#raybearer review

[sffinsiders]

Review: The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko — SFF Insiders

[anae-leone]

Petite review de romans qui ont été de vrais coups de cœur !

[tigger8900]

Raybearer, by Jordan Ifueko

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

Tarisai has been raised from birth to excel, to rise above all others from her land to attain a coveted position on the Council of Eleven, and then to kill the crown prince. Bound by the circumstances of her birth to obey her mother's command, Tarisai is desperate to find a way to protect the prince she's come to love from the hidden threat that she herself poses. Will she be able to defy the destiny her mother has chosen for her?

I loved the worldbuilding here, particularly the depictions of the lands we got to visit and the themes of embracing unique cultures vs assimilation. There's a darker edge to many of the systems in this world, which I also appreciated. While the protagonist was rather unquestioning of some things that should have thrown red flags(basically everything about the council), this is only the first book of a duology, so those aspects might be examined later. The central conflict is, of course, Tarisai's struggle to break free of her mother's command. I initially got some Ella Enchanted vibes from this setup, but the resolution wound up being so much more. It wasn't enough for her to merely want to disobey, or even to desire to protect the prince with her whole heart; to break a curse of this magnitude, it would take much more than that. I also appreciated how her mother was handled in the narrative. She wasn't purely evil, but she wasn't misunderstood either; she was a complicated, wounded character who committed great harms. Overall, I enjoyed this a lot more than I'd expected to. It helped that the romance was firmly a subplot, and there was no love triangle. I'll say that again for those in the back: this YA title has no love triangle! It was so refreshing to see a depiction of platonic love develop between two characters. There was even a prominent character who was explicitly asexual. As mentioned, this is the first book in a duology, and I intend to pick up the sequel, Redemptor, whenever I manage to find a gap in my TBR(lol).

[aroaceoutinspace]

Book Review: Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

First read this book two years ago but decided to give it a reread and thought I'd share my love for it with you all!

Overview

If you like....

Curses/promises/bargins

Mysterious parents

Half human protagonists

Important legacies

Self-sacrifice

Memory based powers

Beautiful culture

Found family

Ace rep!!!!!!!!!!

Unique magic systems

Magical politics

Corruption

Hidden history

Then this book is for you!

Blurb

'Tarisai has always longed for the warmth of a family. She was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as The Lady.

'The Lady sends her to the capital of the global empire of Aritsar to compete with other children to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince's Council of Eleven. If she's picked, she'll be joined with the other Council members through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood. That closeness is irresistible to Tarisai, who has always wanted to belong somewhere. But The Lady has other ideas, including a magical wish that Tarisai is compelled to obey: kill the Crown Prince once she gains his trust.

'Tarisai won't stand by and become someone's pawn - but is she strong enough to choose a different path for herself?'

Overview

As you have probably guessed from the 5 stars, I have no complaints. Such a unique and vivid story, and a beautiful twist that was set up so well yet still managed to be surprising.

I also love how one of my least favourite tropes managed to be avoided by adding representation ( if you've read it you'll know what I mean.) It's proof that writers don't have to follow the same clichés to make an effective plot!

Also look at this map. I can't resist fantasy book maps. I never use them, but still feel disappointed in their absence.

I love it

First Line

'I shouldn't have been surprised that faries exist.'

'Only one thing is more powerful than a wish, and that is a purpose'

(Found art on pinterest, full credit to artist)

(Found artist, credit to @souldagger )

'Leadership isn't good or evil. It's what you choose to do with it.'

[troythecatfish]

Here’s my personal recommendation of a YouTube video to check out:

[esevik]

Book review: Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

My liveblog of the book.

Short review: A good book with great worldbuilding.

