The sequel to Black Sun, Fevered Sun suffers from middle book syndrome - much of the story feels like setting the stage for the next novel. The city of Tova is in chaos, with the Sun blacked out and the living avatar of the Crow God walking the streets. The characters are scattered, trying to find a new way forward with everything they had known shattered. While Black Sun focused on the human elements of the society, Fevered Star is very much about the machinations of the gods, Sun, Crow, or Jaguar. Not as groundbreaking, but still worth a read, and I hope the next installment picks up speed.

It’s very rare that a sequel is as good as or better than the first book, but Fevered Star absolutely gets there. The character development and expansion of the world-building in this one left me with a book hangover. Somehow you root for all the characters even though they’re all on diametrically opposed sides. The magic system is unique. There is just enough imagined vocabulary to build the world but not be too confusing. I really can’t wait for the next book.

I really spent most of this book thinking it was the second in a duology. Nope. I was close to 95% when I realized it probably wasn't.

Well, it definitely doesn't have second book syndrome. Things moved along so well I thought they'd come to a head. But at the same time, I didn't feel the intensity with this one as I did with the first. It could be me. It could be because I felt the characters were going to end up exactly where they did (which I enjoyed). I liked spending time in the world but if that had been the end, I would have been satisfied (if a few other things had been tied up too).

Now I feel...not exactly neutral about the next book, but like I'm okay with waiting. My tension's gone. Oops?

I was an enthusiastic fan of the first book in this series, "Black Sun." Roanhorse took the best features of high fantasy and woven them together with elements of the indigenous cultures of the Americas to create a uniquely immersive world of old gods and dormant magics populated with peoples on the brink of conflict.

"Fevered Star" cannot be accused of suffering from the dreaded "middle book syndrome." The author's advance planning of the story is evident, the plot is strong, the characters develop and grow, the pacing absolutely works. Being the middle novel of the trilogy, the book is concerned with moving the pieces on the chessboard and setting them up for the conclusion. None if it is predictable, in fact, there were plenty of action developments I did not see coming AT ALL.

The story moves along quickly, propelled mainly by the interactions between the characters, some of these pairings being completely unexpected, and absolutely delightful to read.

Some of the characters walk parallel paths, Naranpa & Serapio's is "the gods walk among us" storyline, FULL of surprises. But Naranpa also shares a similarity with Okoa's storyline, including not fully fitting into her "clan" and family, and her relationship with her brother (see Okoa's unease about his clan's approach to Serapio, and his relationship with his cousin Chaiya).

Then, there is Iktan, not a new character, but once that receives much fleshing out he turns out to be lethal, regretful, and... hilarious.

The novel is steeped in magic, violence, betrayal, political maneuvering, and love. It leaves the reader with no doubt that war is coming to this world, and it's anybody's guess how things are going to shake out. I truly have no clue.

Tumultuous and introspective, Fevered Star is a devastating high fantasy sequel that pairs political intrigue with incredible world-building in a fast-paced, character driven plot. Written with precision and care, Rebecca Roanhorse continues to develop the richly imagined world of the Meridian across multiple POVs, beginning where Black Sun ended: on the shadow-tinged, blood-soaked streets of Tova following the Crow God’s awakening.

Bathed in the inky darkness of a failed eclipse, Tova is in mourning for the Sky Made clans, ravished by a vengeful god. With ranks of Watchers and Scions decimated in the massacre on Sun Rock, fear bathes the great city as Serapio, the Crow God reborn, stirs to life in the wary care of Okoa, Shield of Carrion Crow. With devout fanatics of the Odohaa flooding in to witness the start of an era, a war three hundred years in the making stirs to life, a power vacuum blooming in the wake of the broken Treaty of Hokaia that unites the varied plains of the Meridian: the floating, holy city of Tova; the bustling trade center that is Cuecola; the volcanic, closed-off islands of the sea-maiden Teek; and the battle-centered, steepled plains of the historical Hokaia.

While the threat of war propels the narrative forward, fear is what keeps it going – not for the destruction of clan and empire, nor the dissolution threatening the newly reformed Carrion Crow, but for the individual. Serapio, surrounded by a fanatic people that see him as a specialized weapon rather than an individual, lost following the decimation of his life’s purpose. Xiala, floundering in the dry air and cracked earth of the Meridian without her Song, in an unfamiliar sea of trauma, guilt and shame as she is pushed further and further away from her homeland. Naranpa, reborn in the name of the Sun, abandoned in a tomb to find herself, no longer torn by the duties of the Celestial Tower, but unsure of herself and her place – as a sister, as the former Sun Priest, and as a scion of newly the reborn Coyote, a fifth clan denounced in neutrality 300 years prior. Okoa, newly appointed Shield of Carrion Crow, torn between protecting his growing faith in the gods and denouncing his sister, his clan, and everything he thought he knew about the world.

It is in Serapio and Xiala that fear is at its height, stripping them of their power and self-worth, united in emotion even as they are separated by fate. Serapio plummets in the wake of failure, having expected death at the Crow God’s mercy during the Convergence. He wakes up, alive and afraid, due to the sacrifice of many crows. Without purpose, without power, Serapio is diminished to a husk of a man – one that longs for normalcy and humanity in the wake of his growing feelings for Xiala, the only person to see him as a human being rather than a god. Fear touches Serapio’s early chapters, penetrating and dark as he navigates a world that expects nothing but vengeance. While the Odohaa worship the ground he walks on, they do not see him for what he truly is: a man. Shadow magic gone and loyalties torn, Serapio longs for the only constant in his life – Xiala – and it is in these moments of intense longing that the romance subplot continues, a temporary balm to two confused, weary souls, hurting in the void that is the Crow God’s temporary departure.

While Serapio wars with longing, anger, and confusion, piloted by a god determined to kill the Sun Priest, Xiala finds herself in enemy territory, separated by the very thing that brought her to Tova. Riddled with guilt, Xiala wonders the shadow drenched streets of Titidi in search of something, anything to tide the shame threatening to drown her in the wake of the Convergence, where her Song inadvertently aided in the massacre on Sun Rock. With memories of her past threatening to resurface, Xiala clings to the only lifeline she has outside of the calming waters of the sea – Serapio. On increasingly unsteady legs, she makes the trek to Odo only to be swept away by curiosity, the threat of Iktan, Priest of Knives upon her, whisking her further into the dry, cracked earth of the Meridian. As she travels with the mysterious tsiyo, who avoided a blood-soaked fate upon Sun Rock by conspiring against his own, Xiala unravels secret alliances, unearths Meridian histories, and offers fresh insight into the world, Roanhorse layering world history with political machinations. Rich attention to detail blends seamlessly into Xiala’s increasingly difficult travels, with lush, vibrant descriptions of people, places, food and clothing bringing color to a world eclipsed in shadow.

Though I longed to see Serapio and Xiala reunited, I found myself entranced by Naranpa, whose presence truly shines in Roanhorse’s capable hands. While Serapio has arguably been the crux upon which the overarching narrative is built, it is Naranpa who steals the show in Fevered Star, clawing her way from the shadows to forge a new path – for herself, for her displaced clan, and for the Watchers who attempted to undermine her at every turn. In Naranpa, bonds are tested – of faith, family, and future – all of which allow her to soar in the face of despair, triumphant and reborn. Though Naranpa’s trials in the Maw are many, they allow her to test the boundaries of life and death while coming into her own confidence and power. While she may be on the fringes of society, Naranpa continues to have a profound impact on the Sky Made as she, alongside Xiala, unlocks secret histories, discovers unknowable magic, and aids in the restructuring of a people lost to darkness and superstition.

Much like its predecessor, Fevered Star owes everything to its incredible characters. Where Black Sun was action-packed and tense, a whirlwind of emotion culminating in an explosive finale, Fevered Star is propulsive, driven by character development against the tense backdrop of impending war. For some, the character driven nature of the plot may feel slow, but this is where Roanhorse truly shines, characters intertwining in unexpected ways, developing even as they slowly further the plot by revealing secret histories, ulterior motives, and the truth behind ancient magic. The patient reader will be rewarded with betrayal, murder, and power plays in the face of a stunning revelation: dark and light are closer than they appear.

