Scan barcode
zombiezami's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Blood, Violence, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Confinement, Dysphoria, Classism, Grief, Death, Self harm, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Death of parent and Child death
asexualandriod's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book came alive in my hands, and it was incredible. The culture, characters, and setting were so incredibly vibrant. I have soooo many questions though.
I want to go through interviews with Aiden Thomas to see if he ever talks about how much he's pulled from real mythologies.
I'm confused why Guerrero is a gold, but Quetzal isn't. In the creation myth, Guerrero and Quetzal are mentioned side by side, seemingly as subordinate to Fauna. I don't think this is ever going to be explained, but it did leave me a little stumped.
The rest of my questions/theories:
I have so many questions/theories about Mala Suerte. Is Xio actually his child? Because it could be that Mala Suerte adopted Xio. If that's the case, did he know Xio was an obsidian, or did he think Xio was a mortal? That would be one explanation why he reacted so strongly to Xio being chosen. It could also be that he was working with the Obsidians, but still loved Xio as his own child. My most wild theory is that Mala Suerte was secretly always an Obsidian, or his bitterness over the centuries at being feared somehow turned him into one.
I also wonder if the Obsidians were somehow able to interfere with Sol's ability to communicate. Specifically, were the choices and rankings actually theirs? Because if Sol is really assessing the competitors' souls, should they not have known Teo wouldn't make the sacrifice? Unless they are playing the longest con, somehow knowing the Obsidians were going to escape and that Teo needed to be Sunbearer to be able to stop them once they did. Which would be absolutely wild.
I also have questions about Opción. As far as could tell, the dios/diose/ diosa of the region created their trial, right? So did she know there were real Venganza influences in the termple (seemingly more than the other trials, from what I could tell)? Which leaves the question of, if she did know, was it collaboration, or malicious indifference (as many gods with powers such as hers seem to display).
The Sunbearer Trials left me starving for more in the most delicious way, and I can't wait for September.
I want to go through interviews with Aiden Thomas to see if he ever talks about how much he's pulled from real mythologies.
I'm confused why Guerrero is a gold, but Quetzal isn't. In the creation myth, Guerrero and Quetzal are mentioned side by side, seemingly as subordinate to Fauna. I don't think this is ever going to be explained, but it did leave me a little stumped.
The rest of my questions/theories:
I also wonder if the Obsidians were somehow able to interfere with Sol's ability to communicate. Specifically, were the choices and rankings actually theirs? Because if Sol is really assessing the competitors' souls, should they not have known Teo wouldn't make the sacrifice? Unless they are playing the longest con, somehow knowing the Obsidians were going to escape and that Teo needed to be Sunbearer to be able to stop them once they did. Which would be absolutely wild.
I also have questions about Opción. As far as could tell, the dios/diose/ diosa of the region created their trial, right? So did she know there were real Venganza influences in the termple (seemingly more than the other trials, from what I could tell)? Which leaves the question of, if she did know, was it collaboration, or malicious indifference (as many gods with powers such as hers seem to display).
The Sunbearer Trials left me starving for more in the most delicious way, and I can't wait for September.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
warlocksarecool21's review
adventurous
funny
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
The Sunbearer Trials was such a fun YA fantasy. I had a great time reading this and I am really glad this book exists for young readers. Aiden Thomas is so good at creating a rich and diverse world drawing upon Mexican & Aztec mythology, culture and traditions. In this captivating modern fantasy world of Gold and Jade semidioses, Thomas explores themes of class, privilege, power and sacrifice in ways that are accessible to younger teens. This book is funny and action-packed while exploring deeper subjects all in a lush fantasy setting.
Aiden Thomas’ characters are always a delight to read and I love how their characters are always queer and trans. If you’re looking for a LGBT affirming story this is your book. Teo is a hilarious main character with a strong sense of justice and compassion. The friendships in this book are really fun and I really liked his dynamic with Niya and his blossoming relationship with Aurelio. The character development felt a little superficial at times but I still think Teo and his friends were strong and loveable characters, and I was intrigued by a lot of the side characters as well.
Overall I thought the plot was fun and easy to follow. I picked up on a lot of foreshadowing so I predicted a lot of the ending (but there were a few twists I was surprised about). Despite that, I still had a great time watching the story develop. I enjoyed reading about the trials the most. I think Aiden Thomas is good at writing action scenes and building up the suspense within each of the trials. The pacing of the chapters outside the trials was a little slow but I appreciated getting to see the characters interacting and the world-building that was done in those parts. I’m interested to see where the next book will go. I thought the ending of this book happened rather abruptly. I felt like the last chapter immediately set up for the next book instead of resolving what had happened and leaving it more open ended to wonder how it was going to be continued in the next story.I think I was just expecting Teo and his friends to have to regroup and recover more after the Obsidians escaped before they knew what to do. It seemed like the gods immediately had a plan for how to stop them (which leads me to wonder if they knew what was coming) and I would have liked to see that fleshed out more in the beginning of the next book instead of shoved in at the end.
