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Antonius and the Zodiacs
Okwu, the outcast by association. Always less, and nothing more. It’s the only way Kiyoa Apuzzo is known on the Temples, and it’s all his brother’s fault. He’s about to make his debut as the BookKeeper’s apprentice, a powerful position that could rewrite his destiny. But it all goes wrong when his brother makes an unexpected visit.
Steal the Book of Sky Diamonds and I’ll make you a hero. It’s an offer Antonius ‘Naias’ Apuzzo can’t refuse, especially when there’s nothing he wants more than to be a hero. After ten years of banishment, Antonius returns home to the Temples to fulfill the Patron’s request, and steals the book whose magic the Temples rely on. In his attempt, the Book’s magic is unleashed, casting the world into destruction.
Before their world is torn apart, Kiyoa and Antonius have no choice but to work together to restore the sacred Book, a quest where they’ll learn what it means to be heroes, but also brothers.
Steal the Book of Sky Diamonds and I’ll make you a hero. It’s an offer Antonius ‘Naias’ Apuzzo can’t refuse, especially when there’s nothing he wants more than to be a hero. After ten years of banishment, Antonius returns home to the Temples to fulfill the Patron’s request, and steals the book whose magic the Temples rely on. In his attempt, the Book’s magic is unleashed, casting the world into destruction.
Before their world is torn apart, Kiyoa and Antonius have no choice but to work together to restore the sacred Book, a quest where they’ll learn what it means to be heroes, but also brothers.
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Published June 21, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 15, 2022
(I just wanted to thank Ornelas for giving me the opportunity to read this book in advance in exchange for an honest opinion!)
I was very excited to start this book when I first received it. The concept of the Zodiac and constellations being a part of a bigger picture and having to capture them to basically save your world as well as finding out what truly makes a brotherly bond special sounded so enticing. With that being said, this book unfortunately fell extremely flat and frustrating to me. But let me say what I enjoyed about the book first!
There are several times where characters' names are that of actual real life constellations. It was so fun to search up and find out the legends that surround them in real life and what they look like in our own sky. This choice fits perfectly in the AATZ world where everything basically is based on different star clusters.
The world building is honestly so interesting! The fact that the Below has so many different components despite being one giant jungle feels reminiscent of a real jungle. I also love the grand variety of animals the Below has and the characters' reactions to them ( I'm with Naias on the beetle thing. I, too, would freak out if a hyper aggressive giant bug came at me.) Also just how the Temples are formed into a giant a diamond, children being able to float, etc. was interesting to read because it added life to a place we didn't get to see often.
Naias' personality reminds me a little bit of whatever character archetype Disney's Aladdin is. He's very forward with what he wants, deflects a lot of his personal turmoil with comedy and it's a nice touch that he can't remember words properly. It makes it feel like you're reading more about a person than a bunch of words forming a person. He serves as a good foil to Kiyoa's character who is extremely serious and stressed a lot of the time.
Now let's move on to the things that unfortunately made this book a struggle to read. The writing is extremely blunt, which I usually have 0 issues with but it's the way this writing style was executed that bothered me. It spoonfeeds you information and emotions instead of letting you experience them with the characters. A good chuck of the first 50% of the book relies more on telling rather than showing. There's literally a sentence where it says something along the lines of "Giuseppe does this form of magic to bring the Book of Sky Diamonds to life" and immediately after, shows the us the magic that brings the book to life. Give your readers more credit; they're going know what certain actions and emotions mean without having to explain to them how and why it affects the story/characters/etc. While the 'tell, not show' method does slowly disappear towards the later half of the book, it does make a guest appearance to infodump on the reader.
A lot of the time, characters will jump to a conclusion that has no correlation to information that was given prior. An example of this is when we learn that the people of the Temples are told that the Below is basically unliveable. No one has a chance of surviving down there because of the Beasts that roam so anyone banished is most likely dead. But for some reason, Naias' father assumes he must of lived a live of luxury down there because he's alive after a decade. This kind of thing happens throughout the book at increasingly ridiculous intervals. It happens again with the Rionians, people we're told are completely attuned with nature, that they don't take too much away from the surrounding ecosystem yet Naias immediately jumps to the conclusion that they take advantage of the Pteros and manipulate them because they ride them. It feels like the information given to the reader prior was forgotten in order to make a scene angsty or serve a purpose in the plot by any means necessary.
Finally, as much as Naias has interesting character traits, I unfortunately could not stand reading from his POV. It felt like he was a little kid stuck in a 19 year old's body. And I was willingly give him a pass since he seemingly spent 10 years on his lonesome so of course he struggles with social skills. Until I learned that Cypress was basically his guardian from ages 11-18, meaning he was socialized to some degree. So there's barely explanation as how he's so ignorant to other's blatant feelings like Kiyoa wearing his bracelet because he missed him. However, there's a bigger issue of characters saying and believing they're experiencing a certain emotion/situation when it's clearly not that/told it's not that. 'Naias being angry and upset that his home was destroyed = Having bloodlust and overkilling the creature that accidentally destroyed his house', 'Kiyoa being upset that he and his family were treated like trash after Naias was banished and holding that anger unnecessarily towards Naias = Kiyoa has no right to feel angry at all because Naias had it worse and Kiyoa is just being childish because Naias never got angry over his situation', etc. It was just frustrating all around.