We return to the Meridian in Fevered Star, sequel to one of my favorite books of 2020 Black Sun. Serapio is back (yes back, don’t worry) and forced to deal with the outcomes of Black Sun, while Xiala is forced to pick sides in conflict she has no part in and Naranpa works through her new-found confidence.

My favorite poor Crow God avatar, Serapio, is now forced to grapple with a godhood he wasn’t intended to survive. Thrust into the Crow clan for the first time and worshiped as the Crow God’s Avatar, I loved seeing Serapio conflict his desire to be perceived as human and his upbringing as a godly avatar. There was so much tension in his character, especially now that he’s been stripped away from the one person who always treated him as just a person.

I was so happy to see Iktan get so much focus in this book! Xe played shadow to Xiala’s character art in Black Sun, but now that they’re separated, I loved their personality of angst, snark, and jaded regret. Xe are probably the most politically savvy character of the cast right now and I absolutely can’t wait to see what they end up doing in book three.

As always, Roanhorse’s writing is so incredibly gripping. Book 2 really opens up the worldbuilding and starts linking the various group introduced in Black Sun together. The writing reads so so smoothly and while the book is on the shorter side, there’s much that happens I was extremely satisfied.

My one complaint is that Fevered Sun very much suffers from middle book syndrome. You’ll notice a lot of my praise is that I can’t wait to see what occurs in book three. Book two feels like a lot of setup for the upcoming conflict, characters moving into place and the right information being shared to get everything ready for the main event. While that’s not to say nothing happens in this book, it’s largely overshadowed by the events to come.

Overall, I rate this book a 4/5. I love Roanhorse’s writing and I’m so happy to return to this world. Serapio (as always) and Iktan were the two standout characters for me, and while book two suffers from middle book syndrome, the setup for book three builds so much hype.

Panic and disorder reign in the once-powerful city of Tova, and the sun is blocked by an eclipse that lingers on with no end in sight. But even in this darkness, a comet’s imminent arrival heralds the rise of a new order. But will this new order mean life or death for the people of Tova, the Meridian, and the rest of the world? Meanwhile, Serapio and Naranpa struggle with their roles as avatars of their newly returned gods. Will either of them be able to hold onto their identities, or will their divinity destroy them utterly? In the midst of all of this, the Teek sea captain Xiala finds a new and treacherous ally as she is pulled farther and farther from the sea. War is gathering, and far-flung enemies begin to circle as the war in the heavens begins to descend to earth.

The first book of the Between Earth and Sky series, 2020’s Black Sun, introduced readers to a fantastical world based upon Mesoamerican lore, where crow riders ride their giant corvids from city to city, where the secretive Teek women have the ability to Sing the seas into calmness– or a storm, if it suits them– and where a cult seeks to claw their way into power by whatever means necessary, even if that involves slaughtering everyone in their way.

At the end of Black Sun, it seemed as though the conspirators had succeeded– but they hadn’t. Not quite. And so readers were left wondering, “what happens next?”

Fevered Star takes that question and runs with it for nearly the entirety of its 416 pages, as it features far more brooding than doing. Readers are treated to long discussions of world history, which, despite being a secret history, are still history lessons delivered by characters who clearly aren’t charismatic history professors, able to rattle off historical details in an engaging way so the reader’s attention doesn’t turn to something else. These historical discussions, along with their political counterparts, may have a payoff in the long run, but in the short term, they often cause Fevered Star to slow to a snail’s pace before a bit of action tugs things along.

In short, Fevered Star has a serious case of middle-book syndrome, which most often affects the second book of a trilogy. Bereft of a true beginning or final ending, these middle books feel as though they are wandering around in search of a plot while the characters spend their pages pondering the weight of their actions and doing very little at all.

