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jackiepreston's review against another edition
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.
I did still enjoy spending time with these characters, but as a story I needed things to happen a little faster.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death of parent
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture
zydecovivo's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Death of parent
zombiezami's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
4.5
A fun time. I didn’t really get why the gods had to up and leave completely to make amends for ignoring humans’ needs at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, and Torture
Minor: Child death, Death, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, and Dysphoria
theirgracegrace'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? 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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Sexual content, Medical content, and Dysphoria
figsofpeach's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death of parent
caidyn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
4.0
Very good conclusion to this duology! I liked the growth of the characters, plus dual perspectives.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Violence
alexbirdreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
embersbooknook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
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
5.0
DAMN I really adore these characters, this world, and how queer (yet it also isn’t the plot) that the setting is. The plot was excellent, twisting in directions I wasn’t expecting. I thought this was a fantastic sequel, even better than the first.
I REALLY DIDNT WANT SUERTE TO DIE THOUGH Y’ALL😭😭 I really came to love his character in this book. And Fantasma?! What a queen🥹 Xio’s character growth was really well done and felt authentic and unforced, which I appreciated. Niya was hilarious as usual, and Tea & Aurelio were soooo adorable🥹😍🥹
I really enjoyed the theme/idea, and its exploration, of how the gods can’t save us. Like…idk, it was strangely empowering to me - a reminder that the things we put on pedestals as a society (politicians to name a big one very relevant at the moment🫣) can’t really save us. We save ourselves and each other but having community, working together, and taking care of each other. More than ever, a poignant and powerful theme.
As a nonbinary person it is so moving to be represented at all, let alone in such a wonderful cast of characters😭🥹 Also this book made me HUNGRY - all the descriptions of the delicious food😋 Made me nostalgic too, as a Latine reader. 🥹 I need to be more like Aurelio and cook more😄 This weekend might be time to whip up some sopapillas and café de olla I’m thinking….😌☕️
I really enjoyed the theme/idea, and its exploration, of how the gods can’t save us. Like…idk, it was strangely empowering to me - a reminder that the things we put on pedestals as a society (politicians to name a big one very relevant at the moment🫣) can’t really save us. We save ourselves and each other but having community, working together, and taking care of each other. More than ever, a poignant and powerful theme.
As a nonbinary person it is so moving to be represented at all, let alone in such a wonderful cast of characters😭🥹 Also this book made me HUNGRY - all the descriptions of the delicious food😋 Made me nostalgic too, as a Latine reader. 🥹 I need to be more like Aurelio and cook more😄 This weekend might be time to whip up some sopapillas and café de olla I’m thinking….😌☕️
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Genocide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Classism
The war/genocide theme is from mentions of something that happened way in the past. Not graphic but the thread is there, so I felt it worth mentioning. None of these are overly graphic but all themes are present.hannahs_library_'s review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Death of parent