If you’ve been reading my reviews for a bit, you may know that I’m a bit obsessed with Aiden Thomas’s work! The Cemetery Boys and Lost in the Never Woods were both some of my favorite books of 2020 and 2021, and yet somehow they have both been dethroned in my heart by The Sunbearer Trials! I am downright smitten with this book. From the characters (and their fabulous development and depth) to the worldbuilding, The Sunbearer Trials is a book I want to read over and over again! With the tournament aspect of this book, I feel as though it is the book I wish The Hunger Games had been when I read it as a younger teen. I am so very glad that this will be a duology, because I am not ready to say goodbye to Teo, Niya, Xeo, and Aurelio!

In addition to reading a physical copy, I also had the pleasure of listening along to an early audiobook copy from Macmillan Audio! The narration by André Santana was absolutely perfect for the audiobook version of The Sunbearer Trials! I found that I really enjoyed the combination of reading the book while listening to the audio version, as it made me pace myself more and really savor the book. It also emphasized the dramatic timing, and the tension in many of the intense tournament scenes in the book, which I appreciated. Overall, the audiobook version enhanced this already five-star read for me, making it an easy six-star book, and one of my top reads of the year!

My Recommendation-
If you loved the magical powers of Encanto, you need to grab a copy of The Sunbearer Trials! I would especially recommend this book to readers who’ve been searching for the perfect “deadly tournament” YA novel!

***Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing a copy of the audiobook via NetGalley. My review contains my honest thoughts about my listening experience.***

I'm a huge fan of this author, and this book was one of my most anticipated releases of this year. I was so excited to get the advanced listening copy at the last minute and started listening to it right away. I immediately fell in love with the narrator and the way he brought the characters to life. The story was a fun mix of contemporary elements and Mexican mythology with quite a bit of humor that kept me chuckling at all the antics. I enjoyed getting to know all of the different settings, powers, and creatures that the characters encountered throughout their journey.

The characters were an absolute treat to read with vibrant personalities and compelling arcs. I particularly loved Teo and Aurelio. They both had to deal with their inferiority complexes, and the vibes of their friend to rival to friend relationship were perfection. The trans rep in the book was great, as well, and it was incorporated seamlessly with the story while also providing moving insight into what it is like being a trans person.

The pace of the story plowed forward at breakneck speed as the characters progressed from one trial to the next. It managed to keep the action flowing without sacrificing character development, and each of the five trials amped up the stakes. Despite the ever-growing risks to the characters, I never really feared for any of them. Oddly enough, I found the tone of the book to be surprisingly upbeat despite all the hardships and constant threat of death. I'm not sure if it was the writing or the narrator that set the tone, but I never believed the characters were in any real danger. I didn't mind it, though, because I loved the characters and thought the adventure was fun regardless.

I saw most aspects of the end coming a mile away, but there were a couple things that took me by surprise. Personally, I didn't like the ending because the proposed solution to the problem of how the trials finished came too quickly and left me wondering why the sacrifices of the trials ever needed to happen in the first place. Overall, though, this audiobook was a fun and fascinating ride with great trans rep and compelling characters I couldn't help but love, and I'll definitely be back for the conclusion of the duology when it releases. Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Trigger Warnings: Fire, injury, transphobia, dysphoria, testosterone/needles, death of a child, bullying, fighting, violence, cursing, vomit, blood, emotional abuse

Representation: Transgender, hormone therapy, top surgery, sign language, Deaf, they/them pronouns, Non-binary, twins, Mexican

The Sunbearer Trials is the first installment in a young adult, fantasy duology. Every ten years, ten semidioses must compete to become the next Sunbearer, a great honor for the winner to carry light and life to all of the temples. The loser is set to be sacrificed to Sol to fuel the Sun Stones and protect everyone until the next trial. Teo, a Jade, is shocked when he is chosen to compete amongst the Golds, one of who is his best friend, Niya. Teo and Niya, along with the others must compete in five trials in order to survive.

This book was just *chef’s kiss*!! I want to say that it reminds me of my fav competition book about magical beings, but this one is so much better! And queer! I absolutely loved this read and am personally offended for that cliffhanger!

Teo is an awesome character and you root for him from the first page on! I also enjoyed Niya and his interactions with the other competitors. I loved the Deaf representation and Aiden makes it so simple to include into the story with the respect the community deserves.

I also loved that this book is current and can reference social media without being cringe. I definitely laughed out loud when a character said to “Fuck around and find out.” The storyline is fantastic and the author creates a beautiful world that I would love to live in. The descriptions are absolutely amazing and so well done. And the narrator does a phenomenal job! I really hope they’re back for part 2!!