Picky readers who appreciate it when authors adhere to some sense of physical verisimilitude in even the most magical of fantasy worlds may wonder about the consequences of a sun blocked by a perpetual eclipse. How will plants grow without enough sunlight? Will harvests begin to fail? Will animals stick to their normal routines without day or night? Will the people of this world be able to function in endless twilight? Will panic and famine ultimately ensue when the sun fails to reappear? There were no signs of it in Fevered Star, though it seems that such things would be inevitable, given real human reactions to celestial events like the appearance of comets, fireballs, or historical solar eclipses.

Ultimately, Fevered Star is a middle book. It has little to do except move characters around and infodump information that will hopefully be relevant later on. Like the long empty highway that separates a traveler from their long-awaited destination, Fevered Star is a book to be traversed rather than savored. It answers few questions, asks many more, and spends a good deal of time twiddling its thumbs while it stretches the story out to cover, presumably, the fantasy genre’s requisite trilogy format– whether it needs three books or not.

Where Black Sun had mystery, danger, and romance on its side, Fevered Star has historical and political commentary. Enter of your own free will, Reader, but bring a cup of coffee. You might need it to keep awake during the lectures.

Fevered Star is the second book in Rebecca Roanhorse’s brilliantly imagined series Between Earth and Sky. Picking up directly after the conclusion of Black Sun, Fevered Star pushes its central characters in new directions while building on their gods-driven purposes played out in a richly imagined setting that draws together elements of many pre-Columbian American cultures. The story centers around three people: a young man, Serapio, whose destiny is to become the Odo Sedoh, the crow god of fierce powers, Naranpa, a young woman who has taken in the power of the sun god, and Xiala, a tough sea captain who has magic power in her voice that can either calm a storm or let loose a killing violence. These are strong characters, each beset with inner conflicts about reconciling divine or magical powers with their human identities.

The world they inhabit is just as compelling. The Meridian resembles many civilizations of different parts of the Americas brought together around the imaginary Crescent Sea. There is the holy city of Tova, built on cliffsides by the Tovasheh River, each district dominated by a Sky Made clan – golden eagle, carrion crow, water-strider, winged serpent – whose leaders fly on giant winged creatures and whose priests keep the world from falling into chaos. It is “wreathed by clouds and held together by silky woven bridges.” There is the trading city of Cuecola, “the hot breath of the world, heavy with humanity and jungle sweat,” the city of the plains, Hokaia, dominated by its great stepped pyramids (inspired by the real Cahokia that Annalee Newitz describes so well in Four Lost Cities), and the island territory of the sea-faring Teek.

Roanhorse has created a rich background for the Meridian, detailing its rituals, priestly orders, magic traditions, history going back many centuries, writings, complicated geography, as well as its cities that play a big role in shaping the culture and personal outlook of her characters. It’s a world I wanted to spend a lot of time in, but the core of the story, naturally, is the way Meridian shapes the lives and fates of the people who are so vividly brought to life.
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Black Sun and Fevered Star tell one story (I think a third part must be on the way) and should be read together, as I did. This makes for a very long book, and a reader accustomed to the explosive inventiveness and high energy of Roanhorse’s first duology, The Sixth World (Trail of Lightning and Storm of Locusts) should be prepared for subtler and more inward looking characters. There are surely scenes of exciting violence in both Black Sun and Fevered Star, but there are also complex conspiracies that keep separating the main characters and deflecting them from their inevitable confrontation. Because this is a story with many layers, it is told through multiple points of view, and often it is the supporting characters who hold center stage. They give us new perspectives on the central characters while trying to make them serve the purposes of their own machinations.
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I find the world of Between Earth and Sky fascinating and powerful. This series is an imaginative triumph, and Roanhorse is bringing us ever richer and more diverse fantasy worlds.

4.5 stars

I am grateful to Gallery Books, Saga Press for sending me an advanced copy of this book for review.

What a great follow-up to that explosive beginning that was black Sun.

