The world-building present within this book is truly incredible. It was so original and detailed, and thus refreshing and captivating to read about. Even though there were 12 kingdoms within the empire, each felt defined and the map helped a lot in keeping track of things (although I do wish cities had been marked, too!). I liked that there were four religious sects that all had a different perspective on theology - this added a very realistic touch! As the reader I could tell that so much thought had been put into the historical context, and even smaller specifics like religious rituals, treaty ceremonies, how lessons were conducted in the Children’s Palace, or the library system. Also, the songs that were included and the way drum language was woven into these, were great. These details and many, many more assisted the bigger world-building and made the place in which Tarisai lived truly fleshed-out. Yet none of this information was ever presented in an info-dumpy way. Within the narrative, there were fantastic parallels drawn between Aristar’s “unifying” actions and colonisation; I’m really keen to see where Ifueko takes this theme in the next book. My absolute favourite part of Tarisai’s world was the magic system, though. The concept of Hallows, and how much variation there was within these, was amazing. Kirah’s songhealer Hallow was my favourite as it was so interesting to me, in that singing different songs translated to different types of healing. For example, singing about weaving baskets translated to healing flesh and skin. But generally how the magic system incorporates the Ray, the Councils, and even the Peace Treaty, was so original. 

The plot was truly engrossing. It was odd because I didn’t know where it was going, but it was going somewhere and FAST. This was almost entirely to the book’s benefit. Otherwise, the elements of political intrigue kept me hooked. There were enough plot threads for a nuanced story, but not too many that it didn’t all come together; for example, the treaty between Aristar and Songland concerning child sacrifices to the Underworld, who the Lady is and why she commands Tarisai to kill the Crown Prince, and the relationships within and between the Council and the Council Apparent. 

Tarisai was a fantastic MC. She was kind and clever and I loved that she sought out the most fair and right solutions to the problems she and others faced. I loved how much she loved those around her, and her sense of responsibility for her actions. I liked the exploration of her relationship with the Lady. The narrative didn’t try to provide easy answers, and showed the confusion Tarisai felt over the Lady herself and how this impacted how Tarisai saw herself. 

The side characters were also great. Ifueko is able to quickly communicate their motivations, dreams, and concerns, so that you get a feel for them early on. This is especially true for Dayo, Kirah, and Sanjeet. I loved how they all had arcs set up as separate from Tarisai’s. 

There were two quotes that really pulled at me from this book. The first was “A caravan mustn’t travel faster than its slowest camel.” The second was “What story will you live for? What story do you live for?”
 

Safe to say, I loved reading this book! However, there was one part I didn’t like and two more I felt unsure of, hence the half-star dock. The part that I didn’t like was the numerous time jumps throughout the book. While this did propel the plot forward, it also made the narrative feel a little disjointed. The first thing that I was unsure of was that it didn’t live up to the found family reputation it has. I was expecting this trope to incorporate the whole Council, but it ended up only being shared between Tarisai, Dayo, Kirah, and Sanjeet. Even then, I would have liked to see more group moments between them described on page, rather than being told that they had happened. It’s the small moments that bring the found family trope to life. The other thing I was unsure of was Kirah and Woo Inn’s relationship. I think Woo In is a minimum of eleven years older than Tarisai, and Kirah is described as being close in age to Tarisai. So I interpreted Kirah’s age towards the end of the book, where the romance begins with Woo Inn, as being probably around 18-20. And because Tarisai is 17, the youngest I thought Woo Inn could be was 28. This just seemed like a really weird age gap to me. But as I’m not actually sure of the ages involved and thus of the age gap, I tried not to let this part affect my rating. 

All in all, I am super excited to pick up Redemptor! 

 Reread March 2023
"I don't know what I want. I only know the world is big, and I'm sick of pretending it's smaller."

My thoughts are pretty much unchanged from the first go around, Raybearer is, in fact, That Girl. I especially appreciated this reread just how poetic and beautiful the prose is!

First read November 2020
"You write your story, not the people who came before you."

