Sorrow and Starlight Zodiac Academy #8

Yet again, this book had no business being this long. So many irrelevant chapters and honestly almost nothing happened in the first 75% of the story. The Twisted Sisters love to just heap trauma after trauma on these characters, give them a brief respite, and then plunge them into misery and a terrible cliffhanger at the end. It’s frustrating because there are glimmers of potential here and there but the way these women have no idea what the word edit means is infuriating. I’m convinced they don’t even do a read through after they write it.

I almost forgive these authors for the horrible things they’ve put me through for this entire book. almost

But for real, I can’t believe it’s almost over. I will be thinking of Solaria for the rest of my days.

Devoured this one ! The shock & love & horror ! So many decisions made and heartache and happiness.

I did absolutely nothing but cry this entire book.

ok wtf. why does milton have a pov? this series is dragging on for absolutely no reason. at this point I’m only reading tory, darcy, and orion’s chapters and skipping everyone else. once again darcy and orion are the fucking GOATS. they are seriously carrying this series on their backs. they better live happily ever after in the final book!!!!! NO MORE PAIN FOR THEM. THEY DESERVE HAPPINESS.

torydarius, bluelance, and justice for darcy cause why tf would the sisters give minor characters chapters and not to darcy like ??? this is ridiculous anyways, clydinius x vega child for my corielle fantasies

context is great but this book had too many unnecessary povs like i still don't know who milton is

i loved all of bluelance, torydarius, gerrymax, and sethcaleb moments <3 darcy's unwavering strength was beautiful my girl fr but this book dragged on toooo longgg

torydarius best enemies to lovers #closed

also the twins conflict in the end HURT i hate that

This was a hard read. The hardships experienced in this book are immense and the characters go through so much. It is slow going and at times hard to follow. HOWEVER, all that being said, the ending was worth it and the promise of redemption for the beloved characters is what saved this book from my dnf list.

A Slower Burn This book took me longer to read then any other in this series and not just because it was longer. I feel like it was dragged out a bit before the “meat and potatoes” of the story in this book was given. I do like that the cliffhanger doesn’t feel as terrible as previous books especially since I have to wait until book 9 comes out! If you’ve made it this far, keep going! It will answer some/most of your questions from the last heartbreaking book.

4.5 ⭐️ This book was soo long but Bluelance, SethCaleb and that torydarius scene single-handedly carried the book.. I was also sobbing so much through the first 200 pages that I couldn’t breathe.. fun times. However, I would like to burn the Lionel and Lavinia povs and the nymph memory orgy scene from my memory because that was traumatizing.. It’s not a 5 ⭐️ for me because there were so many pointless povs that it dragged..(no one cares about Mildred.. Milton.. Justin.. Lavinia… Lionel 🤮… too much Xavier… and I love Geraldine but I don’t understand anything that woman says 😭) But the heirs knelt to Tory and Darcy which was iconic.. and I really need the evil sisters to give Tory and Darcy a freaking break.. what was that ending?! Thankfully it wasn’t as terrible a cliffhanger as ZA 5 and 7

i am so, so very tired and went in blindly assuming this was going to be the last book in the series and it looks like i was very wrong

did it eventually end up hooking me in? yes

did it need to be 1,200+ pages? no

all i want is a lil resolution and not another start to a different chaos plot line that feels like it could span for another three books

4.5 ⭐️ This book was soo long but Bluelance, SethCaleb and that torydarius scene single-handedly carried the book.. I was also sobbing so much through the first 200 pages that I couldn’t breathe.. fun times. However, I would like to burn the Lionel and Lavinia povs and the nymph memory orgy scene from my memory because that was traumatizing.. It’s not a 5 ⭐️ for me because there were so many pointless povs that it dragged..(no one cares about Mildred.. Milton.. Justin.. Lavinia… Lionel 🤮… too much Xavier… and I love Geraldine but I don’t understand anything that woman says 😭) But the heirs knelt to Tory and Darcy which was iconic.. and I really need the evil sisters to give Tory and Darcy a freaking break.. what was that ending?! Thankfully it wasn’t as terrible a cliffhanger as ZA 5 and 7

It was good but I felt like the last three chapters made up for a majority of the rest.