I really was curious about how this story would continue, considering the way the first book ended. Of course, I always find it hard to write a review for a sequel in a series, because so much of the information that you would use to describe the second book would give away a lot that goes on in the first. But what I can say is that many of the questions and issues people had with in the first book are addressed here in book 2. This book picks up right after the events of book one and shows what state the world is left in after the actions of the characters in the final chapters of Black Sun. Not only do we get more perspectives (and somewhat unexpected perspectives), we also get to see some characters interact for the first time, and we get to learn more about some character backstories.

What I really loved was how we expanded on the world building. In this book we start to understand a bit more about how this world and the politics of all of these societies work, and who were the main puppet masters behind all of the events that were orchestrated in the first book. We also get to see more magic in this book and understand the magic system better. In the first book, we get introduced to two solid elements of the magic system in this world, and in this book, we get acquainted with a third one, which really reveals the big picture about what's going on in this world.

I love how the author managed to maintain the high stakes and really present the characters as their flawed and uncertain selves, as they try to navigate these trying circumstances with limited knowledge. The author also did a good job of presenting us with representation of disability and trauma that are manifested in different ways and in different characters throughout this story. This adds a large dose of humanity to characters who can sometimes seem larger than life.

I am enjoying this series and I definitely recommend this to fans of high fantasy who enjoy multi-perspective stories and representation of interesting cultural Lore.

Spoilers for Black Sun ahead, friends!

Fevered Star picks up immediately after the events of Black Sun. Our characters have been separated and are now individually dealing with the fallout from the stalled eclipse that puts Serapio and Naranpa at total odds with each other. Naranpa gets a lot more interesting now that she isn't naive and is like OUT FOR BLOOD and power with the people of Coyote's Maw. Xiala joins up with the Knife, of all people, and finds herself heading to a new city to attempt to stop war from coming to Tova. Serapio and Okoa also find themselves at odds as they both try to do what is best, one for his god, the other for his people. Lord Balam (the dude who sent Xiala off on the ship with Serapio) also enters the fray, as he is trying to take Tova for the people of neiboring Cuecoela.

This was good! It was very much a middle book, though. The first book was a mix of plot and character development, and this book actually included more worldbuilding as we learn more about Cueceola and the Teek people as well as some of the other Tovan clans. I really missed the emphasis on character development, personally. That and Xiala is my favorite character and she got a bunch of action towards the end, but not much before that. So it was good, and fun - the worldbuilding is so interesting and top notch, and the characters are all well drawn, and like a LOT of stuff went down...but it was definitely mostly setting up the final book. So with that said, when do we get book three? 4 stars.

TLDR: Definitely a middle book, but if you liked the first one, you can't miss this one.

Thanks to Saga Press and Netgalley for the eARC which I received in exchange for an unbiased review. Fevered Star is out 19 April, but you can put your copy on hold today!

A worthy sequel to Black Sun! I read through the first book in preparation for this ARC, and absolutely loved it. The sequel follows the main characters through the turmoil set up by the end of the first book. One of the main questions I had at the end of Black Sun, which was how is the author going to deal with two sympathetic POV characters being set against each other by fate/the gods/etc., was very satisfactorily answered. The book definitely has the feel of a middle of series book, where all the characters are being moved around the chess board of the Meridian to set up for later events of the series. Even with that, the book never felt forced or slow, every page filled with meaningful character development and interesting world building. One of my favorite things about this series so far is how Roanhorse drips out background on both the world and the characters, slowly filling you in only when it becomes absolutely necessary to the plot. I look forward to the next book in the Meridian!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC!

The tl:dr version of this review is: I could not put it down. It was so, so good. Very much a middle book, but a very entertaining middle book.

Fevered Star starts with a murder. Far from the chaos in Tova, Lord Balam murders a thief so that he can walk through dreams. Serapio wakes up with a wound he cannot heal and uncertain of who he is now, having expected to die at the Convergence. Naranpa wakes up in a tomb, back from the dead and unsure of everything she learned while training to be the Sun Priest. Xiala is lost so far from the sea and mourning the deaths she inadvertently caused. Okoa is caught between the Crow God reborn, his sister, the new Matron of the Crow clan, and the need to avenge his mother’s murder. The sun hangs black in the sky.

