Jordan IfuekoBesprekingen

This cover is absolutely gorgeous

Gr 7 Up—When Tarisai successfully earns a place on the Council of 11, she is happy to be one among others, with
little interest in the higher honor of being bonded to the Crown Prince through the Ray and carrying out her mother's
plan of assassination. Blending fantasy, Nigerian folklore, and a complex and engaging set of relationships, debut
author Ifueko pits loyalty to self against family obligations, newfound friendships, and love.

I sucked this one down quickly and hope for a sequel

Tarisai of Swana is born to a perplexing woman called The Lady and a djinn (called an ehru in this novel), and her whole life is a preparation to join the Crown Prince’s Council of Eleven, all of whom possess some magical power. However, even before she arrived, she was cryptically instructed (programmed, really) to kill the prince, the person she as a Council member, is sworn to protect and love. Tarisai resists this instruction, travelling through the twelve realms of Aristar trying to understand herself and this command. Political unrest, palace intrigue, bigotry, love, betrayal, and marginalization of “other” are the familiar themes that drive the plot, making this strange universe relatable to our own. Impressive debut fantasy novel.

Raybearer set the bar incredibly high and, while still incredibly enjoyable, Redemptor wasn't quite as good. The plot was absolutely delightful and I loved seeing more of Dayo and his asexuality (yay representation!) He's such an incredble character and I am happy that we didn't lose his presence in this book (as we could so easily have as Tarisai has a whole lot of daunting tasks coming up). I also loved seeing Tarisai grow now that she is no longer trapped by her mother, although she definitely faces whole new kind of cruel and manipulative presence in this book. I also enjoyed her stress-induced spiralling. I think many people ill be able to relate to it to some degree even if they haven't experienced it to the same extent she is. I'm glad that she had people who stuck by her and looked out for her through it all.

I was, however, a little disappointed by all the new characters. There are A LOT of them and I feel like less care is given to them than those in the first book. And yet a good portion of the pages is dedicated to this. It means that other important plot points probably aren't given as much space and time as they should have. I really think this book could have benefitted from more pages to accomplish all the many things it as trying to do. Maybe even a whole other book, but I suspect that that would have just resulted in the story dragging so just expanding this (although already not short) would have been a noticeable improvement. Like I would have loved to have seen more of the Underworld as the author clearly put so much effort into making it. (And of course it's also what the duology has been building up to for hundreds of pages) as well as the resolution.

While this book might not quite have lived up to Raybearer for me, I did still enjoy it and would still recommend it. It provides a good conclusion to all the conflict and the story that were started in the previous book. And of course it is always nice to read about a unique fantasy world that is so unlike the more typical western-centric ones that one comes across so often. I hope that the author writes more about the world in the future. It is definitely one I would love to spend more time exploring.

A fitting end. I've to buy this one now too! I definitely want to read more from this author.

Nitpick: Besides Sanjeet and Kirah, the other council bros/sisters don't get any more spotlight. I was hoping to learn more about them in this book.

This was gold. Ifueko's very creative. Only nitpick some of the Anointed Ones got more spotlight than others.

Oooh I loved this book. I was intrigued om the fist page. Although, full disclaimer, I do love it when fantasy books are based on different cultures. This was a massive plus for me and I kept finding myself wanting to learn more about this world.

The book mainly focusses on Tarisai's journey and I loved seeing her grow and become more confident through the pages. We meet her as a child and learn more of her world as she matures and grows up. The whole concept of the curse is fascinating and I loved seeing her struggle with it, her largely unknown family and what she wants for herself. I enjoyed seeing the subtle shifts in the writing as she grew up to reflect her own changes. While this book is marketed as YA, it is definitely just as suitable for adults. It feels a lot more fleshed out than a lot of the YA books I've recently read and doesn't rely on romance to push the plot forward. The characters feel real and I think that people of all ages can It focuses a lot less on romance than modern YA books seem to and spends more time looking at self growth and destiny and the importance of other forms of love (something I absolutely love and want to see way more of in books). While some characters were definitely more of a focus than others (especially Tarisai and Dayo), all of them felt well thought out. I very much enjoyed how deeply flawed they all were and learning about their weaknesses and fears just as much as their strengths.

There is a lot of beautiful imagery in this book and I liked how it tied back to its African folklore inspirations. The author did reuse a lot of descriptions though and often in the same scenarios. I enjoyed the unique magic system and the concept of the council. The way it works and grants power is fascinating. I don't think I've seen anything quite like it before. The world is clearly well thought out and the book does and incredible of of exploring it and just how diverse all its cultures are, while also looking at the dangers of xenophobia and attempts at cultural suppression for the sake of conformity. Although I felt some parts towards the end were a little bit expositiony, this is largely done in a natural way through the plot.