There are other issues ( the repetition of conversations and talking points, the trauma Olympics in the conversation between Cypress and Kiyoa) but these are the ones that made this book straight up frustrating and at times, unenjoyable. I truly wanted to enjoy this book and the concept sounds so fun! But the execution needs a lot of help to flow naturally. Ornelas is a creative individual so it's sad to see that this story wasn't what it could have been.
I was very excited to start this book when I first received it. The concept of the Zodiac and constellations being a part of a bigger picture and having to capture them to basically save your world as well as finding out what truly makes a brotherly bond special sounded so enticing. With that being said, this book unfortunately fell extremely flat and frustrating to me. But let me say what I enjoyed about the book first!
There are several times where characters' names are that of actual real life constellations. It was so fun to search up and find out the legends that surround them in real life and what they look like in our own sky. This choice fits perfectly in the AATZ world where everything basically is based on different star clusters.
The world building is honestly so interesting! The fact that the Below has so many different components despite being one giant jungle feels reminiscent of a real jungle. I also love the grand variety of animals the Below has and the characters' reactions to them ( I'm with Naias on the beetle thing. I, too, would freak out if a hyper aggressive giant bug came at me.) Also just how the Temples are formed into a giant a diamond, children being able to float, etc. was interesting to read because it added life to a place we didn't get to see often.
Naias' personality reminds me a little bit of whatever character archetype Disney's Aladdin is. He's very forward with what he wants, deflects a lot of his personal turmoil with comedy and it's a nice touch that he can't remember words properly. It makes it feel like you're reading more about a person than a bunch of words forming a person. He serves as a good foil to Kiyoa's character who is extremely serious and stressed a lot of the time.
Now let's move on to the things that unfortunately made this book a struggle to read. The writing is extremely blunt, which I usually have 0 issues with but it's the way this writing style was executed that bothered me. It spoonfeeds you information and emotions instead of letting you experience them with the characters. A good chuck of the first 50% of the book relies more on telling rather than showing. There's literally a sentence where it says something along the lines of "Giuseppe does this form of magic to bring the Book of Sky Diamonds to life" and immediately after, shows the us the magic that brings the book to life. Give your readers more credit; they're going know what certain actions and emotions mean without having to explain to them how and why it affects the story/characters/etc. While the 'tell, not show' method does slowly disappear towards the later half of the book, it does make a guest appearance to infodump on the reader.
A lot of the time, characters will jump to a conclusion that has no correlation to information that was given prior. An example of this is when we learn that the people of the Temples are told that the Below is basically unliveable. No one has a chance of surviving down there because of the Beasts that roam so anyone banished is most likely dead. But for some reason, Naias' father assumes he must of lived a live of luxury down there because he's alive after a decade. This kind of thing happens throughout the book at increasingly ridiculous intervals. It happens again with the Rionians, people we're told are completely attuned with nature, that they don't take too much away from the surrounding ecosystem yet Naias immediately jumps to the conclusion that they take advantage of the Pteros and manipulate them because they ride them. It feels like the information given to the reader prior was forgotten in order to make a scene angsty or serve a purpose in the plot by any means necessary.
Finally, as much as Naias has interesting character traits, I unfortunately could not stand reading from his POV. It felt like he was a little kid stuck in a 19 year old's body. And I was willingly give him a pass since he seemingly spent 10 years on his lonesome so of course he struggles with social skills. Until I learned that Cypress was basically his guardian from ages 11-18, meaning he was socialized to some degree. So there's barely explanation as how he's so ignorant to other's blatant feelings like Kiyoa wearing his bracelet because he missed him. However, there's a bigger issue of characters saying and believing they're experiencing a certain emotion/situation when it's clearly not that/told it's not that. 'Naias being angry and upset that his home was destroyed = Having bloodlust and overkilling the creature that accidentally destroyed his house', 'Kiyoa being upset that he and his family were treated like trash after Naias was banished and holding that anger unnecessarily towards Naias = Kiyoa has no right to feel angry at all because Naias had it worse and Kiyoa is just being childish because Naias never got angry over his situation', etc. It was just frustrating all around.
