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13 days and 08:26:43
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The Sunbearer Duology #2
Celestial Monsters
Win a free print copy of this book!
13 days and 08:26:43
10 copies available
U.S. only
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.
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.
416 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication September 3, 2024
About the author
Aiden Thomas
7 books8,744 followersAiden Thomas is a New York Times Bestselling author with an MFA in Creative Writing. Originally from Oakland, California, they now make their home in Portland, Oregon. As a queer, trans, Latinx, Aiden advocates strongly for diverse representation in all media. Aiden’s special talents include: quoting The Office, finishing sentences with “is my FAVORITE”, and killing spiders. Aiden is notorious for not being able to guess the endings of books and movies, and organizes their bookshelves by color.
Their debut novel, CEMETERY BOYS, was published on September 1st, 2020.
Their debut novel, CEMETERY BOYS, was published on September 1st, 2020.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
Want to read
January 6, 2024me, June 2022 when this was most definately the cemetary boys 2 page:
JULIAN POV JULIAN POV JULIAN POV-
just as excited for tst2!!!
JULIAN POV JULIAN POV JULIAN POV-
just as excited for tst2!!!
September 16, 2022
what i would give to have an arc copy of this book..(my left leg, both of my big toes, my entire life savings, my firstborn child, etc.)
January 21, 2023
i can't believe i read a book thinking it was a standalone only to find out it's actually a duology and ill have to WAIT for the sequel.
this is my worst NIGHTMARE. it's truly the apocalypse on earth
this is my worst NIGHTMARE. it's truly the apocalypse on earth
December 17, 2022
I physically need this book rn. HURRY AIDEN
Want to read
June 29, 2022sO WHAT IF IM FROTHING AT THE MOUTH
Want to read
January 7, 2024COVER REVEAL, PREPARE TO BE SICK OF ME! GAY PEOPLE MAKE SOME NOISE!!
Want to read
June 29, 2022JULIAN DIAZ COMING BACK TO ME
July 17, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
Listen. I loved The Sunbearer Trials and expected another five-star read. I still liked this one, especially Xio, the boy I already had a soft spot for in the first book, but somehow, it couldn’t hold my attention like its prequel did. It might be because it dragged sometimes, and it took me a week to finish it, the longest in years, or because Celestial Monsters didn’t surprise me as much as Sunbearer. Anyway, I still loved Teo and Aurelio, I still had fun, and I still love this duology.
Thank you, Macmillan Children’s Books and NetGalley, for this ARC!
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Listen. I loved The Sunbearer Trials and expected another five-star read. I still liked this one, especially Xio, the boy I already had a soft spot for in the first book, but somehow, it couldn’t hold my attention like its prequel did. It might be because it dragged sometimes, and it took me a week to finish it, the longest in years, or because Celestial Monsters didn’t surprise me as much as Sunbearer. Anyway, I still loved Teo and Aurelio, I still had fun, and I still love this duology.
Thank you, Macmillan Children’s Books and NetGalley, for this ARC!
Follow me on Instagram
July 14, 2024
4.5/5
You're only a monster if you choose to be.
I love this world and these characters with all my heart! It was so much fun to return to this series, I would read books and books and books more about all of them! Thank you Aiden Thomas for the perfect queernorm, Latine Percy Jackson meets The Hunger Games series of our dreams! This comp perfectly describes the first book, The Sunbearer Trials, so if that sounds even remotely appealing to you, go read it!
Celestial Monsters continues directly after the big reveals at the end of the last book, we're thrust into the action straight away. It follows more of a quest storyline than the trial structure of the first book. Instantly, we have our goal and now we must follow Teo, Niya and Aurelio on their long and arduous path. We also get Xio's perspective as well which adds so much depth to the story.
The characters are truly the life force of this series, they're simply phenomenal. I adore Xio with all my heart, I loved seeing into their mind and all the conflicting motivations at play inside of them. I loved seeing their view of the other characters, their view of the past events. It was fascinating and made for such a fun and dynamic reading experience as we flicked back and forth between their situation and Teo's.
