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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: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Violence, War, Murder, Child abuse, Blood, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
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: Death, Emotional abuse, and Child 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: Death of parent and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Misogyny
micaela_ru's review against another edition
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Child abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment
Minor: Sexual content and Incest
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, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Sexism, Police brutality, Misogyny, and Violence
Minor: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Grief, Slavery, Death, and Death of parent
taroroot's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
i loved this book from start to finish and i'm very excited to read the sequel soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Rape and Sexual content
fromjuliereads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.25
I really enjoyed this! This was one of my 12 friend recommendation reads for this year and I was so happy I enjoyed this one! The characters and the story are so well done. I can't wait to read the sequel next!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Abandonment
totallyshelfaware'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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
a_libra_library's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
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
This is genuinely one of the best YA fantasy books I've read in so long. The world building and character development was everything! Tari's journey is one of healing and finding self identity.
The plot twist and "info dumping" were built into the story so seamlessly.
I cannot wait to continued in Redemptor!
The plot twist and "info dumping" were built into the story so seamlessly.
I cannot wait to continued in Redemptor!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Medical content, Classism, Colonisation, Sexism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, War, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cursing, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
genny'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
4.25
It's a little hard for me to review this as it's been about 2 months since I finished it and I barely took down any notes...but I do know that I enjoyed it! The prose was engaging and the audiobook narrator (Joniece Abbott-Pratt) did a great job of bringing multiple characters to life. I loved the vivid settings. I went into this expecting a very popular trope to drive the story (enemies to lovers) but what I got was completely different - in a good way! I liked the found family aspect, though we didn't see enough of Dayo's council to make their love for each other completely believable. As Tarisai spent most of her time only with select members of the council, I often forgot just how many of them supposedly lived together and cared for each other. There also came a point when I felt that Tar had gotten too slow on picking up obvious clues...it dragged the story as you're waiting for her to figure out what you already did ages go. And the blossoming Kirah and Woo In romance made me uncomfortable because of the age gap, considering one of 'em is a minor. 😬
All that said, it's a worthwhile read and it proved to me that there's still space for fresh, unique stories in YA fantasy. I dove into the sequel immediately after finishing this :)
All that said, it's a worthwhile read and it proved to me that there's still space for fresh, unique stories in YA fantasy. I dove into the sequel immediately after finishing this :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Sexism, Violence, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Blood, Child abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child death, Sexual content, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Rape