This is a debut? A high fantasy this perfect? What is Jordan Ifueko drinking for a flex this hard?

She has crafted a fantasy steeped in rich world building based on West African mythology and culture, filled with multiple fictional cultures that are all distinct and vivid while adding some unique elements such as teleportation. The sheer size and complexity of the world building actually reminded me of Avatar: The Last Airbender a bit.

All of this world building is packed into only 343 pages, yet we never get chapters dedicated to exposition. It is a world slowly revealed throughout the story, woven into the plot and character arcs. Plot and character arcs that already rock on their own and are just made stronger by the world building.

The plot moves quickly to keep you interested, but not so fast you don't get to feel the emotion. It is intricately paced so that you always have a breath to feel the emotional weight of what's happening. It is also quite surprising, going in a direction I did not predict but that made more sense than my expectations.

It's a very character driven story, and by that I mean all the characters are active drivers of the plot. They have a ton of agency and I never felt they were just reacting to everything happening. Especially the lead, Tarisai. This truly feels like her story.

And what a delight to read from her perspective it is. She is one of the best main characters I have read this year. Not your typical YA fantasy heroine who is all tough and snarky, Tarisai is kind and deeply caring. Her struggle is trying to be a good person in a world where good people finish last because she genuinely cares for her friends and people.

It's hard to write a story with a main character this good, it's hard to write a book with a memorable side cast too, it's even harder to write a book with both. Raybearer does both. I think this cast will stick with me for awhile. I could probably write entire reviews on each character with all the layers they have (they're like onions) (also there is a biromantic/panromantic asexual side character!)

Their chemistry with each other oozes off the page. The premise requires characters to love each other to work. Considering I cried after only 110 pages, Ifueko definitely pulled it off. I've always been a sucker for a found family, and this is by far one of the best ones I've read with some of the best dynamics.

There is also an incredibly interesting hero/villain dynamic, but I don't want to spoil it. As a matter of fact I can't write much more without spiraling into spoilers. And yeah I could hide the rest of my review in spoiler tags, but then it would be far too long.

Please, just go read Raybearer for yourself! You won't regret it!

I really enjoyed this! This was one of my 12 friend recommendation reads for this year and I was so happy I enjoyed this one! The characters and the story are so well done. I can't wait to read the sequel next!!

It's a little hard for me to review this as it's been about 2 months since I finished it and I barely took down any notes...but I do know that I enjoyed it! The prose was engaging and the audiobook narrator (Joniece Abbott-Pratt) did a great job of bringing multiple characters to life. I loved the vivid settings. I went into this expecting a very popular trope to drive the story

(enemies to lovers)

but what I got was completely different - in a good way! I liked the found family aspect, though we didn't see enough of Dayo's council to make their love for each other completely believable. As Tarisai spent most of her time only with select members of the council, I often forgot just how many of them supposedly lived together and cared for each other. There also came a point when I felt that Tar had gotten too slow on picking up obvious clues...it dragged the story as you're waiting for her to figure out what you already did ages go. And the blossoming

Kirah and Woo In

romance made me uncomfortable because of the age gap, considering one of 'em is a minor. 😬

All that said, it's a worthwhile read and it proved to me that there's still space for fresh, unique stories in YA fantasy. I dove into the sequel immediately after finishing this :)

This book was phenomenal! I truly did not expect to like it as much as I did. I loved the different culture and the unique premise. The characters were all so loveable and unique and the main character was flawed and not perfect though trying her best.

It deals with sexism in such an interesting way and it was truly empowering to read it. This is definitely a book that will stick with me for a long time. I might even reread it one day but for now I just really want to read the sequel. I'm happy that it's a Duology since I don't really have time to read something longer right now. I also liked that the ending was closed even though the story itself obviously isn't.

I thought that the review by Nic which is on the blurb sums up the center of the story pretty well. This book is about "our most basic of human desires: to belong, to be loved, and to walk a path of one's own choosing".

I'm excited to dive back into this world again very soon. I would recommend this book to any lover of Fantasy and especially people who like a bit of social commentary and well thought out plots in their books ;)