Thanks so much to NetGalley for the Audio ARC!

4.25/5 stars

This was such a great end to a really fun duology! Whereas The Sunbearer Trials (book 1) felt very much like The Hunger Games or another teen competition story (until the plot twists!), Celestial Monsters felt a lot more like Percy Jackson - teens on an impossible quest across the world to save everyone, involving gods and beasts and the like. I saw that as someone that ADORES both Hunger Games and Percy Jackson - this was a really fun YA duology (although I don't know if I've ever heard so many F bombs in a YA book - I dig it).

This duology was super fun, really well written, and has fantastic representation of Mexican folklore, LGBTQ+ characters (main character is trans, plus other prominent trans, non-binary, and non-hetero characters), teen rebellion and angst, and class systems/social hierarchies.

My only real complaint - I don’t care for pop culture references in any novel, fantasy or otherwise. I actually really liked that the book was set in modern day; it was a really neat twist on the structure of the story. But, specifically pop culture references like memes, TikTok, and Instagram take me out of the story. Just not for me.

This is such an important addition to the Fantasy and YA genres and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it - I can't recommend this duology highly enough and Celestial Monsters ends it very strongly!

Last night I finished Celestial Monsters by Aiden Thomas and it was everything I could hope for and more. I absolutely cannot wait for all of you to read this wonderful sequel.

Thank you to @netgalley for the advanced reader's copy! This is my most anticipated book of the year and I was ecstatic to have the privilege to read it early. 

Now onto my spoiler-free thoughts:

The transition from the first to the second book was SO smooth. I appreciated that no time passed and we also got caught right back up. I feel like a re-read of The Sunbearer Trials isn't as necessary because of this. I also loved the dual POV between Teo and Xio!

There is such a sense of urgency throughout this book. The determination and simultaneous fear were so prevalent. Our young semidioses are truly awe-inspiring heroes. And they each grew so much!

One thing about Aiden is that he can write one hell of a villain. The Obsidians were SO cruel and utterly terrifying. Their wickedness made my skin crawl. This book also takes place in complete darkness since the sun is gone, so that only adds to the fear. I was so anxious about what was going to pop up next.

This book also talked a lot about colonization and how history can be twisted by leaders and hide the truth from their citizens. And how that blind faith can be harmful. Tradition doesn't equate justice! And taking a stand/freeing ourselves from these ways of thinking/acting creates a better world. One that serves the people rather than those in power.

So many different kinds of love were represented. Familial, romantic, and friendship and how they are all important. Love is the greatest gift and the most heartbreaking sacrifice. I will never recover from that final act of love.

Y'all are in for so much joy and heartbreak, and I can't wait to see everyone's thoughts on this once it releases! Until then please enjoy these out of context spoilers on the next slide.

I cannot express how much of a delight it was to return to this magical and lush world. I think the first book was a touch more exciting but this was such a fun series with a great ending that has made me a permanent Aiden Thomas fan!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If Aiden Thomas writes it, I'm going to read it. This was such a good conclusion to The Sunbearer Duology. I was so happy to read about Teo again, I love him so much. He's such a wholesome teenage boy and I loved reading his coming of age story.

The beginning of this felt a little slow, but that ending!!! Literally left me in tears, both sad and happy. I wish this series wasn't over but I had a great time while it lasted. Now I have Cemetery Boys 2 to look forward to!

GIRL WHAT! I don’t know if I should be happy or sad because I love the way this duopoly ended but I’m not ready to let go of this world yet!!! Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with this HIGHLY anticipated read. Look, I’m usually a nightmare for PR bc I take my time with ARCs but the way I didn’t only request this but IMMEDIATELY ran to download and start reading tells you everything you needa know. Actually, no. You you also know that this duopoly needs a big money movie production asap— Aiden Thomas is so good at helping me picture everything but now I wanna see this vision come to life cause this could be so big!!! I wanna see the vibrant cities, the delicious food, the cute moments, Nia being hilarious, the action scenes, everything! Please! THIS is how you do Latinx (Mexican and Cuban) rep in fantasy! No excuses! So so so good. Loved buddy reading this with Mildren ❤️.

OMG! OMG! OMG! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio | Macmillan Young Listeners for this advanced audiobook!!! I'm definitely not crying. How can it be over?! I love Aurelio and Teo. They are just so adorable. Teo at the end of the Sunbearer Trial, accidently triggered the apocalypse, (OOPS!) and now he and Aurelio, (together with Niya) must save the rest of their friends and the whole world. It is a fantastic journey filled with danger and laughter and lessons learned. I didn't want it to end. Aiden Thomas, please write more!!

