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melliedm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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
A fantastic follow up to Raybearer that delivers on the promises set in the first book.
In Redemptor, Tarisai must balance the guilt she carries over her past, present, and possible futures with her convictions about what the world could be. We see into the darkness of her own mind (metaphorically) as the supernatural abiku put their plans into motion, and see whether she will become her own or not.
My only complaint is the same as in book 1: the weird age-gap relationship of two side characters.The age gap is lampshaded in this one (a 17 y/o and a 25 y/o), and “put on ice” as if were. It remained the awkward standout in an otherwise truly fantastic YA duology.
In Redemptor, Tarisai must balance the guilt she carries over her past, present, and possible futures with her convictions about what the world could be. We see into the darkness of her own mind (metaphorically) as the supernatural abiku put their plans into motion, and see whether she will become her own or not.
My only complaint is the same as in book 1: the weird age-gap relationship of two side characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual content, Ableism, Misogyny, Slavery, Murder, War, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Pregnancy
tired_cicada's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
4.0
I enjoyed this book aplenty. It had good and bad to it.
For the good, Ifueko's writing style is so pretty and poetic. She writes characters who feel like real people. She handles sensitivite subjects with such grace and honor. Her takes in justice and personal accountability leave a flushed out story while also making a clear social comentary. Her use of mythology to enhance the story without turning it into a crutch is so masterful! All of her story lines get wrapped up, I don't like anything plot important was left with loose threads. Some relationships were left open ended, and not everything is "fixed" but it was a natural conclusion to the duology.
The Ace rep specifically was so dear to me! To have an emotional, loving, HUMAN character who is conically ace is so rare! Love my boy Dyao!!
As for the not so good--
There were definitely some pacing issues with this book. The magic system, particularly the bargain aspect of it, could have used a bit more time to flush it out.
The love triangle was entirely unnecessary, particularly when it amounted to nothing.
It was a little predictableWHAT?! you mean the vigilante (that has apparently been active for ages but only mentioned now) and the secondary love interest who acts a fool in public but is smart and articulate with the MC are the SAME PERSON?! WHAT? the Lady who spent the entire last book being sneaky and deceitful is STILL sneaky and deceitful in death? Shocker!! and I wish it would have surprised me a little more.
All in all, the good outweighed the bad, and I liked it.
For the good, Ifueko's writing style is so pretty and poetic. She writes characters who feel like real people. She handles sensitivite subjects with such grace and honor. Her takes in justice and personal accountability leave a flushed out story while also making a clear social comentary. Her use of mythology to enhance the story without turning it into a crutch is so masterful! All of her story lines get wrapped up, I don't like anything plot important was left with loose threads. Some relationships were left open ended, and not everything is "fixed" but it was a natural conclusion to the duology.
The Ace rep specifically was so dear to me! To have an emotional, loving, HUMAN character who is conically ace is so rare! Love my boy Dyao!!
As for the not so good--
There were definitely some pacing issues with this book. The magic system, particularly the bargain aspect of it, could have used a bit more time to flush it out.
The love triangle was entirely unnecessary, particularly when it amounted to nothing.
It was a little predictable
All in all, the good outweighed the bad, and I liked it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Child death, Violence, Gaslighting, War, Body horror, Bullying, Colonisation, Death, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
tigger89'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
This is the second book in the Raybearer series. This review will contain spoilers for the first book!
I loved Raybearer so much when I read it earlier this year. In some ways the sequel disappointed, as it wasn't the story I'd wanted. But, upon reflection, I don't believe the story we got was bad for being different. Whether it was the events of 2020 that derailed an original plan or if it had been planned out this way all along, while it might not be my favorite, I do believe it was a solid ending to Tarisai's story.
What I'd been hoping to find was another exploration of the council bond, teasing the limitations and maybe even digging into the potential dark side of the bond. I believed this was coming due to Tarisai's impending separation from both her original council and the new one she had yet to form, as she would have to traverse the underworld alone. Instead, we found the requirement to remain with your fellow council members largely handwaved, which I admit was disappointing to me. The drawback was part of what made the concept of the council bond so compelling. I was also disappointed that the vast majority of her original council siblings took such a backseat, especially the way Sanjeet was pushed aside for plot reasons that, frankly, felt pretty unnecessary to me.
What I hadn't been expecting from this novel was a full-on treatise about self-care and how to avoid burning out, or losing yourself in despair of not being able to immediately fix everything that's wrong. I picked up on the theme pretty quickly, and I love that it was a thing. This is something talked about a lot more over the past 2-3 years, which leaves me wondering what this book might have been like if it had been published at the same time as the first volume, written before our most recent major protest movement kicked off. I was satisfied by the finale of the story, and felt that the sequence in the underworld — fairly brief, comprising less than 20% of the page count of this volume — was very well done, in terms of atmosphere and tension.
