Redemptor is an incredible follow up to one of my favorite books of the year. From page one I knew this was going to be a favorite book of the year. Ifueko has created an incredible universe that draws you in and keeps you hooked until the final page.

Redemptor is a worthy sequel to one of my favourite reads of 2020, Raybearer. In this second instalment, we follow Tarisai as she faces new challenges and enemies and ultimately braves the underworld itself. With brand new fascinating characters and several heartfelt moments, Redemptor explores exploitation, oppression, nobility, and class divisions in a thoughtful and multifaceted way.

Redemptor asks questions that are so important for young people to consider. Why does blood or birth determine our lot in life? Why are some lives more expendable than others? Do those in power have a responsibility to change the status quo for the better? Who deserves the power to decide?

I am in love with the world Ifueko has built with this series, and I cannot wait to see what she creates next!

Trigger/Content Warnings: Death, blood, suffering, child death, child labour, murder, amputation/loss of limbs

This one is more of a 4.5 but ofcourse I’m rounding up.

Despite having the advance copy, I’m late by a week in writing this review but I just couldn’t read this book when I wasn’t in the mood, because one of my most anticipated sequels of the years deserved my full attention. And listening to this audiobook gave me all the joy I needed.

Raybearer was a book that was never on my radar until I received the audiobook as part of a promotion and I decided to give it a try - not realizing that it would enchant me completely, becoming one of my top 3 favorites reads of 2020. Redemptor is not much different, plunging us into a tense situation right from the first page and letting us feel a lot of things through the course of the story. The author is great at exploring issues of oppression, poverty, and rebellion, as well as themes of self worth, guilt, grief and despair - all through the eyes of Tarisai. The narration of Joniece Abbott-Pratt heightens the emotions such that we feel what Tar is going through in our heart, and just like Raybearer, the audiobook definitely makes this story even better. The plot took unexpected turns at places but was also predictable at times, but the pacing was just right and I never felt bored. I did go into this book expecting it to be five stars and I can’t say exactly that I’m disappointed to reduce a half star, but the ending kinda felt a bit anticlimactic and rushed than what I thought it would be - it’s satisfactory enough but just falls a little short.

Tar is an amazing protagonist just like in the first book and it’s so fascinating to see her growth. She may be a young and unexpected Empress who was not trained from childhood for this role, but accepts the responsibility with all dedication. Not having the same privileged background and upbringing as Dayo and the other nobles, she is unable to close her eyes and turn away from the status quo of centuries of oppression by the elite families on the common people, where the poorest experience all kinds of tortures and indignities while the nobles hoard their coffers. When everyone around her chides her for trying to do too much and advises her to go slowly and incrementally, she is ready to make sweeping changes because it may be difficult but it’s also the right thing to do. In a bit of a parallel to our real world, the author shows us how some people are always ready to overlook the injustices of the past because they haven’t committed them in the present, despite the consequences of said past still having an effect; and how there are always people like Tar and Zuri who can’t stomach the atrocities, either the past or present, and just dedicate their lives to make the world better.

Zuri was probably the most fascinating new addition to this world. His dialogues filled with riddles, his charming demeanor and a slightly wicked streak hide a much more empathetic person and I really enjoyed how the author revealed parts of him bit by but. I probably would have liked to see him more but in this book which has two councils, each with twelve members, there were just too many characters. Even when the focus is on Zuri or the ruthless queen Min Ja, we only get to know them for a short while which I thought was unfortunate, coz these two were definitely very compelling characters. We also see Tar’s relationship with her first council, especially Dayo and Jeet and Kirah and I really enjoyed seeing them again. Dayo in particular was a delight and I absolutely adore his platonic relationship full of love with Tar, and how supportive he is of her choices and decisions. The romance did take a backseat this time but I didn’t feel anything missing because this story was about much more.

To conclude, this was a worthy finale to one of the best YA debuts of last year. With masterful storytelling, compelling group of ensemble characters and the most stunning audiobook narration, the author creates a memorable world and explores a very important question - what is the duty of a ruler? This duology has strong heroine, a extremely compassionate emperor, a found family which shows us all the forms that love can take, an empire full of different kingdoms with their own traditions and cultures, and a story that keeps you hooked throughout - don’t give this a miss.

I could not possibly write a review that is good enough for this book. The character development, the magic system, the found family, the exciting plot...This was everything I could have asked for in a book. The author did such an amazing job continuing the story from Raybearer.