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. So happy to be back with Teo and friends!!! Teo, Niya, and Aurelio are on a mission to save the Gold semidioses from Xio and the Obsidians. But there feelings are so confused Xio was their friend and he betrayed them. Meanwhile Xio is learning from their father and tasked with watching over the golds in their prisons. They deserve it for what they’ve done but Xio can help feel some guilt. And the semidioses will never go down without a fight even at their weakest. Teo and his friends are tasked with rescue and getting the Sol stone back, if they can they might be able to bring Sol back. But with the release of the Obsidians also came the release of their Celestial Monsters, the trio will not have an easy task especially when plagued with monsters along the way. When Teo and Xio’s tasks collide who will be victorious? Can Teo defeat the Obsidians? Can they do it without a semidiós sacrifice? This book is the perfect follow up to book one! Exciting, full of adventure and heart! You’ll consume the pages and won’t be able to put the book down! It also has the right touch of humor (a lot of it thanks to Niya) and romance! I felt all the feels! Be prepared for some heartbreak too! This is one of the best fantasy series I’ve ever read! It’s an absolute must read! And Andre Santana captures each character perfectly! Highly recommend the audio book!

The conclusion to the Sunbearer Duology has been a highly anticipated read for many. With the sun gone and the apocalypse in full swing, Teo, Aurelio, and Niya journey through Reino del Sol and Los Restos to rescue their friends and battle the Obsidian gods that have the all-important Sol Stone. Meanwhile, Xio grapples with what they’ve done and who they want to be. Celestial Monsters balances action, explorations of power and structural inequities, and heartfelt teen journeys of romance and identity with the skill we are familiar with seeing from Thomas. The cast of teen characters bring humor and honesty, making choices, owning up to mistakes, and navigating their independence with a tireless conviction that is refreshing and joyful. The fantastical quest/buddy road trip structure is familiar territory for fantasy reads, but does somewhat lessen the immediate stakes of the apocalypse. Overwhelmingly readers will find Celestial Monsters a rewarding conclusion to Teo’s story. André Santana’s narration is engaging and distinct; well worth the listen.

I really appreciated that this book focused so tightly on Teo, Niya, Aurelio, and Xio - by limiting the amount of interactions outside of this core group, we really got to see them bloom. I especially liked the way that Niya’s and Aurelio’s fears/anxiety manifested and how Teo and Xio come to understand just how much pressure is placed on even the privileged Golds.

Strangely enough I really wanted to see a bit more of Teo’s weakness? He keeps up really well with the others whose whole lives have been spent in training for physical exertion - and even though he TALKS about how exhausted he is, we don’t really see it. I wanted to see some consequences of that in the same vein as Aurelio’s and Niya’s emotional collapses.

Also props to the two times when there’s a fight, someone goes “actually I’m trying out these other pronouns” and the other side goes “I hate you but I’m going to respect your pronouns” and then continues fighting. Also also the sheer shared devastation when all of the prisoners have their hands bound and they all riot on behalf of the deaf character who now has no one to interpret the captors’ words or anyone else’s. It shows that 1) fantasy absolutely can be inclusive and 2) that Thomas really really wanted to put in the effort to prove 1.

We're back in our Mexican-inspired world filled with gods and monsters for the sequel to The Sunbearer Trials!

This time the semidioses are on a quest to stop the apocalypse and once again save the world. Teo, Niya, and Aurelio team up to travel across the country to rescue their friends and take back the Sol Stone from the newly freed Obsidian dioses. Can they safely complete the seemingly impossible task?

Aiden Thomas does a great job of creating interesting worlds that a reader wants to spend time in. There's no shortage of magical animals, from a whole flock of various bird friends to a spectacular assortment of dangerous celestial creatures. The quest nature of the storyline means visiting more places, including ones with different social structures and habits. The food is mouthwatering as always and the pantheon of powerful dioses inspires imagination.

However. I had a harder time than I hoped with this book - though it might simply be the case that I wasn't in the right mood to enjoy it.

A younger audience probably won't even notice, but I found the writing style basic and unexpectedly messy. I couldn't get a good sense of the cast, who seem to act as the story needs rather than as unique individuals. The many battle scenes feel as if each character is patiently waiting their turn to act - which should never be the case when multiple people are fighting simultaneously.

The choice of a dual POV is fantastic and I was excited for the chance to understand Xio. Though we do get insight into Xio's yearning to belong, their chapters are mostly used as a tool to give information that Teo's POV can't and ultimately feel wasted. For example,Xio has a huge change of heart that happens off-page. They take a horrified moment to wonder if they could really kill someone they considered a friend, and then boom POV switch and Xio is showing up in the next scene as a traitor.

