Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Celestial Monsters

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Celestial Monsters by Aiden Thomas

11 reviews

crafts_and_coccinellids's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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

4.5

I really liked this book! The characters and their dynamics were fantastic and the plot was engaging. I thought it was a good follow up to the first book, though I liked that one slightly better. The ending was very emotionally effective,

though I do wish that the dioses had actually worked to make the world better instead of leaving everyone else to deal with the consequences of their mistakes.

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redpollrory's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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renrose03's review against another edition

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4.0

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bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

4.0

"You're only a monster if you choose to be."

➽ Celestial Monsters is the long-awaited sequel to The Sunbearer Trials! I knew in my heart that this wouldn't be a 5-star read like the first book because it has been a while and my reading tastes have slowly been changing. However, I still enjoyed Celestial Monsters, mostly because I like the characters and wanted to see how their story ends! The story follows Teo, Niya and Aurelio as they try to find a way to end the apocalypse caused by the Obsidians return. We also get Xio's perspective this time which was great as we could see them trying to please their new family. Xio harbors a lot of resentment towards the Golds and was a great foil to Teo, who as a Jade, also knows what it's like to be overlooked!

➽ Teo, Niya and Aurelio were a great trio to follow! They're the only competitors who didn't get abducted by the Obsidians and determined to resurrect Sol, so he can banish them again. While the Gods are trying to do damage control, they set out on their quest and hope to free their friends along the way. I liked seeing Teo's complicated emotions, as he's partly responsible for the literal apocalypse, even though he had good intentions. Some people are furious with him, but others understand that killing someone else is a horrifying responsibility. Teo starts to question if the Sunbearer Trials aren't antiquated and if change is needed. He's seen firsthand how reliant everyone is on the Golds! I love that he's trying to help the best he can even though his friends Aurelio and Niya are much more powerful as Golds!

➽ Xio is determined to prove themself to the Obsidians! They've been lied to his entire life and thought bringing back his real family might be the answer. However, seeing how vicious the Obsidians are has them questioning if it was the right choice, as they are causing so much suffering. Xio's hatred for the Golds consumed them and they specifically designed the Golds cells to suppress their powers. In the end, they're wavering though, as their father seems to see them as a mere pawn. Their situation is still precarious and reliant on Xio being useful. I loved that they were still figuring out their gender identity and switching to they/them pronouns!

➽ I have to admit that the plot was a bit weaker than the first book! Celestial Monsters feels like an end-of-the-world roadtrip (when it comes to Teo's POV), which I loved. Unfortunately, the plot felt aimless because of it and the characters took too many detours. Their mission to resurrect Sol was so important, but sometimes I missed the urgency, as they were fighting random monsters and going off course. The first book felt more structured, mainly because the trials were the focal point of the story. Celestial Monsters should have been more focused as well, because as much as I love the characters, the plot was slow-going. The discussions about the current society also felt more heavy-handed compared to the previous book and I didn't feel like we had enough time to explore them! I reread The Sunbearer Trials beforehand and while I still loved it, I also remember being annoyed with the meme/internet slang, which was used even more in this book. As time goes on, I'm less happy with this kind of language, as it so quickly feels dated and unnatural!

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theirgracegrace's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

4.75

Celestial Monsters takes the powerful foundation of the Sunbearer Trials and goes even further in daring to imagine a more equitable world. With the Obsidian dioses freed from their prisons, they are going to take their revenge and plunge the world into eternal darkness unless Teo, Niya and Aurelio can free their captured fellow semidioses and reclaim the Sol Stone. What struck me the most was how the Obsidian people are described in this book; we're introduced to them in the context of the history given in the Sunbearer Trials being a history written by the victors who committed genocide against them. The story of

Suerte and how Xio redeems themself through returning to being his child

is also an incredibly powerful subplot that reaches its culmination at the climax of the action. The characters remain loveable, flawed and often ridiculously silly. I can easily see myself reading and re-reading this duology in the years to come.

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kays_reading_journal's review against another edition

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4.5

Content Warnings: There’s a full list at the bottom but I wanted to elaborate on something: there is a deaf character whose hands are restrained therefore he looses the ability to communicate.

Aiden Thomas is the author that got me back into reading after college and is the author that just got me out of a slump.

He pulls the perfect amount of emotion out of a reader while balancing it with humor.

I won’t lie tho I don’t love all the characters. I adore Teo and Aurelio so much, but Niya just gets on my nerves.

I’m all for redemption, but I wasn’t a fan of how it ended up being handled here. Kind of tied into this, I feel like the horridness of how the characters were treated was glazed over.

I mostly mean I cannot believe that the semidioses forgave Xio so quickly, when they barely apologized (if it happened, I don’t remember it). More specifically, Dezi is treated absolutely horrendous. Taking away his ability to communicate for himself and with others. Especially when his power revolves around touch, it was unnecessarily cruel.

I watched a three hour recap of the first book on YouTube before picking up the sequal, and I think if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have enjoyed this so much.

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