Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

110 reviews

molliford's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious 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

4.25


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sabrinalefebvre's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

While I do think there were some pacing issues, I truly think Raybearer is doing something that I’ve never seen in YA fantasy before. Its truly a blast.

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thecatconstellation's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.75

This book deserves way more hype. The story is original and engaging. Steeped in beautiful imagery and detailed mythology, this is a story of the drive for justice.

My only critique is that the council members are supposedly so meaningful to Tar, but only a few of them are fleshed out beyond the most basic level. 

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fleur____'s review

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adventurous emotional 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

4.75


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ginameix's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? No

5.0


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pagesandtales's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5


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book_buddy_rob's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

4.5

If you enjoy young adult fantasy, you might feel like this doesn’t sound super original. But I think as you read you will find the twists that Ifueko puts on these common tropes to be really well done.

The whole time I was reading, I kept getting Black Panther vibes in the best way possible.

This features a lot of tropes I enjoy: magical trials, political intrigue, unique magic systems, and found family. 

The author does a good job of immediately pulling you into this world and this story and I found the story as a whole to be really fun and entertaining.

Compared to other similar books that are inspired by African mythology, something this did different was incorporate multiple African cultures into the story and it completely enriches the setting of this novel.

The writing itself did feel a bit juvenile at times, but I didn’t particularly mind that because when we first meet our main character she’s 11 years old, so it made sense to the novel. Also I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this being geared more towards a younger YA audience

One minor criticism I have is that I wish the trials described in the synopsis were developed more. We only really get to experience these trials and competition within the first third of the novel, and I just wanted more of the trials.

There are also some moments in the middle of the book that describe the mundane details of palace life in this world and I didn’t find those scenes entirely interesting.

Overall though, I think this is a highly imaginative young adult fantasy novel full of great characters, magic and a sprinkling of political intrigue that would recommend to fantasy readers.

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bookishmillennial's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-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
I LOVE THIS BOOK! I AM OBSESSED WITH IT! READ IT NOW! 

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talonsontypewriters's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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

2.5

Yet another book with 80%+ 4-5 star ratings that I ended up being disappointed by, so maybe the issue is really just that I'm a hater :/ Loved the ideas and themes, but the characters (especially the more minor ones, had trouble keeping track of the background council members) didn't feel fleshed-out enough, the worldbuilding is conveyed mostly in blocky exposition dumps, and the pacing in general feels... odd, with a lot of unnecessary jumps in time and awkward transitions. Lots of potential in theory, but didn't quite live up to it in execution for me.

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linblythe_pub22's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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