Zodiac by Romina Russell

Hey, everybody! Today I'm coming at you with another sci-fi review to kick off the month of April. To start things off, I'm going to be talking about Zodiac by Romina Russell. Here we go!

What's The Story?

In a distant galaxy, the planet you call home is determined by your sign on the zodiac. Rhoma Grace is a student at House Cancer and has a peculiar way at interpreting what the stars say. However, an unexpected blast strikes one of the moons of Cancer, sending the entire planet off course and killing thousands, including the Guardian of the planet. Rhoma is shocked to learn that she is selected to serve as the new leader of the House, but she gladly accepts her new position. However, more Houses in the galaxy are beginning to experience catastrophes, and Rhoma begins to witness a strange pattern within the stars. She begins to suspect that Ophiuchus, the 13th Zodiac that was supposedly exiled, has returned to get revenge on the galaxy. This leaves it up to Rhoma, her guide Mathias, and an envoy from Libra named Hysan, to warn the remaining Houses.

Likes

First off, I want to point out that the world this story takes place in is phenomenal. The idea of it was one of the things that drew me into reading this book (that and the absolutely gorgeous cover). I think that a galaxy based on the horoscopes is a unique concept, and it was something that I liked in this book without a doubt. The overall backgrounds and settings throughout the book were well-done too, and it made me feel as if I was there to experience all of the action.

The writing style was quick to get into and moved at such a fast pace for me. Even if some of the characters weren't that likable (which I'll get to in just a little bit), I don't recall a moment being boring.

Ophiuchus was an interesting character to read about, even if he was the villain of this entire story. Sometimes the villains can be fun to read about, and he was definitely one to include in this list. I really liked the concept that he was the thirteenth house in the original Zodiac, and I thought it was actually pretty cool.

Dislikes

Rhoma (or Rho) was hot and cold for me. There was times that I liked reading about her and times that I didn't. For being a main character, I just didn't find as her as likable as I thought I would. That's a reason this review is a little bit lower than I wanted it to be, because, after all, she is the narrator of this entire story.

Then we have the romance... You're probably going to think that I'm this hater of romance because of what I'm saying, but I want to assure you that I'm not. I actually like romance when it enters stories, and sometimes it really interesting to read about. But in Zodiac's case, we have both a love triangle and insta-love. I just didn't really like the fact that Rho was worried more about her love than other things. Considering your job is to literally warn the galaxy about a grave and oncoming threat, I would say the feelings for one another can wait a little bit!

Is It Worth Reading?

Okay, this is where it gets tough for me. While this isn't the worst sci-fi I've read, it's definitely not the best. I was actually finding myself caught up in the world that Romina wrote about, and I have a tiny bit of motivation to see where it goes from here. But I'm not so sure if I'd recommend it as much as other stories I've read. I feel pretty bad for feeling this way, but it is what it is.

Rating

★★★☆☆