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Review Summary:
This is a YA story set in the Kingdom of Adastria, a continent divided into twelve towns belonging to each of the Zodiac signs. Each town has its own climate and culture aligning with their sign and its planetary influence. Little do these citizens know that there is a thirteenth area of Adastria belonging to the thirteenth zodiac sign, Ophiuchus. This region is called Marla, represented by the mighty Dragon, and is supposed to no longer exist. Here in Marla we meet our main character Akita, whose destiny is prophesied to disrupt the succession of the dying King of Adastria to his son Prince Andreas. We follow Akita and her wise-cracking animal companions as she traverses the kingdom and the twelve regions, discovering the world beyond Marla, to follow her destiny and discover everything she can about herself and her ancestors.
Positives are that the plot is interesting and engaging and has a lovely whimsical feel to it. I personally enjoy astrology so it’s nice to finally see it be utilised in a fantasy novel.
Negatives were that I felt the writing style didn’t quite find its footing. While it had aspects of teen/YA, such as some descriptions of violence and a romance plot, it sometimes felt as if it was aiming younger than that. The prose felt slightly too simplified such as vocabulary and sentence structuring. I also found the characterisation a little lacking, with the dialogue of pretty much all characters apart from Little One being very similar and lacking distinction in personality. I was disappointed with the astrology aspect of the story as it was again simplified, down to pop astrology with the stereotypical traits associated with a sun sign only. But there was then an automatic assumption that readers have an understanding of astrology which meant certain parts of the story might not have made sense to everybody. This again lent itself to a writing style that is unsure of its intended audience.

2.5 stars. A promising premise that needs more confident prose, world-building and characterisation. But a nonetheless very enchanting and comforting read.

FULL REVIEW BELOW. AVAILABLE WITH THE ADDITION OF HIDDEN SPOILERS ON GOODREADS.

World-building:
Marla, where we meet Akita, is a tucked away region of Adastria which Akita learns during her travels is quite archaic and ignorant in comparison to the rest of the kingdom. She also discovers that the rest of Adastria believes Marla to be a place only in myths and legends. I felt that we didn’t really capture the culture of Marla as it stands in the present, with Akita focusing more on discovering its past. Even this was only in glimpses, as I imagine this will be expanded on in book two. Each region that we come across in the novel - Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Leo and Cancer - is supposed to be representative of the traits of those signs. Whether that is by colour symbolism, geography/ecology or the personality of its citizens. Unfortunately the astrology just wasn’t explained or expanded on enough in the novel. There are vague mentions of planetary influence, planetary alignments such as conjunction, the modalities, the elements, and even a mention of Houses at one point. But to somebody who doesn’t follow astrology this would mean absolutely nothing to them. I’m surprised these aspects of astrology were mentioned at all seeming the ‘traits’ were those we see in very basic pop astrology, such as Aries being the ‘doers’ and Cancers being the ‘feelers’. Without expanding on the concept of birth charts, transits or synastry these other concepts can’t really come to fruition. Trying to introduce the more complex parts of astrology just felt misplaced as a result. In Adastria we also came across talking animals, shape-shifters or human/animal hybrids. Again none of this is really explained or contextualised as it’s unclear whether Adastria is a magical kingdom or not.

Characterisation:
This was definitely the area that was lacking for me. The dialogue in the novel just didn’t feel natural and nobody felt distinct from each other, which was surprising as everyone in the different zodiac regions was supposed to have the associated personality traits. The exception is Little One, who was supposed to be some comic relief - he was occasionally quite funny and I did feel attached to him - and Prince Andreas who is the big baddie. I felt a lot of the time that the book was telling me what the characters thoughts, feelings and personalities were rather than showing me through their dialogue or actions. Akita is sometimes frustratingly naive and a total blabber-mouth, telling everybody who she is and where she is from with no real thought to the consequences. I’d hoped that she would learn from these mistakes as she went, showing some growth and development, but she just repeated it in every region she visited even when doing so in previous ones turned out to be dangerous. Despite that, she is a very gentle and kind character and you do find yourself rooting for her.

Story:
I actually do really like the story. Akita comes to possess an amulet which is supposed to hold zodiac-associated gemstones and a tablet but the stones and tablet are missing and have been distributed throughout the kingdom. The amulet mustn’t fall into the wrong hands, in this case Prince Andreas. I like this sort of storyline as it allows for lots of little side-quests as she goes through the kingdom to find the stones. My only criticism is that so far any peril she has faced has been pretty quickly or easily resolved, and that she has been able to wander into each region and find shelter without much difficulty.