There are other issues ( the repetition of conversations and talking points, the trauma Olympics in the conversation between Cypress and Kiyoa) but these are the ones that made this book straight up frustrating and at times, unenjoyable. I truly wanted to enjoy this book and the concept sounds so fun! But the execution needs a lot of help to flow naturally. Ornelas is a creative individual so it's sad to see that this story wasn't what it could have been.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 22, 2022
(i was given an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)
unfortunately i had to DNF this book at 43%. i tried not to because i feel like i could not give a real review if i didn’t but i just could not get through it.
the first 25% dragged. i am a fan of downtime in books, scenes where the characters aren’t constantly on the move. but this was a bunch of down time scenes with very little plot in between. i feel like a lot of it could have been cut.
the writing is a little juvenile and information is spoon-fed to the reader (holy infodumps batman) especially considering this was intended for an older audience. the only part that sounded like it was intended for older people was the cursing.
another thing was that it was incredibly repetitive. naias wants to be able to go home and kiyoa hates naias for ruining their family’s reputation. a lot of both of their internal narration was these concepts wording differently over and over.
i wasn’t a fan of the dialogue at all. it felt stilted and it never flowed like an actual conversation. it was also very repetitive, multiple conversations dealing with the same topic. i did, however, liked that naias didn’t know certain words/phrases. it really showed that he hadn’t really talked to another human for ten years.
the writing itself confused me. i like flowery prose and i like simple prose. both are great when utilized well. this book would have been better if it was written simply, but it tried for flowery and fell short. many of the metaphors didn’t make sense. like the plot, the writing itself felt like it dragged.
when the plot started picking up after the first 25% it was all very muddled and confusing. the objective of “find the Living Stories and put them back in the Book” was straightforward enough, but it’s a mess trying to get there. because of naias and kiyoa’s repetitive thoughts and conversations anything interesting gets lost in the shuffle and i am left confused at how they got from point a to point z without my noticing.
i know this is a debut novel and i will give just a little leeway for that, but the author could have definitely used another editing round. trimming the fat, fixing typos, making sure the dialogue sounded natural. the author is very creative, i am not doubting that, but this story was in desperate need of heavy editing.
one last point: i’m not really the biggest fan of capitalizing certain things to make them proper nouns (the Book, the Stories, the Stars). it’s fine in moderation, but i felt like this book overused it. this is more of a personal preference because it changes the way it reads in my head but i felt i should mention it just in case anyone has the same hang up.
to end, i was excited for this book. the concept is great and i wished it had been executed better. i wanted to like it so much, but it was very disappointing. i would have loved to see what it could have been.
unfortunately i had to DNF this book at 43%. i tried not to because i feel like i could not give a real review if i didn’t but i just could not get through it.
the first 25% dragged. i am a fan of downtime in books, scenes where the characters aren’t constantly on the move. but this was a bunch of down time scenes with very little plot in between. i feel like a lot of it could have been cut.
the writing is a little juvenile and information is spoon-fed to the reader (holy infodumps batman) especially considering this was intended for an older audience. the only part that sounded like it was intended for older people was the cursing.
another thing was that it was incredibly repetitive. naias wants to be able to go home and kiyoa hates naias for ruining their family’s reputation. a lot of both of their internal narration was these concepts wording differently over and over.
i wasn’t a fan of the dialogue at all. it felt stilted and it never flowed like an actual conversation. it was also very repetitive, multiple conversations dealing with the same topic. i did, however, liked that naias didn’t know certain words/phrases. it really showed that he hadn’t really talked to another human for ten years.
the writing itself confused me. i like flowery prose and i like simple prose. both are great when utilized well. this book would have been better if it was written simply, but it tried for flowery and fell short. many of the metaphors didn’t make sense. like the plot, the writing itself felt like it dragged.
when the plot started picking up after the first 25% it was all very muddled and confusing. the objective of “find the Living Stories and put them back in the Book” was straightforward enough, but it’s a mess trying to get there. because of naias and kiyoa’s repetitive thoughts and conversations anything interesting gets lost in the shuffle and i am left confused at how they got from point a to point z without my noticing.
i know this is a debut novel and i will give just a little leeway for that, but the author could have definitely used another editing round. trimming the fat, fixing typos, making sure the dialogue sounded natural. the author is very creative, i am not doubting that, but this story was in desperate need of heavy editing.
one last point: i’m not really the biggest fan of capitalizing certain things to make them proper nouns (the Book, the Stories, the Stars). it’s fine in moderation, but i felt like this book overused it. this is more of a personal preference because it changes the way it reads in my head but i felt i should mention it just in case anyone has the same hang up.
to end, i was excited for this book. the concept is great and i wished it had been executed better. i wanted to like it so much, but it was very disappointing. i would have loved to see what it could have been.
June 22, 2022
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡
The amount of work that goes into self-publishing is nothing to scoff at, so I applaud the author for the hard work put into bringing this book to life and seeing to it being so beautifully presented and formatted. Unfortunately, this is where my praise ends. I had to DNF this book at 50%, which is something I didn’t wish to do.
I have a lot of thoughts about this book.