One thing in particular that stood out to me was how well everything was described (i.e. the outfits, the scenery, the action scenes, ect.) but she knew exactly where to stop so that the reader got the full picture without becoming bored or overwhelmed. It felt like watching a movie. Another thing was the characters. There were so many characters, but I felt like I knew them all personally. They all had their own stories, characteristics, and personalities that set them apart from each other. Five stars is not enough stars. I would go as far as to say that this is one of the best fantasy series that I have read in the last 10 years.

Just as rich and compelling as the first book, but with a whole other layer about self worth and seemingly, depression. Once again the mythology is also a humming force in the story. And the ending was perfect.

An impressive conclusion to Raybearer, one of my favorite books of 2020, but I didn't enjoy reading this one nearly as much as I did the first. I also don't think it's quite as well paced or cleverly developed as the first, but there's A LOT going on here, so if you liked Raybearer you'll certainly find plenty to enjoy in this one, too.

• Tarisai remains a courageous, determined, principled main character facing nearly impossible tasks (some of the difficulties she endures and works through are powerfully haunting, but also become somewhat repetitive)
• Dayo, Sanjeet, Kirah, and Ai Ling are here as her supportive counsel siblings (though I would've liked to have them around more), and a whole host of new characters are introduced (some strikingly drawn and interesting, some suffering from underdevelopment or cliche)
• Tarisai's quest to end and correct the nightmarish sacrifices of the Redemptor system is broadened as she discovers and understands other unjust, exploitive systems; there's also a nice subversion of the chosen one trope
• The fantasy world continues to be built out with amazing detail (it seems to lean a little harder than the first on borrowed cultural traits, though it's possible I just noticed it more)

And if you haven't read Raybearer (and you're for some reason here reading to the end of a review about its sequel … no judgment!), then I think you're in for a treat — you get to read them back to back, which I suspect would've greatly increased my overall enjoyment of the duology. I'm just not a person who is meant to go a full year between parts of a story. Ifueko does an admirable job of getting us back up to speed, but I still struggled to remember some of the main characters and plot points, let alone the specialized vocab.

Topics, tropes and themes: power, love, justice, legacy, right to govern, exploitation, socioeconomic stratification, revolution, sacrifice, worth, guilt, conviction, commitment, inheritance; chosen one, found family, sacrifice, love triangle, ancient magic, underworld, working for a future world

Content notes: death, undead haunts and attacks, battle violence, assassination attempt, parental neglect and manipulation, revolutionary fervor, mental health and communication issues

After reading Raybearer I was hooked with the story and character and just had to know how the story would unfold.
Redemptor did not disappoint!!!
Again the story captures you from the beginning and the world building is just amazing.
Tarisai is so great as a MC. She has her mind set and very focused on her task. What is different about this you may ask? Well the fact that she is not selfish, she is smart, centered, a superb strategist and very considerate with herself, those around her and her duty despite how she was raised and protected. You just fall in love with her.
The Duology couldnt have ended any better and I can't wait to read more from Jordan Ifuenko.

I was very lucky to receive this book as an ARC, but either way I pre-ordered this book super fast!

The Raybearer duology is absolute perfection in a book. I would recommend both books to literally anybody!

It feels like reading a Disney movie - the lush beauty of the world that Ifueko has built, the characters to whom you can't help but get attached, the fast-moving and detailed plot?

Amazing.

Redemptor is a wonderful and satisfying ending to the Raybearer duology. I can easily say these two books were two of my favorite reads this year and go-to recommendations. The world is so unique and special. I was immediately drawn in by the lore that was used as a baseline for this book and it wasn't confusing at all. Ifueko is spectacular at creating characters that are real and sympathetic and compelling. I wasn't able to put down either novel once I started it. I really hope everyone gets a chance to read this novel.

Thank you to Abrams Kids and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own!

HOLY WOW. JORDAN HAS DONE IT AGAIN! I hate that I haven't had time to just sit and read this from cover to cover because I absolutely would've. It was so dang good. I can't handle it. I'm not sure how she continues to be able to lure you in from just the first sentence until you finish, but Jordan does it with ease. She has easily become a must buy author for me. Redemptor was no exception. I fell in love with Raybearer, but I fell harder for Redemptor.

The way the world was expanded, the way the characters went through a well thought out and developed arc, and the way the story flourished and was told was hands down one of the most creative and incredible displays of storytelling I've ever seen. Tarisai and Dayo are two of my favorite YA fantasy characters. This was just exquisite. I don't even want to give away too many details so that I can force people to read this and love it like I do. It is out of this world good.

