The Sunbearer Trials

I want to state that I did, mostly, enjoy this book. Especially when I didn't think too hard about it.

The characters are, if not likable, at least enjoyable to read about. I feel that the author has improved greatly over their work in Cemetery Boys with regards to plotting and having an interesting hook/introduction to the story.

While I am not really the biggest fan of Hunger Games-esque stories, I do, however, like tournament style plots (which, I imagine you can blame Yu Yu Hakusho for). For me, this plot is okay, even if I don't think the main thrust of it makes much sense.

The whole idea that they make teens compete in a looser is a sacrifice sort of tradition doesn't make sense. I get that Sol chooses who competes and - apparently - ranks them - but this is like taking the worst of the best and making them die. To me, that goes directly against what this god would want (after all, they were the first, willing, sacrifice) and is also hugely disrespectful to them. (Who wants a weak sacrifice?) Then there's the whole issue I have about why is it teens - other than the fact that this is a YA book? (Wouldn't it make more sense to have people more in the prime of their life (like 25-30) competing?) (Why did Sol choose a 13 year old?)

I do like most of the world building - I find the concept of devices that protect towns so cool in theory even if that is just background here - and it's very fun for me to read such a very, very NOT euro-centric fantasy.

However, I really truly hate the usage of technology in this story. We have TikTok and Instagram and YouTube and camera crews and movies and ... Look, what makes this even worse (makes something I already didn't like worse) is the names. (I might be a little off because I did listen to the audiobook, but you'll get the idea.) TikTok = TikTak. Instagram = Instagraph. YouTube = BooTube. I mean... Look, in some books this would...fit. (Not work, this would never work for me.) But this book isn't a humorous, look at how funny I am book. And these names only work for that. And, honestly, I don't know how society progresses the way is has so you an have gods and demigods walking around with camera crews.

Anyway, yeah, as long as I don't think too much about it, I liked it. Would be willing to go for the second book, if my library gets it in a timely manner. (Preferably on audiobook.)

Quick thoughts:
3.5 ⭐
Kind of slow in pacing. Found the main character annoying. The twist(?) was mostly obvious. Loved the mythology and the gender representation. Enjoyed the romance. It would be exciting to see it really develop in book 2. Might read the next one in the series. Didn't really like the audiobook narrator either, in trying to not be monotonous everything came off as it was super exciting.

3.5⭐️
I liked this book but I felt that the trials could be a little bit more challenging seeing as thought sacrifice was in line, but overall it was fine

I felt every emotion on the spectrum during this read. Every. Single. One.The world-building, the characters, the plot, the way it had me literally screaming at all of the twists. This was magnificent. I am emotionally invested in every single character and I NEED to know what happens next!

q fue ese FINAL morí 

Loved!

Was truly not expecting that ending

Eu AMEI essa fantasia! Peguei em áudiobook como quem não quer nada e, a depender da continuação, pode ser minha leitura favorita do ano. Digo que depende da continuação, porque o livro simplesmente acaba do nada. DO NADA! Com um “To be continued”. Entendo que será uma duologia, e não consigo formar uma opinião completa sobre a história da forma como vimos aqui, já que tudo foi encerrado pela metade. Espero muito a sequência pra esse ano. Mas acredito que se mantiver o nível desse livro, serão duas leituras incríveis no ano, uma duologia perfeita.

Esse livro passou tão rápido, não senti que nenhum trecho estivesse só “enchendo linguiça”, inclusive senti falta de alguns momentos bobos de todo o elenco juntos, não só o trio principal, para vermos mais interação entre o povo e firmar mais a personalidade deles fora das competições. Devemos ver isso na sequência, mas devido às circustâncias, nem tanto quanto poderíamos ter tido aqui.

Tudo considerado, eu amei o livro, amei o Theo e a Niya, são uma dupla incrível, e do Aurélio, quero ver muito mais dele na sequência.

This is so beautiful written. And all the hype around it was right. One of the character name was almost my last name. It was missing a E in the end lol. I love the twist in the end. I did not see it coming. And I love how some of the characters mentor and each chapter. Love the friendship between them too. 