All in all, I was satisfied with this sequel, though I liked the first volume more. There was a lot that could have been, but that's what fanfiction is for, right? If you only loved Raybearer for the family Tarisai finds this might fall flat for you, particularly if you're a massive Sanjeet fan. But if you found yourself invested in the bigger picture, I recommend finishing the duology.
I loved Raybearer so much when I read it earlier this year. In some ways the sequel disappointed, as it wasn't the story I'd wanted. But, upon reflection, I don't believe the story we got was bad for being different. Whether it was the events of 2020 that derailed an original plan or if it had been planned out this way all along, while it might not be my favorite, I do believe it was a solid ending to Tarisai's story.
What I'd been hoping to find was another exploration of the council bond, teasing the limitations and maybe even digging into the potential dark side of the bond. I believed this was coming due to Tarisai's impending separation from both her original council and the new one she had yet to form, as she would have to traverse the underworld alone. Instead, we found the requirement to remain with your fellow council members largely handwaved, which I admit was disappointing to me. The drawback was part of what made the concept of the council bond so compelling. I was also disappointed that the vast majority of her original council siblings took such a backseat, especially the way Sanjeet was pushed aside for plot reasons that, frankly, felt pretty unnecessary to me.
What I hadn't been expecting from this novel was a full-on treatise about self-care and how to avoid burning out, or losing yourself in despair of not being able to immediately fix everything that's wrong. I picked up on the theme pretty quickly, and I love that it was a thing. This is something talked about a lot more over the past 2-3 years, which leaves me wondering what this book might have been like if it had been published at the same time as the first volume, written before our most recent major protest movement kicked off. I was satisfied by the finale of the story, and felt that the sequence in the underworld — fairly brief, comprising less than 20% of the page count of this volume — was very well done, in terms of atmosphere and tension.
All in all, I was satisfied with this sequel, though I liked the first volume more. There was a lot that could have been, but that's what fanfiction is for, right? If you only loved Raybearer for the family Tarisai finds this might fall flat for you, particularly if you're a massive Sanjeet fan. But if you found yourself invested in the bigger picture, I recommend finishing the duology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and War
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Genocide
readandfindout's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
4.25
Style/writing: 4.5 stars
Themes: 4 stars
Characters: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4 stars
Worldbuilding: 4 stars
Themes: 4 stars
Characters: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4 stars
Worldbuilding: 4 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Murder
Moderate: Grief, War, Child death, Child abuse, and Death of parent
eni_iilorak's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, War, Classism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content
Moderate: Ableism, Death of parent, Grief, Classism, Blood, Sexism, Slavery, Bullying, and Child abuse
Minor: Abandonment, Confinement, Drug use, and Sexual content
serpina's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Wow! This book is a fantastic sequel to the Raybearer, which I also loved.
I was a bit skeptical when I realized that the big showdown only happened in the last ~50 pages because it felt like not enough time, but it was. No big rush, no cut corners.
At the end of book one, Tarisai was recognized as raybearer and empress. She made a deal with the abiku (kinda the demons of the underworld) that she has to anoint all 12 rulers of the different kingdoms and then go to the underworld as the final redemptor, to save all future redemptor children from being sacrificed.
And that is, what she does. Working as an empress, trying to anoint the kings, and changing the world to be better for everyone. And all the time, she slowly turns mad, because the abiku use the souls of the previously sacrificed redemptor children (ojiji) to not only protect her against assassins but also to isolate her and guilt her.
Me, as a German, who has pretty much no contact with African culture and who just started to read diversely, I admit, that I frequently had problems with names and remembering, what or who they referred to since they were very unfamiliar to me. I probably should have made a list of people, places, spirits, and events, so that I could properly identify them throughout the story.
I was a bit skeptical when I realized that the big showdown only happened in the last ~50 pages because it felt like not enough time, but it was. No big rush, no cut corners.
At the end of book one, Tarisai was recognized as raybearer and empress. She made a deal with the abiku (kinda the demons of the underworld) that she has to anoint all 12 rulers of the different kingdoms and then go to the underworld as the final redemptor, to save all future redemptor children from being sacrificed.
And that is, what she does. Working as an empress, trying to anoint the kings, and changing the world to be better for everyone. And all the time, she slowly turns mad, because the abiku use the souls of the previously sacrificed redemptor children (ojiji) to not only protect her against assassins but also to isolate her and guilt her.