First, the characters. Every single character in this book felt flat, one-dimensional, and built around a specific archetype. Brooding rogue MC, smart and suffering brother MC, mean-spirited goddess, abusive and dismissive father, broken mother, etc. In the hands of a seasoned author this can forgiven and even done well, but in this instance none of it worked. There is nothing wrong with falling back on tropes, but the fault here was how poorly executed they were. Naius and Kiyoa were the worst offenders here. While being full-fledged adults, their inner thoughts and outward dialogue read like that of children repeating lines they've heard from a campy television series.
Naius did nothing but brood and repeat himself every few sentences. "Woe is me. I messed up. I was so wrong." But then switching and saying something to the effect of:
This. Was. Unbearable. The self-pitying was even worse when contrasting his outer attempts at being cheeky and “cool.” Nothing about him felt REAL. To me, as a reader, he felt petulant, spoiled, selfish, and egotistical. I cannot stand this type of person irl, much less in fiction.
Kiyoa. I was consistently told by the narration that he was a hard worker and oh-so smart, but I never actually saw this. He didn’t feel any more clever than Naius. He was a walking stereotype of an older brother and not much else. His relationship with his brother felt so entirely unrealistic to me in every sense of that word, from the banter to the way they acted around one another.
I want to talk for a moment about the incident that set this story off. It made no actual sense. Putting aside the fact that it felt as though the author lost sight of the placement of the characters during that scene--Kiyoa holding his brother's hand while he dangles off the side of the docks and then somehow also leaning further over the side without falling off in just the right manner to unclick the lock on this heavy book. Physics? Don't know her.--I couldn't set aside the fact that this Book was so important to everyone and the culture, but was left UNGUARDED and ALONE with someone consistently called untrustworthy and worthless by everyone--including the Goddess-figure.
I couldn't suspend my disbelief for this because it would have to mean that A) someone wanted this to happen or B) all of the “adults” in the room are extremely unintelligent.
Stepping back: Leonis straight-up called Kiyoa a slur (or what was easily interpretable as a slur) in front of EVERYONE. Seriously? And that it was played off like "Lol oopsie!" was so cringeworthy. I couldn't wrap my head around the reasoning for anyone being so angry at Kiyoa when he didn't actually do anything wrong. None of it made any sense aside from being persecution for the sake of setting up angst for him. This put a particularly bad taste in my mouth.
When I was reading through this, it seemed as though Naius had personally plunged a knife into someone or done something legitimately unforgivable and evil. When it’s revealed--after being poorly-teased for what felt like FOREVER--that all he did was taint some holy water, I was so let down and ANGRY. That felt like such a ludicrous reason for everyone to be upset regardless of what the in-world consequence of it was. Especially against a child. It was hatred for the sake of plot.
I’m sorry, but the mindset of everyone involved is just plain juvenile. Leonis is a bully, but Naius is so annoying and self-absorbed in his persecution complex that I couldn't bring myself to feel sorry for him in the least.
Now, on to the writing itself. At no point did this read like the YA it promised to be. I only ever felt as though I was reading a Middle Grade book. My biggest pet peeve was thrown in my face immediately in the first chapter and that’s when an author uses multiple in-world terms without explaining them or giving context. The number of capitalized terms made my head spin. I didn’t like the poor attempts at teasing information while simultaneously info-dumping other things. This isn’t satisfying as a reader.
Another thing was the POV. Each chapter had one of the brother’s names at the top, but there was no definite POV. It was constantly switching between both of their inner thoughts. Why bother naming the POV if there isn't one?
Filter words. Telling. I didn’t like being spoon-fed everything.
I feel genuinely terrible for having to give such a negative review to a debut author, but this book was not ready for publication. There was a severe need for more editing and cutting entire passages that just repeated themselves. There was no action to move the characters from one scene to the next. Often it felt like they just teleported and this was jarring. This is such a shame because I was incredibly excited for the idea of this book and what it could have been. I hope the author will grow from this experience and improve their craft should they choose to publish again.
｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡
The amount of work that goes into self-publishing is nothing to scoff at, so I applaud the author for the hard work put into bringing this book to life and seeing to it being so beautifully presented and formatted. Unfortunately, this is where my praise ends. I had to DNF this book at 50%, which is something I didn’t wish to do.
I have a lot of thoughts about this book.
First, the characters. Every single character in this book felt flat, one-dimensional, and built around a specific archetype. Brooding rogue MC, smart and suffering brother MC, mean-spirited goddess, abusive and dismissive father, broken mother, etc. In the hands of a seasoned author this can forgiven and even done well, but in this instance none of it worked. There is nothing wrong with falling back on tropes, but the fault here was how poorly executed they were. Naius and Kiyoa were the worst offenders here. While being full-fledged adults, their inner thoughts and outward dialogue read like that of children repeating lines they've heard from a campy television series.