Long review: This book is about girl who is half-human half-spirit who is commanded by her to kill a young boy. The girl, Tarisai, must fight for who she herself wants to be and who everyone else wants to be. The story is engaging and full of mystery. A

The story moves at a rather fast pace and covers several years of Tarisai's life. For the most part this isn't a problem. Ifueko knews what scenes to focus on and which ones to skip. However the ending feels a little bit rushed. A-

The worldbuilding is great. Since Tarisai is kept ignorant at the start of the story the reader gets to learn about the world with her. The history and rules of the world are explored and challenged in a manner easy to understand. A+

If I have any nitpick about this book it's the characters. Not the protagonist or the other main characters, they are all well rounded and serve their purpose well. What could have been better is the background characters, specifically the background characters of the two councils. This is especially true to Tarisai's council sisters and brothers who are not Sanjeet, Dato or Kirah. There is an attempt at giving these background characters personalities but they all react to Tarisai the same way, if one forgives her they all forgive her in the same manner. This sadly lessened the emotional impact some scenes could have. B+

Rating: A

[annaaaasbookblog]

Book: Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ / 5

Format: Audiobook

Highlights: Intense fantasy world, POC representation, strong female MC, mental health representation

Review: The world Jordan Ifueko created in this book and the first is phenomenal. I love the creativity and the way that she's interpreted this world. I was looking forward to the second one after I finished the first and bought it on Audible because I enjoyed the narration and how the first one was performed. This second book was a lot heavier plot-wise than the first, and it seemed like there was much more going on with everything that Tarisai was going through. Once I started to get into the book I was able to follow along a lot better. The introduction of an entire other council was something that made me feel sad at first because Tarisai had already found a wonderful family in the first book but we really got to learn and love the other characters as well and once that started to happen I was hooked once again. This book was wonderful even if it was a bit heavy in plot and world-building and definitely worth the read.

Why should you read it?: If you're looking for a story about a girl in power that is still struggling and still so very human, you absolutely need to read this book. If you're looking for a unique fantasy world with so many fun elements that make it even more interesting, definitely read this book!

[bloodmaarked]

a song of wraiths and ruin // roseanne a. brown

first published: 2020 read: 19 february 2024 – 29 february 2024 pages: 472 format: paperback

genres: fiction, young adult, fantasy, mythology (african-inspired), romance favourite character(s): the kestrel, karina least favourite character(s): farid

rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 thoughts: i had a really good time reading a song of wraiths and ruin! it reminded me of quite a few similar books that i've read over the years, like raybearer, witches steeped in gold, and the final strife for example (and i felt it was definitely better than the latter two).

keeping my review short and sweet because i think generally this is just quite in line with books i've enjoyed in the past. i thought the worldbuilding was stellar, the characters were well crafted (unpopular opinion but i liked karina more than malik; it took a lot longer for me to come around to him!), i just loved all the cultural and fantastical elements that drew from various african cultures. it's a fairly chunky book but it didn't even feel like it. there was a big twist that i saw coming (i didn't trust [REDACTED] from the very beginning 😒) but what unfolded following the revelation had me locked in.

i think it may lose a star because at times i felt it was almost indistinguishable from similar books in its genre, both in terms of worldbuilding and plot points. it's not massively innovative but again, this may be just because i kept drawing comparisons to other books. i felt that it also got a little convoluted as it was wrapping up, and i had to go along with it without necessarily entirely understanding how or why certain things were happening.

very much excited to read the sequel, which i went out and bought a few hours before finishing this book!

[inolienkiki]

cataloguing all my new books because I love doing this

my friend was in town last week, and having somebody visit reminded me that I can just. go places and do things whenever I want

so I went to three different bookstores, and I also ordered some online "just in case"

so. new this week:

Lumberjanes 1 & 2 (ND Stevenson & friends)- I read the first one earlier this year and liked it, but was a little confused? so I got the sequel to help me out with that!

Wheel of Time 4, 5, & 6 (Robert Jordan)- I'm already this far in. What more do I have to lose?

Echo (Pam Muñoz Ryan)- A fond memory! I was asked to review an advance copy of this book when it came out in 2015. At the time I was making fast friends with the local librarian, and she ended up asking me to review a lot of books after this, including The Box and the Dragonfly, my favorite book ever! I remember liking Echo a lot, and then it got the Newbery medal so I was probably right.

Hollow Dolls (MarcyKate Connolly)- I was looking for Monstrous, another book I reviewed around that time, but found out the author is still writing... about body snatchers apparently? How could I say no?

Edgedancer, Dawnshard, & Mistborn Secret History (Brandon Sanderson)- Found some nice hardcover editions of these three Sanderson novellas I love. I know Lift's not a popular character but she's one of my favorites <3

Power of Three, Omen of the Stars, & A Vision of Shadows (Erin Hunter)- Finally got myself Warrior Cats arcs 3, 4, and 5! I've never actually read AVoS so I'm very excited about that.