Aaaa I'm so sad now that it's over, I cannot wait till I have in my hands next book I know for sure it's going to be amazing. This one is one of the most fun books I've read in a while. Even though the ending wrecked me 🥲💔 and probably I'm going to need time to recover from it. I absolutely loved it and I would highly recommend the book to everyone I know. 

probably I'll edit this review later, but it's late now so I'll just leave it

This book was a bit disappointing. The main character, Teo, is irritating and childish, and his romance with Aurelio is predictable and uninteresting. The only character I really liked was Xio, but I'm guessing he's not going to be featured very prominently, or in the same way as in this book. I found almost all of the characters to have very surface level personalities, with little depth to keep me interested. There were also way too many characters. Along with Teo, Niya, Xio, and Aurelio, there were six other prominent characters which meant it was difficult to find time to get to know their characters, meaning any interactions they had with Teo were pretty much interchangeable (apart from with Auristela and Ocelo, but they both felt like over exaggerated bully characters).
Speaking of interactions, I feel like I read the phrase ‘a laugh bucked in Teo's chest' or ‘Xio hid his laugh' about fifty times - these characters were constantly laughing about very unfunny conversations, which just made it seem like the author was trying to convince you they were funny when they really weren't.
A lot of the plot was also very predicable - Teo becomes Sunbearer and refuses to sacrifice the loser, although that whole scene went a lot faster than I was expecting. I was at about page 370 when I realised this wasn't actually a stand alone novel, so make of that what you will.

Okay, I did just complain a whole bunch there, but this book wasn't all bad. It does have brilliant worldbuilding. While I wasn't expecting this story to be set in the modern world, I grew used to it quickly, and liked how a lot of the Gods' powers became used in a modern setting. It was cool to see the differences between Golds and Jades, and each semidiose between each other. It was also great to see a lot of non-binary representation. (Although I did notice two instances where a non-binary character was misgendered. Once for Ocelo, and once for Sol, both being misgendered with he/him pronouns. I don't know if this was an accident by the author or by an editor but it's very strange for something like this to make it to final print, and it's really disappointing to see these characters being misgendered.)

I did find Teo's transness to be quite difficult to read about, as my trans experience as someone only slightly younger than him has been very different and difficult, so it is possible that my personal struggle with seeing other trans people with exactly what I want (which I know I ought to overcome) may have diminished my enjoyment of this book somewhat.

Despite its flaws, I am looking forward to reading the second book in this series. (And also very excited to see the cover of the next book, as this one is utterly gorgeous!)

While I may not be a fan of Rick Riordan's books, Hunger Games was always a fav, so I was quite excited for this one and turns out I was right. I also decided to request for an audio advance copy while still reading my physical copy and it was totally the perfect way to experience the book.

The world building in this one was super cool. It's been a while since I enjoyed such detailed world building in a YA fantasy and I really appreciated the author for it. The mythology surrounding Sol and his creations; the dioses, semidioses, and their powers; the hierarchy within the realm based on the characteristics of the dioses and how it affects the perceptions about them; how the Sunbearer trials happen and the display of all kinds of cool powers during them, being televised like reality tv (very reminiscent of Hunger Games), but also with the stakes being so high and how it affects the temperament of the participants; and the world itself being a mix of ancient and modern - it all made for a lot of fun reading and I was swept along the journey. The story is mostly the trials and it takes place during about 10 days, so the pacing is pretty fast, we get all lots of thrilling adventure and action, and get to know the characters as they tackle such tense situations. I liked how the diverse spectrum of gender and sexuality is normalized here, making for a very accepting world which made me happy.


It's not easy to remember all the dioses and their children present here because we have many, each with their own powers and I still don't know how many I'll be able to name. Naturally I liked Teo because he is the only POV we get, and we truly see his aspirations and fears and his growth through the trials. His friendship with Niya is very unlikely but also amazing and I just adored all their moments together. Niya herself was just so sure of her strength and her place in her world, but never came across as a jerk like some of the other powerful characters, and that's why she is definitely a favorite. Xio is just a young boy who is an outcast because of his father, very much out of place in the tournament, but seeing Teo and Niya be protective about him was nice.

I really thought all the other participants in the trial were going to be jerks based on initial perceptions and Teo's own ideas about them, but I liked the way the author peeled the layers of each of them as the story progressed, and we see what they care about and what they are willing to do for their goals. Aurelio and Auristela are definitely very memorable and I slowly came to like at least Aurelio, but I still think it'll be more interesting if they are a larger presence (maybe even a POV). And I know everyone probably is shipping Teo and Aurelio but I'm not sure if I'm there yet - there was just a bit too much unnecessary angst for my liking in their dynamic but I'm looking forward to more of their relationship development now that the circumstances have changed.

Overall, this was an action packed and thrilling novel with a very unique Mexican inspired world and mythology which will leave a deep impression on you. If you are looking for a fast paced fantasy version of the Hunger Games with gods and magic and slightly less ruthless characters, then you can't go wrong with this one. I also had fun going back and forth between the physical copy and the beautifully narrated audiobook by André Santana. I'm definitely looking forward to see where the story goes next.