Prose:
As mentioned the prose felt a little unsure of itself. The intended audience felt unclear at times, and the sentence structure sometimes seemed to take a more juvenile approach. In the beginning of the book the sentences often felt more like lists or bullet points of what was happening without giving room for characterisation or world-building. There was also a scene where the characters attend a carnival and the person they are looking for is referred to multiple times as ‘turbaned’ and the word ‘gypsy’ is used in the same setting. This was maybe a tad racially insensitive, especially as the ‘turbaned’ man was said to have a red face and black eyes. It would have been perfectly fine to refer to those traits instead of repeatedly mentioning the turban! And I say this as somebody who isn’t easily offended. There were also a couple of typos, but nothing major.

Ayant lu ces deux tomes à la suite ( il faut dire que le tome 1 est vraiment très court) je réalise une chronique commune pour ces deux livres.Je me suis lancée attirée par le titre de cette saga je ne savais pas trop à quoi m'attendre et franchement je ressors plutôt mitigée de ma lecture.

En effet, si ce n'est que c'est une lecture franchement jeunesse plutôt que Young adult , j'ai souffert 'incohérences et de manque d'approfondissement de certains aspect que le récit aurait mérité avoir.

Pour les incohérences , en dehors du fait que j'ai aimé ce personnage plutôt perspicace et drôle , j'ai encore un peu de mal à m'imaginer un âne en train de hausser les épaules ... peut être est- ce une expression que je n'ai pas réussi à traduire mais il n'en est que j'ai passé de nombreuses minutes à tenter de m'imaginer cette scène pour le moins cocasse...

On fait la connaissance d' Akita , jeune fille plutôt innocente qui se retrouve plongée dans une quête qui la dépasse. Je l'ai trouvé plutôt courageuse et volontaire même si toutefois son personnage manque de profondeur ce qui m'a empêché de vraiment m'attacher à elle .

L'univers est riche et franchement je trouvais l'idée très bonne et originale de se balader à travers les signes du zodiac qui correspondent à des régions de ce monde avec chacun ses spécificités et coutumes. Là encore cela aurait mérité un peu plus d'approfondissement sur les différents pouvoirs et caractères de chaque signes mais cela reste une approche intéressante.

Vous l'aurez compris je n'ai pas été tout à fait convaincu par me lecture qui avait pourtant du potentiel . Je pense que surtout je m'attendais à une intrigue plus travaillée plus mature alors que le public visé est clairement plus jeunesse que ce que je pensais .

En bref : Pas vraiment convaincu par me lecture, cela reste toutefois un univers riche et captivant . L'idée générale est originale et assez addictive mais il aurait fallu un peu plus d'approfondissement général pour que je sois conquise par l'aventure d'Akita mais je suis persuadée que cette aventure va convaincre un lectorat plus jeune .

This was a strong start to this series, it had everything that I was looking for from the description. I enjoyed the overall feel of the story and that the world worked well in this type of story. The characters felt like they were supposed to be in this world and wanted to read more in this series.

This was a greatly enjoyable and fun fantasy book, that I found to be a well-paced and quick read. Our main character, Akira, was well written and I thoroughly enjoyed the world building elements of the book.

This book weaves a captivating tale of adventure and self-discovery. Akita, initially believing her impediment to be an insurmountable barrier, is thrust into a world of danger and intrigue when she crosses paths with the malevolent Prince Andreas and his shape-shifting companion. Her escape leads her to an unlikely alliance with a dragon from the mysterious 13th star sign, a steadfast donkey, and an Arian companion.

As Akita embarks on her quest for the three missing stones, the story unfolds with twists and turns that keep readers on the edge of their seats. The perilous journey tests Akita's courage and determination at every step, showcasing her growth from an ordinary girl to a formidable adventurer. With the dragon's wisdom to guide her, she confronts her adversaries with bravery.

Readers are treated to a richly imagined world where destiny intertwines with bravery, and the pursuit of one's true purpose becomes a thrilling odyssey. "The Zodiac Odyssey" is a riveting adventure filled with magical creatures, high-stakes quests, and the timeless theme of overcoming obstacles to find one's place in the world.

The world building in this book was great and that was really where the book shined. I was sucked into the novel and the world after the first chapter and it was great

I really enjoyed this. The world building was amazing! Akita was such a cool character. I loved that the dragon helped guide her and we learn of the 13th element

I loveddd this book so much! It was so so good! I was hooked in the first chapter and the world building was chefs kiss.