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4.39 AVERAGE
4.39 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Enjoyed it, just wish there was a bit more world building and that side characters, like most of the 11 were a bit more fleshed out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting
Moderate: Death, Sexism, Blood, Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Vomit, War
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted to love Raybearer but the plot felt very up and down and regressive. Like the story never really moved forward until the end and then it went back again.
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
I don't know why it took me so long to read this book, but it was a terrible decision. This book has been on my TBR list probably since 2020 when it was published. With the sequel being published late last year it slowly made its way to the top of my pile, and now, I am just so sad to have not read this book sooner.
Jordan Ifueko’s “Raybearer” is a gem of a YA fantasy book. There are magical creatures, bloodline powers, palace intrigue, mystical connections and so much more and it is done with a precision I haven’t read in a long time. Ifueko writes fantasy the way I like to read. She builds an enormous and complicated world, yet maintains a pace through the plot that doesn’t leave me lingering in paragraphs of detail and backstory. I enjoy epic world building but I want to learn of that world through the eyes of the protagonist and other characters, not pages and pages of description and exposition. Ifueko does this beautifully!
Tarisai is an amazing protagonist that has a strong and believable growth arc. Each age range explored is a story all of itself with its own age appropriate motivations, inner wrestlings and outcomes. Then these stories feed directly into the larger plot offering a grand narrative of Tarisai’s coming of age. Her relationships throughout the book are believable and hit on some poignant topics such as loyalty, self, non-romantic love, social change and more.
I was blown away by this novel and cannot wait to consume the second in the series in the coming months. An excellent and compelling read for those who love fast paced yet well flushed out fantasy novels.
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Jordan Ifueko’s “Raybearer” is a gem of a YA fantasy book. There are magical creatures, bloodline powers, palace intrigue, mystical connections and so much more and it is done with a precision I haven’t read in a long time. Ifueko writes fantasy the way I like to read. She builds an enormous and complicated world, yet maintains a pace through the plot that doesn’t leave me lingering in paragraphs of detail and backstory. I enjoy epic world building but I want to learn of that world through the eyes of the protagonist and other characters, not pages and pages of description and exposition. Ifueko does this beautifully!
Tarisai is an amazing protagonist that has a strong and believable growth arc. Each age range explored is a story all of itself with its own age appropriate motivations, inner wrestlings and outcomes. Then these stories feed directly into the larger plot offering a grand narrative of Tarisai’s coming of age. Her relationships throughout the book are believable and hit on some poignant topics such as loyalty, self, non-romantic love, social change and more.
I was blown away by this novel and cannot wait to consume the second in the series in the coming months. An excellent and compelling read for those who love fast paced yet well flushed out fantasy novels.
Want more book content? Follow me at thebookwar.com
7.5/10 - rounded up - parts 1-3 were a 9.5/10 for me and part 4 brought me down to 7.5 overall!
what i liked -
-beautiful worldbuilding
-stellar prose
-enthralling themes of intergenerational trauma, confronting our past and our parents history to carve truth for our future
-great characters and characterization
what wasn’t for me -
-i didn’t mind the more surface level relationship building because i enjoyed following the plot and the themes over time, (i.e., they told us how close the council members were but i didn’t get to “see” it a lot) UNTIL the fourth part (starting after Tarasai bonded w the swarm of flies) where everyone was interacting w each more and the depth of their bonds was important for me to buy into each scene. i ended up skipping to the end and then skimming part four because i felt disconnected from the characters.
what i liked -
-beautiful worldbuilding
-stellar prose
-enthralling themes of intergenerational trauma, confronting our past and our parents history to carve truth for our future
-great characters and characterization
what wasn’t for me -
-i didn’t mind the more surface level relationship building because i enjoyed following the plot and the themes over time, (i.e., they told us how close the council members were but i didn’t get to “see” it a lot) UNTIL the fourth part (starting after Tarasai bonded w the swarm of flies) where everyone was interacting w each more and the depth of their bonds was important for me to buy into each scene. i ended up skipping to the end and then skimming part four because i felt disconnected from the characters.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
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
adventurous
emotional
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
So fun! What a cool world.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
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
After avoiding this book for years based on its boring blurb, and despite getting recommendations for it from others, I read it in a day and loved it. Usually book blurbs give away too much, in my opinion. This one didn’t give away enough, and I thought it was just another fantasy book with palace intrigue. It’s so much more than that. It has a unique formulation with the raybearer and the council, and its exploration of sacrifice, sexism, and justice is extremely well done. The benefit to avoiding this book for so long is that I didn’t read it until the sequel was out, which I read the day after finishing this one. Highly recommended.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated