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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
4.5
I loved the worldbuilding here, particularly the depictions of the lands we got to visit and the themes of embracing unique cultures vs assimilation. There's a darker edge to many of the systems in this world, which I also appreciated. While the protagonist was rather unquestioning of some things that should have thrown red flags(basically everything about the council), this is only the first book of a duology, so those aspects might be examined later.
The central conflict is, of course, Tarisai's struggle to break free of her mother's command. I initially got some Ella Enchanted vibes from this setup, but the resolution wound up being so much more. It wasn't enough for her to merely want to disobey, or even to desire to protect the prince with her whole heart; to break a curse of this magnitude, it would take much more than that. I also appreciated how her mother was handled in the narrative. She wasn't purely evil, but she wasn't misunderstood either; she was a complicated, wounded character who committed great harms.
Overall, I enjoyed this a lot more than I'd expected to. It helped that the romance was firmly a subplot, and there was no love triangle. I'll say that again for those in the back: this YA title has no love triangle! It was so refreshing to see a depiction of platonic love develop between two characters. There was even a prominent character who was explicitly asexual. As mentioned, this is the first book in a duology, and I intend to pick up the sequel, Redemptor, whenever I manage to find a gap in my TBR(lol).
The central conflict is, of course, Tarisai's struggle to break free of her mother's command. I initially got some Ella Enchanted vibes from this setup, but the resolution wound up being so much more. It wasn't enough for her to merely want to disobey, or even to desire to protect the prince with her whole heart; to break a curse of this magnitude, it would take much more than that. I also appreciated how her mother was handled in the narrative. She wasn't purely evil, but she wasn't misunderstood either; she was a complicated, wounded character who committed great harms.
Overall, I enjoyed this a lot more than I'd expected to. It helped that the romance was firmly a subplot, and there was no love triangle. I'll say that again for those in the back: this YA title has no love triangle! It was so refreshing to see a depiction of platonic love develop between two characters. There was even a prominent character who was explicitly asexual. As mentioned, this is the first book in a duology, and I intend to pick up the sequel, Redemptor, whenever I manage to find a gap in my TBR(lol).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, and Death of parent
Minor: Rape
1navn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Confinement, Misogyny, Sexism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
kassidyreads'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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Domestic abuse and Suicide
briely's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Child death, Genocide, and Murder
hiddeninfantasy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
vrhayes08's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
thenovelmaura's review against another edition
adventurous
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
5.0
After finishing this book, I think my brain is at least 20% Raybearer. That's normal, right? I know I often shout out YA fantasy titles, but I mean it when I say this book deserves more than 5 stars. Huge thanks to @raethereviewer on Instagram for recommending this one; be sure to check out her amazing Raybearer reels!
First off, we finally have the "commanded to kill the prince" trope done in a convincing way. I see this a lot in enemies-to-lovers fantasy, and I never believe the MC will actually kill the guy... until I read Ifueko's version. The pacing here was super interesting; we flew through the initial setup and I was intrigued because I had no idea where the story was going. This book thoughtfully explores issues of sexism, assimilation, classism, and privilege. There's also a strong female lead, a diverse cast of characters, a refreshing focus on the importance of friendship and family ties in addition to romance, and asexual representation!
But the feature that stood out the most to me was the stellar world-building. I could go on and on here, so I'll try to keep it short. There so many layers to this world, and it's clear that Ifueko has meticulously crafted the culture and customs of the 13 realms of Aritsar. Even the realms that are mentioned in passing aren't made to feel like an afterthought. She not only laid the groundwork for this story but dropped a trail of breadcrumbs that will lead us right to the sequel, which I'm so excited to start. Trust me when I say, you NEED to read this book!
First off, we finally have the "commanded to kill the prince" trope done in a convincing way. I see this a lot in enemies-to-lovers fantasy, and I never believe the MC will actually kill the guy... until I read Ifueko's version. The pacing here was super interesting; we flew through the initial setup and I was intrigued because I had no idea where the story was going. This book thoughtfully explores issues of sexism, assimilation, classism, and privilege. There's also a strong female lead, a diverse cast of characters, a refreshing focus on the importance of friendship and family ties in addition to romance, and asexual representation!
But the feature that stood out the most to me was the stellar world-building. I could go on and on here, so I'll try to keep it short. There so many layers to this world, and it's clear that Ifueko has meticulously crafted the culture and customs of the 13 realms of Aritsar. Even the realms that are mentioned in passing aren't made to feel like an afterthought. She not only laid the groundwork for this story but dropped a trail of breadcrumbs that will lead us right to the sequel, which I'm so excited to start. Trust me when I say, you NEED to read this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Violence and Death of parent
saucy_bookdragon's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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
Reread March 2023
"I don't know what I want. I only know the world is big, and I'm sick of pretending it's smaller."
