Wandering Star

WANDERING STAR (Zodiac #2)

Written by Romina Russell

Published by Razorbill, October 25, 2016

My star rating: 4.5 stars

THE SYNOPSIS:

A breathtaking sci-fi space saga inspired by astrology that will stun fans of the Illuminae Files and Starbound series.

Orphaned, disgraced, and stripped of her title, Rho is ready to live life quietly, as an aid worker in the Cancrian refugee camp on House Capricorn. But news has spread that the Marad–an unbalanced terrorist group determined to overturn harmony in the Galaxy–could strike any House at any moment. Then, unwelcome nightmare that he is, Ochus appears to Rho, bearing a cryptic message that leaves her with no choice but to fight. Now Rho must embark on a high-stakes journey through an all-new set of Houses, where she discovers that there’s much more to her Galaxy–and to herself–than she could have ever imagined. Find it on Goodreads

MY REVIEW:

I read book 1 in this series, Zodiac (Find my full review HERE) back in September, and I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY!! It was published back when I didn’t read much YA science fiction so it never made its way on my radar. I’m so glad that it eventually did because – WOW! It’s such a complex book that includes many characters, a large and complicated space system world, and zodiac traits that rule it all. It was such a complex world with so many different traits and differences, it honestly could have been a disaster if it wasn’t written properly. But instead of it being a mess, it was layer upon layer of amazing, all of it coming together to form a book that knocked me over! This book did NOT disappoint either!

Rho has lost her title and taken on an unseen threat that most people don’t even believe exists. Her home planet Cancer has been completely destroyed, killing her father in the process. She’s now residing on a new planet with no father, no title, and nowhere to go. And it’s because of this strange situation that the first half of this book took on a different feel. Book one was very fasted paced as she was named Holy Mother/Guardian of Cancer, and we were learning about Ophiuchus. Now she has no responsibilities, the only family left is her brother, and she is trying to figure out where she’s going to go. The first half of the book was very much about character building and seeing how the planets were reacting to the still constant threats. First there was Ophiuchus, and now there are Risers – people who were born to one house but left to go to another.

I will admit, the first half of this book was a little hard for me to get into. I found some of the character building a little boring, and wondered if it was really for a reason. It was, of course, because Romina Russell is a rock star writer, but I still struggled. The theme of trust was prevalent in almost every aspect as well. Trusting friends, letting them put themselves in danger to help you, the planets trusting Rho that she has Seen Ophiuchus, and the worlds trusting each other that they’re in this together to help.

Once I got to about the 65% mark is where it all came together and seriously hit me like a freight train!!! I’m not even kidding! There were about 6-8 chapters where I felt every emotion possible. My stomach turned in disgust, I was gripping the book hard because I was tense, my jaw dropped from shock, I felt sad, and then I just cried! All of the character building that had felt so slow in the beginning came into play as I realized that I had quietly fell in love with some of these characters. Their unquestioning support of Rho and her claims of the threats she’s seen was so beautiful.

The only thing that I really don’t enjoy is the love triangle between Rho, Mathias and Hysan. I understand it, yes, but at the same time it annoys me. I think that it annoys me because I’ve sailed a certain ship SO HARD and I want her to just pick him already!! LOL! The reasons why she can’t choose are understandable, and the conflicts that arise with her emotions once again makes sense, but I find myself more annoyed with it than enjoying it. I have faith in Romina’s writing abilities that it will come to a point where it will all be worth it, but until then I will roll my eyes a little bit.

My small problems aside, this series is shaping up to be one of my all time favourites. Yup, I said it, all time favourites! The writing is stellar, the characters have a grip on my heart, and this world is just amazing! At the beginning I wasn’t impressed with all the character building but, now that I’ve had a couple days to think about it, I can appreciate how much depth and dimension the characters now have. I can’t wait to continue with book 3 very soon!!

Have you read this series? If so please share your thoughts! I would love to fangirl about this with someone!!! And if you haven’t read this series – what are you waiting for!? You won’t regret it!!

Until next time, happy reading!