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mandkips's review
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Grief, Murder, and Animal death
Minor: Sexual assault
theespressoedition's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
The pacing was much slower than in the first book, which is saying something considering how slow the first one was. Unfortunately, rather than picking up and staying interesting halfway through, I found myself losing some interest and noticing that my mind had wandered for half a chapter, not fully retaining what was going on.
There wasn't enough Serapio for me in this book. And I really missed the Serapio and Xiala dynamic. Since they were in two different places throughout the entire story, it made me a little sad. The new connections formed were fascinating, however. Iktan and Xiala traveling together and Naranpa and Serapio meeting... all of that was really cool. I was 100% uninterested in Balam and could've done without his point of view entirely.
As a whole, this felt a lot like second book syndrome to me. I wasn't as intrigued or dying to know what would come next. There were only a few moments that really piqued my interest. It was still written well and there were some thought-provoking elements, which is why it got a middle-ground rating from me. But I wouldn't want to read it again.
Here's hoping the next installation brings a bit more action!
Graphic: Death, Violence, Torture, Blood, Murder, Gore, and Self harm
Moderate: Death of parent, Cursing, and Sexual assault
Minor: War
readandfindout's review
4.0
Themes: 4 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Plot: 3.5 stars
Worldbuilding: 3.5 stars
Graphic: Body horror, Grief, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death and Self harm
Minor: Sexual assault
lolajh's review against another edition
- 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
Xiala develops a bond with Iktan in this book, which is such a powerful duo that I adore and greatly enhances both these characters. Their relationship developing from mistrust and suspicion to a true friendship as allies was beautifully done. Xiala also opened up to xir about her past as a Teek, where Xiala’s flashbacks of her past murders were finally explained as well as the trauma she faces because of it.
Iktan’s character absolutely blossoms in this book. Xe also opens up to Xiala about xir history as the priest of Knives, as well as xir past relationship and feelings towards Naranpa. Whilst there are no pov chapters from xir perspective, Xiala’s chapters where Iktan is present were able to show so much more about Iktan than Naranpa’s chapters in the previous book, showing the difference between Xiala’s and Naranpa’s connections with Iktan. I was able to fall even more in love with xir more once able to see xir character away from the other priests and on xir own. Xir cursing, authority, motives, dominance, humour, sarcasm, cockiness, confidence, strength, power, xir care for Naranpa were all just so perfect.
“I know xe is charming and funny and—”
“Attractive.” A voice came from outside the tent flap. “Don’t forget shockingly attractive.”
“We are all prisoners here, Xiala. You, Ziha, even myself. Prisoners to fate, that unreasonable bitch.”
“If I wanted them dead, they’d be dead in seconds. Assassin, remember?”
“I was in a rage when Nara went missing. I blamed myself. Eche tried to claim that Nara had killed the tsiyo at her door and run, and while I am a fool, I am not an idiot. I tore the tower apart, sent dedicants out to search for her, and nothing. I couldn’t prove it, but I knew what they had done. When the time came for the Convergence ceremony, I sent one of my tsiyos in my stead. It was a thing I did often when I didn’t have the patience for their pomp and bloviating, and I was in no mood to stand shoulder to shoulder with those who had killed my friend.”
“Xe was tall and sinewy, with a prominent nose in an angular face. Xir black hair had recently been shorn but since had grown in as a soft fuzz. Xe rubbed a hand over it now, as if annoyed at its length.”
“Iktan pulled off xir shirt, knotted it up, and dipped it in the water. Xe continued xir ablutions, wiping across xir underarms. Xiala turned to give the priest privacy when xe began to unselfconsciously strip off xir pants. She heard the splash of water and the soft rub of cloth against skin. The scent of yucca and lavender soap filled her nose. She caught sight of Iktan’s backside as xe padded over to a trunk in the corner and threw it open. It was piled with fabrics, and xe plucked various articles of clothing from inside, holding them up for size. Once satisfied, xe dragged on a pair of white pants and a plain white shirt that looked very much like the lesser cousin to Ziha’s finer ensemble.”
