I may be late to the Sunbearer Trials party but that only means I’m lucky enough to be early to the Celestial Monsters party! (thanks MacMillan Audio the ALC!)

I absolutely cannot get over how good this duology is! I DEVOURED The Sunbearer Trials then immediately RAN to request the Celestial Monsters ARC. I got approved for the audiobook and completely DEVOURED that one as well.

Aiden Thomas has created such a rich, immersive, fantastical world with an incredible cast of characters. It was so much fun getting to know all the different dioses & semidioses that are inspired by Mexican folklore. I can’t remember the last time I read a fantasy series that captured my attention so completely. I mean, I was so immersed in the story I forgot to take notes for this review oopsies 😅

Another thing I love about these books is how queer normative they are. There’s a vast range of queer rep and it’s all done so well. There’s mention of gender confirmation ceremonies and a character even changes their pronouns partway through the book which is simply accepted as a matter-of-fact from other characters.

Celestial Monsters is a fun, laugh-out-loud-funny sequel that isn’t afraid to pull at your heart strings.

AIDEN- I'M COMING FOR YOU AFTER WHAT YOU DID!

Okay but 6 starts out of 5.

First off, thanks Macmillan Audio and Fierce Reads for the ARC and ALC. The advanced copies do not impact my review in any way.

Celestial Monsters was my most anticipated release of the year, and it did not disappoint! If anything, it exceeded every expectation I had. The sequel to The Sunbearer Trials was an emotional rollercoaster that had me laughing out loud, sitting on the edge of my seat, and yes, even crying! I keep joking that I'll be coming after the author for the choices he made in this book, but honestly, I'm just so moved by how he wrote this book.

This series has always been close to my heart, and the representation means the world to me. I mean, Aiden made me cry with the candy alone, but the world is so vibrant and filled of life that it makes me feel incredibly seen and proud to be Mexican-American. Seeing characters who reflect my identity and experiences in such a vivid, tender, and powerful story is something I'll always cherish. Celestial Monsters captures the magic once again, while diving even deeper into the characters and world.

Niya, as always, had me laughing so hard that I had to force myself to stop and not wake my neighbors as I devoured the book into the late hours of the night. The humor, heart. and portrayals of joy and heartbreak made this story so special.

I'm still not over everything but that just means I have endless energy to tell everyone to read it! A huge shoutout also goes to the narrator, who did a fantastic job of making me crack up and shiver with all the celestials' voices. So what are you waiting for? GO READ IT!

4.5 stars rounded up

Review: I have loved this duology so much. I think this was the perfect ending. I loved how everything came together and how the characters grew and the story evolved. Absolutely loved it

Synopsis: Teo never thought he could be a Hero. Now, he doesn’t have a choice.

The sun is gone, the Obsidian gods have been released from their prison, and now chaos and destruction are wreaking havoc on Reino del Sol. All because Teo refused to sacrifice a fellow semidiose during the Sunbearer Trials.

With the world plunged into perpetual night, Teo, Aurelio and Niya must journey to the dark wilderness of Los Restos, battling vicious monsters while dealing with guilt, trauma, and a (very distracting) burgeoning romance between Teo and Aurelio. Once more racing against the clock, the trio are determined to rescue the captured semidioses and retrieve the Sol Stone. With it, Sol and their protective light can return and order can be restored.

Now the future of the whole world is in their hands.

In a Nutshell: An interesting continuation and finale to the Sunbearer duology. This works better than the first one in plot, writing, character development, and action, but is a bit repetitive. YA in approach (which it should be as a YA Fantasy, but I don’t enjoy YA much.) Not a standalone.

Note: This review contains minor spoilers from Book One: The Sunbearer Trials.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4961573277
https://roshreviews.blogspot.com/2022/09/the-sunbearer-trials-aiden-thomas.html

Plot Preview:
This book continues immediately after the finale of the first book.
Now that the Obsidian gods are free of their prison and intent on taking back what they think was rightfully theirs, there is chaos all over Reino de Sol. Add in the complication that Sol is still not in power, thanks to Teo’s refusal of sacrificing a fellow semidiose during the Sunbearer Trials. As their world is in darkness, Teo, Aurelio, and Niya band up to retrieve the Sol stone from the Obsidians, get Sol to light up again, and in the interim, save the world from the celestial monsters of the dark. If they don’t succeed in their quest, they face an apocalypse, so they have neither much time nor much choice.
The book comes to us in the third-person perspectives of Teo and Xio.

