Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Fevered Star

[This review can also be found on my BLOG]

**I was gifted a copy of the book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

CW: violence, blood, gore, injury, self harm, body horror, suicide, murder, death, animal death, torture, alcohol, war, physical abuse, sexual assault, grief, confinement, misogyny/sexism
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Now I know from having read Roanhorse’s Storm of Locusts that she can write a damn good sequel but this has gone and topped it for me, IT IS SO GOOD!

Fevered Star picks up immediately after the events from the end of Black Sun and again Roanhorse is masterful with pace, keeping the tensions post those events simmering and also slowly building on them as more of the story unfolds.

We have a new point of view from Balam introduced along with the original 4 to expand the story and world further and boy does it expand. One thing I personally love with sequel books of multi pov stories is when the various characters, both protagonist and supporting, start to cross paths and this book was full of a mix of satisfying, shocking and highly entertaining interactions.

My favourite of course being the unlikely alliance that occurred between a certain sea captain and assassin.

Middle books in a trilogy a lot of the time have that feel of setting up the finale and while this one is definitely setting everything up for the final instalment the various storylines never feel like they are there to just fill up space. They each have the feel of individual pieces on a gameboard meticulously being moved around, keeping you captivated to see what alliance shift will occur next, what unanswered question from the first book will finally come to the surface.

Not only do the political machinations keep you hooked but as mentioned before each perspective brings with it a chance to discover more about the Meridian, its cultures and its history and honestly this Pre-Columbian America’s inspired world just gets more and more intriguing the more you see of it, learn of it.

The same goes for the protagonists, we get a deeper dive into their backstories and their emotions and truly the character developments across the board are just phenomenal.

I shall now impatiently wait to see what Roanhorse has planned next for these characters and the conclusion of this fantastic series.
Final Rating – 4.5/5 Stars

Content Warnings

foreverinastory's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

5.0

Thank you to B2 Weird Bookclub and Saga SFF for a physical copy in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.

Can't believe I have to wait another year (or more!) to see how it all ends. *cries forever*

Fevered Star immediately picks up where Black Sun leaves off: the convergence has happened and Year 1 of the Crow has begun. Once again we follow Naranpa, Serapio and Xiala as they figure out their paths and how the events surrounding the city of Tova will shape them.

I seriously love this series so much. The characters are just freaking amazing and I would die for basically all of them. We see a lot of growth from them all, but especially Naranpa in this one. I’ve liked her from the beginning so I am only excited to continue to see her grow.

We also get more worldbuilding and mythology/history of The Meridian. I would love to read a fictional non-fiction about this world. I want to know everything! I love seeing how the clans work, and then all the various outsiders and the way the past and now their future desires are shaping conflict. It’s a work of art.

Fevered Star pulls no punches and is an incredible addition to the series.

Rep: All Native/Indigenous cast. Pansexual cis female MC, queer cis female MC, blind cishet male MC, cishet (presumed) male MC, queer bayeki (two spirit/nonbinary specific term) side character, two spirit/nonbinary side characters (use neopronouns), various queer side characters.

CWs: Violence, blood, grief, injury/injury detail, body horror, death, gore, confinement, cursing, physical abuse, suicide, torture, death of parent recounted, murder, alcohol consumption, war themes. Moderate: Sexual content (consensual). Minor: Child abuse, rape, self harm.

Content Warnings

lolaslalaland's review

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

4.0

I absolutely loved Black Sun, I was immediately drawn into the story and its characters. Unfortunately I wasn't as enthralled by this sequel. It begins right after the first book and as I read the first hundred pages I realized I felt kind of "meh" about everything. I even thought that maybe Black Sun should have ended where it was and been a standalone. I was upset that we no longer follow the two main characters from the first book and instead get more "screen time" with other characters that didn't interest me as much. Thankfully, as I kept reading my interest in what was happening with our new characters built up more and more, but definitely Fevered Star suffers from middle book syndrome where its filled with coincidences that conveniently move our characters around like chess pieces to get them where they need to be for the next book. Once again, I would have preferred more from Serapio and Xiala, but I liked seeing more of the political implications of what happened at the end of the first book, and most of all, I am curious to see what will happen next with Xiala, where she is now is not at all where I thought she would be.

Content Warnings

ehmannky's review

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dark emotional 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

So! Good! I think that it's incredibly interesting to go beyond a prophecy and see the aftermath. And so much is happening here. All the characters were so lonely and in pain and it's just a study in what trauma does to people and the ways that not having support around you hurts people further.

Naranpa's chapters were the best and everything that happened with her was so engaging. I think that the only thing I personally was annoyed with was how Xiala's entire personality just revolves around Serapio. Like, I get she's lonely but meh. Wasn't a fan of that. I did love her little journey with Iktan and I can't wait to cry over Iktan reuniting with Naranpa in book 3.

Content Warnings

caseythereader's review

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adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

Thanks to Saga Press for the free advance copy of this book.

- I'm never sure how to review sequels without giving too much away. Let's just say I was so happy to be back in this world, and to see the story expand and the characters grow.
- Roanhorse has created such a compelling set of characters and history with these books. Every time the viewpoint switches I'm happy to be with whoever it is.
- This being the middle book of a series, it was a bit more place setting and a bit less action than BLACK SUN, but there were still plenty of gripping scenes, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

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