Onestar's Confession (Erin Hunter)- I don't actually like Onestar and I've heard this book isn't very good, but it's the only Super Edition any of the bookstores had...

Secrets of the Clans, Code of the Clans, & both Ultimate Guides (Erin Hunter)- The first two of these are a lot nicer than I expected! The full-color illustrations and fold-out maps are very welcome, and almost make up for Featherwhisker not being in the second Ultimate Guide >:(

A Thief in ThunderClan & The Rise of Scourge (Erin Hunter)- Rise of Scourge isn't my favorite but it's waaaay prettier in color. I've been excited about its release.

The Disappearing Spoon & The Icepick Surgeon (Sam Kean)- I love both these books! But I didn't own them for some reason... so I finally got them in paperback to match my other Sam Kean books.

Chasing Vermeer & Hold Fast (Blue Balliett)- The Wright 3, also by Blue Balliett, is one of the most well-thumbed books in my library! I finally got myself a copy of Chasing Vermeer, plus Hold Fast, which I've actually never read.

Gregor the Overlander (Suzanne Collins)- I don't actually remember why I put this on my reading list, but I'm really excited to try it out!

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Jessica Townsend)- One of you on my dash is really excited about this book, and I'm ready to get into it too.

The Constant Rabbit (Jasper Fforde)- I'm going to read Thursday Next eventually and I think it's going to thoroughly absorb me, so I figured I'd try some of his other books first! This one is about anti-rabbit bigotry, apparently.

Babel: An Arcane History (R.F. Kuang)- I'd been casually waiting for this to come out in paperback so I could try it without committing too much. We'll see how I feel about it!

The Thursday Murder Club (Richard Osman)- I love mystery series, especially big or ongoing ones, so I figured I should give this a try! Weirdly enough, I know Richard Osman from having been on Taskmaster, despite him being pretty thoroughly independently famous.

Legends & Lattes (Travis Baldree)- The premise intrigued me. I normally go for epic fantasy, so I'm not sure if I'll find this fun... depends on the quality of the storytelling and the presence of a romantic subplot (or, preferably, the lack thereof.)

The Hexologists (Josiah Bancroft)- My best friend told me about this, and it looked so ridiculous I just had to try it (/pos).

Raybearer (Jordan Ifueko)- I know almost nothing about this! But it was another friend's first recommendation, and if her taste is anything to judge by, I'm going to love it.

Gideon the Ninth (Tamsyn Muir)- Also new and exciting for me. I say I like to read fantasy, but I feel a little bad that most of that rests on Brandon Sanderson. So I'm trying some new fantasy authors!

Because Internet (Gretchen McCulloch)- I used to listen to her linguistics podcast a lot- "Lingthusiasm"- so for a long time I thought her last name was spelt McCullough. I'm sure she'd find that interesting.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (V.E. Schwab)- I know V.E. Schwab has written a lot of cool-looking fantasy books, so I'm trying out a standalone from her to see whether I'd like to read more. Should be intriguing!

Watership Down (Richard Adams & friends)- This is actually a graphic novel adaptation of the original classic, which is a book I absolutely love. I got this for my grandma for Christmas, and I just couldn't resist getting my own copy!

This Is How You Lose the Time War (Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone)- I do love time travel, and anything that scratches the DARK itch will be well welcome.

In the Lives of Puppets (TJ Klune)- After reading The House on the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door, I'm sure this will be lovely. I'd been eagerly awaiting its paperback release for quite a bit!

Yeah, I don't know why I did this. I love both reading and collecting books, and sharing them with people is quite the treat <3

I hope my 3 followers and cheezbot enjoy this!

[reviewsthatburn]

There's something very satisfying about sitting down to read a series that's complete, ready and waiting for you to crack open and devour it. Finishing a series also requires readers to have supported each book along the way as they came out. Well, these duologies, trilogies, and series by authors of color are finished, available to be read entire. We've previously reviewed every entry on this list and included links to those thoughts for anyone who wants a bit more detail. While it's entirely possible that these authors may publish associated stories in the future (either sequels or just set in the same story universe), what's available now feels complete. Each entry includes the synopsis from the first book in the series.

