Caroline Peckham

All stars must fall.

Bloody, lost, broken. We live to fight another day. But with so much stolen from us, can the fates ever twist in our favour again?

My sister and I have been torn apart by shadows and despair, and now we each stand alone.

Our sorrow is spun like a web, trapping us tight, and I fear our enemies will soon come to feast upon our souls.

But if I have my way, the merciless sky will have dealt us its final fortune. It’s time for us to take back the power that’s been ripped from our grasp and turn the tide of this war.

All stars must fall, and all Phoenixes must rise.

Long live the Savage Queens.

Zodiac Academy #8

Sorrow and Starlight

Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti

Zodiac Academy 8: Sorrow and Starlight

Kiyarra

“Maxy boy?” I asked, and that scoundrel of a sea lion looked my way with a frown on his brow. “If I were in mortal peril, would you risk all to save me, throw yourself between me and death, give up everything just to see me survive?” “Of course I would, Gerry,” he said, his eyes softening like the wet kipper I had suspected he was.

“Thank you for admitting that most crippling weakness,” I replied.

Mary Carmona

“It’s Darcy,” Seth gasped. “Look. It’s Darcy!”

      “I see that,” Caleb laughed, and Seth broke into a run, leapfrogging over the dead monster and slamming into me so hard that I fell on my ass.

“It’s you and me, Tor. No matter what, wherever we are.”

I turned to Orion to ask him a question, finding him holding a glittering star in his hand, trying to place it among the Orion constellation.

      “What are you doing?” I asked and he looked over at me like a naughty school kid who’d been caught getting up to no good.

      “I’m moving the Vega star over here,” he said. “It looks good here, don’t you think?”

      I laughed, jogging over to join him as he reached above his head again and tried to make the Vega star sit with Orion.

“It’s hard not to stare when you look this cute,” I said, and he glanced over at me with a dry look.

      “Cute? Dogs are cute, like your little lap dog, Seth, but I’m-”

      “Ohmagod,” I gasped, cutting over him. “You just said Seth is cute.”

      His eyes widened in horror. “No,” he hissed in warning like I was to blame for the words that had come out of his mouth, but I most definitely wasn’t. “I meant it objectively. Of course I don’t think the mutt is cute. But I suppose I can see, from afar, if I were someone entirely else, that that someone might find him marginally endearing when he isn’t being aggravating. To me though, he is entirely aggravating at all times. And that will never change.”

“Listen to me, Blue. I loved you when your soul shone with all the starlight in the night sky, and I’ll love you now when your soul is the blackest you’ve ever known. I will love you whole and I’ll love you in pieces. It doesn’t matter, light or dark, I am here. That is what mates are for. It’s what I’m made to be for you by the stars themselves, so stop trying to shut me out.”

What a sentence to end the book on! IYKYK 😉

Lera D

And I painted on a smile, just like always.

There will be a price to pay for bringing you back and the universe knows I won’t allow for it to be taken from our flesh, but that only means it will be carved from something else. And I don’t care. I’m selfish enough not to care about that so long as I have you here with me.

I swear to fuck, I almost wish I was gay for the sake of those women alone.” “Almost?” I teased. “Well, I have a pathetically prevalent obsession with cock, but aside from that…”

“The stars,” I scoffed, hatred burning hotly through to my core. “They don’t favour anything aside from their own twisted cruelty.”

Demi

“Not a possession, no. But you are mine. You were mine before we met, and mine the minute we locked eyes. You are mine in this life, and every life we may experience from this point forward. You are mine in every reality you exist, and mine in every reality you don’t. And I am yours in kind, in every way you can imagine. I will gladly be your possession, but I will also be your guardian, your keeper, your protector. And I will do whatever I can to turn you away from danger, because it is impossible for me not to.”

Real family were the people who earned their place in your life, not the ones who demanded things of you just because you were tethered to them by blood.

“Family loves without condition. I’ve forged my own family through determination, sacrifice, and dedication. They aren’t my blood, but they are bound to me deeper than you will ever be. You don’t just get to love me and expect that to be enough. True love is built on everything that exists outside of the word. It’s showing up when you’re needed, no matter the inconvenience. It’s knowing someone, truly knowing them, and accepting everything they are even where you differ or clash. It’s making effort despite the differences, it’s apologies when they’re owed and forgiveness even when it feels impossible. And it took me so fucking long to become a man capable of those things, in part because of you."

We must feel the bad as deeply as the sea, for then we are able to feel the joy as high as the moon.

Of course just when I think things are FINALLY looking up… Darcy and Tory get sealed in a fucking cave a la Katerina petrova 

Hanna 

Sidney Schaffner

I did absolutely nothing but cry this entire book.

Anastasia Jack

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.

emma

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

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. 

Daisy Gosnell

Taylor O

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.

Nouran Hazem

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 

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 

samantha lias

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 

Nouran

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

Sierra Salman

A few things pissed me off but I still loved it

Jade 

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

Jeanne L Collier

Madeline Frampton

** 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.

Kelsey at

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.