Me, as a German, who has pretty much no contact with African culture and who just started to read diversely, I admit, that I frequently had problems with names and remembering, what or who they referred to since they were very unfamiliar to me. I probably should have made a list of people, places, spirits, and events, so that I could properly identify them throughout the story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, War, and Death
Minor: Child death
emily_mh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
This book took everything I loved about Raybearer and made it better. It was once again SO original and so refreshing. I cold never tell where it was going next, but not in a directionless plot kind of way - in a subverting the YA fantasy genre kind of way. I loved Tarisai even more in this instalment: how deeply she loved others, and the way she struggled to make sense of the world yet still tried her utmost to do right by it. This book also improved on something I didn’t like in Raybearer: the time jumps. In this there were far less, so the narrative flowed cohesively.
Redemptor as a book says so much, and I loved each and every theme it delved into. The narrative explores the evils of capitalism. It shows how justice is a marathon and not a sprint; that there must be self-care so that you can continue to contribute. It even illustrates that guilt is not an adequate motive for fighting for justice. This quote on this subject was my favourite from the book:
“Don’t confuse guilt with conviction. Guilt is self-centred, and leads only to destructive obsession. But conviction brings balance - a sense of purpose beyond oneself.”
Redemptor also examines the paradox of sacrificing your values to create a society BASED on your values. It questions what power should look like, and what must be done to achieve that. Overall, I loved that the book challenged the systems that are part-and-parcel of “traditional” (usually white and Western) YA fantasy world-building, namely monarchy and capitalism.
I was initially going to give this book 4.5 stars, not 5. This was because I thought the love triangle was unnecessary and also that I wish Dayo had had more of an active role. But after reading that ending… I knew that nothing less than 5 stars would suffice. It was so satisfying and so well suited. It made me sob MULTIPLE times. It was perfect. Needless to say I can’t wait to see what Ifueko puts out next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Violence, Death of parent, Child abuse, Grief, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Blood
Minor: Body shaming, Suicide, Vomit, Ableism, Sexual content, Alcohol, Misogyny, Sexism, War, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Animal death
Moderate: capital punishment, loss of a loved one, neglect, volcano, Minor: flood, earthquake, mass deathashlikes's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Drug use, Classism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and War
Moderate: Alcohol, Child death, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Minor: Trafficking, Vomit, Abandonment, Misogyny, Rape, Slavery, Torture, and Sexual content
hollyk's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-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
3.0
I can't help but feel a bit disappointed by this book. I wanted to love it--I loved Raybearer and thought it was so unique and loved all of the diversity.
But this book lacked some of the charm of the first book--namely, Dayo's council, who barely make an appearance before going back to their home realms. And in their place we have Tarisai creating a whole new council of people that to be frank, I had no real interest or investment in with the exception of Min Ja.
It also seems like the empire still isn't really fair? Like sure,Nyamba underwent a revolution and became a more egalitarian state with no poverty, but Tarisai (and Dayo) didn't really keep that same energy when it came to Aritsar as a whole--sure, the Ray can now be passed to anyone at any time, but that doesn't really change the fact that other realms have poverty and the capital has the majority of the resources, which aren't being redistributed like Nyamba did . Nyamba also isn't a focal realm in the first book as far as I can remember, so it felt like this choice was less impactful than it could have been.
The Redemptor arc was only the fifth section, and the previous book seemed to imply that it would be a major part of this book--but at the end of the day, it was barely a factor and could have been a much larger portion with more significance, especially in regards tothe Redemptor children and the abiku's army. That plot line felt too easily wrapped up when it was a major point of contention in the first book.
I still enjoyed this book, the writing is beautiful and the characters are great, but there were just some elements that left me wanting more.
But this book lacked some of the charm of the first book--namely, Dayo's council, who barely make an appearance before going back to their home realms. And in their place we have Tarisai creating a whole new council of people that to be frank, I had no real interest or investment in with the exception of Min Ja.
It also seems like the empire still isn't really fair? Like sure,
The Redemptor arc was only the fifth section, and the previous book seemed to imply that it would be a major part of this book--but at the end of the day, it was barely a factor and could have been a much larger portion with more significance, especially in regards to
I still enjoyed this book, the writing is beautiful and the characters are great, but there were just some elements that left me wanting more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, and Death
Moderate: Sexism, Child abuse, Blood, Violence, Alcohol, Classism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Bullying, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, War, and Alcoholism
fromjuliereads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.25
Fantastic sequel!
I love the characters in this duology and how their flaws and what they are going through in finding themselves is front and center. They are trying to stay true to themselves while making it a better world. And it is fantastic to read about.
I had thought the part with the Underworld might be longer or more integral to the book - it was pretty short for having worked up to it since book 1. But I still loved the story and of course the characters.
I love the characters in this duology and how their flaws and what they are going through in finding themselves is front and center. They are trying to stay true to themselves while making it a better world. And it is fantastic to read about.
I had thought the part with the Underworld might be longer or more integral to the book - it was pretty short for having worked up to it since book 1. But I still loved the story and of course the characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Mental illness, Murder, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Violence, and War