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forgottuesday's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and War
takarakei's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
4.5
The worldbuilding was so rich, unique and well developed. There's a lot of folklore and oral storytelling that happens within the story which I love. Like stories within stories to explain the history and traditions. Court politics, found family, complex characters. Really a fantastic YA fantasy and I'd recommend it to anyone who loves that genre!
audiobook was also well narrated (I did a mix)
audiobook was also well narrated (I did a mix)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Rape, and Sexual assault
eni_iilorak's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Rape, Slavery, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Alcohol
mariebrunelm's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Child death and Murder
brianneh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, and Classism
Minor: Pregnancy
taylor_perry's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment
Minor: Child death, Suicide, and Religious bigotry
Erasure of culture is a very emotional and moderate topic present in this book as wellemily_mh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? No
4.5
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Gaslighting
Minor: Ableism, Child death, Confinement, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: capital punishment Minor: self-injury, epidemic, mass death, volcano, imprisonment, floods1navn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Confinement, Misogyny, Sexism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
kartoffel_00's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
23rd december 2022:
Raybearer is full of great lore. I enjoyed some parts of it but truthfully speaking the execution of the story the book was trying to conceive was fatally weak. It builds an interesting foundation but fails to follow through on it.
It tries to tell many things in one book. A civil conflict due to cultural differences between the people, a centuries long conflict with a spiritual kingdom, complicated relationships surrounding the main character, and the main character's personal struggles.
The problem is, while there are parts, one thing seldom connects to the next thing. Issues in some chapters arise suddenly without letting the reader ponder upon the details of the previous scene unless its the end of a part. A lot of things end up being the fault of the MC at the accusation of the other characters, making motive of the story weak. And at one point there is a sudden introduction of romance between two characters that came completely out of nowhere.
The things I did enjoy were the bonds of the main character with her found family but I kept wishing for better explanations for everything else as the flow didn't feel natural.
Final Rating: 2.5/5
Raybearer is full of great lore. I enjoyed some parts of it but truthfully speaking the execution of the story the book was trying to conceive was fatally weak. It builds an interesting foundation but fails to follow through on it.
It tries to tell many things in one book. A civil conflict due to cultural differences between the people, a centuries long conflict with a spiritual kingdom, complicated relationships surrounding the main character, and the main character's personal struggles.
The problem is, while there are parts, one thing seldom connects to the next thing. Issues in some chapters arise suddenly without letting the reader ponder upon the details of the previous scene unless its the end of a part. A lot of things end up being the fault of the MC at the accusation of the other characters, making motive of the story weak. And at one point there is a sudden introduction of romance between two characters that came completely out of nowhere.
The things I did enjoy were the bonds of the main character with her found family but I kept wishing for better explanations for everything else as the flow didn't feel natural.
Final Rating: 2.5/5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Rape, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexism
Rape- It's not graphic at all but it is an event happening fairly early in the book. Child abuse - Quite present. There's children being sacrificed. But no talk of hard to swallow physical descriptions.enchantedobjects's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Rape