I can definitely recommend this book to fantasy lovers who would like to explore a unique world, particularly those who would like to read beyond the typical European-inspired fantasy realms (not that there is anything wrong with them of course). And to those who enjoy YA fiction but are tired of how romance and love triangle heavy the genre has gotten. I will definitely be reading the next book as this one, while it has a good end point, definitely leaves a lot of questions unanswered about the future of Tarisai's world½

I am not one to gravitate towards YA stories. And when I say "I am not one to gravitate", I mean I generally abhor the genre. And I try, I really do ocassionaly try. You may say I dabble. I get recommended a novel by someone I love and probably don't trust and I think "what the heck, this could be the time, let's give it a whirl." And nearly without fail I enjoy the setting and cannot stand the characters. I laugh when I am not suppose to, I cringe at the inevitable romance, and feel embarrassment that I myself was once a teenager. All that being said or complained, none of that applies to this book and I thought it a delight and will madly suggest it to everyone of my dear friends who has suggested a book that I read and lambasted.

(Review also posted on Netgalley)
Solid sequel to Raybearer; 4.5/5 stars

When I began the book I was a bit confused on how much time had passed, but Ifueko quickly centers you in Tarisai's journey to connect with 11 others before her trip to the underworld. The pacing was interesting--slow build with Tarisai's journey in the underworld taking up about 15% of the book towards the last quarter of the book. This pacing is not for everyone, and I typically don't enjoy books that follow this flow.

I appreciated the the Lady was included, but her presence was brief and aligned with what we learned about her in the the first book. I wish there was more about Kirah in this book--she and Tarisai seemed to grow alongside each other in the first book!

ALSO, the way in which Dayo's asexuality was presented was so positive throughout the book, and it was valuable that this was shown as a key part of his identity, without it being the only part of his character worth sharing. Ifueko crafted a strong world, consistent with the first book--definitely recommend to have this book on hand for students, although I would not personally choose to teach this text due to the odd pacing.

Satisfying conclusion to Raybearer.

Tarasai is now the Empress Redemptor. She is determined to stop her people from suffering, be it from child sacrifice, worker exploitation, or justice. Despite being Dayo's Raybearer, and tasked with creating her own council of Raybearers, she often tries to go it alone.

I feel like the book could have been longer. I wanted more Dayo and more bonding with the other rulers. However, the story is told from Tar's POV, and she is on a Mission. And she is focused on the Mission.

Stunning coming-of-age novel set in an alternate world empire aspiring to be Wakanda. Despite hundreds of years of peace, Artisar is not a utopia. There are dark undercurrents

It is the story of Tarasai, a sheltered young girl sent to the capitol city to be a candidate for something. Although she has spent her life learning with tutors, no one tells her what is happening.. Jordan Ifueko slowly reveals history amid surprisingly plot-turns.

I look forward to next book.

Spectacular adventure of a chosen one, with an African inspired fantasy world and some legendary magic. It’s intricate and enthralling, with betrayals and a strong girl at the center of it.

3.5 stars rounded up. This book started off fantastic with interesting characters and fresh world building, but somewhere around halfway the story stopped focusing on the characters and became more of a descriptive account of travels which wasn't as engaging to me.

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 11. 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?

5 stars again! Can't wait to see the Netflix adaptation. :-)

Wonderfully unique.

Mentioned in a blog post at https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2020/07/06/veronica-mars-but-make-it-queer/

This was a great conclusion to the Raybearer duology.

In this book the focus is on improving society and what realistically can be done to achieve that. I like how the book addressed an extreme of it with the Crocodile while showing the downside of letting the mission become someone's entire reason for living through Tarisai. I think this is a struggle a lot of people will relate to, especially now in the age of social media that allows us to have access to so many awful things happening at the same time. Tarisai is always hearing these voices that tell her to do more and more and she forgets to take care of herself, which makes all those that care about her worry. I really liked how this plot was addressed.

Even though I predicted some of the reveals, like in the former book, it was still such a joy to read. I loved seeing a bit more of characters I already knew and getting to meet new characters. Once again i feel like the author could write a story about any of these characters because they have so much potential. However, I understand that the duology should stick to the main themes addressed and that this is mainly about Tarisai's growth. I love it for that even if I think there were other ideas for characters that would have been interesting to explore.

The resolution at the end was a bit easy and I was expecting more out of the Underworld chapters, but I still really liked the conclusion and these two books are absolutely worth reading.

“Raybearer” tells the story of Tarisai, a girl who lives in isolation and has an absent mother known as The Lady. When Tarisai is 11 years old the Lady sends her to the capital of the Aritsar Empire to be chosen as ones of the Crown Prince’s Council of 11. If she’s picked, she’ll be joined through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood, which is very attractive to Tarisai who wishes to be loved and belong somewhere. However, The Lady has other plans and orders her daughter to kill the prince.

The ideas in this book are very interesting, especially when it comes to the kinds of magic. That was the best part to me since I found the ideas fascinating and I wish some of them would have been explained more.