I think my only ding towards the book as a whole is that it took me a chapter or two to get back into the world and into the world, but once I did it was smooth sailing the rest of the way. It was an absolute page turner. I love the journey that Tarisai goes on and how she truly grows and learns who she is. Even the minor characters were so well written they've take up a residence in my heart. There were laughs, there were tears, but this book fully stole my heart. There was no evidence of a sophomore slump here, just greatest. Seriously. Read this series! You won't regret it!

Redemptor was everything I wanted and more. I was consistently on the edge of my seat reading this novel, from the beginning all the way to the conclusion. Not only was I so absorbed into the plot and what was happening to the characters, but whilst reading I got to appreciate the writing of this novel. Jordan Ifueko's writing is uniquely beautiful, which makes the twists and turns of the plot even more thrilling. I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this novel.

As with all sequels that follow my favorite books, I was nervous starting Redemptor. Could Ifueko maintain the incredible story that she started with Raybearer? Would the world-building hold up? Would the characters shine through as strongly as they had in the first book? Honestly, I shouldn't have worried. Redemptor provided the perfect continuation and wrap-up to this story.

Ifueko picks up the story and dives right in with Redemptor, and due to the lengthy period between finishing Raybearer and starting Redemptor, it took me a minute to readjust to the pacing, the language and the storyline. But within a few pages, I was settled and invested. Tarisai is now the Empress, and struggling with the hard decisions of providing equity and justice within the realm. Innocence is gone, and the realities of the world she has inherited become stark and obvious. She needs to make hard decisions, and along with her chosen siblings and new council members, she navigates the treacherous pathways with skill and empathy. Fighting through the layers of hypocrisy and entitlement, Tarisai is further burdened with her own emotional turmoil. Voices and spirits plague her, whether awake or asleep, and she struggles to control her anxiety about the decisions she must make to achieve her goals. Rising triumphant at the end of the story, Tarisai stays true to herself and her ideals, in the face of numerous foes. The ending of this story brings all of the points to a satisfying conclusion, and is a fitting ending for this duology. Would I be heartbroken if there was another book to carry this story? Absolutely not.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Abrams Kids, and Amulet Books for providing me with an advance reading copy in exchange for my honest review. Highly recommend this book to any reader with a love of fantasy, strong "chosen family" stories, and well-written characters and plots.

This series quite possibly be one of the best ya fantasy series I’ve ever read!! The writing, the world building, the characters, the detail all of it are absolutely phenomenal. This book felt like a seamless continuation of the first one which made me fall in love all over again! I could not put this one down because the story just developed so well and so quickly that you couldn’t.

3 to 3.5 stars.

I’m definitely in the minority on this one, but I just wasn’t blown away. Don’t get me wrong, there were some really good parts, but so much of the middle just felt similar to Raybearer. I wanted so much more depth to not only the characters but the worldbuilding as well.

One thing that I did really enjoy was the way everything ended, but of course I can’t discuss that because of spoilers.

This duology finale strikes that same sparkling, quick ebb-and-flow (of a tumultuous ocean) of the first one—while it constantly kept me tense and nervous with emotional turmoil, political drama, and intense magic, it also gave me delightful moments of love, success, and joy.

Tarisai accomplished many impossibilities in Raybearer, and in Redemptor now she's an empress and she is asked to achieve even more impossibilities: in a risky deal to save the world, by the nobles and the commoners of her lands, by herself and her own high standards, and, worse of all, by specters of dead children who were sacrificed. This kind of novel will have you asking questions on every page, not only from the dozens of plotty mysteries but also what it means to do good in the world: What makes change worth it? What are the costs of every action? What is ‘the right thing’?

This fast-paced novel completes a story I could have had 8 novels of and been delighted with each. I don’t know how the author resisted the temptation of stretching this story into more, but she manages to pack it all in and still give a satisfying story. I’m going to miss these characters so much.

Thanks Netgalley for the eARC. I would have finished it before publication I hadn't been so scared for my favorite characters. . .


Goodreads Review link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3997798150

This was an interesting return to Arit, and Tarisai, who is now Empress. She’s got a frightening, no, terrifying task looming over her, as she needs to honour her agreement with the demons: to walk willingly into the underworld in place of the children originally destined to go. Her fellow council members are terrified for her, particularly Dayo, Sanjeet and Kirah.
At the same time, Tarisai is threatened and harried constantly by the spirits of dead children, who are urging her to work ever harder everyday to gain them justice, as well as right several existing injustices in Arit. To do this, she must also gain not just the support of Arit’s vassals rulers, but she must meld them into her own council. So, easy peasy, right?