Regardless of the minor issues I had, this book was still really fun and I am eagerly awaiting Celestial Monsters. I think anyone that’s looking for an engaging YA fantasy (especially if you’re a Percy Jackson and Avatar: The Last Airbender fan) then you’ll like this.
Aiden Thomas’ characters are always a delight to read and I love how their characters are always queer and trans. If you’re looking for a LGBT affirming story this is your book. Teo is a hilarious main character with a strong sense of justice and compassion. The friendships in this book are really fun and I really liked his dynamic with Niya and his blossoming relationship with Aurelio. The character development felt a little superficial at times but I still think Teo and his friends were strong and loveable characters, and I was intrigued by a lot of the side characters as well.
Overall I thought the plot was fun and easy to follow. I picked up on a lot of foreshadowing so I predicted a lot of the ending (but there were a few twists I was surprised about). Despite that, I still had a great time watching the story develop. I enjoyed reading about the trials the most. I think Aiden Thomas is good at writing action scenes and building up the suspense within each of the trials. The pacing of the chapters outside the trials was a little slow but I appreciated getting to see the characters interacting and the world-building that was done in those parts. I’m interested to see where the next book will go. I thought the ending of this book happened rather abruptly. I felt like the last chapter immediately set up for the next book instead of resolving what had happened and leaving it more open ended to wonder how it was going to be continued in the next story.
Regardless of the minor issues I had, this book was still really fun and I am eagerly awaiting Celestial Monsters. I think anyone that’s looking for an engaging YA fantasy (especially if you’re a Percy Jackson and Avatar: The Last Airbender fan) then you’ll like this.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Classism
Minor: Cursing
sundayfever's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Beautifully built fantasy world. At times it felt like the writing was more focused on the world building than the characters or plot. It made it feel cluttered. I enjoyed the story and the plot twist at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Blood, Dysphoria, Classism, and Fire/Fire injury
fanboyriot's review
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
4.0
The world building to this was so interesting, I loved how it all came together and how the gods were there with the humans. Think a young adult mash up of Percy Jackson and The Hunger Games—and make it queer.
It did take me a few chapters to fully get invested in this but once I did I ended up reading twenty-two chapters in one sitting.
Obviously, I’m not a fan with how this ended but luckily I waited long enough to read this to know it ended on a major cliffhanger. So it wasn’t quite as devastating.
Release Date: 06, September 2022
POV: Third Person
Rep: Trans (MC), LGBTQIA+ characters, BIPOC characters
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Dysphoria, Bullying, Blood, and Classism
Moderate: Grief, War, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Cursing, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, and Death
Minor: Transphobia, Child death, Animal death, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
erikagibson126's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Child death, Classism, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Grief, Bullying, Murder, and Dysphoria
handful_of_frogs's review
adventurous
funny
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Violence
Minor: Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Violence, Bullying, Physical abuse, Blood, Classism, and Death
jachnax's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Dysphoria, Death, and Classism
Moderate: War
krystal_idunate's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Violence and Classism
Minor: Physical abuse and Death
mattiedancer's review
adventurous
emotional
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
Writing: 3.5⭐️/5
The writing in this story is serviceable and clear. Personally, I found a hard time getting into the novel. It took me two attempts to get into the novel, despite reading several chapters into the story both times. The lack of a clear and immediate hook presented a problem; however, as the novel went on, the stakes definitely pulled me in and I was more engaged. If you’re thinking of picking up this book, there might be a bit of a waiting period for the writing to grab you.
Characters: 4⭐️/5
The characters were both fun and realistic. I loved learning about their connections, their various personalities, and their motives and dreams. Some of the characters lacked a bit of polish to me, and I certainly would have loved a few more characters to develop a bit more clearly, but overall the characters shined.
Plot: 3.5⭐️/5
The plot is fun – and predictable. I enjoyed the world, honestly, more than the plot. I had fun sinking into this world classified by your connection to the gods, and loved learning about the powers and the trials. The actual plot though felt like an aside to the world and, though it eventually wrapped me in, I would have loved a bit more focus here.
Who Should Read This Book?
- Fans of LGBTQ+ fantasy novels
- Fans of young adult fantasy books
- Those looking for a cute but strained-by-situation love story
- Those looking for something a bit different, but backed by familiar tropes and plotlines
Content Warnings?
- Violence, blood, bullying, dysphoria, child abuse, fire, fire injury, injury detail, classism, child death, death,
Post-Reading Rating: 3⭐️/5
I had fun, but I wouldn’t seek out the next one.
Final Rating: 3.5⭐️/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Murder, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail