Russell’s novel is complex without being confusing, the detail and imagination of her world – worlds, even – astounding.

It’s not quite a dystopia: it’s far more than that, and Russell’s done a tremendous job of keeping true to good writing, writing genuinely, rather than from a market’s over-saturated angle. There’s real, tangible heartache, adventure and wisdom woven into a unique and refreshing take on a galaxy where destruction rules. There are no loopholes (or worm holes) for the reader to fall into, allowing the reader to follow Rho across the galaxy at warp-speed, swept away by her passion and urgency. The journey Russell takes the reader on is necessary, the reinventing and adaption of the classic Zodiac signs creative and thorough this is sci-fi meets fantasy with a whole lot of pizazz. Romina Russell’s debut novel is a dystopia of astronomical proportions, and while many popular YA series can appear inflated and convoluted, Zodiac is a read you’ll want to spend time with. Rho is determined to travel across the galaxy to warn the other Guardians before it’s too late, but in a galaxy defined by difference and leery of trust, how can Rho convince everyone to see the truth behind a story she so fervently believes in, especially when she struggles to believe in herself as the youngest new Guardian of Cancer? Rho refuses to believe that such destruction is accident, especially when her readings of the stars foretold otherwise. But then a series of devastating, seemingly natural disasters spreads chaos throughout the Zodiac planets, including Rho’s beloved home planet, killing thousands of its citizens, including Mother Origene, the Guardian of Cancer. The story of Ochus, the banished thirteenth Guardian of Zodiac legend is known across the galaxy, but viewed as little more than a children’s tale, a harmless myth. But while Rho may choose to find the stories in the sky, rather than seek out predictions, no one can foresee the danger a legend as old as time will unleash across the galaxy. While she may have a way with reading the stars, she still can’t make accurate predictions using her Astralator, which infuriates her professors at the Academy. Rho Grace considers herself a typical sixteen-year-old Cancerian. What to expect: Stars, Zodiac, Astrology, Fantasy, Dystopia, Science Fiction

Romina russell books