In Black Sun, the political machinations were like the beat under the melody. Tova was brimming with plots between factions in the Tower and among the clans and the clanless, but it felt less important because I knew Serapio was going to turn everything on it’s head. For Naranpa, the politics were life and death and we watched her spin her wheels, frustratingly unable to get traction on her own plans. Black Sun felt fairly straightforward. The characters knew what they wanted and their objectives were clear to them, if not to us. Serapio, himself the product of decades of plotting, needed to get to Tova and to Sun Rock. Now there is a power vacuum and the people who wanted more power are using it to their own ends.

Fevered Star is more fractured and heavier on the politics. Saaya’s scheme to birth Serapio and make him the vessel of the Crow God has wreaked havoc and brought to an end a treaty which has given The Meridian 300 years of peace. Alliances are shifting. Old magics are coming back into play. Old grievances are rising to the surface. The plots we saw glimpses of are now more central, and much bigger than vengeance against the Watchers, or grabbing more power in Tova.

Roanhorse never forgets that all the plots and schemes are carried out and shaped by people, who have complicated loyalties and motivations. The heart of this book is Xiala, Serapio, Naranpa, and to a lesser degree Okoa. I found myself hurting for all of them and alternately wanting to swaddle them in soft blankets and looking forward to them unleashing their power on Lord Balam. I thought several times that in another book Serapio would be the big bad. In Roanhorse’s hands he is a very sympathetic monster, and I want him to win.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Saga Press and NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Fevered Star is the second book in Rebecca Roanhorse's Between Earth and Sky Epic Fantasy series, which began two years ago with her "Black Sun" (my review here). The series (trilogy I believe) is an epic fantasy based upon Pre-Colombian Mesoamerican cultures, featuring a set of characters with various issues and dreams in a grey world of cultures on the edge of religious and cultural conflict. The story very much felt like a lot of setup, as everything in the book closed in on a certain event that happened in the very climax, but the characters were really strong and really enjoyable, so I was very eager to see how things would move forward from the explosive shift in the status quo.

Fevered Star is sort of a mixed bag, honestly, which very much suffers from second book in trilogy symptom - the tendency to lose some focus and resolution as the book expands its world to include new threats, characters and ideas. Where Fevered Star continues the stories of our main characters from Book 1 - Naranpa, Okoa, Xiala, and Serapio mainly, but a few others who get extra prominence here - the book is really good, as each of their journeys, conflicts, and character arcs are really interesting, as they each try to deal with the new situation in which the ones they love are seemingly lost, the destiny they were meant for was suddenly not achieved, or the dreams they had for a better world are seemingly now impossible. But where the story attempts to expand to new characters from new locations, it kind of failed to catch my interest, especially as the backgrounds of these peoples just never really was as interesting as the already introduced ones, even with the use of large infodumps to try and explain things further.

Note: Spoilers are inevitable below, so I'm not really going to try and avoid spoilers from Book 1.
--------------------------------------------------Plot Summary-------------------------------------------------------
The era of the Sun Priests is over. The Year of the Crow has begun. Or so most think, with the eclipse continuing to cover the sun, the Watchers slaughtered, and the Crow God's avatar, the Odo Sedoh, having arisen and flown off into Crow Lands. But things aren't what they seem.

For the conspiracy within the Watchers attempted a power play at the last moment, throwing Naranpa, the true Sun Priest, to the side, and never performed the ritual to invest her replacement with the Sun Priest's authority. And so Serapio didn't kill the real Sun Priest...and the Crow God thus failed to fully manifest, leaving Serapio alive, weakened, and unsure of what to do next in the hands of the Carrion Crow clan that was supposed to be his family, but whom he has never known. And the Crows, are split between worshipping and hating him, leaving Crow shield Okoa unsure of what to do with this strange powerful man his crow companion seems to trust beyond even Okoa himself.

For Xiala, Serapio's actions and survival leaves her lost....until she sees an opportunity to chase after him into Carrion Crow Lands, to try and reunite with the man she grew to love. But her chase will lead her into the conspiracy that tried to take control of Tova and into an uneven alliance with Iktan, the former Priest of Knives and deadly assassin.

