

I bought this book without really planning to. One of my friends loved it so much and recommended it, and i was especially interested when she said that the main character's zodiac is Cancer. Seeing as I'm also a Cancer, I was excited to discover how much i would be able to relate to the main character, and also learn about the different zodiacs. In a nutshell, i love this book! I'm pretty sure Zodiac or its sequel will make it into my top 10 books of the year (even though it's the first book i read this year). I'm rating this beauty 4.5 out of 5 stars!

I don't really know where to start. Firstly, one of the reasons i was never really interested to read this book was because of the rating it had on Goodreads(3.68 out of 5). I guess i prefer to prioritize reading books that are rated at least 3.8. After reading this book, i'm actually very shocked that the rating on GR isn't at least a 4.0. I did read some of the reviews from people who didn't like the book, and honestly i can't fully agree with them. I do have some minor issues but overall i really enjoyed Zodiac. I guess to be fair, whether or not a person would enjoy this book would depend on their own reading preferences.

Let's first talk about the world building. THE WORLD BUILDING. IS. AMAZING. I just love how every zodiac has their own planet and moons, and on each planet they have their own way of living based on their traits and personality. It was truly incredible to discover the different cultures and traditions each zodiac has, and even though only a few zodiacs were elaborated to great detail in the first book, it was still a lot and even then there's still a lot more to find out about. I really hope in the sequel we get to go to the other zodiacs' planets and be amazed by them as well. Among my favourite descriptions were that of Gemini and Libra's cities, the concept of the Ephemeris and having a Center, the embassies at the International Village and how anything Cancer-related always makes Rho feel at home.

However, as incredible as the world building is, it's also quite heavy. Unlike series like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson etc. where the main character is an outsider who learns about the new world they discover(and we learn with them), in Zodiac the protagonist is already a part of that world, so it's a little tricky to learn about this world that's entirely new to us but not to the main character. It wasn't like the character could say "Oh a Wave is pretty much like a super advanced smartphone people on Earth had" just so that we could understand. Those kind of things had to be described from the way the characters interacted with the items, and the reader would have to sort of assume for themselves what they are. This bothered me at first, but i realised later that it made sense for the author to present the new world the way she did. It took a great deal of focus for me to read the first half of the book(which was why it took me longer than usual to finish), because there were just so many new things to discover while the story built up its plot. But after a while when I got used to the the general idea, it became easier to focus more on the plot and characters rather than the world building.

Ahh, the characters. I can't say that i really loved the main character, Rho, because she was a little annoying at times. But at the same time, i have to admit that i really connected to her; I could relate to how she felt for certain situations and there was this one scene(i'll elaborate more in the spoiler section) where i just felt like i was in her shoes and it just felt so real that i cried. Yep, i CRIED at 5am in the morning. I could relate to quite a lot of the Cancer traits and find myself getting excited every time a familiar one was described. The other two main characters, Mathias and Hysan, were quite attractive and i found myself being very confused for about half of the book regarding which boy I was rooting out for Rho to end up with. Eventually i settled to be on Team Mathias but hotdamn Hysan is undeniably swoon-worthy as well. I found Hysan to be very similar to Throne of Glass' Dorian, and Mathias to be like Chaol. We all know Chaol is my bookish husband, so i guess it makes sense that i would fall for him more.

I think the only problem i had with the book was the way parts of the plot were executed. I'm generally okay with the whole story line, but there were certain times when something had happened so suddenly and lacked more description that it just felt a little off. Or maybe it was because I didn't think the author fully managed to let the readers capture the whole picture of some of the scenes, making it feel quite rushed and unfinished. Other than that, there were so, so many minor characters and new places introduced that it was a little difficult for me to keep up. Sometimes i had to flip back a few pages just to check who a character was or which planet the city mentioned is in, so it was easy to get lost especially when I was already tired from the day and wanted to do a bit of reading before sleeping. It bothered me just a little because we didn't really get to know much about all of the characters. However, they had really cool names like Rho, Hysan, Caaseum, Rubidum, Moira, Stanton etc. that sound kind of futuristic which really gave me the whole sci-fi vibe. Also worth mentioning; there was a side character named Mallie mentioned and i think i screamed a little when i read it, haha.

