Reviews tagging 'War'

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

29 reviews

readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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3eggomelet's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Amazing world building with such fascinating complexity. Mostly strong characters. I did feel like the ending was artificially rushed and that made it less satisfying.
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obscurepages's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

You know that meme/scene with Homelander saying "It was perfect. Perfect. Down to the last minute detail." Yeah, that. That was me after rereading this book 😂

For a moment I was actually a bit scared diving into this again, thinking my opinions would change (since I will be rereading after four years). But you know what? My opinion is still very much the same: Raybearer is one of the best YA fantasy novels I've read. If anything, my love for this book just soared to new heights.

This is just so perfect—from the writing, to the world-building, the magic system, the pacing, the characterization, the intricacies of the plot. There's also a lot to learn in this book, a lot of things that we can notice in our own reality. Misogyny, toxic masculinity, histories being erased, governments failing their own people, just for example. You get so engrossed with the story and with Tarisai's character that you just go along the emotions with her. You root for her, and you feel for her. There's also not much action if you think about it, but the overall suspense and the political atmosphere just keep you engaged throughout the entire story. That for me is a feat right there.

You can also tell there's so much love and effort put into this book and it paid off. It worked, and it's such an incredible experience reading this from start to finish 🥹

Exact rating: 1 million stars

CW: death, murder, grief, trauma, death of a parent, death of children (sacrifice), child abuse/neglect
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juliapatt2007's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

3.0

I received an AR copy from a friend, and it came highly recommended. The story is set in a culture that I am not familiar with and steeped in folklore that was foreign to me. The author has twisted fiction with actual folklore to create an amazing world filled with living breathing characters. I struggled with the main female character’s personality at times but in those struggles I identified with some of her personality traits. Overall the characters failed and succeeded realistically which I appreciated. Some of the finer points of folklore were confusing to me and at times I got a little lost. I think if I were to read this book again I would grasp the intricacies more. 
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melliedm's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

“Do not ask how many people you will save. Ask, To what world will you save them? What world[…]is worth surviving in?”

An excellent anti-imperialist YA fantasy. Easily the best YA I’ve read in a long time. I had started to think maybe I no longer enjoyed YA, but it turns out I was just waiting for a book like this.

Tarisai was born for one purpose, and one purpose alone: to kill the emperor’s son, and end the imperial line. To do so, she will first have to love him and enter his trusted circle. But are our children just malleable tools for our machinations, or people capable of seeing different futures? 

This book manages to avoid some of the most overdone tropes in the genre whilst using others with absolute grace. The characters are varied and well-written, each with their own ideals and desires. The plot feels intentional and the results hard-won, and not a given simply because “it’s gotta have a beginning middle and end”

My only problem with this book, and the reason for the docking of .25 stars, is the weird as heck relationship between two side characters. I won’t spoil much, but one of the characters is established to be around 20 at the beginning of the book, when the main character is around 12. The other side character is described to be about the same age as the main character. So when the main character is 16, we have a 24 year old side character developing a romance with a 16 year old side character? What? Did I misread something? Did I misunderstand the timeline? It made me extremely uncomfortable. But it’s such a small part of the book and something I could ignore with relative ease, so I don’t think this one strange aspect detracts from the rest of the book’s beauty.
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thecatconstellation's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

This book deserves way more hype. The story is original and engaging. Steeped in beautiful imagery and detailed mythology, this is a story of the drive for justice.

My only critique is that the council members are supposedly so meaningful to Tar, but only a few of them are fleshed out beyond the most basic level. 
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linblythe_pub22's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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forgottuesday's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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sunniva174's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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zadsavage's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I think this book is wonderful. The world building is fantastic. The African influences are strong and informative and a fun alternative to Greek mythology. 
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