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A review by miiine
The Sun and the Star by Mark Oshiro, Rick Riordan
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was scared that this book might not live up to my expectations but I think it might have even surpassed them.
Especially the way it adresses the trauma the characters, especially Nico, have gone through in the previous books surprised me in a good way. It's rare to see in fantasy that those things actually get talked about and not just brushed under the carpet so I'm glad that they really leaned into this topic and showed how Nico learned to not only acknowledge that his past was indeed traumatic but to also slowly start to unravel those issues.
Furthermore, it's amazing to see their relationship throughout the novel and I love that it becomes clear that they aren't a perfect couple by any means and have to learn to communicate with each other but still love the other one deeply.
Imo Rick and Mark working on this together was exactly the right decision because it gave Rick a guide in writing a story centered around queer characters and probably also helped him to not shy away from adressing the characters' Ptsd etc., as it's the first time one of his books really delved into this topic extensively.
I'm happy to know that Rick worked together with a queer author to write this book and get it right; it shows that he actually takes his support for the lgbtq community seriously and continues to work on the representation and general diversity in his books.
I haven't read any of Mark's other work but I can tell that both of them came together beautifully when writing this.
This book ripped my heart out in a good way while I also couldn't stop smiling during some scenes because Nico and Will being cute and goofy together just warmed my heart
Especially the way it adresses the trauma the characters, especially Nico, have gone through in the previous books surprised me in a good way. It's rare to see in fantasy that those things actually get talked about and not just brushed under the carpet so I'm glad that they really leaned into this topic and showed how Nico learned to not only acknowledge that his past was indeed traumatic but to also slowly start to unravel those issues.
Furthermore, it's amazing to see their relationship throughout the novel and I love that it becomes clear that they aren't a perfect couple by any means and have to learn to communicate with each other but still love the other one deeply.
Imo Rick and Mark working on this together was exactly the right decision because it gave Rick a guide in writing a story centered around queer characters and probably also helped him to not shy away from adressing the characters' Ptsd etc., as it's the first time one of his books really delved into this topic extensively.
I'm happy to know that Rick worked together with a queer author to write this book and get it right; it shows that he actually takes his support for the lgbtq community seriously and continues to work on the representation and general diversity in his books.
I haven't read any of Mark's other work but I can tell that both of them came together beautifully when writing this.
This book ripped my heart out in a good way while I also couldn't stop smiling during some scenes because Nico and Will being cute and goofy together just warmed my heart
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Mental illness, Homophobia, and Grief
Moderate: Eating disorder, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, War, and Abandonment