This is by far my favorite book from Aiden so far! It has the Hunter Games esque deadly event that we all actually wanted, but with the demigod system of PJO with Mexican lore/mythology. And of course wonderful trans rep. It's also based in our world? Like a contemporary fantasy where people know about demigods, but cell phones and stuff still exist. Just a truly wonderful read and a great audiobook!

I was granted audio ARC access to The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas through the publisher, MacMillan Audio, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much for the approval! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

So you know how in The Road to El Dorado Tzekel-Kan reveals to the chief that Miguel and Tulio are false gods by pointing out that gods don't bleed? Well, in this version of the world at least, that's not entirely true. They do bleed, it's just not red.

The Sunbearer Trials takes place in a world that blends modern teen culture with a world that feels aesthetically and religiously like a romanticized version of pre-Columbus Middle America. Demigods live among the mortals, they (often reluctantly) settle themselves into a cast system based on the colour of their blood, they use recognizable modern teen lingo, patron recognizable parallels to modern businesses, cook sous vide when they want to be fancy... and run a high stakes competition among their youth once a decade which ends with the winner sacrificing the loser in order to replenish the stones that power the world. Typically only Golds compete, and thus only Golds are trained and prepared for it. Teo is not a Gold. Will he survive?

For fans of battle royale sort of adventures like The Hunger Games, this book will scratch that itch, but for the most part there's very little blood and gore while the trials are in progress. For fans of Aiden Thomas' debut novel, Cemetery Boys, this book deliver just as much trans representation and LGBTQIA+ discourse as you're expecting, if not more! If you've been following my reviews for a while now, it's no secret that the YA novels that were coming out in 2019-2020 that featured trans and non-binary characters who still have a lot of questions really helped push me to discover more about myself, even in my 30s, and I do believe this book can do that for new readers of any age.

If you're reading this review then you've likely looked at a listing for this book somewhere online and you've seen the line under the title that says duology book one. There are some things you can correctly predict as this book goes on, like the protagonist not dying halfway through, simply because a sequel is in the works. This doesn't affect the suspense at all! This book is masterfully written and throws a whole lot of twists and turns that I did not see coming. I'm so sad that the second book isn't also up for early reviews yet because I must know what happens next!

I reviewed the audiobook, so now is the time to also comment on the narrative performance. André Santana has the perfect voice for this! André is a new narrator for Aiden Thomas' work, but not at all a new voice in the YA audiobook space, and I've enjoyed André's work before on titles like Before We Disappear and Out of the Blue. André's latino accent is so smooth and easy to listen to, and if it's not authentic then it's very practised and convincing. The pacing in this book is perfect, and each character sounds distinctly different without any extreme pitch shifting that feels unnatural or forced. I've definitely said before that I'll gladly listen to more books narrated by André and that's still true. André's performances in the titles I've listened to would convince me to try another audiobook simply because of the narrator, even if I know nothing about the book or author.

The Percy Jackson and Hunger Games crossover vibes really did ring true with this one. Aiden Thomas did an excellent job crafting a fantasy world inspired by Mexican culture. I loved the characters and the world-building. This book was a quick read and I can't wait for the sequel.

I absolutely adored this. It really is Percy Jackson meets the Hunger Games. The writing is beautiful and the depiction of the different gods/children in a modern setting is so creative. The messages throughout the story are gorgeous too.

Lovable characters you want to be best friends with, thrilling action, heartwarmingly inclusive, and rich world building — The Sunbearer Trials is officially one of my favorite fantasy books ever!

If you loved CEMETERY BOYS, you will surely delight in THE SUNBEARER TRIALS, an immediate-suspension-of-disbelief mythological/urban fantasy tale that will take your breath even as it enlarges your imaginative horizons. This is Coming-of-age as never before experienced, I'd venture to conclude. Aiden Thomas is a must-read writer, proving so with each new book. THE SUNBEARER TRIALS is Mexican-flavored fabulism with LGBT+ rep, a fascinating premise and carry-through, and superb writing, ideal for aficionados of Silvia Moreno-Garcia and V. Castro.

Audio: The narration is smooth and clear, easy to follow. What was most important to me was that the narrator steadily maintained the suspension of disbelief which is so essential in a narrative of Myth and Fabulism such as this.

This book had me at Percy Jackson meets the Hunger Games.

This Mexican-inspired fantasy YA was everything I was hoping it would be. The mythology was fresh and the trials were imaginative and keep you on the edge of your seat.