The style of writing was very easy to follow, and there were nice parts here and there that i marked for future reference. Some of the romantic lines were very cheesy, but i'm glad that it's a cute cheesy that i like. The ending of the book didn't have much closure and i was already heartbroken by something that had happened that I didn't close the book feeling cheerfully satisfied. I was confused with how i was supposed to feel, but at the same time was absolutely excited to read the sequel. I might get around to it next month though, because I feel like i need to read something light and fluffy to let my heart mend.

***SPOILER SECTION***

The love triangle:
To be honest, I kind of like the love triangle in this book. Seeing as Rho was still getting to know both Mathias and Hysan, I myself was confused about which guy i liked more. I made up my mind and chose Mathias during the part when Rho was being attacked by snipers on the way back to the Thaises' quarters. The way he tried to protect her, and when he got hurt and Rho's all "You're hurt-" and he pulls her into a hug, kisses her forehead and says "Doesn't matter. You're okay." GAHHHHHHHH my heart. I love that part so much, is that weird? But then when she spent more time with Hysan later and actually slept with him, I wasn't too upset or annoyed with Rho. Even though I went all "SHIT NOOO" when i realised they were going to have sex(I didn't want her to get into trouble because they are both Guardians and of course, I wished it was with Mathias instead), but i was kind of half-shipping her and Hysan together. Later, it had seemed like it was more of a one-night stand kind of thing because she needed to cope with the news of losing her dad. So i wasn't too disappointed and still had hope for her to be with Mathias.

I was so happy but confused when she and Mathias finally kissed. It was confusing because she seemed to equally like both guys, but there wasn't really time to think about it since an attack was about to happen. Oh God. Mathias.

I refused to believe he was dead, so i was so confused if he really was dead or not because Rho never actually clearly saw him dying. But when Sirna told him his final words, i knew that it must have been real. I didn't cry because it was so sudden, but i did get teary. I know she couldn't really mourn for his death at that moment, but i was frustrated that we didn't get to have a proper emotional moment to cry our broken hearts out for Mathias's death. Thankfully, there was a short scene a while later with Rho and Hysan, where Hysan comforted her in saying "Like you, he chose to do the honourable thing. Don't take that from him". I started getting teary again at that. It was so brief, but i appreciated that we could see Mathias's death as heroic. I feel guilty for being glad that Rho felt like she needed to be away from Hysan for a while after telling him she has feelings for both him and Mathias. The only thing that was still upsetting was the fact that Mathias never knew the truth about Rho's feelings for both guys.

Okay, now to the part that i freaking cried. Page 310. It was the part after she got stripped from her Guardianship and got mocked and humiliated as she went out onto the streets, not knowing where to go anymore. It was horrible. People were blaming her, calling her awful things, and throwing things at her. I've had personal experience at public humiliation before, and even though it wasn't at all as terrible as what Rho had gone through, it still reminded me of the traumatic memory and i just really felt her pain right there and then. And then, i cried even more when Hysan had actually come back and saved her from the people attacking her. I could feel her relief, and i felt like hugging her tight. Okay, i really am weird. But that was the moment i felt the most connected to Rho. I don't think everyone could connect to that moment like i had, but that's okay.

Later after finishing the book, I realised that Rho and Hysan can finally be together in the next book if they want to. Since Mathias is out of the picture and Rho is no longer Guardian, it would work out this time and i think i would ship it(as long as she doesn't completely forget about Mathias).

***END OF SPOILERS***

I read this one review on Goodreads that kind of pissed me off. She was dissing the author for not coming up with a more original storyline with non-typical Young Adult fiction elements.I don't think it's fair to rate or judge a book so negatively just because you've read something similar to it before. I mean, what if you'd stumbled across this book first before the other ones? Would you have rated it higher if it was your first time reading something like that? Probably. So i don't really want to take away credit just because it's another love-triangle or things like that. Even though i did find this book to have similarities with other YA books, i still really enjoyed it.

I would recommend this book if you're an "easy to please" reader like me. If you don't mind love triangles and typical YA storylines but with a fascinating concept and world, then you absolutely should read it. I'm glad that some people enjoyed it as much as i did, and i guess that those who didn't just have different reading preferences.

