In the global empire of Aritsar, love-starved Tarisai is compelled by her mother to join the council of a divine Crown Prince. Her mission? Earn his trust. Fall in love. And when the time is right. . . Kill him.

As magical as The Lion King, and as luscious as The Wrath and the Dawn—a simply refreshing debut, teeming with life, love, and color.

I don't even know where to begin. . . This book felt like a hug. Like a warm, magical hug.

Tar (Tarisai) is a ferociously loyal and kind heroine—almost to a fault. She is fiercely protective of those she loves, and would quite literally die for her friends. My heart ached in reading about her loneliness towards the beginning of the book. Whether intentional or not by the author, the magical circumstances in which Tar undergoes is a great representation of harm OCD. I found myself sending highlighted moments of the texts to my mental health buddies going: "OMG! This is it! She's describing what it feels like!" Overall, she was just such a sweet, powerful character. Through her Hallow (power), she is able to see the history of people, and objects. Because of this, Tar has learned to see the world and everyone in it as stories. It adds this extremely empathic softness to her character that I found beautiful, because of her lonely past.

"'Wherever I come from,' I told Kirah as irubo dancers whirled around us, 'I think music was forbidden. Whenever I hear a song, it feels like I'm stealing something.'"

Let me also say: a lot happens in this book. A LOT. It definitely does not follow the traditional YA plot or pacing, whatsoever. The time jumps in the first part did take a little to get used to and made me feel as if we were missing out on some key characterization, but it only added more depth to the tale.

I've never read anything inspired by West African folklore, and apparently, I need to read more about these types of fantasies because—I AM OBSESSED; from everything to the tutsu sprites, the Ray magic, the animals, the vibrant settings. Just. . . ALL OF THE THINGS. They were so beautifully written, and I felt like I was there; as if I could feel the warm breeze, and the aroma of the villages, and the spirit of the people.

Tar's relationship with Sanjeet was also adorable. We love a brooding, secretly fuzzy-boy. And not to mention, Tar's many other friendships with the rest of the council, especially Kirah. I also love Woo In and Kirah's little romance ? With my entire soul ? My only complaint is that I wish we had gotten to know more about the rest of the council members, and their stories! Who knows? Maybe we will in the next book *fingers-crossed*

Also, can we talk about The Lady (Tar's mother)? She was such an intriguing anti-heroine. The complexity of her relationship with her own daughter was confounding, and heart-breaking.

Another great aspect was the storytelling through song. A HUGE round of applause for Ifueko's writing on the tiny little snippets of lyrics that are littered like delightful little poetic treasures throughout the book. It only further enriches the world:

"Drums beat out the introduction for the day's catechism:
T-dak-a, tdak-a. Gun, bow-bowbow. Hear the sacred story of creation.

'Queen Earth and King Water are lovers,' sang one priest, as the other kept time on an hourglass-shaped talking drum. 'Their children are many. Trees. Rivers. Creatures that creep, kedu, kedu, and swim, shwe, shwe...'"

We desperately need more books such as these in the YA genre. I can't wait for book two!

A BIG thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me an ARC copy of this book!

Omg omg omg. I can't even with this book. I loved it so much and the characters were all so engaging. I would literally read a book about any of them, that is how fascinating they all are. Jeet is my son and I will fight anyone for him, though I have a strong feeling Tar would beat me to it. This was amazing and I can't wait for book two.

Raybearer is a wonderful fantasy book that explores complex topics such as identity, purpose, and the power of writing our own stories. I was impressed by the world-building in this book, it was rich and full of life. The best part of this book was exploration of the consequences of our choices. I very much enjoyed reading this book as it was refreshing in its originality. I look forward to reading the next book in the series!