A few things pissed me off but I still loved it

Wtf. It feels like the plot went FULLY of the rails in this one

** spoiler alert ** To start off, waiting for this book was dreadful and to say I was displeased by this novel is an understatement. Originally this was supposed to be the last novel and in my opinion is should have been.. why the need for a 9th book when the 8th was drawn out and dull. I am severely disappointed and wish this series would have ended, but let’s all hope the 9th and FINAL book will actually be the last. The first half of the book was hard to get through with so many filler chapters and non sense that happened that didn’t pertain to the storyline and the vanilla ass sex scenes of Caleb and Seth when they both have wanted this for many books now… just give the guys a happy ending fuck. The reunion of the heirs and the twins was also not satisfying whatsoever but I will say I shed a tear when Darius dropped down to one knee and pledged is life to the queens after death, that’ll get to ya. Overall, 3/5 is the highest rating I would give hopefully book 9 will bring closure and end to all parties involved.

3.5 ⭐

After waiting a year to finally see what happens in this series I was not disappointed. Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti never fail to take the reader on an emotional rollercoaster and this book was no different. After the tragic ending of Heartless Sky I just needed to know if all of my favourite characters were going to be okay. I mean, clearly they weren’t but I always love getting to go on the journey with them. As always this book provided heartbreaking moments and I shed quite a few tears. However, I just love how chaotic the characters are and the humour that they bring to help carry the reader through the heartbreak. The growth of the not only the characters, but also the plot since The Awakening has created a universe that I have grown to love so much and I am always so intrigued to learn more about. (view spoiler)[Tory’s pain was gut wrenching, but seeing her strength and really taking her place as queen just shows how much she’s grown from the first book. She’s always been a badass, but she somehow keeps growing into it more. I love that Darcy was making independent decisions away from Tory but it still broke my heart to see the two of them slowly drifting apart. I hope they can find their way back to each other. And finally, I just need Seth and Caleb to get it together and admit their feelings for each other because the tension is killing me. (hide spoiler)] I just want to urge everyone to read this series because it is honestly one of my favourites out there and I don’t see nearly enough people talking about it. I’m impatient so waiting a year for the next book is going to be hard but I absolutely cannot wait to see how this story is going to end.

I.LOVED.THIS.BOOK

Would have given it 5 stars, but this was supposed to be the last book and it wasn't! And it was sooo long! So I decided to take a star off, but then felt 4 was too low for a book I loved so much, so 4.5 it is!

Despite it being so long, I did not catch myself wondering "Why did this make it through the final cut?". Everything was relevant and I did not feel like there were  "fillers" just for the sake of making the book longer. I could justify even the ad hoc POVs, such as Milton and Lavinia. It was interesting to see how the enemy is thinking and important to follow the rebellion outside of the rebel camp, as well as inside of it.

Now, do I wish the book was shorter and that everyone got their (not so) happy ending and that was the end of the series? Definitely. These poor people have been through SO MUCH and I just want them to catch a break 😅. I do admire the authors' ability to come up with new aspects, such as the 3 Nympth sisters and everything Tory got involved with (trying to avoid spoilers 😁), but at some point it felt a bit too much. We already have such a complex world and to add all of this in the penultimate book...

Having said that, if I did not have a TBR of 100+ books I would probably re-read it straight away 😆

P.S. That cliffhanger in the penultimate chapter and the revelation in the final chaper should be illegal!

