TW: On page descriptions of a massacre, emotional neglect, fire, descriptions of blood and bodily harm, descriptions of physical abuse of a child, spousal abuse, and SA
I read the first book of The Raybearer Duology, Raybearer, in 2021 while I was a member of a book club, and this book was our pick for the month. I immediately fell in love with the book and rated it five stars. After almost three years since I originally finished this novel, my rating is still the same. This book is so amazing it broke me out if my yearlong reading slump. If you are interested in reading a young adult novel heavily inspired by West African culture that contains one of the most unique takes on the found family trope, a lovable and resilient heroine, amazing worldbuilding, and even a cute romantic subplot, you are going to want to read Raybearer.
In this story, we follow Tarisai, a young girl who since birth has been raised in isolation. Only knowing the company of maids, tutors, and occasionally her emotionally distant mother who is referred to as "The Lady", Tarisai longs to know the warmth of a family and friends.  When Tarisai comes of age, she is sent to her country's capital to compete with other children from around the country for the privilege of being one of the Crown Prince's Council of Eleven. The prize: respect, riches, and ultimately an instant family with a bond that is deeper than blood. However, this journey is not without restrictions for The Lady bestows a wish upon Tarisai: when you win the Crown Prince's trust, kill him. Tarisai is now left with two decisions: stand by and become someone's pawn risking her only chance at a family or to fight to change her destiny. 
If I did not already make this clear, I love this book. The prose is engaging, flows easily, and the author writes in such vivid detail that I can visualize the people, places, and events in this novel. The novel is 367 pages long and divided into four parts. This also helped the story flow well by breaking it up and distinguishing the plot arcs. This novel is a masterclass in worldbuilding as well. The author really took care in incorporating and distinguishing different customs with the people of Aristar and did it in such a way that was not info dumpy. There was not one moment in where I felt as if the story was dragging. 
Another thing that I appreciate is Ifueko's ability to write lovable, sympathetic, and well-rounded characters. She is responsible for writing one of my favorite YA protagonists in Tarisai. She described Tarisai's longing for a family so well that I wanted to reach in and give the baby a hug. It was such a joy to see Tar's character growth. Ifueko even had me feeling empathetic towards characters I am not supposed to like. I loved how the author wrote the depth and complexities of the different types of relationships and love in this book.  One of my favorite things was the casual inclusion of asexuality, queerness, and disability. 
My only con is that I would have liked to see more casual interactions between the newly anointed council, and I wanted to see how the others were anointed. We see in depth Sanjeet and Tarisai's anointing but none of the others.

Raybearer is an immersive fantasy that I could not put down. A determined young protagonist who has to discover more about her past in order to save her future, as well as her kingdom's. A rich cast of supporting characters. A story about finding the truth, and seeking justice. An antagonist with understandable motivations, and believable actions. A plot that takes all the seemingly unimportant details, and weaves them into brilliant reveals... and honestly, even if you see them coming --  they're no less brilliant!

Raybearer is simply the best YA fantasy I have ever read. I need to see whole curriculums based around this book because it is indeed THAT good. 

Tarisai is a child born of a wish. A wish from her mother that destines her to kill the one she is supposed to love. And so begins a tale of magic, found family, and the Underworld. To say more would be to spoil all the wonderful surprises that Jordan Ifueko has cooked up within these brisk 350 pages. And trust me, you do NOT want to be spoiled.

One of my favorite things about this book is the PROSE. Jordan Ifueko's words were so lyrical and beautiful and they wove the story so intricately and vividly that it was so easy to fly through this book. Sentences wound their way inside my heart in the best of ways and I can't how many quotes I scribbled down because they were just too good.

But the story itself is just as wonderful as its wrapping. There are so many twists and turns that Ifueko could easily have stretched this out into a longer series but instead we are getting Tarisai's story completed later this year with Redemptor. This didn't feel like a debut novel. In all the best ways. You can come into this novel secure in the fact that you are dealing with a master storyteller who only has more amazing things for us in the future.

5/5 stars

(p.s. I would die for Tarisai, Dayo, Sanjeet, and Kirah, found family is the best trope 100%)

I LOVED this book! It was such a good read and is easily one of my favorite books and honestly my top read of 2021 so far. This book was so engaging and I absolutely loved the world, the characters, the magic system and the plot.

The world building was really well done in my opinion. This world fascinated me and left me wanting to know so much more about the lore and history. I loved the way the magic system worked and found it super interesting and different from anything I had read before, it felt fresh and I really liked that about it. The characters were also all super lovable and I enjoyed watching them grow and develop throughout the story. 

Overall I just felt this was a really good book that told an amazing story and I cannot wait until book two is in my hands. Basically, GO READ THIS BOOK!