“I’m no woman,” xe said, “but I’m no man, either. It is a gender most common to my clan, but I have heard there are others.”
Then there’s fucking NARANPA. Can I just say I’ve loved her since day one when everyone was shitting on her, and she really proved her worth in this book. She grows confidence in herself,
“She wasn’t sure when it happened. The healing power she had called to aid Denaochi morphed into something else. And in the cauldron of her anger, that something became heat, became fire, and flames roared from her palms Her back slammed into the ground but she did not let go. She clamped her hands to the sides of Pasko’s face, willing the fire to consume him. At first, his skin only smoldered, tendrils of smoke intertwined with his curling black hair. Then heat built as if from inside, and his skin began to bubble like water on the boil. His cheeks collapsed, then his forehead, and his eyes popped and sank.”
“See, Brother, Naranpa thought. Zataya, Sedaysa, your foolish older sister. You were well loved after all.”
“Naranpa could not hide her sharp inhale. This was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen, and for a moment she forgot her words.”
And SERAPIO??? This man had a full on corruption arc where his character turns extremely morally grey but where I am still able to love him so much. Dude has a whole scene of building a castle around him from nothing full Elsa-style, so what’s there not to fucking love? And he is still so pure deep down, his yearning and care for Xiala, the scene where he summons a crow for some random kid, then when he breaks down and asks Maaka to tell him stories to calm down because that’s what Xiala always did, like dude that shit is beautiful.
“The desire to take to the sky and fly to her was so strong he had to force his breath to steady. It was as if he were made only of need, a thousand shards of desire in the shape of a man, and he would give whatever he must to reach her.”
“Hands reached for him to hold him up, but all he felt was the panic of being touched by people he could not see.”
“Look at me, Odo Sedoh!” “No, look at me, Crow God!” I’m blind! he wanted to shout. Can’t you see that I’m blind?”
There are also a lot of other interesting characters such as Zataya, where the shadow world that Serapio connects with is delved into further, as well as pov chapters from Okoa and Balem’s perspective, but they didn’t interest me as much as other characters. Overall, Roanhorse’s writing is absolutely impeccable—chapter 20 in particular was written perfectly, and I was able to so easily picture everything going on. Most perfect fucking book ever.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Self harm, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence, War, Child abuse, Death, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Transphobia
azrah786's review
4.5
**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.
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
Graphic: Gore, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
aardwyrm's review
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Self harm, Sexism, Abandonment, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Animal death, Murder, Addiction, Gore, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and War
thereadingskeleton's review
- 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
Rep: Indigenous/Native-coded cast, blind MC, bi MC, queer MC, nonbinary SC (non-POV but important character), other queer characters
When I read Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse last year, it was an instant favorite. So many great characters. So much rich, vibrant description. So many twists and turns. Not to mention queer as hell. It was simply phenomenal.
I’m happy to report that the sequel, Fevered Star, is also phenomenal! I know that many people disliked Naranpa in the first book, and although I didn’t, I understand their reasoning. That being said, this is Nara’s book. She is the star, and she absolutely shines. In this book, Nara gets the chance to grow in a way she didn’t in Black Sun. Her chapters were my favorites, and I’m extremely interested to see where she goes from here.
On the flipside, I feel like Xiala—who was my favorite character in Black Sun—really let me down in this sequel. Her growth completely stagnates, and all she does is mope about not being with Serapio. Yes, she’s dealing with grief and trauma over the ending events of Black Sun, but her behavior was so frustrating to me.
I think part of the issue with Xiala’s arc is that this is, for better or worse, a middle book, and it has the hallmarks of one. There’s a lot of setting up for the final book in the trilogy, and that occurs to the detriment of some of the characters.
Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this sequel and will be snatching up the next one as soon as it’s released. I especially recommend the audiobook (narrated by Christian Barillas, Darrell Dennis, Cara Gee, Nicole Lewis, and Shaun Taylor-Corbett)!
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, Torture, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Animal death and Sexism
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
mj1847's review
- 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
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
thndrkat's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Murder
Minor: Sexual assault and Suicide