this book is so unsrs everyone started off in the trenches and came back into them right after. this is not avengers endgame there did not need to be that many povs tbh. a lot of stuff should have been resolved quickly or before the end bc now there’s a bunch of problems for the supposed last book which we know is prob not going to be the last book… ridiculous tory my meow meow ily. and eye, idk about everyone else, loved her parts 🫶 say what u want but she’s bi to me like a win is a win 🤷 kinda obsessed w her new found power of ether,, her orpheus scene omfg and her friendship w caleb 🫂 my besties i love them sm now 😩🙌 she was in her major depression era this whole time so her scenes w darcy at the end and co. had me tearing up. there’s so much unresolved tension idk i wished it didn’t happen at the end but ig this will be another thing for them to work thru. fuck gerry that stupid bitch if i ever see her skank ass on the streets i’m running her over like istg if she talks to max like that again i’m flying to england to hack their laptops. sethcaleb angst should not be happening still this shit should’ve gotten resolved which enforces the belief this series will never end 😵‍💫 pls they’re soulmates, we get it moon besties, the bat and the wolf 😵‍💫 the vampire and his vega 🫶 y’all might’ve been locked up for 90% of this book but u had eo and that’s what matters most when u preform aerial 69s 😔🙏 i really liked the music box scene it was kinda fun ngl,, i want to say i understand why they didn’t get many scenes bc it might’ve been repetitive but then again i think milton got a pov so i can’t really be sure… two baddies one porsche is not a song by nct but the final moments of tory and darcy being crowned queens!!! like everyone needs to stfu and kneel 😪🙌 3.5 for that alone. and 3 for the fact i have no idea what actually happened in this book.

unnecessarily long but SO GOOD

finally i got out from the misery za7 gave me. at least SOME of them gave me justice. okay this is the thickest book i’ve read. EVER. last year’s me would not believe that i dive myself into a HIGH fantasy book that has more than 7 books. this book is literally “sorrow” and “starlight” because come on. the first 60% filled my eyes with tears so good i could bathe myself in it. and the way all of the characters grief in different ways did not help too because it just made it so real. the rest of the book was good…actually. it is filled with character’s bounce backs so i can see each characters way of growing. but i keep waiting for the moment when the shit goes down because it is not zodiac academy if it’s not ended with a heart wrenching cliffhanger. turns out it is ruined at the VEEERY end of the book like around 97%?! and it is shocking yet grateful because the ending was not that bad…in my opinion. and i can see when the characters going to do some revenge, they came back winning so it is pretty great! spoilers ahead can we talk about how there’s so many good things in this book? like for one, sethcaleb finally has A LOT of moments here. and i am so damn pleased with that. they’re still going with their miscommunication bullshit but ITS GETTING THERE. slowly. looking at them both are like looking at two little kids and i really, really want them to have a happy end. (Please). and for bluelance OHHHH parentssss THEY NEVER FAIL AT MAKING ME FALL IN LOVE WITH THEM. i feel like thanking lavinia for putting them in one cell because god the moments they spent together for each other are so sweet (minus the torture part). also, their marriage hint? 😭 they better have that IDC…also i love how bluelance are always surrounded by furry things…first SETH, now the shadow beast (tamed version). i’m so weak when it comes to furry pets like these and i’m starting to picture bluelance in the future with seth and shadow beast cuddling together. GOD. i can’t explain how i love darcy in this book…when lance said she’s so everything he’s so right because she IS everything. she’s my comfort character ever. torydarius are coming in HOT here. tory snatched her husband from the star’s clutches and came back. that’s SO badass…i don’t know if it’s just me, but i feel like when darius came back he’s getting sexier than ever…(i’m drooling all the time). my fave scene was when darcy, lance and gabriel reunited with the heirs at the end of the book. especially darcy and seth. i was already hopeless at that point and that scene made my heart lift up again you have no idea. ALSO the scene when the heirs and the rest of the rebels kneeled for tory and darcy? that was hot i got goosebumps all over me 😭😭😭 like you see if you compare all these goods to the bad ends, the goods are winning it. though how i hope there should be at least one villain dead here because no way they will have to kill FOUR villains in the ninth book? so i guess i wouldn’t be surprised if they plan to have a tenth book and more. i’m tired but i wouldn’t complain because the characters in this series are growing in me. i have too much comfort in all of them 🥹 though of course i would not want them to always suffer. it would be great if book 9 will settle all of the problems and we have another novella or something that tells only the nice and happy endings of each couples with their life after the war ends. they deserve that after all the sufferings they’ve been through! 😿⭐️