[Valentina Quiceno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fue un viaje trepidante.
Tenía buenas -más no muchas- eso expectativas del libro.
No he sido mucho de distopías nunca. Realmente no es un tema que me apasione. Las distopías que me han gustado normalmente ha sido por el trasfondo que hay detrás de algunos personajes o situaciones que se encierran en esta misma, pero el hecho de que un universo, planeta, mundo se este acabando por X motivo no es algo que me mueva.
Al principio entré mucho en conflicto con la presentación que nos daban de a poco del mundo que la autora había creado. Para mí estaba siendo muy confuso y al inicio no me ubicaba bien en todo lo que nos planteaba. Lo bueno de esto es que vas agarrando mejor el ritmo a medida que avanzas con la historia.
Ahora, el desarrollo de la protagonista se marcó de una manera notable gracias a los sucesos que van pasando en el libro. Es increíble lo marcado que está su desarrollo, porque parece que cada suceso impactante le cambia el pensamiento. Y al final, el suceso más grande la deja bastante ubicada a lo que debió hacer o no. Y eso es lo que se valora más.
Es increíble que en el final del libro nos haga entender que esto no se resolvió, y que viene mucho por suceder.
Muy pocas veces me gusta un triángulo amoroso, y la forma en la que lo plantean y desarrollan en este libro me dejó muy encantada (siempre fui Team Hysan), y es increíble e impactante como esta guerra también ayuda o de cierto modo afecta a la conclusión de este triángulo amoroso.
La historia tiene mucha fuerza, y estoy verdaderamente ansiosa por leer el siguiente libro.

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually quite enjoyed this book by the end, although I thought the writing was a tiny bit juvenile. I do plan to read the next book, so I'm hoping that bar gets raised just a tad.

There is a love triangle in this one that plays a significant role in the story, so if that's a trope that annoys you, obviously you should steer clear. It's not something that bothers me. I liked the personal growth the three characters experienced through their interactions with each other.

[Carrie Mansfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review will be available on my blog: http://wp.me/p32oat-XM

4.5 stars

Okay, I generally make it a point to not review ARCs this far out in advance (yeah, this comes out in December, sorry peeps) but since I won it in a blog-giveaway and there was something about the cover that kept intriguing me about it, I decided to just go for it and read it now.

Wow. I was really surprised by this. In all the right ways.

I admit it: I thought this sounded a bit cheesy when I first read the summary so to my great surprise, it wasn't. This is easily one of the most unique Young Adult genre worlds that I have read in ages, right up there with The Grisha series for things that I haven't normally seen. Yeah. We're talking that level of unique, people. Romina really put some thought in to her universe building, and she's clearly studied her astrology. Even the notion of a 13th house can be traced back there - yeah, Ophiuchus is a legit thing according to some. The Houses have different traits and different characteristics. She even has made up her own fables and stories for a few of the houses, I'm particularly fond of a Libran tale about the Letter O and making judgements without all the facts. There are a few points that seem slightly silly (like how a person can literally change form if their traits don't match their native House), but the rest is done well enough that you can forgive the flaw, though it wouldn't surprise me if this didn't become a plot point later on in the series.

But really what sold me on this book was that it's fundamentally a tale of standing up for your truth. Rho sees something in the stars, and literally no one believes her, but she keeps fighting. She gets knocked down a lot more than she gets a helping hand, but she keeps trying. And at the same point, the author does balance this message with another message that says believe in your truth, but don't become so dogmatic in your belief that you can no longer see facts that might contradict your point of view. It's a nice touch.

The other thing that sold me on this book: fairly early on you start to see a triangle develop between Rho, Hysan and Mathias. But guess what? Rho realizes that in the wake of genocide it's not appropriate to moon over which boy likes her. Oh, she still has feelings, and she does actually act on them, but she is a far cry of wishy-washy which do I choose and nor does she let her feelings for them interfere with what she sees as her duty. It's awesome. And refreshing. And we need more of it in Young Adult, please.

The biggest disappointment of reading this book so far out in advance is that I'm going to have an even longer wait until the second book comes out. Don't worry though, you'll see reminders of this popping up before the years end, I promise. If not in other reviews, than almost certainly on my Best of 2014 list. Yep. I went there. This is genre YA done absolutely right and we need to give it all the love we can.

[Lainey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew after finishing ZODIAC I would need a few days to figure out what I wanted to rate it and after thinking, discussing with friends, and discussing the book with the author, Romina Russell, I decided on a 4/5 star.