Bookish Yays:
💐 It was great to see the narration split between Teo and Xio this time around. Xio was a crucial character in this sequel, and his perspective added not just variety but also complexity.
💐 Teo has improved from his days as a Sunbearer Trial contestant. He isn't your typical YA hero: he’s neither the strongest nor the fastest, he wants sleep even in between a dangerous quest, he complains about food,… All of this make him seem realistic. His habit of whining, though much reduced in intensity in this sequel, adds to the authentic teen portrayal.
💐 Aurelio and Niya are strong support systems. Niya is still as obnoxiously cute as in the first book. Aurelio is more silent and withdrawn without his sister. I love how the hidden chinks in his Gold armour are more visible now. The friendship dynamics are strong, and there is also some fun banter across the trio.
💐 Fabulous inclusivity, not surprising considering the author. There are queer and trans characters, and some of them also us the they/them pronouns. Loved the rep!
💐 The various mythological elements, especially the magical creatures, are thrilling to read. They are rooted in Mexican mythology, though I am not sure if any of them were conjured just for this book.
💐 The story highlights the manipulation of history by the "victors" – much appreciated! A subtle message but thought-provoking nonetheless.
💐 The world-building is much better this time. It still uses the combination of mythological elements and modern materialistic things from our world such as GPS and social media. It’s a weird mash but it works for the book.

Bookish Mixed Bags:
🌹 Just like the first book, this sequel is also reminiscent of The Hunger Games. Many scenes will remind you of Katniss and her group’s journey back to the Capitol in a bit to destroy Coriolanus Snow. But just because the content is similar doesn’t mean that the experience isn’t fun. That said, THG has three books in the core series while this stopped as a duology. So it feels quite rushed in places.
🌹 The book begins with a tiny infodump, but this is somewhat helpful as a recap. There are again too many characters at the start, but going with the flow helps.
🌹 This book is not as predictable as ‘The Sunbearer Trials’, but it is somewhat repetitive in structure. There are no major surprises. The adventurous quest comprises moving from town to town, meeting some locals, and fighting some magical beasts. After a while, you start feeling the déjà vu, even when the action is enjoyable and the magical beings are outstanding.
🌹 The character development isn’t much this time. It rests on the shoulders of the earlier book. Only Xio gets more depth but not necessarily a convincing one. I found it hard to accept that he was just thirteen. Some character turnarounds are too abrupt to be believable.
🌹 There is an interesting mix of secondary characters: some admirable, some annoying. Teo’s birds don’t pop in as often as in the first book, but they are still a joy to read. I wish his mother Quetzal had also had an extended appearance.
🌹 The epilogue is much too long, at least on audio. But it does offer a conclusion to all the key arcs.
🌹 As a YA book, it does suffer from the usual flaws of YA fiction, the worse of it being excessive physical descriptions and the feelings/stirrings nonsense. It helped that I was better prepared for it this time around. Can’t count this as a Nay because the book IS a YA novel. It’s not the book’s fault that I’m not a YA or that I am not a fan of this genre.

Bookish Nays:
🌵 As is typical in a YA book, most of the adults are either idiots or missing in action, even when they are dioses. It is only the teens who can save the planet from doom. *eye roll.*
🌵 Loads of frivolous cussing.


🎧 The Audiobook Experience:
The audiobook, clocking at 12 hrs 36 min, is yet again narrated by André Santana. He does a wonderful job of bringing the young cast to life, giving each of them a distinct personality and voicing the lines with perfect (YA) emotion. I’m sure I enjoyed this journey more because of his exuberant performance. I’d definitely recommend the audiobook as a great way of experiencing this book. However, if you are an audio newbie, you might be confused by the huge cast.

All in all, this is an entertaining conclusion to the series, offering a great finish to the events that started in the first part of the series. I am not a huge YA fan, and picked this up only because the first book was decent enough (for a YA novel 🤭) and I was curious to know how Teo and his friends resolved the issue. My curiosity has been sated quite well, though the first book kept me slightly more hooked with its twisty plot.
The story is complete in every way, so I don’t see any potential for a continuation. But the world is already created, and the characters are varied in culture and personality, so who knows? Maybe someone will shuffle things up in the new utopia in future, and Teo and his gang will need to get into ‘We-will-save-everyone’ mode again.
Definitely recommended to YA Fantasy fans who have read the first book of this duology. This book cannot work as a standalone.

3.75 stars. (3.5 stars as an adult, 4 stars as a YA. Averaged.)

My thanks to Macmillan Audio for providing the ALC of “Celestial Monsters” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.