My thoughts are pretty much unchanged from the first go around, Raybearer is, in fact, That Girl. I especially appreciated this reread just how poetic and beautiful the prose is!
First read November 2020
"You write your story, not the people who came before you."
This is a debut? A high fantasy this perfect? What is Jordan Ifueko drinking for a flex this hard?
She has crafted a fantasy steeped in rich world building based on West African mythology and culture, filled with multiple fictional cultures that are all distinct and vivid while adding some unique elements such as teleportation. The sheer size and complexity of the world building actually reminded me of Avatar: The Last Airbender a bit.
All of this world building is packed into only 343 pages, yet we never get chapters dedicated to exposition. It is a world slowly revealed throughout the story, woven into the plot and character arcs. Plot and character arcs that already rock on their own and are just made stronger by the world building.
The plot moves quickly to keep you interested, but not so fast you don't get to feel the emotion. It is intricately paced so that you always have a breath to feel the emotional weight of what's happening. It is also quite surprising, going in a direction I did not predict but that made more sense than my expectations.
It's a very character driven story, and by that I mean all the characters are active drivers of the plot. They have a ton of agency and I never felt they were just reacting to everything happening. Especially the lead, Tarisai. This truly feels like her story.
And what a delight to read from her perspective it is. She is one of the best main characters I have read this year. Not your typical YA fantasy heroine who is all tough and snarky, Tarisai is kind and deeply caring. Her struggle is trying to be a good person in a world where good people finish last because she genuinely cares for her friends and people.
It's hard to write a story with a main character this good, it's hard to write a book with a memorable side cast too, it's even harder to write a book with both. Raybearer does both. I think this cast will stick with me for awhile. I could probably write entire reviews on each character with all the layers they have (they're like onions) (also there is a biromantic/panromantic asexual side character!)
Their chemistry with each other oozes off the page. The premise requires characters to love each other to work. Considering I cried after only 110 pages, Ifueko definitely pulled it off. I've always been a sucker for a found family, and this is by far one of the best ones I've read with some of the best dynamics.
There is also an incredibly interesting hero/villain dynamic, but I don't want to spoil it. As a matter of fact I can't write much more without spiraling into spoilers. And yeah I could hide the rest of my review in spoiler tags, but then it would be far too long.
Please, just go read Raybearer for yourself! You won't regret it!
"I don't know what I want. I only know the world is big, and I'm sick of pretending it's smaller."
My thoughts are pretty much unchanged from the first go around, Raybearer is, in fact, That Girl. I especially appreciated this reread just how poetic and beautiful the prose is!
First read November 2020
"You write your story, not the people who came before you."
This is a debut? A high fantasy this perfect? What is Jordan Ifueko drinking for a flex this hard?
She has crafted a fantasy steeped in rich world building based on West African mythology and culture, filled with multiple fictional cultures that are all distinct and vivid while adding some unique elements such as teleportation. The sheer size and complexity of the world building actually reminded me of Avatar: The Last Airbender a bit.
All of this world building is packed into only 343 pages, yet we never get chapters dedicated to exposition. It is a world slowly revealed throughout the story, woven into the plot and character arcs. Plot and character arcs that already rock on their own and are just made stronger by the world building.
The plot moves quickly to keep you interested, but not so fast you don't get to feel the emotion. It is intricately paced so that you always have a breath to feel the emotional weight of what's happening. It is also quite surprising, going in a direction I did not predict but that made more sense than my expectations.
It's a very character driven story, and by that I mean all the characters are active drivers of the plot. They have a ton of agency and I never felt they were just reacting to everything happening. Especially the lead, Tarisai. This truly feels like her story.
And what a delight to read from her perspective it is. She is one of the best main characters I have read this year. Not your typical YA fantasy heroine who is all tough and snarky, Tarisai is kind and deeply caring. Her struggle is trying to be a good person in a world where good people finish last because she genuinely cares for her friends and people.
It's hard to write a story with a main character this good, it's hard to write a book with a memorable side cast too, it's even harder to write a book with both. Raybearer does both. I think this cast will stick with me for awhile. I could probably write entire reviews on each character with all the layers they have (they're like onions) (also there is a biromantic/panromantic asexual side character!)
Their chemistry with each other oozes off the page. The premise requires characters to love each other to work. Considering I cried after only 110 pages, Ifueko definitely pulled it off. I've always been a sucker for a found family, and this is by far one of the best ones I've read with some of the best dynamics.
There is also an incredibly interesting hero/villain dynamic, but I don't want to spoil it. As a matter of fact I can't write much more without spiraling into spoilers. And yeah I could hide the rest of my review in spoiler tags, but then it would be far too long.
Please, just go read Raybearer for yourself! You won't regret it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Death of parent
Moderate: Misogyny
micaela_ru's review against another edition
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Grief, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Incest and Sexual content
whimsykat's review against another edition
adventurous
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Classism
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Police brutality, and Abandonment
Minor: Death, Slavery, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism