Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Raybearer

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)

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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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micaela_ru's review against another edition

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2.5

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britreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I thought I phased out of the YA genre, since many of my recent YA reads didn't 'wow' me like the YA books of my teens and twenties. But 'Raybearer' was such an enjoyable read that I'm eager to pick up the sequel to see where Tarisai's story end. There's a lot to admire about this story. Tarisai and her complicated relationship with her mother was fascinating and in some places extremely relatable. This world is amazing and full of magic, mystery and menacing empires. And the writing was also phenomenal and lush!

I sometimes struggled to embrace the 'found family' aspect of the novel. There are so many council members and they didn't stand out from each other, outside of Kirah and Sanjeet.

I was also disappointed with Olugbade and the Lady's death near the end. I wish Olugbade appeared in the story more so there was a better understanding of how threatening he was towards Tarisai. I'm also not a fan of Woo In and Kirah's pending relationship, but that's a minor point.

I see why so many people praise this story and I can't wait to see how the next book handles the consequences from Raybearer's ending.

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jackiepreston's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

4.5

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bookishbette's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

Genuinely one of the most interesting and imaginitive worlds I've ever come across. Truly a top tier story, and a guidepost for anyone who wants to write or read intersectional, original stories. The only issue I have with any of it is a relationship between a girl around 16/17 and a man about ten years older tha her, but I absolutely could have misinterpreted their ages and it's barely covered in this anyway. Other than that, I absolutely adored it. I checked it out from my library to read, and you can bet it'll be on my shelf as soon as I get a chance.

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