As a massive fan of The Sunbearer Trials I was extremely excited for the continuation of this story. Aiden Thomas always writes characters I love with deeply rich cultural stories. Celestial Monsters had a perfect tie up of a wonderfully unique plot. I liked the road-trip vibes of it and getting to know Aurelio and Niya much more as they travelled with Teo who I already loved from the first book.

Amazing ending for this amazing duology. After how the first book ended, we know things weren't going to be easy. Our group had to go through many obstacles to win the fight and to see if their friends can be saved and redeemed what went wrong. It won't be the fastest way, and they will find themselves looking for funnier and more romantic distractions. It was action packed but at the same time it was quiet and allowed us to really enjoy the path these character's were walking on. Excellent writing, and the narration was superb. Highly recommended.

I read and loved The Sunbearer Trials back in 2022 and like everyone else, was beyond excited for the sequel.

If you haven't read The Sunbearer Trials, basically it's a Mexican-inspired mashup of Percy Jackson and The Hunger Games but make it super duper freaking queer. The first book left us on one hell of a cliff hanger and I know so many others are eager to pick up CM to see where it picks up.

So let me tell you about it. There are some spoilers below for The Sunbearer Trials so stop now if you haven't read that one!!!!!!

It's the end of the world road trip you didn't know you needed. We've got Teo, Aurelio and Niya all out on a quest to find the Sol stone and restore order in their world. They battle and trek their way through the jungles and the deserts and all the unfamiliar territory to get to the Obsidians. Xio is there too and you'll have to read the story to discover their role in the road trip. Of course there's a hefty load of guilt and a hopeful burgeoning romance between Teo and Aurelio that brings a bit of levity to what, at time, can be a bit of a dramatic read.

I can't express how excited I was to read it and how fully it lived up to all my expectations.

Have you read The Sunbearer Trials or Celestial Monsters yet? Have I convinced you to add it to your tbr?

On a side note, I finished CM the day the newest saga for Epic the musical came out and it's been the perfect soundtrack. I keep thinking of Teo every time I hear God Games and Legendary. I just know he would vibe super hard with these songs 😂

Thanks again so much to @aidenschmaiden
and @coloredpagesbt for the #gifted copies of these beautiful books and for letting me be a part of the tour.

First thing’s first: thank you Netgalley for the ALC of this book!
Celestial Monsters was the second half of the Sunbearer Trials duology by Aiden Thomas. It’s the continuation of Teo’s adventures with the rest of the children from the trials.
I wish I could say I loved this book, but it was a huge letdown to me. The first book was SO GOOD. I loved it! And the second book was missing all of the things that made the first book so great. This one was predictable and felt much more YA than the first one. I had such high hopes for the second half of this duology but unfortunately it fell flat for me. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a BAD book, it was just so much worse than the first one.
3⭐️

The world is about to be plunged into an eternal night, and only Teo and his friends can make the journey to retrieve the sol stone and save their world.
A fun conclusion to the sunbearer duology. Teo's journey with his friends through their world was an eye opening for them and the reader, as they only knew the small section of their world and they got to see so much more than they had previously been exposed to. I would love to see more stories based in this rich and wonderful world.
Xio had their own journey, a lot of internal grappling and gowing that was well written.

Overall, felt a little more middle grade leaning that YA, but a fun heroes/world saving duology regardless!

I really enjoyed The Sunbearer Trials and was excited for the sequel, but this one was a bit of a let down. I struggled to finish it. There was hardly any action in this book as it was a "journey" book rather than an action one like the first book was. The representation was incredible, as Thomas always does, but the story itself fell flat for me. This ending was overall disappointing.

A perfect follow-up to "Sunbearer Trials". While I'm not always the biggest fan, the redemption arc used in Celestial Monsters" was fun. I do feel there could have been more sacrifice and groveling, but overall, I did enjoy the final resolution.


The audio for this was just *chef's kiss*. Andre Santana was the absolute best choice and I 100% looked for other titles they narrated after finishing up with Celestial Monsters.

Rating: Enjoyed It, 3.5 Stars

Celestial Monsters is the conclusion to the Sunbearer Duology by Aiden Thomas. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed by this one. I fell in love with The Sunbearer Trials, but this one just didn't work for me quite as well.

This one picks up pretty immediately after the events of the first book, so we don't lose very much time. It starts out really strong, and we get another POV, which I appreciated. However, I think part of the reason that this one wasn't as strong as the first was that it turned into a quest story. However, the quest felt extremely meandering. I'm a hard sell on quest stories, and this one definitely didn't change my opinion on that. I think it was because it sort of felt like when Niya, Teo, and Aurelio were on their quest, it was just a way to kill time. Not a whole lot was accomplished.