I was worried that this book would not be as good as book one. No worries. Jordan Ifueko has Tarisai wrestle with a number of things, driving herself incredibly hard, often with her council siblings not grasping why she is so determined to right so many wrongs, especially as they either don’t see the problems in the realm, or feel any urgency about them.

Ifueko deals with big issues here, of how
-how should one wield power while staying true to oneself and being compassionate to others?
-@ how do you gain equity for those without?
-how far do you go and how much do you give of yourself to others when trying to right wrongs?

So, Tarisai goes through the wringer multiple times in this book as she keeps trying to do what she feels will gain people around Arit safety, equality and opportunities, while also trying to be kind and balanced in her rulings. It’s a difficult thing to achieve, and this wonderful young woman refuses to settle for adequate, while also gaining valuable insight when gaining the trust of her vassal rulers.

I feel like the book ended on a high, while also leaving me wanting more stories in this world.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for a review.

Honestly, I love this series for its culture. It's so different from other YA fantasies I've read in the past. I looked back on my review of Raybearer and I had made a comparison of it to The Hobbit. I'm starting to realize it's better than the hobbit because of it's relatable cultural references.

This book is a FIVE star read. I loved this sequel as much as I loved reading Raybearer (the first novel in the series). The character and plot development makes this book hard to put down. I love the writing style and the world Ifueko has created. I highly recommend this book and series. I wish there were more!

"Raybearer" was one of the best YA fantasy books I've read in quite some time, and it was great to revisit this world Ifueko created.

"Redemptor" picks up right where "Raybearer" leaves off. Tarisai is the new empress alongside Dayo. After offering herself as the last sacrifice, she must now scramble to recruit all 12 leaders of the land to her own council before entering the underworld to face the Abiku. Tarisai struggles under the pressure of ruling and finding a council, as well as the impending possibility of her death. On top of all that, she has been seeing ojiji, seemingly the ghosts of all the previous Redemptor children who died in generations past who are busy making her feel inadequate and unworthy.

The conclusion of this series was just as epic as I thought it would be, and it was great to see Tarisai developing into a more confident character. I enjoyed the process of her creating her council, and her making her way through the Underworld. Dayo's council got more air time here, which was good because in book one, they were incredibly secondary. While some of them were still in the background (there are 12 of them after all), there were some standouts, especially Ai Ling. And can we have a round of applause for the excellent ACE representation? Beautifully done.

Now onto some things that didn't work for me here: I wasn't a fan of the "love triangle" that happened in this book. I understood why it was essential, but to me it didn't seem necessary, and I mean...I was here for Sanjeet too! The pacing dragged on for much of the book, and then zoomed by at the (arguable) climax near the last 20%. Much of this was caused by frequent reminders of Tarisai's self-doubt, which felt a bit whiny at times reading from her perspective. I was also disappointing in her growth as a character in the Underworld when she encounters someone from her past. I understand this plot line wasn't entirely resolved, but I'd have hoped by now she would haven't made the same mistakes she was making in early book 1.

I highly recommend this series, even if this book didn't live up to all my expectations. I really enjoyed the ending, and will probably reread it (at a slower pace) sometime in the future.

I really loved this duology. As this is a book two, there could be spoilers from book one below.

Tarisai made a deal that she needs to anoint the rulers of all twelve Arit realms to form her council. If she does that in two years, she can enter the Underworld, hopefully survive it, and there will never be any more children taken. This would be hard to do during normal times, but Tarisai also starts getting haunted by ojiji. They were Redemptor children that never passed on to the Core. They are there whispering to Tarisai that she needs to do more. They make her feel unworthy and that she's a failure. All of it starts to get to her. She wants to help these children, but she needs to focus on getting her council and learning how to survive in the Underworld. Not all the leaders fall in love with her easily either. There are a couple that challenge her. Especially Zuri. He helps Tarisai see that the rich are always in charge and that the poor will always be poor with no power. He wants to change that.

I don't want to get into the story too much. I loved how the author talked about poverty and control a lot. How the rich profit off the poor and how change is needed. There were so many great things about this story, including the characters. The pacing was good, too. Sadly, it took me longer to get through than normal, but I wasn't quite in the fantasy mood when I started it. A different week/mood, I probably would have read it in two days. I thought book two was just as good as Raybearer.

I gave this book 4 1/2 stars rounded up to 5 on Goodreads. Again, probably my mood or it might have just been a five. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my review copy.

Warnings for death, blood, sacrifice, religion, poverty, wars, parental abuse.