Celestial Monsters immediately continued where The Sunbearer Trials left off, so the tension at the beginning was already high. unfortunately, i didn't find this as appealing as TST.

there's 2 POV, Teo and Xio. while it's full-on adventure in Teo's POV, there wasn't really much happening in Xio's POV aside from their internal turmoil. no action from Obsidian gods, IDK what they're doing in that temple for days. and despite the title "Celestial Monsters", the monsters themselves didn't get proper spotlight IMO. Just another obstacle for Teo and friends.

with more Teo & Aurelio's interactions, Niya's moody temperaments, the lack of other Demigods action, overall the plot was underwhelming. at least the ending was decent and heartwarming.

extra points for the inclusivity, just like TST. even though I found it bizzare how whoever can hate and threaten anyone but the right pronouns should be used at any time despite of the bubbling hatred.

oh also I love the narrator! made the story even more exciting.

Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of this narrator (I really tried!), so I'm DNFing at 20%, but I'll be sure to check out a physical copy or ebook from the library, because I've enjoyed the story so far, and loved the first book in the series.

Aiden Thomas is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

I did not read The Sunbearer Trails before reading Celestial Monsters but the synopsis at the beginning of the book gave me enough information that I did not feel lost. FYI, I picked up The Sunbearer after finishing Celestial Monsters, and OMG!

The world-building in this story, the mythology, the conflict, the finding of one's self, the romance... UGH! Chef's Kiss!! I love how Aiden can write about the personal struggles of the LGBTQ community in such a pure way. Those internal conflicts in the characters' storylines pull at my heartstrings the most.

I wish this wasn't the end of this world. The characters introduced are interesting enough to have spinoffs.

I had the pleasure of receiving an audio ARC of this title and it did not disappoint. The narrator André Santana did an awesome job of translating emotion, and character individuality, and the snarky humorous parts were mentally visible!

I loved it!!

Thank you Netgalley, Macmillan Audio | Macmillan Young Listeners, and Aiden Thomas for the advanced audio copy of this book and the ability to freely give my honest opinion.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this duology so much!!! It was just so fun and adventurous and FUNNY! I laughed so much. This book picks up right after The Sunbearer Trials with Teo, Aurelio, and Niya figuring out what their next steps are.

The story is action packed! And it’s truly filled with so much love! You can tell Thomas absolutely cares and loves this story and these characters deeply, and it shows in every moment of this book.

The ending was absolutely beautiful 😭♥️

The narration was awesome, and it kept me so engaged to the story. So many different voices for so many characters! So much talent went into this production.

CW: death of parent, violence, blood, torture, fire/fire injury, ableism, injury/injury detail

I think i've largely grown out of YA, so it's a testament to how good this book is that I loved every second of it. Teo is a fierce, delightful protagonist, and I loved the new POV; I felt it added a lot to the book and the story as a whole. Fantastic. Also a magnificent ending!!!

rep: queer cast, queer trans man POV character, queer nonbinary POV character, queer and trans side characters, all Latine cast

spice: none

tw: death of a parent

when I said aiden thomas never misses, I MEANT it. This duology finale is brilliant, hilarious, unexpected, and overwhelmingly lovely. I can't recommend it enough.

This finale to the Sunbearer Trials was great. I definitely didn't expect the ending to go the way it did. I wish we would have gotten a little more knowledge on Phantasma. And that there would have been a few more monsters. Overall, I loved the folklore that was in it. I loved the characters. The magic system was great. Both books were great. Would definitely recommend them.

Although it's been a minute and we were really thrown back into the action immediately, once I got back into the world and started remembering bits and pieces of The Sunbearer Trials, I really loved it! I listened to it in just two days. A great finale to this story!

Celestial Monsters by Aidan Thomas is a wonderful end for the Sunbearer Duology.

This one picks up immediately after The Sunbearer Trials and I can't tell you what happens because that is very spoilery! André Santana continues to do a great job narrating. There are so many different characters, but they all have distinct personalities and voices so it's easy to follow along.

Representation continues to be strong in the second book in this series. We really get to see different cities in this world, and they're all quite different from one another. In terms of the LGBTQ umbrella, one of our trans characters questions whether they want to continue using he/him pronouns. They end up switching over to they/them pronouns to see how that feels. I thought it was really great to include the fact that it's okay to question things like that and to play around to see what ends up being right for you.

I absolutely shed a few tears during this book, so be prepared for that as a possibility. I was really satisfied with the end of this duology, but now I have a mighty need for a spinoff series featuring Niya and company going off on adventures.

I am a SUCKER for a story that allows its heroes to question the authority of the world. For wandering quests and the friends we made along the way. Thomas is just excellent at all of these things. His stories just reach into the heart and heal the little pieces you didn't know needed healing!

This is how you write a sequel! I read and loved The Sunbearer Trials earlier this year and I think this second book perfectly continued the story and expanded the world. I won't go into the plot because I don't want to spoil anything, but if you enjoyed book one, you'll love this! I will say, if it's been a while since reading the first book, maybe get a quick refresh on characters names and abilities so you can jump right in!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Young Listeners for granting me access to the audio ARC! André Santana masterfully narrates this story and brings this rich world to life. Absolutely phenomenal audio read!