And Naranpa finds herself awake and glowing with magical sunlike power, as if she's an avatar of the Sun itself, and soon discovers that the role of Sun Priest wasn't simply a political one, but was secretly also a sorcerous one, and that her own power could allow her to rise and challenge the hierarchies that have seemingly fallen down.

But while all of Tova struggles to find a new path forwards, fearing knives hidden behind every corner, outsiders have begun to make their moves on the City, now that the ancient treaty behind the status quo has been broken, each wanting to take powers and lands for their own.....And these outside powers are willing to wield ancient forbidden magic to achieve their objectives, magic that once nearly brought the entire world to its knees......
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So yeah, this is a substantially longer plot summary than I usually do in these books, because well, Fevered Star covers a lot of material. Once again the story is split between four main point of view characters - Serapio, Xiala, Naranpa, and Okoa - whose stories pick up naturally from the last book. However, a fifth point of view character is added in Balam, the magically powerful Lord who setup Xiala and Serapio's journey in the last book.

This fifth point of view character is honestly at the core - but not the only aspect - of the book's weakest point. Balam and his companions give this book what seems to be the first clearly evil antagonist, whereas previously we only had characters who all thought they were either doing the right thing or doing what they had to do, and were well meaning even when they committed horrifying actions. And while that meant the book sometimes lacked direction, it also meant that the book was always really interesting as each of the characters was done so well, with you being able to care and be invested in their journeys, even without actually knowing whether to root for one rather than the other.

And that's still the case with those four main characters here, each of whom is drastically upturned by the change in the status quo. For Xiala, she finds herself adrift and desperate to save the man she loved and thought lost when she discovers him to be alive, even as that forces her to journey amongst his enemies and to confront aspects of her past - the events that led to her exile - that she would rather not remember, rooted in her feelings of love and the female only society on Teek. For Serapio, that's finding himself alive somehow, still powerful but without the full power of the Crow God, among a people who don't care who he is and either want him as a symbol or as a bargaining piece...rather than understanding he's a person. For Okoa, that's finding himself further struggling between his beloved crow's friendship of Serapio, the cult that worships Serapio, his sister who wants Serapio dead, and the feeling that he has to do something about his mother's murder. And so Okoa struggles to figure out who he should help and aid, given it all, and that conflict is easy to understand and really strong. And then there's Naranpa, who once wanted to lead the Watchers to renewed relevance and leadership through the status quo, but now finds herself with power and with truths about herself and her people that overturn what she believed. And so she has to figure out what to do with that power, and whether her dream of uniting Tova is still attainable...or even worth the cost.

These four characters' stories weave together really well, especially Serapio, Okoa, and Naranpa, and I eagerly anticipate how their stories conclude in the next volume.

But Balam's story, and where Xiala's kind of intersect with it, doesn't really work as well. Balam's story relies very much on infodumping to introduce the geo-political and magical history between the foreign powers and Tova, something that wasn't there last book (or only hinted at), and just feels like too much to really grapple at this point with everything else going on. Balam is quite clearly evil, and so are some of those he conspires with - and I just never really found a reason to care about them and their peoples like I did the main four peoples. These peoples are clearly important, but by being all introduced basically all at once, and with their history being introduced with two large infodumps, it just doesn't flow as naturally.

And so Fevered Star doesn't quite live up to the expectation I had after book 1, even as it continues to promise interesting things with most of the pre-existing main characters. Mind you, I liked it, I just didn't like it as much as I hoped. Hopefully book 3 will return to that great promise, especially now that all the interested parties have now been introduced.

So overall R. Roanhorse (such a unique name) has established an interconnected piece of literature that will make you salivate for the conclusion (I assume) in the next book. Though some trilogies get locked into the second novel becoming more of a bridge between 1 & 3, this one adds some needed flair for the adventure along the way. When the next one comes out, I think it will become more clear why this novel was needed if that makes sense. Overall this book feels like a Pullman mixed with Apocalypto (the film), a unique experience for sure!

Welcome to the absolute chaos that Black Sun left in its wake.