Teo is the underdog and reluctant player in the games. He struggles to keep up with the competition, all while attempting to keep his friends safe. The themes of friendship, loyalty, self-worth, and the battle between good and evil were throughout.

Beware- this does end on a cliffhanger and the next book is not expected to be released until next year. However, this is one that I don't think I'll have a problem re-reading when that time comes.

The book was everything I wanted to be, paired with a perfect narrator. It made it easy to follow the story, and I'm still thinking about it days later.

Oh. My. God. This book was incredible.

I know y’all keep seeing these comps, but this book really is Percy Jackson meets The Hunger Games but chock full of rich Mexican mythology and trans characters!

This story follows Teo, a jade semidíos who is also the son of Quetzlan (goddess of birds). As a jade, Teo expected to go to The Sunbearer Trials as a spectator who gets to indulge in all the best foods. His world is turned upside down when he’s among the chosen to compete. A jade has never won, and now him and 13 year old Xio have both been selected. These two know they don’t stand a chance against the golds, not even with Niya, Teo’s best friend alongside them.

I LOVED all of the characters in this book. I wish that I also could speak to birds the way that Teo could and corral them into carrying out shenanigans on my behalf. Niya was the perfect best complement to Teo, and she could step on me any time (just saying). I wanted to protect Xio at all costs. I loved the moments between Teo and Xio when they both talk about their trans experiences and dysphoria. We got to see T injections on page as well as other really powerful convos!

THE FOOD. The fact that Aiden is sitting here describing the mouth watering Al pastor, carnitas, conchas & hot chocolate without me having any of those while reading this was so cruel.

The trials themselves were full of adventure and mayhem. I loved seeing the semidíoses compete against one another and watch the stakes continually rise after each one. I found the world building to be so immersive that I felt like I was alongside everyone the whole time.

My only gripe is now I have to anxiously wait for book two.

When I first read the synopsis and saw that this was about a tournament of demigods, I was instantly intrigued, because I absolutely love books about gods and their children. Then, I saw that the story centered around Mexican mythology with prominent queer representation, and I knew this was going to be a new favorite.

One of the things I loved most was the way the characters spoke and acted like actual teenagers. They swore and complained and were all kinds of awkward with each other. No character felt overly idealized, and this helped make the way that they supported and cared for each other feel even more authentic.

I thought the Golds vs Jades hierarchy was interesting, especially because the Jades were basically treated like normal kids and the Golds were treated like royalty, despite both groups being made up of semidióses This helped add another layer of nuance to the interactions between the competitors.

The queer representation and the normalization and celebration of all identities was fantastic. I wish our current society was so healthy. I loved how dysphoria was discussed and one scene in particular was so touching and made my heart burst with joy.

I thoroughly enjoyed Aiden Thomas’ writing style. The descriptions weren’t overly dense, and you could clearly picture each scene and setting. The pacing was excellent and balanced between action and emotion. The trials were exciting and the scenarios were varied and full of tension leading up to an INTENSE ending that perfectly set up the next book.

I was fortunate to be able to listen to this on audiobook and loved André Santana’s narration, which expertly conveyed the emotions and personalities of each character.

Overall, this was a 5 ⭐️ story with 5⭐️ narration and I need the sequel NOW!!!!

Thank you so very much to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this AudioARC. All opinions are my own.

Oh, this book is such a wild ride, and I’ll go anywhere Aiden Thomas takes us. THE SUNBEARER TRIALS is a Mexican-inspired YA fantasy novel, the first in a duology, about teen semidioses who compete in a series of trials. The winner - and the loser - fulfill an essential ritual for the protection of Reino del Sol that must occur every ten years, but soon it becomes apparent that there’s something unusual about these trials. There’s so much rich and enthralling world building in this story, about the Gold, Jade, and Obsidian gods, the history of their realm, and the different cultures and people who dwell within it. I loved getting to know each of the ten semidioses who are pitted against each other (and the character art Thomas commissioned brings them to life so beautifully). It’s a very diverse mix, written with such intentionality, with an unapologetically queer and trans lead, Teo (who’s also an absolute chaos demon and a scrappy underdog you’ll be rooting for from page one). I’m particularly obsessed with Niya; we must protect her at all costs! Also Aurelio with that constant little frown! The storytelling is gripping and immersive, and settings Thomas paints for us are so interesting and lovely; I am begging, pleading for a screen adaptation. I can’t wait to read the conclusion to this series. Thanks to Feiwel & Friends and Macmillan Audio for the review copies! This book is out 9/6.