Last year I read and absolutely loved Cemetery Boys, so I knew I would continue to read Aiden Thomas' work. I listened to Celestial Monsters less than a week after finishing The Sunbearer Trials. The ending of The Sunbearer Trials SHOCKED me so much, I couldn't understand how we got here and had so many questions. Celestial Monsters did not let me down at all as it followed Teo, Aurelio, and Niya's journey to stop the apocalypse. They don't have an easy trek by any means, running into the beasts the Obsidians unleashed... Without the light from Sol. I couldn't help but wonder why the gods decided to stay back and let their half mortal teenage children take on this quest alone (although they did send them with a few supplies/weapons to help). Especially Teo... he won the Sunbearer Trials but he never had any hero training, unlike Aurelio and Niya. Throughout their journey, Niya continues to be a powerful badass who fiercely protects her best friend. In spite of the dangerous mission they are on, the almost love affair between Teo and Aurelio finally starts to blossom as they both open up more about their childhood past and their possible future together (if they're successful at saving the world). In alternating chapters, the reader also gets an inside look into what's going on with Xio while the remaining Sunbearer competitors are imprisoned. We learn why he did what he did, how he is an Obsidian, and witness his ongoing struggle between right and wrong. He uses his vengeance to power his strength, but also has an empathic voice in the back of his mind, especially toward Teo and Niya. Ultimately, Teo, Aurelio, and Niya gain help from an unexpected community that makes them question their entire society and way of life. They question what really makes a monster, a hero, a god. They challenge the flawed system and upend the only life they've also known for the possibility of a brighter future. One thing that really stuck out in this one was how fluid the acceptance of changing pronouns. Xio reveals they want to be referred to as they/them and even while imprisoned and angry, the Sunbearer competitors immediately change their verbiage. Overall, I loved this book. The development from the first book to the sequel was smooth and I felt so attached to the characters. I really didn't want the book to end and hope maybe Aiden Thomas will continue it. Regardless, I will continue to read anything he writes for the rest of time! Also, the narrator did an incredible job capturing the varied voices and personalities of so many different characters! I will for sure be looking out for more audiobooks narrated by André Santana. I can't wait for readers to get their hands (or ears) on this book so we can discuss more! Also can we take a minute to admire the cover art?! 😍💚

I miss the characters of this duology already. The complexities of the teen Demi-gods are relatable while still being in a beautifully built fantasy. This is packed with adventure but still has so much heart. Highly recommend and will definitely be a reread for me.

I enjoyed this series a lot. The first book was really giving Percy Jackson meets The Hunger Games, but make it queer and inspired by Mexican Mythology. Book 2 continued right where book 1 left off, with the world in a full-on apocalypse, deadly celestial monsters right and left, and our trans hero, Teo, just trying to survive and catch the eye of of the semidiose Aurelio.

There was so much I LOVED about this book. The mythology and monsters really shine. The world is so captivating and interesting. Aiden Thomas really knows how whisks you into a fantastical world. I loved getting to know more about the Obsidians, as well as about the humans. Having our trio off on a quest across the realm allows the reader to fully experience everything the world has to offer.

Of course, I love Teo. His strength comes from his love and his community. He is resilient, funny, self-doubting, at times cringey, but so heartfelt. It is so rare to see trans representation in a queer normative world. And without the primary plot point being transphobia. I loved getting to see all our characters simply be themselves. It was refreshing.

On to what I didn't like. The foundation of the entire story is children are sacrificed every 10 years (via some deadly games), by the parents who are gods, all in the name of powering a stone to keep the obsidians locked up. This immediately had me questioning, what parent would sacrifice their children, many over thousands of years, but never sacrifice themselves? I was expecting some big answers to this, but left the series unsatisfied. Another big question I had (that was brought up in the story multiple times) was why and how did Xio get put in the games? There was no answer to this questions which was frustrating. There were a lot of smaller plot holes that weren't tied up nicely.

Still, I really enjoyed this series. Would highly recommend to lovers of YA Fantasy and Dystopia.

For readers who crave immersive, action-packed fantasy adventures infused with rich Latin American mythology and LGBTQIA+ representation, Celestial Monsters by Aiden Thomas is a electrifying and emotional journey that will sweep you away to a world of magic, monsters, and self-discovery.

Thrilled to have received an ARC! Solid 7/10—this end-of-the-world road trip is a fun, irreverent romp with a perfect mix of humor and drama. Fans of Rick Riordan’s style craving more diversity will love this duology. Despite some pacing issues and shaky modern references, the plot and character relationships shine. A strong sequel with powerful themes of power and vengeance—fabulous all around.