Black Moon
By: Romina Russell
Goodreads Rating: 4.31
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
First Edition Published: December 6th 2016
Buy: Book Depository | Amazon
Goodreads Synopsis
One final secret stands between Rho and the enemy. But will the devastating truth be enough to destroy her first?
Rho, the courageous visionary from House Cancer, lost nearly everything when she exposed and fought against the Marad, a mysterious terrorist group bent on destroying balance in the Zodiac Galaxy. Now, the Marad has disappeared without a trace, and an uneasy peace has been declared in the Zodiac Galaxy.
But Rho is suspicious. She believes the Master is still out there in some other form. And looming over all are the eerie visions of her mother, who died many years ago, but is now appearing to Rho in the stars.
When news of a stylish new political party supported by her best friend, Nishi, sends Rho on another journey across the galaxy, she uses it as an opportunity to hunt the hidden master and seek out information about her mother. And what she uncovers sheds light on the truth–but casts darkness upon the entire Zodiac world.
The Review
“We want to create a model of Zodiac living where we aren’t segregated by race. A system where we can just be a collection of individuals working together and celebrating a variety of cultures. A world where choice out-weighs chance, where a man can change the stars.
And we’ve named this new world Black Moon.”
Black Moon is the third book in the Zodiac series by Romina Russell. Although this is a spoiler free review, there will however, be spoilers for the previous two books, Wandering Star and Zodiac. If you are interested in reading my review for either of those books, you can find them here.
The plot picks up two months after the conclusion of book two. Rho has taken on her role as Wandering Star and is currently on House Scorpio investigating possible threats to the Zodiac Galaxy. The Marad terrorist group we read about in the previous two books has completely fallen of the grid, and now Rho is doing the best she can to figure out what the Zodiac’s next move should be.
Rho has premonitions that the Marad is still around and just waiting to strike next. While she is trying to warn everyone, as with book one and two, nobody seems to believe her. Meanwhile, a new hip political group is forming called the Tomorrow Party–which Rho’s friend Nishi is in the center of. The Tomorrow Party is all about promoting equality of all the Zodiac houses, and has envisioned a world where everyone can live together as one. Royal balls are held, speeches are made, kissing occurs, and in the midst of it all, everyone is completely oblivious to what is truly happening behind the scenes. I like to call this part of the book, ‘the calm before the storm’.
“’Why Black Moon?’ I whisper.
‘It’s a term for when there’s more than one new moon in a month,’ she says softly. ‘So we’re thinking of it as a chance for new beginning.’”
The world building in the Zodiac series just seems to keep expanding with each new book. The descriptions of each House–in particular House Scorpio–are completely breathtaking. Scorpio is this underwater world where it’s inhabitants have adapted by developing characteristics such as transparent skin and red eyes. The thought that went into each House in the Zodiac universe is just incredible.
“The only way to have a just society is to remember each other. Down to the very last individual, without discounting any person or population, without ignoring people we would rather not see, even those whose values we revile. Do you think this is possible for any civilization to accomplish?”
In terms of pacing, Black Moon is a little slower than the second book Wandering Star, but the writing as well as the intense cliffhanger does manage to make up for it. The plotting was also on point, as we see details from the first two books come back in this third installment.
The big problem that I had with the last book, Wandering Star regarding Rho’s love situation was quickly overcome in Black Moon. I am not the biggest fan of love triangles, especially since the person I am rooting for never wins the girl/boy’s heart. In this third book however, we get to see Rho finally come to a decision.
Overall, Black Moon was another kick butt addition to the Zodiac series. It ended on such a cliff hanger that I immediately had the desire to pick up the fourth book and conclusion, Thirteen Rising. The only reason I didn’t give this fourth installment five stars is because the pacing wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. The writing was beautiful however, and Rho’s character growth was also on point. As always though, it’s Romina Russell’s incredible world-building skills that sets her apart.
I hope you enjoyed reading this review!
Until next time,
Rating
(4.5)
The Garden of Read-En 