Basically, Fevered Star picks up right after a particularly climactic incident, the shockwaves for which are still reverberating throughout society. It's only been mere hours, and the characters are already scrambling to shift priorities. Political scheming is at an all-time high. Everyone is gathering resources and forging new alliances at the dawn of this new era, and it's an absolute shit show.

My favorite part about Fevered Star is how realistic the maneuvering is portrayed. In the aftermath of Black Sun, each character desperately scrambles for purchase in the new political climate. No one was prepared. Everyone is freaking the fuck out. And that feels right. Does it make it an easy reading experience? Absolutely not. But Fevered Star is aptly named, as the plot feels a bit feverish, a bit manic. And all of that desperation to come out on top culminates in violence.

I recommend that you re-read or brush up on the factions in Black Sun before diving into this one. Fevered Star gave me whiplash with how fast it flitted from group to group with little-to-no hand-holding. But I had a great time and just know that the next book is going to be magnificent.

I just need to start this out by curbing your expectations if you're anything like me - THIS IS NOT A DUOLOGY. Okay, there I said it.

With that out of the way, hoooooly coyote! This book is definitely slower than Black Sun, but adds so much political intrigue that the first book lacked. AND we get another PoV to follow (not going to spoil who...) which is quite possibly one of the most interesting. After the events of Black Sun, there's a criminal amount of fallout in The Meridian and for good reason. I loved Naranpa's arc as usual, but Serapio and Okoa's were so dark and intriguing. We really get to see the relationships between characters bloom and be tested in this installment, for better or worse. I think that Xiala's arc will be the most fascinating in the third and final book. However though the book may be slow paced, there's still action and magic throughout that will leave you craving more. And the LOOOOORE!! We learn so much about The Meridian here that is definitely going to come into play soon...

Overall I love this book to pieces and can't wait to reread it. Recommending it for fans of high fantasy and anyone who loves a good plot twist.

*Thank you to B2Weird tours, Saga Press, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Saga Press for sending me an advanced e-copy of one my most anticipated books of the year. Black Sun was one of my favorite books that I read last year and I could not wait to get to my hands on Rebecca Roanhorse's second installment of the Between Earth and Sky series. The second book picks up almost immediately when the first ended. In the aftermath of the first book's jaw dropping ending we reconnect with each of our main characters and see how they are coping. This book is very much a second in the series and spends a lot of time placing characters in their positions for the anticipated series finale. It feels like watching a chess game in which players are being strategically positioned. However, we are given more insight into characters and motivations. Without giving away anything from the first book, I was really happy with where this story went. I felt that although the book was setting a lot of things up it still moved quickly and I was relatively satisfying with where our characters ended up at the close. I cannot wait for the next instalment. This is by far one my favorite series in recent years and one that I am actually excited to continue with.

This is an excellent sequel to Rebecca Roanhorse's Black Sun. The characters remained as compelling and complex as they were in the first book, maybe even more so. Roanhorse's writing style never fails to grab me and never let me go. I am looking forward to the rest of the series and adding this specific installment to our collection.

Fevered Star is a welcome second entry in Rebecca Roanhorse's Between Earth and Sky series that avoids the dreaded 'middle book' effect that some series suffer from, filled with plotting, treachery, treason, and intrigue which keeps readers engaged to the last pages.

An easy recommendation for fans of the first book.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Fevered Star is a solid follow-up to the brilliance that is Black Sun. While feeling very much like a middle book, developing the plot while not resolving much, it’s generally an enjoyable reading experience.
I love the continued exploration of the world, especially with the way Rebecca Roanhorse plays with familiar concepts, like gods walking among humans. The politics are intricate and compelling, and the developments present a lot in the way of intrigue. It’s dark and twisty in the best way.
The characters are almost definitely my favorite part. Serapio and Xiala are separated, which does suck, but I like how it allows them room to grow on their own terms, navigating complex potential new bonds. And Naranpa grows in her confidence, and is perhaps the most compelling of the three as a result.
I really enjoyed the developments in this one, and am anxious for the next one.