This book really transported me into a world I haven't read before. This world is big, and I can't wait to see what some of the other Houses look like in future books. Our main character Rho, felt like a weaker character to me for most of the book, but I enjoyed the growth I saw in the final act of the book. I really really really liked how it ended and where it might go. The finale of the book was gripping and I really couldn't put it down.

Also, Hysan4lyfe.

[Patry Fernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estoy entre un 3,75* y 4* (finalmente le di las 4*)

Reseña completa -> http://thewordsofbooks.blogspot.com.e...

«Las estrellas no mienten. Hay un motivo por el que has sido elegida. sumérgete en tu corazón y lo hallarás.»

El mundo que ha creado la autora me ha gustado bastante y como se desarrolla la historia también: con los viajes entre los distintos planetas, las casas y los personajes. No le doy mas puntuación porque la relación amorosa, o mas bien el triángulo amoroso no me lo he terminado de creer, me he sentido un poco perdida en cuanto a lo que Rho realmente siente.

PD: #Team Mathias

[Regina Foo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is also posted on: http://wp.me/p5m5jd-6f

Disclaimer: This copy of printed ARC is obtained from the publisher in exchange of my honest review.

This is definitely my most favourite book of 2014! Brilliantly written with its Science Fiction (space) and High Fantasy (innovative invention of the world based on Zodiac system) elements, Romina will blow your mind away with this book!

The world of Zodiac is set in a future era when humans live in 12 Houses in the Zodiac Galaxy after the Earth is destroyed. Each of the Houses has their own role and knowledge in survival skills in the Zodiac.

The protagonist (and also the narrator) of the story is Rho, aka Rhoma Grace, who is a 16-year-old student in the academy of Zodai (star readers and peacekeepers of the Galaxy) on Cancer's closest and largest moon, Elara. Since young, Rho is trained by her Mom to read the stars and know the history of the Galaxy. As a result, she has exceptional star reading ability which later on caused her to be elected as the Guardian (top star reader) of Cancer.

Too young to be a Guardian or leader of a House? Yes, she is. When I read through the story, Rho struggles a lot in trying to fit in into the role "given" to her and even most of her Advisors (including her crush - Mathias Thais) doubted the omen she read from the stars. The author has done a good job in directing my emotion into Rho that I think I can feel what she feels in the story.


There's a love triangle in the book which is breathtaking. Rho has a crush on Mathias Thais who is 4 years older than her since she first saw him at the Academy (if I remember well). Everything changed after she meets Hysan Dax - a young envoy from the Libra House. Hysan's irresistible charm and centaur smile (as what Rho mentioned in the book) attracts Rho's attention and makes her wanted him so much. There is not much kissing and sex scene in the book and I love the romance between Rho and Hysan.


There are times I am confused by the terms (e.g. Zodai, Acolytes, etc) used in the book but thankfully, there is a website which has the Glossary and Signs sections to help me understand more on the book and also the Zodiac system.

This book is highly recommended to the fans of Divergent if you love the five factions created by the author. But I would say Zodiac is more complex and more diverse in the story and writing. I would love to see the story being adapted into a movie or TV series as I can imagine it'll be a great hit!

Romina has just submitted the draft of her Book 2 in the series to the publisher and hopefully I'm able to receive a copy of the ARC soon!

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating, fast, well-written with characters that hold your attention and interest as soon as you start the book. The pacing of the story is great, almost as soon as you start wondering if there might be too much novelty about the worlds to figure out, something big and recognizable happens and the reader is swept up in the fast pace of events that are understandable and emotionally believable. I loved this book and could not put it down. I'm a big fan of classic space series and have a modest interest in series that rely heavily on psychic phenomenon to explain all manner of action in stories. The combination of the two is a sweet spot, though, and this book does a really nice interpretation especially with the addition of origin stories and fables, which are very creatively designed. As the first book in a series, this promises to be a lot more fun. I received this book as an ARC from Penguin's First to Read program. This was pure joy to read.

[Mariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

First read: July 2015
Primera lectura: Julio 2015

Re-reads: April 2016
Relecturas: Abril 2016

It's not THE perfect book but I fell in love with this world. I need the 2nd one right now!!!