I think that part of it was so that there could be a more believable mindset shift in how the world could be governed, but even that felt a little bit too easy. I feel like it tied up like I would expect a middle grade novel to rather than YA. Which isn't a huge complaint, and it isn't something that I would have minded if I had been fully engrossed throughout the whole book.

Overall, it was still a fun time to be back with Teo and company, and I appreciated Xio's character arc in this. It just took me a long time to get through and build momentum to want to keep going. So for that reason, I did't rate it as highly as the first one. I think that one just spoke a little more to my trope preferences.

The audiobook narrator was excellent in this one still. No complaints!

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for an early audiobook copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was so excited to get back into this world and see what happens after the events of the first book, which I loved! Unfortunately, this one didn't hold my attention as well as the first one, and I struggled with the narration of the audiobook.

This one starts right up after the end of the second book. While I didn’t love the lulls when they were traveling, I thought it was great that they filled these spots with the POV of the other person. nd even tho this one had things the other didn’t, I still loved the first one more.

Ok so what I liked most about this one is the different monsters they came across. I love hearing about those weird, spooky monsters from other people’s cultures. So imagine my delight and surprise when i saw that there was a chupacabra and a lechuga in this! I love these kinds of things. Definitely gave me a reason to like this series even more. I also like the other ones that were brought up the at the end. This had me looking up more stories to find out more about the different gods because this was so good lol

The fight scenes got me tho. I’m not a huge fantasy reader. But these fight scenes were so good and they had me locked in. I don’t think I’ve ever been locked into a book like this like I had with this one. And there were so many of them too. And the way they were using each other to their strengths was amazing too. I loved seeing them work together.

The other thing I liked was the way you get the POV of the villain in this one. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book that has that. It sounds weird, but it was so good. And like the way that person was basically coming into their own? I hate that I enjoyed seeing them learn and grow at the expense of taking the others hostage. Ugh this book was so good!

The plot was a slow burn but once it got going it was good. And the characters were mostly from the other book, but there’s a lot of new people in this one too. I heard that Aiden Thomas had to cut a lot of the book during edits because he had written a lot of different deities and stuff, so I’m hoping we get some of that story. Even if it’s like just a guide to go with the books. Until then, I’m just going to re-read my favorite parts lol

Celestial Monsters is a fantastic follow up to The Sunbearer Trials. In this sequel, they must save their friends and the world from the now released Obsidian gods.

This one is an epic quest with a romantic subplot. Teo and Aurelio are just so cute and I love the way their relationship bloomed quietly throughout the story but never took over. There are also some really tender and beautiful moments between some family members in this one and I loved it. The way Aurelio fought so hard to get his sister back was just so touching. Their mother was something else though; she really got under my skin. No surprise there though since difficult mothers pretty much always get under my skin. I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this story.

I listened to both The Sunbearer Trials and Celestial Monsters on audiobook and it was an excellent listening experience. André Santana did a wonderful job with all the voices. I was totally immersed in the story the whole time. I highly recommend the audiobooks for this duology.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for an advance listening copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Aiden Thomas has been one of my favorite YA authors for a long time now and I have been looking forward to this release for so long! I got the eARC and the audiobook ARC as well. The audiobook was fantastic! I loved it! The characters and the writing were amazing and exactly what I expect from this author. I love that every character is so different but also well developed. My favorite thing about it was the growth that the author grew several of the characters.

I've only read the physical book of the first and listening to the audiobook for the second is a strange experience. The narration made the story sound more "kiddie" in a sense because of the tone the narrator used to act out other character's dialogue. The overall story was alright, and the issues I had with the first book was slightly more muted with the second. I still would've liked more worldbuilding since these books don't fully dive into how the world works and the deity system still feels like it could've been developed further since the reader only has a black and white perspective of these gods and the lack of lore doesn't make the story as suspenseful as it could've been. Otherwise, this is a great read for queer teens looking for a magical adventure with intersectional leading characters.

Aiden Thomas might be as good at world building as any fantasy author writing today. Their ability to balance mythology, character development, and action started perfectly in The Sunbearer Trials and stays strong in Celestial Monsters. And I love these characters so much. They are smart, tough, vulnerable, and kind in all the ways real kids often are. And when a character mentions they are thinking of using different pronouns? Multiple characters pause their tirade/monologue/moment to applaud them regardless of their other feelings 😂. That might be my favorite part. Excellent job.