This story wants to explore power, responsibility, and societal structures, but falls short of actual reckoning. For a middle grade audience that would be fine, but for a young adult story I expect more. Perhaps I expect too much? For all the lofty declarations of remaking the world, flaws in social structures dwelt on throughout the entire book are underwhelmingly patched over with a few sentences at the end.

Not only do the social structures remain largely unchanged, but so too do the attitudes and beliefs of the characters. The semidioses have savior complexes (especially Niya but even Teo) that remain undimmed even when told to their faces they aren't wanted. In a way that comes off entitled, Teo won't take no for an answer and demands help multiple times from a village that is very clear about not welcoming any gods ever for their own protection. Auristela's mean-spirited bullying is rewarded with love and she never feels the need to change. When Xio presents valid criticisms they receive a bare acknowledgement that the world is messed up and no apologies from those who directly mistreated them.

Perhaps I stumbled initially because I didn't buy the inherent evil of the Obsidians (especially after learning the Golds committed genocide). If Xio could be capable of doing good, why couldn't the others? Besides kidnapping some kids, the Obsidians mostly sit around in their temple imagining elaborate plans for world domination. They feel more like theoretical bad guys who haven't actually done anything wrong beyond existing.

André Santana does a great job as the book's narrator, making the audiobook version an excellent way to enjoy Celestial Monsters.

Tl;dr - the book is imaginative and fun, but muddled.

I love the cover color palette and would cheer for expanding the duology to a trilogy simply to get a third art piece for the series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an audio ARC in return for my honest review. I'm looking forward to my preorder arriving soon so I can pore over the annotated chapter!

We pick up right after the end of the Sunbearer Trials with Xio releasing the Obsidians and joining his father on the dark side to create a new world,one where the Golds are not in charge.

Teo, Niya, and Aurelio together are fighting back against the Obsidians to release the academy classmates, but Teo doesn't quite believe a sacrifice should be required. Especially as the trio travels to new cities, and one hidden village, and get to view firsthand a different way. One that doesn't require a ruling class.

Xio is also questioning their choices and what they actually want.

There's tons of action with celestial monsters being everywhere and trying to take them out constantly, but it's heavy on the blossoming love as Teo and Aurelio get closer on their journey.

Overall this story really conveys the message of not settling for what's been done, no matter how long, and considering alternate methods to move forward in a better way.

Content warnings: violence, imprisonment, mental and emotional torture, sensory deprivation, murder, suicide

I honestly wasn't sure if Thomas was going to be able to wrap this whole thing up in only two books with SO MUCH happening, but CELESTIAL MONSTERS has one hell of a final battle and wraps up most of the loose ends with a satisfying conclusion. The twist of how the conflict finally ends had me in tears. This one has very different vibes from the first book and overall there is less action but they complement each other well.

I need a Niya spin-off because our girl was amazing and I loved seeing more of her humor and her emotional struggles with not being able to save everyone all the time. The Xio reveal at the end of the first book still had me reeling and I liked what Thomas does in this book to give readers a more in-depth picture of who Xio is and why they did what they did. There was a moment towards the end where Teo stepped up to be the voice against the powerful gods and I was cheering.

Overall this was a great read and a solid duology that I look forward to putting into the hands of our teen patrons.

André Santana is back to narrate this sequel and does a great job again.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Macmillan Young Listeners in exchange for an honest review.

4.5

Is this objectively a 5 star book? No, probably not. But I love this world and these characters so much. Celestial Monsters picks up right at the end of The Sunbearer Trials, so I'm glad I reread the first book before jumping into this. The sequel also transitions to a dual POV story as we continue to follow Teo as he goes on his quest with Niya and Aurello, but also have Xio's POV, which I loved.

I think I struggled a bit with the pacing in this one because it is very much a quest book which for me left the plot feeling a little aimless at times. The characters have a clear end goal, but some of the adventures along the way feel a bit fluffy and meandering. But that could be my general disinterest in traditional quest stories. That being said, the end of this book absolutely had me tearing up and I will absolutely be returning to this series again and again.

Overall this is such a fun series full of Latine culture in a queernorm society. It has a lot of the traditional young adult tropes but plays with them in a fun way. Along the way Teo and his friends begin to question the structural inequality in their society. I also love the casual queerness in this world. Queer love is accepted without question throughout the story, Teo mentions how cool he thinks his top scars are, and Xio is questioning their gender and everyone is super cool when they say they're trying out they/them pronouns.

André Santana's narration is lovely as always. I really appreciate the distinction he makes in the voices of characters. I will absolutely be picking up this audiobook when it's released in September!