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roseleebooks's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
This was an adventurous read and was a lot of fun while still feeling high stakes at times. It has great representation and I loved the setting.
I did feel that some of the characters were a bit one dimensional but that didn't take away too much from the story and how enjoyable I found the book.
The audiobook format was excellent with narration that added to the story.
Looking forward to the next book!
I did feel that some of the characters were a bit one dimensional but that didn't take away too much from the story and how enjoyable I found the book.
The audiobook format was excellent with narration that added to the story.
Looking forward to the next book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Xenophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
Minor: War and Injury/Injury detail
elb22's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Child abuse
sblank99's review against another edition
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? No
3.75
I loved the world and the beautiful imagery and creativity and diversity! It was stunning and so were the characters and so so different from anything I’ve read. It took me a bit to really get invested in the story but once I did, I was hooked. Doesn’t feel too too YA but it definitely has a target audience. I wish there were no modernization elements like tiktok/instagram/youtube it took me out of the story and really made me question this reality that I had bought into. My final note is LET BOYS KISS!!!! They better be smooching in the sequel 😤😤😤
Content Warnings
Minor: Transphobia and Bullying
donutlookaway's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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: Transphobia and Violence
Moderate: Murder
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
theaceofpages'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? Yes
4.5
Imagine a mix between Percy Jackson (Rick Riordan), The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins) and the far lesser known Worm (J.C. McCrae) with a whole lot of extra queerness thrown in and you get The Sunbearer Trials. This is a story (of sometimes not so) superheroes, gods and their children, crazy challenges, travel and sacrifice to try prevent the return of the Obsidians - those who previously nearly destroyed the world.
I loved this book so much! At different times it reminded me more of one of the above mentioned books than the others, but it remained completely unique. I always enjoy it when fantasy worlds are based on something other than western myths (in this case it is inspired by Mexican mythology), but as someone who isn't from that part of the world I would have loved a glossary of some kind to explain what the culturally inspired things are. Another slightly lower point of the book was the inclusion of social media. Specifically in the way it was done. I don't mind this world having technology of ours alongside the magic, but it bothered me that the names were so close to the platforms in our world. I think it would have been a lot less jarring had the author made up new names - even if the platform performed the same function as the real world counterpart. I know it's very minor, but it did annoy me. Some things were also repeated a little too frequently for my taste (e.g. Teo is a Jade, not a gold. He didn't get to go to the academy. Jades never get to compete. Oh, just a reminder that Teo is a Jade and less powerful and wasn't trained). It's not too major though. Oh. And one last frustration. Spoilerish related to trans stuff.The sudden wing transformation. I wasn't a fan. Just believing doesn't make you suddenly have all the traits of your gender identity. He went through an otherwise normal transition process, so I don't see why this should be different. I don't have a problem with the wings changing, but it should rather have happened through molting as this is more consistent with how birds work - look up henopause in peacocks for a great example of what I'm talking about! .
I loved the world building and the various characters. It was all very well fleshed out. And I loved how birds were important and incorporated. (Well animals in general, but birds were the focus). And I loved how queer it is. Everything is just normalised in this world and I'd love it of things could reach that kind of level in real life. I know the author is queer, which probably helps to explain why Teo and the other representation are so authentic. I love it when LGBTQ+ can just be and are just normal characters.
The book ends on a set up for the sequel. While I did have some suspicions about what was going on, I definitely didn't see the how coming. I definitely want to know what happens next and will definitely be reading the sequel when it comes out.
Some notes on some of the content warnings:
I loved this book so much! At different times it reminded me more of one of the above mentioned books than the others, but it remained completely unique. I always enjoy it when fantasy worlds are based on something other than western myths (in this case it is inspired by Mexican mythology), but as someone who isn't from that part of the world I would have loved a glossary of some kind to explain what the culturally inspired things are. Another slightly lower point of the book was the inclusion of social media. Specifically in the way it was done. I don't mind this world having technology of ours alongside the magic, but it bothered me that the names were so close to the platforms in our world. I think it would have been a lot less jarring had the author made up new names - even if the platform performed the same function as the real world counterpart. I know it's very minor, but it did annoy me. Some things were also repeated a little too frequently for my taste (e.g. Teo is a Jade, not a gold. He didn't get to go to the academy. Jades never get to compete. Oh, just a reminder that Teo is a Jade and less powerful and wasn't trained). It's not too major though. Oh. And one last frustration. Spoilerish related to trans stuff.
I loved the world building and the various characters. It was all very well fleshed out. And I loved how birds were important and incorporated. (Well animals in general, but birds were the focus). And I loved how queer it is. Everything is just normalised in this world and I'd love it of things could reach that kind of level in real life. I know the author is queer, which probably helps to explain why Teo and the other representation are so authentic. I love it when LGBTQ+ can just be and are just normal characters.
The book ends on a set up for the sequel. While I did have some suspicions about what was going on, I definitely didn't see the how coming. I definitely want to know what happens next and will definitely be reading the sequel when it comes out.
Some notes on some of the content warnings:
- Animal cruelty:
Animals get used and no quite intentionally hurt during one of the trials - Classisim: <spolier> Jades are seen as lesser than golds
- Transphobia:
Some internalised transphobia/ enbyphobia as well as descriptions of dysphoria.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, and Classism
Moderate: Abandonment, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Cursing, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Transphobia, Child death, and Animal cruelty
drtx_bwt's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- 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, Child abuse, Violence, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and War
Minor: Transphobia
kshertz's review
adventurous
challenging
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? No
5.0
I’ve mentioned before that if a book makes me stay up past my bedtime or I read it in just a couple days it’s definitely gonna get five stars. I absolutely loved the idea behind this book. I love the fantasy world. I love the hunger game vibes. I love the idea of having people outside of the gender spectrum as heroes. It all is amazing and I highly recommend to any young adult or adult that wants to see themselves represented in books. It was fantastic.
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Transphobia, Abandonment, Violence, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Deadnaming
nils_0's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Transphobia, Physical abuse, and Murder
read_with_loren's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Violence, Death, Transphobia, and War