Celestial Monsters: The Sunbearer Duology, Book 2

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars | 5 ratings

Price: 17.71

Last update: 09-04-2024


About this item

"Listeners will be captivated...André Santana keeps the tension in his narration taut as Teo wrestles with both physical challenges and his own feelings of inferiority."—AudioFile on The Sunbearer Trials

New York Times-bestselling author Aiden Thomas returns to the beloved world of The Sunbearer Trials in Celestial Monsters, a heart-stopping duology finale, in which three young semidioses travel through a dark monster-infested world, facing down chaotic Obsidian gods, in a quest to save their friends and return the sun to the sky.

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 chaos and destruction are wreaking havoc on Reino del Sol. All because Teo refused to sacrifice a fellow semidiós during the Sunbearer Trials.

With the world plunged into perpetual night, Teo, his crush Aurelio, and his best friend 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. Determined to rescue the captured semidioses and retrieve the Sol Stone, the trio races against the clock to return Sol and their protective light. With it, order can be restored.

The future of the whole world is in their hands.

A Macmillan Audio production from Feiwel & Friends.


Top reviews from the United States

Quirky Bibliophile
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Conclusion to The Sunbearer Trials
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2024
Celestial Monsters continues right where we left off at the end of The Sunbearer Trials with our heroes trying to save their world. The world has been sent into the perpetual night as Teo refused to complete the sacrifice during the Sunbearer Trials. Teo, Aurelio, and Niya are on a journey through Los Restos to get to their friends and rescue them from the prison where the Obsidian gods have them.

I have loved every book that Aiden Thomas has written and The Sunbearer Trials had no different result so I was quite pleased to get a chance to read Celestial Monsters before others. Once I picked this book up it was hard to put it down because I had to know what happens next. I was worried for our team of three who were trying to rescue the rest of our friends, and I was curious about the obsidian and their motives.

This book goes back and forth between Teo and Xio’s perspectives, which I quite enjoyed because we get to see how an obsidian is experiencing all of the events. I appreciate that the author allows us to learn more about Xio and how you can’t help but love him the way that Teo does. There is no way that you can read this book and not see things through Teo’s perspective when it comes to Xio.

There is nothing that I do not enjoy about this book. I love the romance between Teo and Aurelio and the way that each of them plays off the other’s strengths. I love each of the characters that are included throughout the book even if they don’t all get the same amount of appearance time.

While the obsidian are the bad guys in this story there is just something to love about them. What I loved about each of them was how elaborately they are described and how they add an element of horror to this story. I love how the author incorporated Latinx folklore into the book through each of the monsters the team encounters as well as each of the gods.

Final Verdict: Celestial Monsters is the perfect conclusion to The Sunbearer Trials and anyone who enjoys fantasy will have a blast with this duology. Young adults will enjoy reading along as our main character, Teo works alongside his friends to save the world and adults will enjoy reading to learn about this new world.
tpolen
4.0 out of 5 stars Worthy Sequel
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2024
After the shocking events at the end of the previous novel, I couldn’t wait to see what happened next in this duology.

This story picks up immediately after the other leaves off. The sun is gone and Obsidian gods are out of prison (think power hungry gods running amuck) all because Teo rightly refused to sacrifice a fellow competitor in the Sunbearer trials. Now Teo, Aurelio, and Niya are on a danger-filled quest to right the wrongs, find their friends, and restore sunlight. While on this journey I enjoyed learning more about their expanded world, other communities, and people.

Teo has come so far as a character. As a Jade, he’s felt inferior to the Golds for much of his life, but his confidence soars, and he’s more comfortable in his skin in this sequel. His connection to birds (he communicates with them) may not sound like a very useful ability, but you’d be mistaken to underestimate its importance. I appreciated the addition of Xio’s POV. They’re experiencing all sorts of conflicting emotions and manipulations and questions what’s right. Both Teo and Xio’s character arcs are wonderful.

Niya is still very protective of Teo, and her humor continues to provide moments of levity amidst a sea of tension and high stakes. Their friendship is beautifully written and one of my favorite things about this duology. The budding romance between Teo and Aurelio is sweet and authentic, and I liked the way the author leaves their story.

I listened to the audiobook and narrator André Santana is fantastic. Celestial Monsters is a worthy sequel and leaves the reader with a feeling of hope for these characters and their world. Recommended for fans of strong friendship bonds, quest stories, and mythology.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Amanda Jaquays
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing conclusion
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2024
I screamed when I got the email that I was approved for the audiobook ARC of Celestial Monster. I loved The Sunbearer Trials so much and I was desperate to see how it concluded. It was a definite bonus that it had the same fantastic narrator as the first book.

Celestial Monsters picks up immediately after the events of the first book as Teo, Niya, and Aurelio set off to save the other competitors. Teo and Niya are struggling with their guilt and Xio’s betrayal. And Aurelio is hung up on his guilt over his sister.

But they’re not so hung up in their guilt that Teo and Aurelio can’t be world class piners.

And Xio is having to live with the consequences of their actions even as they begin to question if it was worth it.

The Sunbearer Trials introduces the question of what kind of world would allow children to be sacrificed every decade, and that question is a continuing theme within Celestial Monsters.

There are not enough stars in the world to adequately express how much I love this duology, and particularly this book, so I guess 5 will have to do.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to bawl my eyes out.

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