Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

Raybearer (Raybearer, #1)

by Jordan Ifueko

The epic and phenomenal West-African inspired New York Times bestselling YA fantasy from an incredible new talent.

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

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?

Reviewed by lessthelonely on

4 of 5 stars

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4.5/5 stars.

Non-white fantasy keeps proving to be absolutely elite. For me, it all started with Legendborn. And I don't mean to define this book in terms of its whiteness, it's simply that I don't remember the last time I read a fantasy book written by a white author and I find that a good thing.

Raybearer was a book I was expecting to grab me from the very first page and while the grabbing was a little bit more slow burn than that, once the claws were drawn into my skin, I was reading and going at it. First of all: whoever formatted this book and designed the formatting? I wish you well, I wish you get your ass ate and that all you've ever wished for you get.

The characters and characterization is elite when it is present - I do think a lot of the members of Ekundayo's Council have enough of a presence for you to like their presence, but I feel like only Tarisai, Ekundayo, the love interest Sanjeet and Kirah have a more defined and needed presence. Character conflict between these four seemed quite organic and never like it was serving a plot point.

I will however say that the amnesia route was... a choice. I believe the author was trying to do a tenseful experience with the amnesia since we did know about it - Hitchcock's rules and all that -, but I do think it fell a little bit flat on that part. Everything else was incredible and though this book does that thing where the show-down is your climax, it was GLORIOUS. I hope this book gets a TV or movie adaptation because whatever episode the climax ends up being will be able to generate Game of Thrones level of hype, for sure.

Top all this with LGBT representation? ASEXUAL REPRESENTATION AT THAT? What else could you want? Get this one.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 4 September, 2022: Finished reading
  • 4 September, 2022: Reviewed