Reviews with content warning for War - Raybearer

The prose is incredible, bringing beautiful visuals and scenes to real life. And, throughout the entire book, there is so much love for West Africa and the variety in the book really show the diversity of the world.
The characters were so wonderfully written, although I wish we had know more of Tarisai’s found family, you could tell the love and respect she has for them.
Raybearer’s first part is rather slow compared to the remainder of the book, where the pace begins speeding up and doesn’t seem to stop, but, I didn’t find myself minding.

I would’ve read an entire book of Tarisai learning to open up and trust the rest of the Council, however, as the story unfolded I began remaining more and more in awe of what Ifueko was able to twist the story with the world’s lore and the various plotwists.

It was such a phenomenal read and I can’t wait to read the sequel to the book.

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oliverreeds's review against another edition

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funny hopeful 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

5.0

i greatly enjoyed this book (note the five stars lol) mainly because i could tell the author listened to their story. everything made sense: the characters were logical and believable, the world-building was paced well and easy to understand, and the way that racial/religious tensions were discussed in the book was pretty great. sometimes, however, it felt like the author was rushing. like they knew what was going to happen next and wanted it to happen so much that it just did and the readers missed a lot in the cut scenes.

specifically after tarisai tries to kill dayo, sanjeet just like.. forgives her really fast. i feel like a lot more could have been explored there in ways that would have added some intensity to their relationship and things that could have ultimately strengthened it. i was also upset that there wasn't closure between tarisai and dayo. things kind of fell apart between them? there was a lot left unsaid and i feel like there was time for them to have a conversation and to explore more into their relationship after she yknow tried to kill him. he seemed to forgive her very quickly, but also, he didnt? it was weird and i understood what the author was going for, but there was time and space that could have been allotted to exploring that part of their relationship and how it changed/would change after the attempt. this also applies to tarisai and kirah. kirah just forgives her very fast and doesn't question a whole lot, when i felt like she should have.

my main critic is that there was a lot of complexity that could have been explored through dialogue, through description, through reactions that simply wasn't mentioned again. tensions resolved too quickly and too neatly. i wanted there to be dissent. i wanted something to rub the wrong way and i wanted every character to feel it. i think the author came close to this but didn't quite reach it. i didn't realize this book was a series initially, but i'm excited to read the next books as they come out.

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ericadawson's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad 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

4.75

A wonderfully woven book. Diverse without tokenizing, complex without being confusing, and full of deep prose without being overwritten. Raybearer follows a young girl who's got probably one of the most complex mother-daughter relationships I've ever seen in a book in general, let alone YA. I love the worldbuilding and the depth of the storytelling, the way the twists and turns came without feeling like I was being blindsided or purposely led astray.

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