RESEÑA Y OPINIÓN PERSONAL SIN SPOILERS:



Rhoma Grace es una adolescente de 16 años que lleva una vida normal en su planeta natal. Asiste a sus clases de lectura de las estrellas con sus amigos y tiene una banda de rock. Un día, durante su examen final nuestra protagonista ve un extraño presagio en las estrellas: algunos planetas del Zodíaco, están empezando a ser engullidos por una extraña materia oscura. Aquella noche, durante un recital el planeta de Cáncer es atacado y su población eliminada casi por completo. En un giro del destino, esta adolescente se ve convertida en guardiana de su casa (el más alto cargo jerárquico de su sociedad) y deberá navegar las turbulentas aguas de la política. El objetivo que la guía es uno: salvar al Zodíaco de las garras de un antiguo y poderoso enemigo. Un peligro del cual sólo ella parece estar consciente. Así, Rho comienza junto a un Zodai de la casa Cáncer y un enviado de la casa Libra, su viaje por el universo para salvar al Zodíaco de su aniquilación.

Lo primero que debo decir es que este no es el libro perfecto. Su protagonista peca de inocente la mayor parte de las veces y, debido a su inexperiencia en la política, es engañada sistemáticamente. Hay un triángulo amoroso y algunas situaciones bastante predecibles. Sin embargo, esta es una de las ocasiones donde mi amor por el mundo creado por la autora y los sentimientos que el libro consiguió movilizar pudieron más que aquellas pequeñas cosas que me molestaron.

Para empezar, el mundo que crea Romina es ALUCINANTEMENTE COMPLEJO. No existe UN mundo con SU sistema de gobierno, religión o patrones de conducta, existen 12 mundos. Y todos ellos son diferentes. No quisiera arruinarles el placer de descubrir por ustedes mismos lo geniales que son las descripciones de cada uno de los planetas que visitamos con nuestra protagonista. Sólo puedo decirles que no podrían elegir uno solo donde vivir.

Además de la construcción del mundo y de la creatividad que Romina demuestra en las páginas de Zodíaco, el libro posee un poderoso mensaje de diversidad y unidad. Algo tan necesario en los tiempos que corren.

Una vez más, no es el libro perfecto pero si es de esos libros que me hicieron fanatizarme con una saga y fangirlear como cuando recién comenzaba a leer!

[Julie Salinas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very inventive use of the zodiac constellations we've grown up with by taking the physical characteristics and personality of the zodiac signs and weaving them into a sci-fi YA novel. You can't help but feel for Rho, who sees a threat no one else can see in the stars. To elders she is young and inexperienced. She is constantly asked to make choices that are against her strong Cancerian nature. This is the start of a series and we are left with questions of who Rho will end up with, where she will be, and what her part will be in this attack against the zodiac worlds. We know that she is the key. There is a design that has yet to be revealed. I truly enjoyed this story. I did get a copy from the Firsttoread.com program.

[Vorágine (ig:voragineblog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Zodíaco" es un muy buen inicio de trilogía. Aunque el inicio del libro puede ser algo lento, tiene un ritmo bastante bueno y el mundo que crea la autora es exquisito. Tenemos las doce Casas del Zodíaco y las personas de cada Casa son de una forma u otra. Esta paz se verá truncada cuando comiencen los ataques a algunas Casas. Rho, nuestra protagonista y Guardiana de Cáncer, tendrá que demostrar una teoría que muchos no tardarán en desechar por su juventud, apelando a que son solo cuentos.


Reseña completa: http://voragineinterna.blogspot.com.e...

[Colleen Houck]

I really love the premise of this book. Such a cool idea to incorporate the zodiac in outer space. I also think the idea of seeing the future through studying the stars is awesome. The heroine is plucky and you'll want to go with her on this journey. Also the two young men who accompany her are fun characters too. The villain is really interesting. Can't wait to see what happens next.

[Nadhira Satria]

THIS SOUNDS SO GOOD????
Anyone who wants to buddy read this with me pls hit me up

[Macarena Yannelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ya quiero poder hablar con ustedes y Romina sobre este libro #ZodiacoRavenclub

[Erin Arkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zodiac by Romina Russell was a solid four stars for me. I found it full of action and the space travel and science fiction aspect only added to the story. I won't be saying a ton about the details of this book only because I don't want to give anything away - apologies but I don't want to spoil it!

