Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

65 reviews

nozycozy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

What a journey! I loved Tarisai’s story and her motivations. The friendship, love, adversity was engaging and the power and darkness that runs this world was extraordinary. The stakes were high! The past, present and lore had me glued to the pages. The colors and cultures were immersive. I’m excited to read the sequel! 
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friendly_neighborhood_grandma's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I highly recommand the audiobook. The narrator is incredible, very engaging and even thogh the world is complicated and full of names im not used to, i didnt feel lost. The story itself is unlike anything i ever read before, and i loved it. It was very interesting and felt real. Incredible worldbuilding. I would recommend it to people who would like a new taste of fantacy, rich lore and worldbuilding, found family and messy family relations, and a brave, complicated fmc.
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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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seilahuh's review against another edition

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challenging medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

1.5

im not saying anything that hasn't already been said in that adequate characterization was so nonexistent nothing made sense, especially that everyone somehow knew she was a raybearer even though there was no way for anybody to know especially not us readers because there was little focus on foreshadowing this reveal. the pacing is way off, and the inconsistencies with age and the underage gap relationship is just disgusting. the main romantic plot was so underdeveloped that we really could've gone without it because there was already so much, too much to focus on that detracted from the story.

the lady's past, what exactly tarisai was, the mission to kill dayo, songland and the redemptors, sanjeet and his past, and the big theme of self-determination positioned against themes of systemic change. and all in just like 350 pages, it's not enough for the content. so much of it, if not all of it, was not fleshed out right, all forced in like an overpacked suitcase. even dayo's asexual admission was clunky and nonessential because the love-triangle (?) romance with sanjeet subplot fell through as the dynamics of the council were rarely explored on screen. we never get to see their relationships grow nor hear ourselves the whispers of dayo and tarisai being perfectly matched for the admission to make a dent, and the later reveal that they were cousins was just. . . something had to give!


i wanted to love it like everyone else did, but there's nothing i can find to care for because from the technical elements to the political implications of devising a story around a corrupt empire that should fall into obsolescence, and creating a character to rehabilitate the image of it as if she can simply erase its capital, continuous crimes, mind you, by being a girlboss in charge cause that was the issue apparently and not the thousands of children it sacrificed. . .it's nothing about that story i can love when it's so incredibly hollow (especially the supposed lgbtq+ rep). 

so it gets 1.5 stars 🙂
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eni_iilorak's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

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readandfindout's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

5.0

Style/writing: 5 stars
Themes: 5 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Plot: 5 stars
Worldbuilding: 4.5 stars
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brynnfai's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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mariebrunelm's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense 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? N/A

4.75

Hidden between the walls of a fortress none but its inhabitants can see, Tarisai grows up longing for her mother's love. But The Lady is often on the road and her visits home are short. She is however determined for her daughter to carve a future worthy of her, and so she sends her to the capital with the mission to kill a boy while taking part in a competition. Tarisai soon discovers that the series of trials held in the company of the prince will determine the members of his council. She is supposed to take part like the others. But as soon as she meets the prince, a terrible urge to kill rises in her. She has found her mother's target.
Ready for a breathless adventure alongside very loveable characters in an Africa-inspired land? Raybearer was more YA than the adult novel I'd expected, but I didn't have time to wonder about that as I was swept away and held on the edge of my seat by Jordan Ifueko. The novel kept a fast rhythm, as fast as the drums that keep beating in the background of Tarisai's whereabouts, but it never lost sight of its characters and their emotional journeys. I loved the cast and the lush world-building, and if the last revelations were a bit too hasty to leave me time to process them, they all sounded right and made the pieces click together. 
Rep: polyamourous characters, asexual character.
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franksalot's review against another edition

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3.5

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taylor_perry's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book blew me away. And listening to it vs reading it was nothing short of beautiful and magical. This book covered things I wish the YA of my generation had. I devoured this book and cannot wait to read the second one. 
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