Reviews tagging 'Death'

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

112 reviews

linhsreadinghour's review

adventurous tense medium-paced

3.75

I was at risk of falling into a reading slump and this took me out! Overall, I thought it was a solid book with a rich and multicultural world, really cool powers and magic system, and premise. 

Easy to read, great for YA readers and introduces them to more adult themes in an age appropriate way. Including misogyny, racism, oppression, intimacy etc.

 For me personally, I was left a little unsatisfied when the book ended. I had issues with the pacing of the book because things happened so quickly or conveniently. I also personally found it predictable and had figured out some aspects of the book in advance. Nevertheless, I think for a YA audience, this is a fab book.

This is a duology and I personally don’t feel that compelled to read book 2, so I think I will leave this series unfinished.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

obscurepages's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective 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

You know that meme/scene with Homelander saying "It was perfect. Perfect. Down to the last minute detail." Yeah, that. That was me after rereading this book 😂

For a moment I was actually a bit scared diving into this again, thinking my opinions would change (since I will be rereading after four years). But you know what? My opinion is still very much the same: Raybearer is one of the best YA fantasy novels I've read. If anything, my love for this book just soared to new heights.

This is just so perfect—from the writing, to the world-building, the magic system, the pacing, the characterization, the intricacies of the plot. There's also a lot to learn in this book, a lot of things that we can notice in our own reality. Misogyny, toxic masculinity, histories being erased, governments failing their own people, just for example. You get so engrossed with the story and with Tarisai's character that you just go along the emotions with her. You root for her, and you feel for her. There's also not much action if you think about it, but the overall suspense and the political atmosphere just keep you engaged throughout the entire story. That for me is a feat right there.

You can also tell there's so much love and effort put into this book and it paid off. It worked, and it's such an incredible experience reading this from start to finish 🥹

Exact rating: 1 million stars

CW: death, murder, grief, trauma, death of a parent, death of children (sacrifice), child abuse/neglect

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Violence, Grief, Gaslighting, and War

erynelle's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

chi__'s review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Death

Moderate: Violence

thecatconstellation's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

This book deserves way more hype. The story is original and engaging. Steeped in beautiful imagery and detailed mythology, this is a story of the drive for justice.

My only critique is that the council members are supposedly so meaningful to Tar, but only a few of them are fleshed out beyond the most basic level. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Sexual content, Slavery, and Alcohol

pagesandtales's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Violence, Blood, and Death of parent

Minor: Rape and Sexual content

bookishmillennial's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-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

I LOVE THIS BOOK! I AM OBSESSED WITH IT! READ IT NOW! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Rape and Sexual content

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-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

2.5

Yet another book with 80%+ 4-5 star ratings that I ended up being disappointed by, so maybe the issue is really just that I'm a hater :/ Loved the ideas and themes, but the characters (especially the more minor ones, had trouble keeping track of the background council members) didn't feel fleshed-out enough, the worldbuilding is conveyed mostly in blocky exposition dumps, and the pacing in general feels... odd, with a lot of unnecessary jumps in time and awkward transitions. Lots of potential in theory, but didn't quite live up to it in execution for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Domestic abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, and Acephobia/Arophobia

Relationship between characters with unspecified ages but presumably one around 15-17 and the other at least in his 20s. Crush/romantic undertones (no actual relationship) between characters later revealed to be related.

linblythe_pub22's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Child death, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

ejspiese's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

Really really amazing, one of the best YA books I've read! Brilliant world building telling a story about finding yourself and finding your place in the world 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Abandonment

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Vomit, and Death of parent