Naius did nothing but brood and repeat himself every few sentences. "Woe is me. I messed up. I was so wrong." But then switching and saying something to the effect of:
This. Was. Unbearable. The self-pitying was even worse when contrasting his outer attempts at being cheeky and “cool.” Nothing about him felt REAL. To me, as a reader, he felt petulant, spoiled, selfish, and egotistical. I cannot stand this type of person irl, much less in fiction.
Kiyoa. I was consistently told by the narration that he was a hard worker and oh-so smart, but I never actually saw this. He didn’t feel any more clever than Naius. He was a walking stereotype of an older brother and not much else. His relationship with his brother felt so entirely unrealistic to me in every sense of that word, from the banter to the way they acted around one another.
I want to talk for a moment about the incident that set this story off. It made no actual sense. Putting aside the fact that it felt as though the author lost sight of the placement of the characters during that scene--Kiyoa holding his brother's hand while he dangles off the side of the docks and then somehow also leaning further over the side without falling off in just the right manner to unclick the lock on this heavy book. Physics? Don't know her.--I couldn't set aside the fact that this Book was so important to everyone and the culture, but was left UNGUARDED and ALONE with someone consistently called untrustworthy and worthless by everyone--including the Goddess-figure.
I couldn't suspend my disbelief for this because it would have to mean that A) someone wanted this to happen or B) all of the “adults” in the room are extremely unintelligent.
Stepping back: Leonis straight-up called Kiyoa a slur (or what was easily interpretable as a slur) in front of EVERYONE. Seriously? And that it was played off like "Lol oopsie!" was so cringeworthy. I couldn't wrap my head around the reasoning for anyone being so angry at Kiyoa when he didn't actually do anything wrong. None of it made any sense aside from being persecution for the sake of setting up angst for him. This put a particularly bad taste in my mouth.
When I was reading through this, it seemed as though Naius had personally plunged a knife into someone or done something legitimately unforgivable and evil. When it’s revealed--after being poorly-teased for what felt like FOREVER--that all he did was taint some holy water, I was so let down and ANGRY. That felt like such a ludicrous reason for everyone to be upset regardless of what the in-world consequence of it was. Especially against a child. It was hatred for the sake of plot.
I’m sorry, but the mindset of everyone involved is just plain juvenile. Leonis is a bully, but Naius is so annoying and self-absorbed in his persecution complex that I couldn't bring myself to feel sorry for him in the least.
Now, on to the writing itself. At no point did this read like the YA it promised to be. I only ever felt as though I was reading a Middle Grade book. My biggest pet peeve was thrown in my face immediately in the first chapter and that’s when an author uses multiple in-world terms without explaining them or giving context. The number of capitalized terms made my head spin. I didn’t like the poor attempts at teasing information while simultaneously info-dumping other things. This isn’t satisfying as a reader.
Another thing was the POV. Each chapter had one of the brother’s names at the top, but there was no definite POV. It was constantly switching between both of their inner thoughts. Why bother naming the POV if there isn't one?
Filter words. Telling. I didn’t like being spoon-fed everything.
I feel genuinely terrible for having to give such a negative review to a debut author, but this book was not ready for publication. There was a severe need for more editing and cutting entire passages that just repeated themselves. There was no action to move the characters from one scene to the next. Often it felt like they just teleported and this was jarring. This is such a shame because I was incredibly excited for the idea of this book and what it could have been. I hope the author will grow from this experience and improve their craft should they choose to publish again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 14, 2024
I want to congratulate the author on their first book! I am really sad to say that I did not enjoy it as much as I hoped BUT I saw a lot of promise in the work I want to still applaud and encourage. It takes a lot to publish a book, so regardless of my own preferences I still think it's wonderful to share your voice with the world.
This review is trying to be as spoiler free as possible, but I can't avoid a couple of things so I ultimately am marking this for spoilers.
First, I want to share what I liked about the book. The primary highlight of the story, I think, is the worldbuilding and what concepts exist. I was very interested by the different biomes and how creatures or other groups of species survive in those locations, how Naias would navigate it, and how it tied into the story of each of the Zodiacs. It was definitely the most engaging parts for me, from the temples to the marshy swamps.
Another strength was Kiyoa. I understand that Naias was moreso the main character than Kiyoa, as his name was on the cover, but Kiyoa absolutely stole the show in every scene he was in. I found his character compelling, his journey being multifaceted in not just forgiving and letting go of past wrongs but of also accepting himself and what he deserves. I actually think we deserved a lot more Kiyoa, because I loved him in every scene I got him!
The ending of the book brought me a lot of joy. I liked that even if normalcy returned, Kiyoa's growth as a character meant he would not have the status quo return. I love his love of the grave digging, of his brother's flower, of seeing his father, journey to the below, all of it. Kiyoa's pain at missing his brother but being able to look even at the pain with fondness is one of my FAVORITE kinds of resolutions, it's so bittersweet, emphasis on sweet.