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!

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!

jupiter

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.

erona

I'm sorry but the fact that Tory brought Darius back was disappointing. Tory is so selfish as a character and I can't stand her. BUT all in all I was addicted to reading it as usual. Can't wait for the finale!

Lenina K Anindita

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! 😿⭐️

Michelle

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 ZA7 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.

Without too many spoilers 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.

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 ZA7 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.

Without too many spoilers 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.

This was such a painful read. I thought book 7 was slow to progress and full of filler but this took it to another level. 

- 8 books into a series I should not be getting new character POVs unless absolutely necessary (spoiler alert none of them were necessary)

- 8 books into a series I should not be introduced to new villains when the OG villain still isn’t dead

- miscommunication trope between Seth and Caleb has lost its impact and is now just unbelievable. Max’s siren powers aren’t worth a grain of salt if he can’t work out they love each other

- the twins are separated for 98% of this book

- I no longer remember the plot. I’ve read so much filler that I’m forgetting things that should have been important. (Darcy and Orion find more guild stones but I can’t for the life of me remember what they’re for?)

- 8 books into a series I should not be learning about a new ancient magic system. Fair enough the twins didn’t know about it cause they grew up in the mortal realm but no one else in Solaria knows about it either? Seems like lazy writing to me

- the way their heirs and their parents bow at the end seemed like it should have been a bigger moment but it just sort of happened. Like the councillors especially spent the whole book so sure of their right to rule and then in a single moment all three of them throw that out the window and bow? Maybe I was so bored by this book that I missed how epic what Tory and Darcy did was but I just didn’t get it

- I feel like the authors are struggling to keep the characters separate and so they’re exacerbating personality traits but it’s making them all annoying. Geraldine can no longer have a rational thought it’s just absolute nonsense. Seth has split personalities between having logical deep thoughts about the war and then being a lovestruck idiot. Tory is just ✨rage✨. Darcy and Orion are just a mix of martyrdom and sex.

- also nothing annoys me more than when you can tell they’re just trying to sell their other books. Why did I get a whole thing in this book about Rosalie who is irrelevant to ZA and her plan to break Roary out of prison. I get it Darkmore Penitentiary is a series.. I. Don’t. Care. They also keep mentioning the other kingdoms cause they announced they will do books in another kingdom great save it for that series. 

The good moments in this book were so few and far between I can’t think of what they were.  

Basically I need this series to end. I am so disappointed because back in book 5 I thought I had found my new favourite series and even book six was good but now it’s just being ruined. I’m not enjoying it anymore, I’m tired. 

Natalie Noble

This was such a painful read. I thought book 7 was slow to progress and full of filler but this took it to another level. 

Issues:
- 1200+ pages and almost nothing happens
- 8 books into a series I should not be getting new character POVs unless absolutely necessary (spoiler alert none of them were necessary)
- 8 books into a series I should not be introduced to new villains when the OG villain still isn’t dead
- miscommunication trope between Seth and Caleb has lost its impact and is now just unbelievable. Max’s siren powers aren’t worth a grain of salt if he can’t work out they love each other
- the twins are separated for 98% of this book
- I no longer remember the plot. I’ve read so much filler that I’m forgetting things that should have been important. (Darcy and Orion find more guild stones but I can’t for the life of me remember what they’re for?)
- 8 books into a series I should not be learning about a new ancient magic system. Fair enough the twins didn’t know about it cause they grew up in the mortal realm but no one else in Solaria knows about it either? Seems like lazy writing to me
- the way their heirs and their parents bow at the end seemed like it should have been a bigger moment but it just sort of happened. Like the councillors especially spent the whole book so sure of their right to rule and then in a single moment all three of them throw that out the window and bow? Maybe I was so bored by this book that I missed how epic what Tory and Darcy did was but I just didn’t get it
- I feel like the authors are struggling to keep the characters separate and so they’re exacerbating personality traits but it’s making them all annoying. Geraldine can no longer have a rational thought it’s just absolute nonsense. Seth has split personalities between having logical deep thoughts about the war and then being a lovestruck idiot. Tory is just ✨rage✨. Darcy and Orion are just a mix of martyrdom and sex.
- also nothing annoys me more than when you can tell they’re just trying to sell their other books. Why did I get a whole thing in this book about Rosalie who is irrelevant to ZA and her plan to break Roary out of prison. I get it Darkmore Penitentiary is a series.. I. Don’t. Care. They also keep mentioning the other kingdoms cause they announced they will do books in another kingdom great save it for that series. 

The good moments in this book were so few and far between I can’t think of what they were.  

Basically I need this series to end. I am so disappointed because back in book 5 I thought I had found my new favourite series and even book six was good but now it’s just being ruined. I’m not enjoying it anymore, I’m tired. 

Sorrow and Starlight Zodiac Academy #8

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