Full post at link, book titles in tags.

[hello-eeveev]

Read any books/comics/fics/etc or watched any shows/movies/etc that have inspired your writing lately?

Hmmm, I can’t say that there has been anything that has influenced me specifically, but I’ve been reading Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko! And it’s been really fun! I love me a good fantasy with a cool magic system and politics! It’s so refreshing to have a fantasy world based around African cultures (I haven’t looked into what specific cultures inspired Ifueko yet). I love a medieval European fantasy as much as the next person, but other cultures have such rich stories and traditions that can be adapted into fantasies that scratch that itch just as well! And the world building in Raybearer is very cool. Big fan. (minor spoilers) also biromantic asexual Ekundayo my sweet boyyy he’s just like meeee

I really appreciate the characterization in Raybearer as well. It has characters who are good people, or at least people trying their best, who are still upholding harmful systems and the tension that creates when you love someone but they’re just. not. seeing how things can be changed for the better.

I love the character of The Lady, and, speaking of inspiration, I think that if I were to write Dierta Thelyss, I want to write her the way Ifueko has written The Lady—sharp, cunning, unknowable. Having a softness, but ultimately beholden to nothing and no one but herself and her goals. The Lady is ruthless in such an… understated(?) manner, and I love it. Obsessed. I also read a review that mentioned that even though it does not excuse her actions, The Lady is revealed to be somewhat sympathetic, and I’m excited to see how that plays out. I’m only about halfway through, and I haven’t read it in a few weeks. I should probably get back to it lol.

[anae-leone]

Le dessin que j’ai fait pour illustrer ma review de Raybearer.

[tigger8900]

Redemptor, by Jordan Ifueko

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is the second book in the Raybearer series. This review will contain spoilers for the first book! Please see my review of Raybearer #1 if aren't familiar with the series.

Faced with the truth of the crimes committed against the children of Songland, Tarisai has made a bargain: she will descend into the underworld as one final redemptor, and in exchange the spirits will stand down, requiring no further tribute to quell their appetite for conquest. But to fulfill her end of the bargain she will need to anoint her own council comprised of the leaders of all the lands of Aritsar, a quest that thrusts her into the forefront of diplomacy. But even as she strives to form her council, she's haunted by the spirits of all the dead children who perished in the underworld. To form her own council is one impossible task and to satisfy the spirits another, leading Tarisai to wonder if it's even possible to prevail.

I loved Raybearer so much when I read it earlier this year. In some ways the sequel disappointed, as it wasn't the story I'd wanted. But, upon reflection, I don't believe the story we got was bad for being different. Whether it was the events of 2020 that derailed an original plan or if it had been planned out this way all along, while it might not be my favorite, I do believe it was a solid ending to Tarisai's story.

What I'd been hoping to find was another exploration of the council bond, teasing the limitations and maybe even digging into the potential dark side of the bond. I believed this was coming due to Tarisai's impending separation from both her original council and the new one she had yet to form, as she would have to traverse the underworld alone. Instead, we found the requirement to remain with your fellow council members largely handwaved, which I admit was disappointing to me. The drawback was part of what made the concept of the council bond so compelling. I was also disappointed that the vast majority of her original council siblings took such a backseat, especially the way Sanjeet was pushed aside for plot reasons that, frankly, felt pretty unnecessary to me.

What I hadn't been expecting from this novel was a full-on treatise about self-care and how to avoid burning out, or losing yourself in despair of not being able to immediately fix everything that's wrong. I picked up on the theme pretty quickly, and I love that it was a thing. This is something talked about a lot more over the past 2-3 years, which leaves me wondering what this book might have been like if it had been published at the same time as the first volume, written before our most recent major protest movement kicked off. I was satisfied by the finale of the story, and felt that the sequence in the underworld — fairly brief, comprising less than 20% of the page count of this volume — was very well done, in terms of atmosphere and tension.

All in all, I was satisfied with this sequel, though I liked the first volume more. There was a lot that could have been, but that's what fanfiction is for, right? If you only loved Raybearer for the family Tarisai finds this might fall flat for you, particularly if you're a massive Sanjeet fan. But if you found yourself invested in the bigger picture, I recommend finishing the duology.

