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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
I just finished Zodiac Academy 8: Sorrow and Starlight, and I honestly can’t stop thinking about it. This installment really pulled me in from the start and kept me hooked until the very last page. The mix of magic, mystery, and teenage drama that I love so much in this series was dialed up in all the right ways. The stakes felt higher, the emotions ran deeper, and the characters I’ve grown attached to faced some truly difficult and heart-wrenching challenges.
What stood out to me the most was how the story handled the balance between darkness and hope. There were moments that made my heart ache — the sorrow was palpable — but there were also those shining moments of friendship, loyalty, and courage that reminded me why I fell in love with this series in the first place. The author did an amazing job showing the characters’ growth, especially as they navigated new layers of their powers and personal struggles. It felt so genuine and relatable, even with all the magical elements thrown in.
The world-building keeps getting richer, too. I love how the Zodiac powers continue to be explored and expanded upon. Every new detail adds a fresh twist and keeps the story feeling exciting and unpredictable. The plot moved at a great pace for me — never dragging, but also giving enough time for the characters and their relationships to develop meaningfully.
One thing I really appreciated was the emotional depth in this book. The way the characters grappled with loss, identity, and trust made the story hit harder than I expected. I found myself really invested in their journeys and rooting for them every step of the way.
And the ending? Wow. It left me with so many questions and a desperate need for the next book. The cliffhanger was brutal but perfect, and I’m already counting down the days until I can find out what happens next.
If you’re into fantasy with a school setting, complex characters, and a blend of lighthearted moments and intense drama, Sorrow and Starlight is definitely a must-read. I can’t recommend it enough.
What stood out to me the most was how the story handled the balance between darkness and hope. There were moments that made my heart ache — the sorrow was palpable — but there were also those shining moments of friendship, loyalty, and courage that reminded me why I fell in love with this series in the first place. The author did an amazing job showing the characters’ growth, especially as they navigated new layers of their powers and personal struggles. It felt so genuine and relatable, even with all the magical elements thrown in.
The world-building keeps getting richer, too. I love how the Zodiac powers continue to be explored and expanded upon. Every new detail adds a fresh twist and keeps the story feeling exciting and unpredictable. The plot moved at a great pace for me — never dragging, but also giving enough time for the characters and their relationships to develop meaningfully.
One thing I really appreciated was the emotional depth in this book. The way the characters grappled with loss, identity, and trust made the story hit harder than I expected. I found myself really invested in their journeys and rooting for them every step of the way.
And the ending? Wow. It left me with so many questions and a desperate need for the next book. The cliffhanger was brutal but perfect, and I’m already counting down the days until I can find out what happens next.
If you’re into fantasy with a school setting, complex characters, and a blend of lighthearted moments and intense drama, Sorrow and Starlight is definitely a must-read. I can’t recommend it enough.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I love this series, but this book was the worst of them.
Why of why did I have to wait until 60% of the book to finally get some action?? This isn't normal. So much of this book could have been cut off.
I'm hoping this is the last time the authors are doing this
Why of why did I have to wait until 60% of the book to finally get some action?? This isn't normal. So much of this book could have been cut off.
I'm hoping this is the last time the authors are doing this
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It pains me to say it but this was a bloated mess of a book. This story is starting to feel like the authors' stream of consciousness. Not every side character needs a voice!
So many pointless threads that are leading to nowhere, like the guild stones plot.
I'm in way too deep now so of course I'm reading book 9, but book 8 was my least favourite of the series so far.
I do absolutely love the 3 main couples in this book (Darcy/Lance, Tory/Darius, Caleb/Seth) and their stories are keeping me going. I really missed Darius' presence in this book and it suffered without him.
So many pointless threads that are leading to nowhere, like the guild stones plot.
I'm in way too deep now so of course I'm reading book 9, but book 8 was my least favourite of the series so far.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Honestly I love this series so much but this book was hard to get through! It is 1200 pages!!!! The ending did make all the middle worth it though I will say.
