Hello friends! Today is kind of special…this will be the second time I’ve reviewed a follow-up to another book I’ve featured! I previously reviewed the first book in this duology, Raybearer. My review for that book can be found here. I highly recommend that you read that book and review first before this one as there will be major spoilers.
For the first time, an Empress Redemptor sits on Aritsar’s throne. To appease the sinister spirits of the dead, Tarisai must now anoint a council of her own, coming into her full power as a Raybearer. She must then descend into the Underworld, a sacrifice to end all future atrocities.
Tarisai is determined to survive. Or at least, that’s what she tells her increasingly distant circle of friends. Months into her shaky reign as empress, child spirits haunt her, demanding that she pay for past sins of the empire.
With the lives of her loved ones on the line, assassination attempts from unknown quarters, and a handsome new stranger she can’t quite trust . . . Tarisai fears the pressure may consume her. But in this finale to the Raybearer duology, Tarisai must learn whether to die for justice . . . or to live for it.
Synopsis taken from bookshop.org page
Our story picks up right where we left off: Tarisai has now come into her power as the first female Raybearer and Empress in at least 3 generations. She has also made a deal with the underworld: she’s been given 2 years to anoint her own council and journey into the underworld. If she can successfully make it back from the Underworld, the treaty forged years before sending children below as cost will be voided. If not, the Underworld will invade the Overworld (where everyone lives) and bring about Hell on Earth. Easy-peasy.
Things are not as easy as they seem. For starters, the council that Tarisai has brought to the castle are very reluctant to be anointed…a couple of them even secretly wish for Tar to fail on her journey. And there’s also this masked vigilante taking justice into his own hands because he doesn’t feel that Dayo & Tarisai as co-rulers have done enough to right the wrongs of the world.
Redemptor features most of the amazing cast of characters from Raybearer, along with a few new additions. Redemptor features a more grown up version of Tarisai, Kirah, Dayo, and the rest of their council. Alliances are made, relationships are deepened, and there are lines crossed that one can never come back from.
Overall, this was an easy billion star read for me, my only wish is that more people read these books and that Jordan writes more words for me to devour!
I was graciously sent an ARC from the publisher, Amulet, an imprint of Abrams Publishing to read in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. This no way impacted my reading or review of this book. Redemptor released on August 17, 2021 from Amulet Publishing. You can purchase your own copy using my Bookshop affiliate link, or by visiting any of your favorite book sellers. To see more of what Ms. Ifewko (that’s pronounced ee-FWEH-koh) is up to, visit her online at http://www.jordanifueko.com.
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