The Raybearer is the ruler of the empire and only their offspring also have the Ray. He bonds with 11 people through the Ray in order to become immune to the 12 ways to die and become immortal. Raybearers are born with one immunity already and the 12 ways are : poison, contagion, gluttony, burning, drowning, suffocation, bleeding, beast mauling, disaster, organ-death, witches’ hexes, battery. The process of a Raybearer bonding with others through the Ray is called being annointed and in order for this to happen those chosen eleven must love the Crown Prince and have an hallow, which is a kind of power some people are born with. Tarisai’s power is being able to access the memories of someone or something. There is another character that can sing to heal people, another that can see the physical weakness of others and many more.

There are also people called Redemptors, that are only born in Songland, and have blue marks all over their bodies. These marks are actually a map to the Underworld since every 100 years Redemptors are born to be claimed by the abiku, spirits of death. The few Redemptors who survive have an Underworld beast companion known as emi-ehran and the marks on their bodies become purple. The emi-ehran are spirit beasts of the Underworld sent to comfort lost or dying souls.

There are also other magical beings in this fantastical world like the alagbato, bush-spirits and sprites. These don’t appear much and I would have liked to know more about them. The same happens with all the people that form the Council of the Crown prince. Most of them are just mentioned here and there so I never really got to know those characters and their hallows that looked really interesting too.

That brings me to my main problem with the book and that is the pacing. The narrative is very fast and there are a few time jumps. Because of this there isn’t much time to dedicate to all of the characters and magic introduced. The book is also told from Tarisai’s perspective and since it’s a first person narrative, which I love, doesn’t give much opportunity to know all of those things that would make for a much bigger book. The impact of certain situations were lost at times because I didn’t know all the members of the Council enough no matter how much the main character said she cared for them (which she should because a Ray bond is very strong and they are a family so is surprising that there is so little information about 8 of the 11 people).

The writing style is simple, but there are some beautiful and emotional sentences here and there. The chapters are really short which make this a very quick read. As I have written above, I wish the chapters were longer and the pacing slower in order for me to connect with all of the characters and get to know them through the eyes of Tarisai.

Tarisai herself is the most developed character, of course, but there are others that are almost on her level like Dayo, Kirah, Sanjeet, The Lady, etc. But, I wish that I have seen even more of them too. This book started seeming like it would be a character driven story and ended up being more of a plot driven book. Even so, I could connect with the main character and others and feel something for them at certain points in the book.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the absence of a love triangle and that one of the characters is a bi romantic asexual. Not that pleasantly surprised by another character that fell in love with a guy off page and in a very short period of time, but that also didn’t bother me much.

There is a moment in the book when a character calls Tarisai a monster and that seems very odd given their relationship before the moment that lead to that. I understand the situation, but it still felt odd given the connection and similarities between the characters involved. However, that is thankfully resolved quickly and no more out of character moments happen again.

There is also a lot of exposition. Some of it is done well, like when Tarisai is using her hallow to access someone’s memories, and some of it is done not so well, like when one character screams in the middle of a conversation part of their backstory about how they met The Lady.

I figured out who the Lady was pretty early on in the story, but that didn’t take away my enjoyment of the story. Sometimes certain difficult situations are resolved to easily, especially near the end where there are some sort of coincidences. This way, the stakes didn’t feel that high, but the ending makes up for it a little even though I doubt that there will be a tragic ending to the second book and I will be surprised if there is.

At the end there is a list of the characters with the pronunciation of their names, which is very helpful, and a glossary with the fantastical terms used in the book and what they mean. I love it and I wish all fantasy books had this.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I am excited to read the next one. The titles of both books make so much sense now and I love how it connects to that one reveal. This is also the first time I read an African inspired fantasy story and I definitely crave more now.

This is the sequel to last year's Lodestar finalist, Raybearer. I found this kind of all over the place. Like a Brandon Sanderson novel, it felt like the characters had a stated urgent goal (prevent the spirits of children from being carried off) and a goal they were working on (assembling a ruling council) and though technically the two were linked, one felt like a distraction from the other. I also think the whole hook of "I have to convince a group of people to love me" is just... weird and not really something I actually want to read a book about? A strange hodgepodge of parts that don't come together with too many characters. Which is a shame, because though I didn't love Raybearer, I felt it had more potential than this.

I cannot form the proper words regarding how much I enjoyed this book. From the moment I read the dedication to the very last two words a specific character spoke--I am in love with this book, this story, these characters.

Yes. Just YES. Buy the book. Read the book.

Jordan Ifueko! She did it again! I was so thankful to have gotten both of these books at the same time. If I would have had to wait to read Redemptor after finishing Raybearer I may have needed to up my anxiety meds. This tied up everything from Raybearer so perfectly. I am in love with these characters and this world. Bravo Jordan, I am excited to read whatever your beautiful brain comes up with next!

It's been a long time since I've read a book that was this beautiful. I was hooked from the first chapter and it just continued getting better. My heart is so full after devouring this masterpiece. There aren't enough stars to give Jordan Ifuenko for what she created. I also can't find the words to describe how phenomenal this book is. The world seems better now that I have read this. Thank you for this Jordan, I've never been so thrilled to start a sequel.

The sequel is somehow even better than the first. It’s so good, and the message about depression is really well done.