Russell built the structure of the space system and the planets so that it was easy to create a picture in my mind of the world these characters live in. I loved the space travel and the differences between each of the twelve houses…and the mystery surrounding the mythical 13th house.

Rho is an interesting character and I liked her. I have to admit, I was frustrated with some of the decisions she made but she made those decisions with the right intentions…in most cases, I think. As she is thrown into a life she never imagined she jumps right in and embraces all aspects. The thing that stands out for me about Rho is the fact that she never changes her point of view on what is really going on regardless of what people are telling her. This is most evident when she is trying to figure out if she should hide her belief of Ophiuchus and the fact that he is the one attacking the houses.

I thought that both Mathias and Dysan were solid characters as well. They were almost complete opposites of each other but when it came to Rho, they both cared a lot about her and were willing to do whatever they could to keep her safe. I’m not going to say too much about these two as I don’t want to give anything away but I will warn you, if it isn’t clear, there is a bit of a love triangle. With that said, it doesn’t take over the story but it does flow through the book and plays a part in some of the decisions made.

As Rho tries to navigate the politics of being Guardian of House Cancer as well as figuring out how to get everyone to see how much danger they are in, she is also faced with the potential loss of her family and has to figure out how to keep going without know where they are or if they are safe.

I can’t really say too much about the rest of the story as I don’t want to give anything away but I think the bigger mysteries still exist around Ophiuchus and Rho’s mother. I felt like we – just like Rho – don’t know what happened to her mother and I have a feeling there is still something to be revealed about her. As for Ophiuchus, there is more to come…I know it and I can’t wait to see where Russell goes with that part of the story.

Russell created a wonderful story with a unique spin around the zodiac and as soon as I picked it up, I had a hard time putting it down. I'm absolutely looking forward to the next book in the series and if you are looking for a new Dystopian/Science Fiction series, definitely consider checking this one out.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy.

[Jay G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfer...

Rhoma Grace is a 16 year old girl from House Cancer, one of the 12 Zodiac Houses in the galaxy. When an attack on House Cancer causes their moons to collide and their House Guardian to die, Rho is surprised when she is named the new Guardian. By reading the stars, Rho discovers an bad omen in the solar system, the banished 13th house of the Zodiac is attacking the remaining houses. No one believes her warnings and now Rho needs to try to stop Ophiuchus before he destroys the Zodiac.

The concept of this book was very intriguing to me. The world building in this book was very well done and the descriptions of the different Zodiac worlds made the imagery of the book easy. I did feel that the book was a bit info-dumpy at times and it made it hard to follow in the beginning. I also didn't feel a connection with any of the characters. Rho was annoying to me and always focused on her love triangle instead of... I don't know... SAVING THE GALAXY?! I hated the love triangle ad insta-love. It felt very unnecessary to me and I would have liked it a lot more if there was only one love interest. Mathias was flat and boring... Hysan was the only character I liked, he was always there for Rho and was actually really funny. The only other character I liked was Ophiuchus, he was pretty cool.

[Bill on GR Sabbatical · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zodiac, a bestselling fantasy/sci-fi YA, is in a whole different galaxy from where my eyes usually roam, but I've enjoyed buddy reading it by phone with a teen whose school is closed for the year by coronavirus.

Sixteen-year-old Acolyte Rhoma Grace attends the Zodai Academy on Elara, Cancer's largest moon, and is playing a gig with her band when a fireball blows up Thebes, another moon where her brother Stanton works, triggering devastation throughout the Cancrian constellation.

In the aftermath, Rho is called upon to lead Cancer and to warn the rest of the Zodiac against Ophiuchus, vengeful Guardian of what has been thought to be a mythical 13th House, who launched the attack on Cancer and appears intent on destroying the whole galaxy. As she negotiates this new role thrust upon her, she's also conflicted by new feelings about both her bodyguard, Lodestar Mathias Thais, and Libran Ambassador Hysan Dax.

Romina Russell has created a marvelous world, with the peoples of each constellation reflecting different characteristics associated with their astrological profiles, and imaginative technologies and nomenclature, e.g. the drug Abyssthe. The writing is compelling and the pages fly by.

I'm looking forward to exploring the next book in this series, Wandering Star.

Zodiac