Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Black Sun

Oh wow, did I enjoy this book! I was a bit worried at first; not being that into fantasy after teen and young adulthood, I can get bored in the opening chapters of a book. Since this was a book club read, I persevered and eventually, the world Rebecca Roanhorse created drew me in. By the halfway point, I was fully invested. When I got to the last page, I actually yelled "Oh my God!" What a cliffhanger.

I appreciated getting to see a fantasy world set in Mesoamerica. I am not any more than superficially knowledgeable about the people that lived in that world, so I wasn't able to recognize specific tribes in the writing, but I did notice little details like pyramids and such.

I found myself being totally drawn into the love story between two main characters and was truly heartbroken when there was no way for them to be together... so technically, you could say this book is better than Romeo and Juliet in that sense.😂

These days, the true test of whether I really enjoyed a book is if I want to buy a physical copy of it. I absolutely want Black Sun in my personal, physical library.

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beauty_andbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad 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

4.0

First and foremost, this is such an original plot. The culture described in the story is something I've never read before, and I enjoyed learning about it. I was also pleasantly surprised by the binary/LGBTQ+ representation! The xir/xers/xe (please correct me if I got the pronouns wrong!) pronouns were a first for me, so I was confused at first until it dawned on me based on the context of the story, who it was representing in the book.

This is definitely more-so a plot driven book, with the timeline leading up to one point and moment. I prefer plot driven books so that was helpful in enjoying this book. The only reasoning for four stars was that it took about 1/2 of the book to start enjoying the story. So I liked it a lot, but didn't love it. I'm still probably going to reread before the next book comes out though. I read this book with a bookclub online, so it was enjoyable to talk about the themes and characters with them.

Content Warnings

podanotherjessi's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

Uhm, wow. That's it. That's the only thought in my head.

Okay, let's try to be a professional reviewer. Honestly, my only complaint for my personal taste is that the ending doesn't really resolve anything and leave open, in my opinion, far too much. This would be less of an issue if I could go straight onto the next book, obviously, but since I'll be waiting, it's more frustrating than enticing.
Beyond that, this is definitely dark, and that won't work for everyone. It never felt excessive or voyaristic; on the contrary, every harsh detail felt incredibly intentional. Even so, this means this won't be a book for everyone. Definitely look at the trigger warnings.
The characters in this were fantastic. I would die for Serapio in a heart beat, and the rest wouldn't take much more time to decide. They are complex and complicated and lovable yet hard to like. I was rooting for each of them to succeed all the while knowing it was impossible.

And... I think that's the most I can say about it coherently. This is a fantastic book, and I recommend it for anyone that can handle the darker parts.

Characters: 10
Plot: 10
Setting: 10
General appeal: 10
Writing style: 9
Originality: 10
Ending: 6

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