Reviews with content warning for Violence - Celestial Monsters

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Celestial Monsters by Aiden Thomas

43 reviews

hannahnj17's review against another edition

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adventurous funny 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

4.0

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flyinglark's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted 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

Aiden Thomas brings the reader back to the Mexican-inspired queer normative world of El Reino de Sol. The book almost immediately picks up after the conclusion of the prior novel. The road trip during an apocalypse was fun. I was worried about not being in the demographic anymore, but it was pleasant to read. Teens are acting like teens, and this is going to be a given in a YA.

Regarding the characters, we get to see the POV of Teo and Xio. Younger readers may resonate with them. A highlight of this book

was the deconstruction of the society they were raised in. The first book started the conversation about how the trials were a pretty horrific idea. The world is not as ideal as they were thought.

Xio especially struggles with

who they are, and who they should align themselves with within a society that views them as a “monster” and lies told to them. The characters are slammed with different truths, but they can all coincide with each other.

I wasn't a fan of the ending after the main battle.

The whole buildup is that the society will change and it did, but did the Dioses need to also "die" to kick start human independence from them? They go from one extreme of Dioses' constant presence to only once a year. But overall the characters do have work to do, but they also find their happy places.

Other than the ending, I enjoyed the sequel, a nice conclusion to the Sunbearer Duology.

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(Not All) Content Warnings:

Ableism - Loss of Ability to Communicate between Deaf Characters via Hand Binding, Animal Attacks, Blood, Confinement, Death of Parent/s (Mentioned, Depicted in Ch 31), Drowning, Fire Injury Detail, Genocide (Mentioned), Grief - Missing Sibling, Dead Parent, Injury Detail, Suicidal Thoughts (Self-Sacrifice for Ritual Purposes), Violence

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POV: 3rd Person - Dual

Format: Audio - Single Narrator

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quinnyquinnquinn's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

3.5

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stormeno's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful fast-paced

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

4.0

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indigo_fox'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? Yes

4.25

It was fantastic returning to this world and seeing the characters again. I liked how the story shifted between Teo's and Xio's POV. It was interesting getting to see what each side was up to as the events unfolded. I love how the characters had a chance to explore their vulnerabilities. Sure, they are semidioses but they are also children and it was great that the author didn't forget to let them be children. I also enjoyed getting a little bit of glimpse into all the side characters. I feel like I got to know a lot of them a little bit better.

The story didn't grip me immediately, and I found myself getting easily distracted unlike with the first book. It felt like certain parts were rushed but I don't know if it was due to word count or the characters being on a time crunch. Those time crunches can really get ya when adventuring. Despite things being rushed, the situation didn't really feel urgent. It didn't feel like the characters had the drive to just go go go. I also feel like the Obsidian story line was lacking.

Overall, it was an enjoyable book and I'm sad to see that the adventure is over. I'll always have my rereads and fanfictions but it's just not the same.

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capriqueen's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted slow-paced

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

2.5

Overall a fun read, but I think there were some structural issues that hindered its full success

One issue is a lack of… I guess structure?

Our main trio has one objective: go fight the Obsidians. There aren’t any side quests or steps to meet this goal, so everything that happened along the way just felt like its only purpose was to stretch the journey out, and it didn’t feel like the events really fleshed out the characters or the plot. And the Obsidians didn’t do anything other than sit around and be self-righteous, so the world didn’t feel like it was in that much danger

The dioses felt really underutilized.

Like, they’re freaking gods. They gave reasons as to why the gods “couldn’t” go and had to do other things, but it just doesn’t make sense to send three teenagers to fight gods when you could send gods to fight gods.

The romance(s) was cute but flat.

The really frustrating thing is they never resolved why Aurelio ditched Teo when they were kids. It’s implied that it was because of the Jade/Gold prejudice, but they never talk about it. After Auristela’s line about “he made my brother sad” as to why she hates Teo I thought that would lead into an explanation, but it never went anywhere. And she continued being prejudiced against non-Golds, so that line felt worthless in the end. I liked that Dezi and Marino were together, they were one of my fave parts of the first book, but it was unclear if they were together the whole time or got together recently. And then the random hint of Niya and Paz (and Niya and Auristela?!) never went anywhere. And Xio/Atzi felt super forced and yet also unfulfilled

The ending was the most frustrating thing. This book was riding a solid 3 star until the end, which made me want to drop it to 2.

I just feel like the whole point was lost. A sacrifice still had to be made, although this time it was at least voluntary. And why didn’t the gods try to resurrect Sol before this? And they tried to make points about how the Golds and Jades were shitty to the Obsidians, but instead of working that out they just banished the Obsidians to the stars again. But anyway, Teo’s main point was that the gods bungled ruling (esp the Golds) and they depended on the priests and demigods too much. So Sol’s resolution was to yeet all the gods into the unknown as punishment, leaving the priests and demigods in charge? What?? Also, how fucking traumatic for the gods’ other children and romantic partners, to not say goodbye and now only get holiday visitations. Absolutely bonkers. Also one of the coolest things imo about the first book was how involved the gods were in the day to day. To have that gone just kinda sucks

I do like that the Academy is open to all now, and that the Golds are all free to decide what they want to do with their lives, instead of having to be Heroes

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jackiepreston's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

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

3.5

Despite being about stopping the apocalypse, this book had no sense of urgency. The Obsidians didn't seem to be in any hurry to do anything except sit in their tower and wait for... something? Nothing? Unclear. And Teo, Niya, and Aurelio didn't feel like they were hurrying towards their end goal. They were making their way through Reino del Sol at a leisurely pace and stopping in tons of little towns to help people.
I did still enjoy spending time with these characters, but as a story I needed things to happen a little faster.

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bookishmillennial's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

I love the continuation of following our goofy, thoughtful, precious babies who visit different cities (fun, more incredible world-building based on indigenous cultures) and finally get to be part of rebuilding a society that they are proud of.

Their dialogues about what it means to be Jade, Gold, Obsidian, and how they had treated Xio were so tender, honest, and lovely. Yes, they were a bit sanitized, but this is a YA fantasy. Cry about it!!! I loved the approach Aiden Thomas took in crafting these tough conversations between kids. I hope it models a healthy way to communicate about questioning society and systems as a whole.

Overall, I was glad to see the happy ending, and obviously it's sad to say goodbye to characters I've come to love, but I'd love to see this optioned and adapted for a tv series or a film duology/trilogy!

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zydecovivo's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

4.5

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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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