Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko

16 reviews

bookishmillennial's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

I am so sad that I am done with this duology. I will miss this world and these characters so much! I need a tv or film adaptation ASAP! This would be such a wonderful series to bring to life onscreen!!!

Anyway, I thought this book tied up everything quite nicely, and I didn't feel like anything was *too* convenient for the sake of wrapping up a plot. I felt like JI thoughtfully crafted fitting and beautiful "endings" for Tarisai, Sanjeet, Zuri, Dayo, and the rest of the cast. I especially appreciated Zuri's arc, in how he acted in alignment with his goals and beliefs about bringing about revolution and liberation from the corrupt, wealthy ruling class. 

The queer representation was lovely, with our ace-spec character, and lesbian characters too! I really grew to love all of these characters even more, and I appreciated seeing their friendships and romances develop further in this book. 

Of course, Tarisai has a lot on her plate - going to the underworld, figuring out ray-things, and coming into her own while balancing respect for who she was before (and who her found family loved before!). It's hard to go through so much change and evolution, not just for you, but for those around you, and I felt that this was illustrated quite realistically. It's uncomfortable sometimes, and I could see where Tarisai's found family was coming from. However, I also just rooted for Tarisai to do what she needed to do, and to evolve into who she wanted to be! Both feelings are valid, and we can hold space for them both.

Again, I will miss this world so much, but I am so grateful for this duology. Truly one of my favorites! 

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blueberry0531's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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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eni_iilorak's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense 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

4.0


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angietheace's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring reflective 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

4.0


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emily_mh's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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? Yes

5.0

This book took everything I loved about Raybearer and made it better. It was once again SO original and so refreshing. I cold never tell where it was going next, but not in a directionless plot kind of way - in a subverting the YA fantasy genre kind of way. I loved Tarisai even more in this instalment: how deeply she loved others, and the way she struggled to make sense of the world yet still tried her utmost to do right by it. This book also improved on something I didn’t like in Raybearer: the time jumps. In this there were far less, so the narrative flowed cohesively. 

Redemptor as a book says so much, and I loved each and every theme it delved into. The narrative explores the evils of capitalism. It shows how justice is a marathon and not a sprint; that there must be self-care so that you can continue to contribute. It even illustrates that guilt is not an adequate motive for fighting for justice. This quote on this subject was my favourite from the book: 

“Don’t confuse guilt with conviction. Guilt is self-centred, and leads only to destructive obsession. But conviction brings balance - a sense of purpose beyond oneself.” 

Redemptor also examines the paradox of sacrificing your values to create a society BASED on your values. It questions what power should look like, and what must be done to achieve that. Overall, I loved that the book challenged the systems that are part-and-parcel of “traditional” (usually white and Western) YA fantasy world-building, namely monarchy and capitalism. 

I was initially going to give this book 4.5 stars, not 5. This was because I thought the love triangle was unnecessary and also that I wish Dayo had had more of an active role. But after reading that ending… I knew that nothing less than 5 stars would suffice. It was so satisfying and so well suited. It made me sob MULTIPLE times. It was perfect. Needless to say I can’t wait to see what Ifueko puts out next. 

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ashlikes's review against another edition

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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

2.0


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taroroot's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious 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

this was such a delightful end to the duology! i loved the world building and the character development we got. i felt really proud of Tarisai and her growth.
i do wish her journey through the Underworld had been expanded upon more given how it was built up as a devastating dangerous journey that thousands of children had died doing.

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rhm04's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.0


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paperbrownies'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

4.5

- lgbtqiap+, ya fantasy, magic, west african-inspired fantasy, DIVERSE, found family, friends to lovers trope, royalty, badass mc, curses and betrayal 
- m|f, f|f, m|f 
- black mc, ace sc, sapphic sc, and a diverse casting of queer and poc characters, disability rep 

a terrific ending to an amazing duology!! ifueko did such a spectacular job with the sequel, i dont think i could have asked for more bc that conclusion was everything i had hoped for!! 😩🤌 
it had all the elements that made me fall in love with raybearer, the found family aspects, the vivid descriptions, the characters and of course tarisai!! whom i somehow managed to care for even more??! she is such a beautifully written character, following along on her journey, seeing her go through the things she did, face the world and her own demons, tarisai is hands down one of my favourite ya heroines!! 
also can we talk about the ace rep?? bc it was perfect and it made me SO SO happy!! 
IF YOU HAVENT READ THE BOOKS YET, YOU ARE MISSING OUT!! 

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kaziaroo's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5


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