Now, I want to share some of the things I didn't like. Unfortunately, these were very deeply bringing the book down. The first for me is that the main character, Naias, was impossible for me to like or root for. I was able to forgive some of his immaturity, but when he killed an innocent animal due to selfish anger, then justified himself with very little legitimate guilt throughout the rest of the book, I could not ever like or root for him. Everything else reflects this issue, and while I don't mind immature protagonists who need to grow and mature, I felt there was too little, too late with his arc.
While I enjoyed the worldbuilding, I felt the plot was designed to service the worldbuilding and not the other way around. The journey to recover the Zodiacs was very rushed and without much actual action taken by the protagonists—they would simply find a Zodiac at random or the Zodiac would come to them, and then just be caught with little struggle. I felt like I was being slingshot from location to location with little agency from Naias or Kiyoa.
There was also a section in the middle that was incredibly difficult for me to get through. At one point, the brothers get separated due to a decision Naias makes. They are then separated for a large portion of the book, which really rubbed me the wrong way. I was sold on a story of two estranged brothers on a journey and reconnecting! But they came to love each other completely independent from each other, and for a portion of the book we lost the "brother journey" plot. A character called Sal appears, and while I thought his backstory and conflict was interesting, it ultimately goes nowhere, as he disappears and never reappears again and his conflict is not resolved. He takes Kiyoa's place at Naias's side and it feels a bit pointless.
Ultimately, I felt this was a really good story in concept, with good ideas present throughout the entire book. I felt that, unfortunately, the execution of the plot and characters (besides Kiyoa) made it difficult to feel invested when I struggled to follow conflict, movement, and struggle-reward arcs.
A suggestion: if you reapproach this story or world again, I would think this story would have made an excellent series of smaller books. I would have honestly adored a book on each zodiac, in 1 biome, exploring the area, dealing with local wildlife and maybe people/patrons, ultimately finding the zodiac, and maybe having to complete a trial together as brothers to catch it. I think that's sort of what the book wanted to be, but since it had to cover so much ground so fast, we barely got to scratch the surface on any of the ideas.
This review is trying to be as spoiler free as possible, but I can't avoid a couple of things so I ultimately am marking this for spoilers.
First, I want to share what I liked about the book. The primary highlight of the story, I think, is the worldbuilding and what concepts exist. I was very interested by the different biomes and how creatures or other groups of species survive in those locations, how Naias would navigate it, and how it tied into the story of each of the Zodiacs. It was definitely the most engaging parts for me, from the temples to the marshy swamps.
Another strength was Kiyoa. I understand that Naias was moreso the main character than Kiyoa, as his name was on the cover, but Kiyoa absolutely stole the show in every scene he was in. I found his character compelling, his journey being multifaceted in not just forgiving and letting go of past wrongs but of also accepting himself and what he deserves. I actually think we deserved a lot more Kiyoa, because I loved him in every scene I got him!
The ending of the book brought me a lot of joy. I liked that even if normalcy returned, Kiyoa's growth as a character meant he would not have the status quo return. I love his love of the grave digging, of his brother's flower, of seeing his father, journey to the below, all of it. Kiyoa's pain at missing his brother but being able to look even at the pain with fondness is one of my FAVORITE kinds of resolutions, it's so bittersweet, emphasis on sweet.
Now, I want to share some of the things I didn't like. Unfortunately, these were very deeply bringing the book down. The first for me is that the main character, Naias, was impossible for me to like or root for. I was able to forgive some of his immaturity, but when he killed an innocent animal due to selfish anger, then justified himself with very little legitimate guilt throughout the rest of the book, I could not ever like or root for him. Everything else reflects this issue, and while I don't mind immature protagonists who need to grow and mature, I felt there was too little, too late with his arc.
While I enjoyed the worldbuilding, I felt the plot was designed to service the worldbuilding and not the other way around. The journey to recover the Zodiacs was very rushed and without much actual action taken by the protagonists—they would simply find a Zodiac at random or the Zodiac would come to them, and then just be caught with little struggle. I felt like I was being slingshot from location to location with little agency from Naias or Kiyoa.
There was also a section in the middle that was incredibly difficult for me to get through. At one point, the brothers get separated due to a decision Naias makes. They are then separated for a large portion of the book, which really rubbed me the wrong way. I was sold on a story of two estranged brothers on a journey and reconnecting! But they came to love each other completely independent from each other, and for a portion of the book we lost the "brother journey" plot. A character called Sal appears, and while I thought his backstory and conflict was interesting, it ultimately goes nowhere, as he disappears and never reappears again and his conflict is not resolved. He takes Kiyoa's place at Naias's side and it feels a bit pointless.
Ultimately, I felt this was a really good story in concept, with good ideas present throughout the entire book. I felt that, unfortunately, the execution of the plot and characters (besides Kiyoa) made it difficult to feel invested when I struggled to follow conflict, movement, and struggle-reward arcs.
