Wandering Star is the sequel to Romina Russell's YA Sci-fi novel, Zodiac. I read this book a whole month after i finished reading the first one. I loved the first book and can say that i really enjoyed the second! I am rating this beauty 4.4 out of 5 stars!ALSO: HOW FREAKIN GORGEOUS IS THAT COVER!
The story and plot I thought that the story started off a little slow, and it didn't get that exciting until the second half of the book. It wasn't at all a bad slow start though, because i did keep wanting to turn the pages to find out what's going to happen. Oh my God, things get so, SO good starting from when the crew goes on their mission. UGH, SO MANY FREAKIN FEELS. The plot was just so intense and emotional AND THAT TWIST oh my God. I was literally sitting up and bracing myself for this one part that i couldn't believe had actually happened. The last few chapters weren't as intense but I'm quite glad it did not end in a major cliffhanger or anything. It's an ending that gives way for an exciting third book. The plot in Wandering Star extends from the first book but expands it on a whole new level. I thought the threat from the first book was already the worst, and then we discover in Wandering Star that there's an even worse bad guy. It's incredible; the way the author makes the story involve a whole universe and the future of the people living in it. Most of the other books i read are all about the character's country or city or land etc.. But in Zodiac, it's about so many worlds. It feels big, so even if you don't buy the romance or characters, i think you would still find the world and plot interesting.
The writing I didn't feel like Wandering Star was as heavy as Zodiac, and it is mostly because i was already familiar with a lot of the words and concepts of the world that it didn't feel like a whole new and heavy discovery(also because i read Zodiac only a month before reading this book). It didn't take as much focus to understand what was happening. There were more cool concepts and places introduced and new planets explored, which was quite a pleasure to read about. I'll always be amazed by the advanced technology and ideas Romina Russell paints in this story. I only wish that the writing from Rho's perception had been as emotional as in Zodiac. Perhaps it was because she had grown as a character but i just didn't get as many feels as from the first book. Most of the emotional stuff was more from the other characters. The characters A lot of the first half was about Rho still blaming herself for the deaths from Zodiac, and she was highly doubting herself and her gifts. I like that the doubts slowly subsided along the story, and how she grows more and more confident with herself and her goals. I like that she grows wiser towards the end; it does show how much she has grown as a character. I do find her a tad bit more annoying than in Zodiac though, and I think this might have something to do with the romance(which I'll talk about in the spoiler section) and probably how she always doubted herself at the start, which effected her decisions. In this book, we get introduced to a lot of new characters and discover more about some old ones. I honestly still can't keep up with all the character names so i kinda just pretend i know who they are since it doesn't really effect my understanding of the story. I've grown more fond of Hysan as a character, and am loving Rho's friends Nishi and Deke. I absolutely love the trio's friendship and wish we could have gotten more moments of it. ***SPOILER SECTION***
OH MY FREAKING GOD. I CANT FREAKIN BELIEVE THAT MATHIAS IS STILL ALIVE. I SWEAR I WAS SO RELIEVED AND SHOCKED AND JUST GAHHHHH I HAD TO CLOSE THE BOOK! It was heartbreaking that he seemed to have been too deeply traumatized to notice and accept Rho right away. It was the strangest feeling for me; i was already accepting his death as well and was about to love Hysan completely because Hysan is such a sweetheart and ugh he is so charming. I was happy for Rho that she seemed to be ready to move on as well. And then when Mathias came back, a part of me wanted Rho to choose Hysan especially because Mathias seems to have moved on with Rho and had fallen for Pandora. But of course, i rooted out for Mathias since Zodiac and was so heartbroken by his "death" and his final words were just so heartbreakingly romantic that i still would choose him over Hysan. It was still unclear in the end who Rho really loves, but from what I can see, i think she's more in love with Mathias. She always seems to think of him when she's with Hysan, but when she's with Mathias we don't really see her thinking the Libran. I WISH THERE WAS A WAY THEY BOTH COULD HAVE HER UGH.
Some people absolutely hate love triangles, but i really like this one. I love both guys now, and in a way i can understand why it's difficult for Rho to choose. I just hope that in the third book, we'll get a clear decision from her.
Oh my God i can't even start talking about Deke's death. It was completely unexpected and it broke my heart as it broke Nishi's. I should have known something bad was going to happen; there was too much of goodness between them that it didn't seem likely that nothing bad was going to happen at all. His goodbye message was just touching. I did expect Nishi to see his death as a drive to keep working and supporting Rho, but she seemed too broken to continue without him and that makes me sad for her. I like that it shows even the strongest people can break. Nishi had always been the positive and determined one.
I don't really like Stanton that much. I kinda thought he was gay for Aryll at first because it was kinda weird between those two during the starting chapters. Stanton turns out okay towards the end, and Aryll is a very interesting character. The whole concept of imbalanced Risers getting "brainwashed" and losing the touch of their humanity is very haunting. What's more interesting is the fact that these Risers are supposedly descendants from Ophiuchus, and that Ochus actually cares about his house and wants Rho to make the Zodiac show mercy towards them. I am super excited to find out more about the Thirteenth house, and to discover the real story and truth about Rho's mother, and in extension, Rho herself.
***END OF SPOILER SECTION***
I think i read this book a little too quickly, instead of taking my own sweet time going through it like i did with Zodiac. The adventure i went on while reading this book had seemed quite short, so in the end i felt like i needed more from these books. The third book will be called Black Moon, and will be released in November. I CAN'T WAIT.
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