[aroaceoutinspace]

Book Review: Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️(4.5)

Overview

If you like:

Moral challenged characters

Dystopian worlds

A 'perfect' world

Dangerous apprenticeships

Doing bad for the greater good

Dual POV

Corrupt societies

Then this book is the one for you!

The concept of this book is so unique and plays beautifully with the idea of the underlying imperfections in a seemingly perfect world. There were brief moments where I was loosing interest, but somehow they would be the exact times the curveball I was craving would arrive! If it hadn't hit on a big pet peeve of mine, this could have been a perfect 5 stars.

Blurb

'Thou Shalt Kill'

'What if death was the only thing left to control?

'In a perfect world, the only way to die is to be gleaned by a professional scythe. When Citra and Rowan are chosen to be apprentice scythes, they no they have no option but to learn the art of killing. However, the terrifying responsibility of choosing their victims is just the start.

'Corruption is the order of the day and Citra and Rowan need to stick together to fight it.

'Then they are told that one of them will have to glean the other...'

When I got settled into the story I forgot the end of that blurb, and the reveal came as such a shock until I realised I already knew 😂.

Warnings

There is a lot of violence in this book, not excruciatingly graffic, since that isn't my thing, but still frequent. There is also talk of suicide, referred to as 'self-gleaning', and descriptions of enjoying and becoming desensitised to violence.

If you think any of these topics may affect you this series may be worth a skip.

I feel this is suitable for 15/16 years and upwards.

The Downside

If I do anymore reviews in the future, you will learn that I'm a little bit of a romance cynic- if there isn't space to fully develop the relationship without it overpowering the story, then I don't see the benefit in having it. The main relationship in this story felt empty to me for the level of sacrifice it created. Something was missing, and it felt like the epitome of forced proximity. Probably won't be a popular opinion, but I honestly feel they would have been better off as friends. Like I said, if there isn't space to develop the relationship in the plot, it isn't necessary.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed this book, and I'm glad I impulse bought the series since I definitely will continue it! Lots of interesting concepts, and a refreshing break away from the standard fantasy/science fiction.

Fans of the Hunger Games and Divergent will definitely appreciate it, but even if dystopian isn't usually your thing, if you have any interest in mystery at all I'd encourage you to give it a shot.

Thank you very much for reading, I hope I helped!

My first full review so any criticism is welcome! Reblog if you'd like me to do the same for other books

Also, stuck between reading the Raybearer sequel or The Box in the Woods next, any advice?

🧡💛🤍💙🖤

[demetrabrodsky]

Battle of the Books 2022: LAST GIRLS https://bcpl.info/youth/battle- Please enjoy this fantastic video review of #LASTGIRLS by librarian-extraordinaire Jessica (Maryland, Catonsville Branch) then watch all the videos for the BATTLE OF THE BOOKS nominees. I'm so honored #LASTGIRLS was nominated for Battle of the Books 2022! I'll be doing two programs for them on 11/10 and there is a full list of programs on their site. https://bcpl.info/.../battle-books...//youtu.be/Kgzs1MKRrp8 

Here's the full list:

~BLACKOUT by Dhonielle ClaytonClayton, Tiffany Jackson, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon

~FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER by Angeline Boulley

~THE GIRLS I'VE BEEN by Tess Sharpe

~THE INHERITANCE GAMES by Jennifer Lynne Barnes

~LAST GIRLS, by Demetra Brodsky @demetrabrodsky @demetrabrodskybooks

~LEGENDBORN by Tracy Deonn

~LONG WAY DOWN: the graphic Novel by Jason Reynolds, illustrated by Danica Novgorodoff

~PUMPKIN by Julie Jodi Murphy

~RAYBEARER by Jordan Ifueko

~WHITE SMOKE by Tiffany Jackson

[antoniab93-blog]

Raybearer

The 55th book I read this year was #Raybearer by #JordanIfueko, the first book in the Raybearer series This has been sat on my bookshelf for way too long, so I'm glad I finally got round to reading it! Read the full review on the blog for my thoughts!

The 55th book I read this year was Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko, the first book in the Raybearer series. This has been sat on my bookshelf for way too long, so I’m glad I finally got round to reading it. A summary attempt In this world, one ‘Raybearer’ is born in every generation of royals. They are born immune to one kind of death and then they must select eleven council members. Each one is…