A suggestion: if you reapproach this story or world again, I would think this story would have made an excellent series of smaller books. I would have honestly adored a book on each zodiac, in 1 biome, exploring the area, dealing with local wildlife and maybe people/patrons, ultimately finding the zodiac, and maybe having to complete a trial together as brothers to catch it. I think that's sort of what the book wanted to be, but since it had to cover so much ground so fast, we barely got to scratch the surface on any of the ideas.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2022
(Received an early copy in exchange for an honest review.)
Firstly, I wasn't hooked by the exposition. Everything is laid out for the reader, and the writing style is not to my liking, being rather simplistic and—I apologize for this—but for lack of a better word, amateurish. (Which is alright, because this is a debut novel, I'm offering criticism here.)
I feel as if this could have benefited from another round of editing. There are many elements that repeat, disrupting the narrative and making it difficult to follow. At times, it reads like a disjointed Frankenstein'd jumble of paragraphs and words instead of a progressing narrative. The plot is very straightforward. Things appearing to happen because they must. There isn't much intrigue to be had with Naias, and even the exploration of the world couldn't hold my interest as the story progressed.
Instead of my usual day average rate for books, this took me around a week to get through. I didn't like this much, but discounting the length, it appears as if it would make a decent read for younger readers, though the audience is intended to be more mature.
As someone also wanting to eventually write, I understand the effort and love put into such endeavors, but too much was lacking for me to fully enjoy this. And while a likable character can have me willing to work through a story with little to offer in plot, Naias was mostly lacking in personality. The others also don't appear to exist outside their archetypes.
Perhaps I looked at the book with too critical of a gaze, as I dove in with the intent of offering constructive criticism (I often play editor in my head as I read). I still see others enjoying this far much more than I did, particularly those with an interest of astrology and sibling bonds, which was one aspect I also liked here. The bond between Naias and Kiyoa was fun to see as it progressed, the two gradually coming to understand one another.
There were a few parts where I laughed, finding Naias' individuality shining through. And while this isn't a book I would read on my own time, it's the type I would read during lunch or in between activities.
In short:
- Not as bad as it could be, yet also not as good either. Hope the author further hones their craft
- Liked the concept, not the execution
- Still a fine debut novel, I'd read more from her in the future
3/5 stars for effort and a neat concept
Wishing you all the best~
Firstly, I wasn't hooked by the exposition. Everything is laid out for the reader, and the writing style is not to my liking, being rather simplistic and—I apologize for this—but for lack of a better word, amateurish. (Which is alright, because this is a debut novel, I'm offering criticism here.)
I feel as if this could have benefited from another round of editing. There are many elements that repeat, disrupting the narrative and making it difficult to follow. At times, it reads like a disjointed Frankenstein'd jumble of paragraphs and words instead of a progressing narrative. The plot is very straightforward. Things appearing to happen because they must. There isn't much intrigue to be had with Naias, and even the exploration of the world couldn't hold my interest as the story progressed.
Instead of my usual day average rate for books, this took me around a week to get through. I didn't like this much, but discounting the length, it appears as if it would make a decent read for younger readers, though the audience is intended to be more mature.
As someone also wanting to eventually write, I understand the effort and love put into such endeavors, but too much was lacking for me to fully enjoy this. And while a likable character can have me willing to work through a story with little to offer in plot, Naias was mostly lacking in personality. The others also don't appear to exist outside their archetypes.
Perhaps I looked at the book with too critical of a gaze, as I dove in with the intent of offering constructive criticism (I often play editor in my head as I read). I still see others enjoying this far much more than I did, particularly those with an interest of astrology and sibling bonds, which was one aspect I also liked here. The bond between Naias and Kiyoa was fun to see as it progressed, the two gradually coming to understand one another.
There were a few parts where I laughed, finding Naias' individuality shining through. And while this isn't a book I would read on my own time, it's the type I would read during lunch or in between activities.
In short:
- Not as bad as it could be, yet also not as good either. Hope the author further hones their craft
- Liked the concept, not the execution
- Still a fine debut novel, I'd read more from her in the future
3/5 stars for effort and a neat concept
Wishing you all the best~
June 4, 2022
(received an early digital copy)
First of all, this book was beautifully designed, from the full page galaxy designs on every chapter's first page, to the little decorations in the corner of every page. The font chosen was, in my opinion, also very fitting. The only complaint that I have is the dagger placed in some chapters to break up the scenes. The more detailed drawing of the weapon and the sparkles added coming from it clashed.
Now to the actual writing. Personally, I don't go out looking for this writing style, but it isn't bad either. Granted, a bit dry sometimes, but still enjoyable enough to make me continue reading.
What I quite liked was the main character, Naias and how he was written. Deflecting sadness with humor? Been there done that, so as you can imagine, it's very relatable to me. His character development is overall pretty realistic, occasional relapses into old and toxic behaviors are something that I think a lot of people can relate to.