I started this series hooked on Tory x Darius story and now I’m here for Caleb and Seth
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have honestly put off writing this review for a couple of days, simply because i knew it would be a long one. however, i am doing it now.
To be honest, i didn't have high hopes in this book to begin with but it was beyond bad.
I am going to recount all the things i didn't like about it:
— This book was mostly filler and mostly boring, since NOTHING actually happens. the plot is completely lost, the main characters hardly ever interact with each other and when they do it feels forced. This 1300 pages long book could be summarized into 300 or 400 pages and nothing would be lost.
— this book has 80 chapters, but the twins (aka the main characters) only get 30 chapters and what's even worse, darcy only gets 11. You know it's bad when the two main protagonists dont even appear for more than half of the book. There is also a criminal amount of useless chapters from characters no one cares about and even from beloved characters that add nothing to the plot.
— Darcy didn't do much in the entire book, yes you could argue that its because she was held captive, but the authors could have come up with a plot for her or, even better, just freed her before. Also, a lot of her sex scenes with lance are unnecesary and often happen in the weirdest situations, like when darcy found out darius was death or when she almost killed tory.
— Seth's entire personality was reduced to him being in love with caleb, he does next to nothing in the book and even when they are with the entire friend group the only thing he thinks about is caleb. The fact that in the entire book he never tried to get close with tory while she was grieving feels so out of character, wdym he didn't try to cuddle with her or sleep with her? It doesn't make any sense.
— the only character with a decent plot in the book is tory, so she naturally stole the show. I love my psychotic girlfriend.
— tell me why the entire friend group is mainly separated? why don't we have a group hug or scenes of them being just friends? Why was everything reduced to ships and couples? Why didn't they spend more time together?
— they took way too long to revive darius, and to reunite bluelance with the rest of the group. And honestly the authors don't know where to stand if they don't have their main characters and so the story falls flat and the plot becomes none-existent.
These are just some of the things that bothered me the most although im sure there are more. I take no pleasure in trashing this book and tbh this situation makes me so sad because zodiac academy is honestly my favorite series ever and the characters have been with me for a long time and seeing the series decline is so sad, specially when it's been coming for a long time.
To be honest, i didn't have high hopes in this book to begin with but it was beyond bad.
I am going to recount all the things i didn't like about it:
— This book was mostly filler and mostly boring, since NOTHING actually happens. the plot is completely lost, the main characters hardly ever interact with each other and when they do it feels forced. This 1300 pages long book could be summarized into 300 or 400 pages and nothing would be lost.
— this book has 80 chapters, but the twins (aka the main characters) only get 30 chapters and what's even worse, darcy only gets 11. You know it's bad when the two main protagonists dont even appear for more than half of the book. There is also a criminal amount of useless chapters from characters no one cares about and even from beloved characters that add nothing to the plot.
— Darcy didn't do much in the entire book, yes you could argue that its because she was held captive, but the authors could have come up with a plot for her or, even better, just freed her before. Also, a lot of her sex scenes with lance are unnecesary and often happen in the weirdest situations, like when darcy found out darius was death or when she almost killed tory.
— Seth's entire personality was reduced to him being in love with caleb, he does next to nothing in the book and even when they are with the entire friend group the only thing he thinks about is caleb. The fact that in the entire book he never tried to get close with tory while she was grieving feels so out of character, wdym he didn't try to cuddle with her or sleep with her? It doesn't make any sense.
— the only character with a decent plot in the book is tory, so she naturally stole the show. I love my psychotic girlfriend.
— tell me why the entire friend group is mainly separated? why don't we have a group hug or scenes of them being just friends? Why was everything reduced to ships and couples? Why didn't they spend more time together?
— they took way too long to revive darius, and to reunite bluelance with the rest of the group. And honestly the authors don't know where to stand if they don't have their main characters and so the story falls flat and the plot becomes none-existent.
These are just some of the things that bothered me the most although im sure there are more. I take no pleasure in trashing this book and tbh this situation makes me so sad because zodiac academy is honestly my favorite series ever and the characters have been with me for a long time and seeing the series decline is so sad, specially when it's been coming for a long time.