<i>I received this title as an ARC on Net-galley in exchange for a honest review. Thank you Feiwel and Friends for the copy!</i>

<b>The Good</b>
I loved the first book so I'm so excited to be back in this world! This book picks up immediately after the first book and the journey to get Sol back. I liked seeing more of the world with Teo, Aurelio, and Niya. Some mortal cities were incredibly dependent on Gods while others flourished without them. I loved seeing people in who chose to live outside the Dios system entirely and build community together.
I also liked seeing how each character dealt with the fallout of the previous book.
Teo is still dealing with feeling inadequate and dealing with immense guilt. Aurelio is facing what life is without his sister who was is support throughout his entire life. Niya is dealing with the fallout of Xio's betrayal. The budding romance between Teo and Aurelio was really sweet even in the hard times. I loved learning more about the history between the Dios and the Obsidians.
It puts Xio and their story into less evil and more understandable category. Xio is a complex figure. I understood why they turned against the Dios. To spend years feeling wrong and not understanding why and then finding out you belong to the people everyone hates that were all either killed or locked away is terrible. They yearned so bad to belong somewhere and even with the Obsidians they were out of place. Their chapter humanized them and their choices a lot more.

<b>The Bad</b>
I wish there had been more structure and more of a plan for how the trio planned to defeat the Obsidians. I also am unsure of what I think about the ending and its resolution. I also felt like it lacked emotional weight at the end. Something that should be very devastating happens and then they start bantering like it wasn't a big deal? Like these are kids and their parents! I wanted a better conclusion to such an interesting discussion of the purpose of gods in the lives of mortals than what was given.

<b>Format:</b> Audiobook

<b>The Rating</b>
I give this book a <b>4/5🌟 rating.</b> This book was just as fun and interesting as the first one but unfortunately dragged and fizzled out at the end.

Check out my socials <a href="https://linktr.ee/buffyreads here</a> for more reviews!

The pefect folllow up to one of my favorite books by Aiden Thomas and a wonderful queer young adult fantasy series that readers younger and older will falll madly in love with!

I love this duology so much! I’m excited to share it with my kids when they are older.

This book picks up right where the action of The Sunbearer Trials ends. The sun is gone; the Obsidian gods are back and seeking revenge; and Teo, Aurelio, and Niya band together to save the world.

I don’t think enough can be said about how well Aiden Thomas handles the themes of friendship, self-discovery, and budding romance in this coming-of-age story. Our heroes learn to repair relationships, consider other perspectives, handle guilt, deal with trauma, believe in themselves, and come to terms with the fallibility of the adults—in this case literally the gods—in their lives. They take on new challenges, fight battles, and learn to think outside the box. They learn to connect with others and see beyond the stratified lines that originally divided them.

And Thomas also deserves major props for how they present identity and orientation in the duology's culture.

I highly, highly recommend this one on audio. André Santana’s narration swept me away into the story. I loved the accents and how Santana captures the emotions in this one.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Macmillan Audio. All review opinions are my own.

Thank you so much for this arc, the narration once again was phenomenal. I love the representation as well in this book. Perfect duology!

The moving & satisfying finale to Aiden Thomas’s THE SUNBEARER TRIALS duology,, CELESTIAL MONSTERS is a high stakes, apocalyptic roadtrip across fantasy Mexico to save the world. Slow burn romance, incredible world building, and Aiden Thomas’s signature tight plotting and fan favorite characters make this series closer well worth the ride. Recommended for fans of THE HUNGER GAMES and Rick Riordan Presents.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and LibroFM for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

"You have to admit -- an end-of-the-world road trip does sound kind of fun."

Oh my goodness. It was so much fun. I am thrilled to have spent more time with Teo, Aurelio, and Niya. And Xio has a POV as well this time.

I want to be careful not to say too much to spoil The Sunbearer Trials in describing this sequel. So I'll focus on vibes and themes. I found this book absolutely delightful. It had amazing pacing and enough levity to balance the danger.

It highlighted so many important themes around individual choices, societal responsibility, and the structure of institutions and various possible options. This book shows just how thought-provoking and inspiring YA fantasies can be.

André Santana narrated all of the voices perfectly, especially Teo's. Have you ever felt when listening to an audiobook performance like the narrator probably had a really good time reading it? That's the feeling I got for this book.

This is a duology, so definitely read the two in order. That's essential for world and character building. And also, both books are simply outstanding. Now I am so excited for the second Cemetery Boys.

4.5 stars rounded up