There are also multiple characters described as non white, which is a nice change if pace from a genre filled with descriptions of "fair-skin" and other stuff like that.
Overall, I would recommend this book to readers who like a fanfiction-esque writing style and to those who prefer character over plot stories.
First of all, this book was beautifully designed, from the full page galaxy designs on every chapter's first page, to the little decorations in the corner of every page. The font chosen was, in my opinion, also very fitting. The only complaint that I have is the dagger placed in some chapters to break up the scenes. The more detailed drawing of the weapon and the sparkles added coming from it clashed.
Now to the actual writing. Personally, I don't go out looking for this writing style, but it isn't bad either. Granted, a bit dry sometimes, but still enjoyable enough to make me continue reading.
What I quite liked was the main character, Naias and how he was written. Deflecting sadness with humor? Been there done that, so as you can imagine, it's very relatable to me. His character development is overall pretty realistic, occasional relapses into old and toxic behaviors are something that I think a lot of people can relate to.
There are also multiple characters described as non white, which is a nice change if pace from a genre filled with descriptions of "fair-skin" and other stuff like that.
Overall, I would recommend this book to readers who like a fanfiction-esque writing style and to those who prefer character over plot stories.
June 4, 2022
(Received an early copy in exchange for an honest review)
First of all, I have to say that the worldbuilding is EXCELLENT. The writing style felt a little more YA than I'd anticipated, but once I got used to it I found myself super excited to keep reading to learn more about the Book's magic and the stories behind all of the Zodiacs. The characters were also on point! I loved watching Naias and Kiyoa rebuild their sibling bond as they came to understand each other more. Naias in particular was a joy to read about.
The story had me laughing and crying in all the best ways, but I have to deduct one star because there were some bits in the middle that seemed to drag on a bit to make the narrative a bit of a slog to get through. Still a great debut! I'd be stoked to see what the author puts out in the future!
First of all, I have to say that the worldbuilding is EXCELLENT. The writing style felt a little more YA than I'd anticipated, but once I got used to it I found myself super excited to keep reading to learn more about the Book's magic and the stories behind all of the Zodiacs. The characters were also on point! I loved watching Naias and Kiyoa rebuild their sibling bond as they came to understand each other more. Naias in particular was a joy to read about.
The story had me laughing and crying in all the best ways, but I have to deduct one star because there were some bits in the middle that seemed to drag on a bit to make the narrative a bit of a slog to get through. Still a great debut! I'd be stoked to see what the author puts out in the future!
June 21, 2022
Recieved an advance copy for an honest review!
I'll keep this one spoiler free-
This is about as decent as I would expect from a debut author and debut novel. I wasn't expecting perfection. Obviously there are a lot of things that could be improved (prose, description, relying on the readers intelligence, show don't tell, etc).
But there are still many promising things about this book and upcoming books from this author. I love her worldbuilding for one and how she implements it into the world to feel alive. So I look forward to seeing how she can improve as a writer. I look forward to seeing more books from her as her writing journey continues!
I'll keep this one spoiler free-
This is about as decent as I would expect from a debut author and debut novel. I wasn't expecting perfection. Obviously there are a lot of things that could be improved (prose, description, relying on the readers intelligence, show don't tell, etc).
But there are still many promising things about this book and upcoming books from this author. I love her worldbuilding for one and how she implements it into the world to feel alive. So I look forward to seeing how she can improve as a writer. I look forward to seeing more books from her as her writing journey continues!
May 12, 2025
(Received an early copy in exchange for an honest review.)
This book made me feel things. When it was finished, all I wanted was more of it. I wasn’t expecting to get so attached to the characters, to feel so much for them. The characters, to feel so much for them. The characters were complicated, each with their own stories, goals, and dreams, intertwining themselves in unexpected ways. As you read, you can see the characters learn and grow, stumble and fall, and pick themselves back up again. It is a story of heroics, family, self-doubt, and forgiveness. I laughed, I cried, but above all, I hoped. I was invested in the characters and their lives. I wanted them to succeed, to achieve their goals. Put it simply, I loved this book.
To read a more in-depth and spoiler-filled review, read it here on my website.
This book made me feel things. When it was finished, all I wanted was more of it. I wasn’t expecting to get so attached to the characters, to feel so much for them. The characters, to feel so much for them. The characters were complicated, each with their own stories, goals, and dreams, intertwining themselves in unexpected ways. As you read, you can see the characters learn and grow, stumble and fall, and pick themselves back up again. It is a story of heroics, family, self-doubt, and forgiveness. I laughed, I cried, but above all, I hoped. I was invested in the characters and their lives. I wanted them to succeed, to achieve their goals. Put it simply, I loved this book.
To read a more in-depth and spoiler-filled review, read it here on my website.
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