Black Sun is easily one of my favorite all time books and Fevered Star was one of my most anticipated books this year. At B2weird we read this recently and I was not ready for what came.
Title : Fevered Star Author : Rebecca Roanhorse Genre : Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction Pages : 384Own/Borrowed/ARC : eARC provided through B2werid, Saga Press, Netgalley Publication Date : April 19, 2022Synopsis : There are no tides more treacherous than those of the heart. —Teek saying The great city of Tova is shattered. The sun is held within the smothering grip of the Crow God’s eclipse, but a comet that marks the death of a ruler and heralds the rise of a new order is imminent. The Meridian: a land where magic has been codified and the worship of gods suppressed. How do you live when legends come to life, and the faith you had is rewarded? As sea captain Xiala is swept up in the chaos and currents of change, she finds an unexpected ally in the former Priest of Knives. For the Clan Matriarchs of Tova, tense alliances form as far-flung enemies gather and the war in the heavens is reflected upon the earth. And for Serapio and Naranpa, both now living avatars, the struggle for free will and personhood in the face of destiny rages. How will Serapio stay human when he is steeped in prophecy and surrounded by those who desire only his power? Is there a future for Naranpa in a transformed Tova without her total destruction? Welcome back to the fantasy series of the decade in Fevered Star—book two of Between Earth and Sky.
I will let you know that this will NOT be spoiler free, so please tread with cation if you do not want to be spoiled for this book.
We begin with someone that I had questions about since they were introduced in book one, Balam. He has gained godflesh, a fruit from the heart of The Graveyard of the Gods, and a tome that provides instructions on how to use it to dream walk and he wastes no time in using it. When book one ended I wanted to know more about his goals on this whole plot to end the Watchers and we did get more into that in this story, but I feel like it was just a scratch at the surface of who Balam is. We get to see him go on dream walking journey and learn that Naranpa has not died as his plot intended and then further learn that Serapio has not died on his holy quest either, all putting a wrench in his master plan. I enjoyed learning a bit more about him and following him on his journey but I felt like we would get more Balam. He is still a character that I am curious about and would love to learn more about, perhaps even get more backstory about how this plan that he, his cousin and Serapio's mom came to hatch. What their relationship was like and just how they came to find this to be their ambition. I also would have liked more dream walking from him. I know that it's being set up for him to go mad from doing it (it has been foreshadowed) but I would have loved to see him using the godflesh to dream walk and manipulate someone to a great extent. I hope we get more of him in book three.
Naranpa, sweet Naranpa. She begins her journey clawing her way back to life. Not only is she clawing her way to life but glowing as well. The path that Naranpa takes to embracing her Maw roots, aligning herself with her brother and opening herself to who she is now, an avatar for a god and possessing magic that she herself had not fully believed in before, is a harrowing one for her. While in Serapio's journey we see many lining up to follow the Crow God, Naranpa has her brother to act as her agent of sorts. Speaking her up to known associates, testing what she can do in front of them, all in the name of proving what Naranpa is now capable of. I enjoyed watching Denaochi and Naranpa build some sort of a relationship back up after being apart for so long and discovering who the other was now. I am gutted that Denaochi had to die in this book, I had looked forward to seeing more of him in the future and when he was cut down in a betrayal I was sad. I saw how it was necessary to show just what Naranpa is actually capable of with her new found capabilities as avatar but it doesn't make it sting any less. I love complicated characters and after learning more about his backstory I wanted more. Naranpa not losing the small bits of what made her, her, was something I was glad to see. She still had her kind heart, she still was a bit naïve (not as naïve as book one), and always thirsting and curious for more knowledge but when she finally met Serapio she didn't let her new status over take her and used her kind heart in their interaction. I look forward to seeing who she becomes when this trilogy comes to a conclusion.
Serapio, dear Serapio. This time around Serapio is not the confident holy man that he was in book one. His life's purpose to sacrifice himself for the avatar is thwarted when we see him being saved by his crows, who give their lives in exchange for his. Awake and without a purpose, Serapio is confused about what happened, who to trust and what to do. Being carried out from the aftermath of the slaughter that he caused at the end of book one, he finds himself with Okoa deep in the throws of Carrion Crow Clan woes. Okoa's sister is asserting herself as the new matron of the clan and is not a fan of Serapio, the fanatics that will follow the Crow God, and Okoa is stuck in the middle of it all trying to find which way to go and what Serapio means to them all. Serapio can hear the betrayal, the fanatics, the whispers and plans being made behind his back and while he still has powers, he is using them to his advantage and staying alive. At the end of this book we see him build his own kingdom, of sorts, from blood of those who pledge their loyalty to him. Unlike Naranpa who seemed to stay true to herself despite what she can do now, he is losing himself to these powers and I can't blame him. His whole life was a plot and he had no say in it. He has no other identity than being the boy that needed to sacrifice himself to let the Crow God live. I wait with bated breath to see what comes of Serapio, who he becomes now that he has to make these decisions for himself instead of following a carefully laid plan that was drawn up before he was even born.
While I had hopes for Okoa, I found that his story just furthered Serapio's. We did find out more about his mother and how she was actually murderer (which we all expected since book one) but I didn't feel like Okoa was a very actively participating in things. He fought with his sister, he fought with his cousin, he fought with the fanatics, and he fought with Serapio. While I understand that he himself is confused about where his loyalties lie, I wanted to see him grow a bit more. I thought the book would end with him making a stand of some sorts about where his alliance would lie.
IKTAN AND XIALA!! MY TWO FAVORITES MEET! For this book we see Iktan and Xiala travel together with Golden Eagle Clan. Iktan had conspired with Golden Eagle to dethrone Naranpa, but keep her safe, something that they betrayed. I loved seeing Iktan's and Xiala's banter and both equally aching in their own ways for the loved ones they want back. Iktan believes Naranpa dead and has no choice but continue on with xir's plan. Xiala believes the rumors that Serapio might marry Okoa's sister to further add to the power that Carrion Crow Clan might have but does not know that she merely missed him when fleeing with Iktan. The book unfortunately ends with them being torn in two different directions. This uneasy friendship was something that I enjoyed and I hope they get to team back up together in the next book to get their love's back. I also wanted to see Iktan slash their way through everyone and anything in xir's way, so I hold hope that I see that in the next book.
While Fevered Star is not as fast paced as Black Sun, I thoroughly enjoyed the set up to what will happen in book three. I can't wait to rejoin everyone again in the next installment.
Thank you again to Rebecca Roanhorse, Saga Press, B2weird and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
cant wait to read this for myself!!