Celestial Monsters - Aiden Thomas - ★★★.¾

AUTHOR: Aiden Thomas

NARRATOR: André Santana

SERIES: The Sunbearer Duology, #2

GENRE: YA Fantasy

PUBLICATION DATE: September 3, 2024

RATING: 3.75 stars.

In a Nutshell: An interesting continuation and finale to the Sunbearer duology. This works slightly better than the first one in writing, pacing and action, but doesn't have a strong character development, and is a bit repetitive. YA in approach (which it should be as a YA Fantasy, but I don’t enjoy YA much.) Not a standalone.

Note: This review contains minor spoilers from Book One: The Sunbearer Trials.

Plot Preview:

This book continues immediately after the finale of the first book.

Now that the Obsidian gods are free of their prison and intent on taking back what they think was rightfully theirs, there is chaos all over Reino de Sol. Add in the complication that Sol is still not in power, thanks to Teo’s refusal of sacrificing a fellow semidiose during the Sunbearer Trials. As their world is in darkness, Teo, Aurelio, and Niya band up to retrieve the Sol stone from the Obsidians, get Sol to light up again, and in the interim, save the world from the celestial monsters of the dark. If they don’t succeed in their quest, they face an apocalypse, so they have neither much time nor much choice.

The book comes to us in the third-person perspectives of Teo and Xio.

Bookish Yays:

💐 It was great to see the narration split between Teo and Xio this time around. Xio was a crucial character in this sequel, and his perspective added not just variety but also complexity.

💐 Teo has improved from his days as a Sunbearer Trial contestant. He isn't your typical YA hero: he’s neither the strongest nor the fastest, he wants sleep even in between a dangerous quest, he complains about food,… All of this make him seem realistic. His habit of whining, though much reduced in intensity in this sequel, adds to the authentic teen portrayal.

💐 Aurelio and Niya are strong support systems. Niya is still as obnoxiously cute as in the first book. Aurelio is more silent and withdrawn without his sister. I love how the hidden chinks in his Gold armour are more visible now. The friendship dynamics are strong, and there is also some fun banter across the trio.

💐 Fabulous inclusivity, not surprising considering the author. There are queer and trans characters, and some of them also use the they/them pronouns. Loved the rep!

💐 The various mythological elements, especially the magical creatures, are thrilling to read. They are rooted in Mexican mythology, though I am not sure if any of them were conjured just for this book.

💐 The story highlights the manipulation of history by the "victors" – much appreciated! A subtle message but thought-provoking nonetheless.

💐 The world-building is much better this time. It still uses the combination of mythological elements and modern materialistic things from our world such as GPS and social media. It’s a weird mash but it works for the book.

Bookish Mixed Bags:

🌹 Just like the first book, this sequel is also reminiscent of The Hunger Games. Many scenes will remind you of Katniss and her group’s journey back to the Capitol in a bit to destroy Coriolanus Snow. But just because the content is similar doesn’t mean that the experience isn’t fun. That said, THG has three books in the core series while this stopped as a duology. So it feels quite rushed in places.

🌹 The book begins with a tiny infodump, but this is somewhat helpful as a recap. There are again too many characters at the start, but going with the flow helps.

🌹 This book is not as predictable as ‘The Sunbearer Trials’, but it is somewhat repetitive in structure. There are no major surprises. The adventurous quest comprises moving from town to town, meeting some locals, and fighting some magical beasts. After a while, you start feeling the déjà vu, even when the action is enjoyable and the magical beings are outstanding.

🌹 The character development isn’t much this time. It rests on the shoulders of the earlier book. Only Xio gets more depth but not necessarily a convincing one. I found it hard to accept that he was just thirteen. Some character turnarounds are too abrupt to be believable.

🌹 There is an interesting mix of secondary characters: some admirable, some annoying. Teo’s birds don’t pop in as often as in the first book, but they are still a joy to read. I wish his mother Quetzal had also had an extended appearance.

🌹 The epilogue is much too long, at least on audio. But it does offer a conclusion to all the key arcs.

🌹 As a YA book, it does suffer from the usual flaws of YA fiction, the worse of it being excessive physical descriptions and the feelings/stirrings nonsense. It helped that I was better prepared for it this time around. Can’t count this as a Nay because the book IS a YA novel. It’s not the book’s fault that I’m not a YA or that I am not a fan of this genre.

Bookish Nays:

🌵 As is typical in a YA book, most of the adults are either idiots or missing in action, even when they are dioses. It is only the teens who can save the planet from doom. *eye roll.*

🌵 Loads of frivolous cussing.

🎧 The Audiobook Experience:

The audiobook, clocking at 12 hrs 36 min, is yet again narrated by André Santana. He does a wonderful job of bringing the young cast to life, giving each of them a distinct personality and voicing the lines with perfect (YA) emotion. I’m sure I enjoyed this journey more because of his exuberant performance. I’d definitely recommend the audiobook as a great way of experiencing this book. However, if you are an audio newbie, you might be confused by the huge cast.

All in all, this is an entertaining conclusion to the series, offering a great finish to the events that started in the first part of the series. I am not a huge YA fan, and picked this up only because the first book was decent enough (for a YA novel 🤭) and I was curious to know how Teo and his friends resolved the issue. My curiosity has been sated quite well, though the first book kept me slightly more hooked with its twisty plot.

The story is complete in every way, so I don’t see any potential for a continuation. But the world is already created, and the characters are varied in culture and personality, so who knows? Maybe someone will shuffle things up in the new utopia in future, and Teo and his gang will need to get into ‘We-will-save-everyone’ mode again.

Definitely recommended to YA Fantasy fans who have read the first book of this duology. This book cannot work as a standalone.

3.75 stars. (3.5 stars as an adult, 4 stars as a YA. Averaged.)

My thanks to Macmillan Audio for providing the ALC of “Celestial Monsters” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.