Teo has my entire heart as well, I honestly just adore all these characters. Teo has grown so much from the beginning of the series and it's amazing to watch his confidence soar and to see him embrace the hero's journey. Yet throughout all of this, more than anything, Teo has always had his compassion. He's always looking out for the underdog, always understanding of others in a way sometimes even Niya and Aurelio can't manage. It's Teo and his steady heart that drives the entire story. It's Teo that has the ability to change the world for the better, and the ability to convince others that they can too.
Niya is always a joy to read, she's brilliant and absolutely hilarious. My favourite moments were always the moments of banter between Teo and Niya (and especially the moments where they ganged up to tease Aurelio), they have such a beautiful friendship that Thomas writes phenomenally. He easily captures the pure love that they hold for each other and the lengths that they're always willing to go to for each other, and we get to bask in the beauty of it. It's so refreshing to read about such an unalterable friendship.
Aurelio was an incredible addition to Teo and Niya's merry band, I loved his steadfast energy, but I loved when we were able to see beneath his façade and into his moments of weakness even more. They all played off of each other so well.
I am exactly the type of person who enjoys Fellowship more than any of the other parts of Lord of the Rings and so inevitably I adored the wandering quest aspect of the story the most. I loved the small moments of happiness, the side quests, the heartwarming conversations, the strange and funny situations they somehow found themselves in. It was such a fun read and I enjoyed every minute. Because of this, I sometimes wished the action-heavy second half of the book would sometimes slow down a little, but I think that's just a me thing! I always like the slower moments more, but, for all its action, it still managed a lot of heartfelt moments amongst it all.
I loved how Teo's connection to birds was used all throughout, I always found it so sweet and such a warm and nurturing kind of connection to feature. I adored how the birds played their part as they are such a huge part of Teo's life and it was really nice to see that shown in this book as well. It's the little things that make the difference, that add the heart to a story!
Another thing I loved was the questioning of the world order all throughout. More than anything, I adored getting to see so many of the different cities and landscapes of the world and how every one was so unique not only in structure but also in how they operated. I really appreciated how these differences became such eye-opening events for Teo, I loved how they infused into this overarching question. Now that the world has been turned inside out, can we finally question it? As we fight to rebuild it, can we fight also for a better one? Maybe we don't want things to just go back to the way they were, maybe we need to force it to change instead. I adored this theme running as an undercurrent all throughout the book, influenced this way and that by any number of new sights, conversations and revelations.
I think this is truly such a wonderful series, it's incredibly fun to read and I'd highly recommend it! I think so many people of all ages would really enjoy this, it's so diverse and uplifting and centres trans characters as the heroes of their own stories. I adore reading fantasy set in queernorm worlds, books about queer and trans struggles are so immensely important, but stories where queer and trans characters simply get to exist are immensely important too! We always need more queer joy and I adore, adore, adore how Aiden Thomas has such well-written, but casual representation all throughout their stories. From Teo's jade green top surgery scars, to Xio figuring out who they are, to the easiness of queer love, I adored every moment. (This carries over from the first book where I absolutely sobbed at one of the most gender-affirming and beautiful moments!)
Books like these are so astoundingly important, especially for teens and a YA audience, which this is for. I'm so grateful and so happy that this exists! Thank you Aiden Thomas, I will read everything you ever write!
Thank you Macmillan Children's Books for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
You're only a monster if you choose to be.
I love this world and these characters with all my heart! It was so much fun to return to this series, I would read books and books and books more about all of them! Thank you Aiden Thomas for the perfect queernorm, Latine Percy Jackson meets The Hunger Games series of our dreams! This comp perfectly describes the first book, The Sunbearer Trials, so if that sounds even remotely appealing to you, go read it!
Celestial Monsters continues directly after the big reveals at the end of the last book, we're thrust into the action straight away. It follows more of a quest storyline than the trial structure of the first book. Instantly, we have our goal and now we must follow Teo, Niya and Aurelio on their long and arduous path. We also get Xio's perspective as well which adds so much depth to the story.
The characters are truly the life force of this series, they're simply phenomenal. I adore Xio with all my heart, I loved seeing into their mind and all the conflicting motivations at play inside of them. I loved seeing their view of the other characters, their view of the past events. It was fascinating and made for such a fun and dynamic reading experience as we flicked back and forth between their situation and Teo's.
Teo has my entire heart as well, I honestly just adore all these characters. Teo has grown so much from the beginning of the series and it's amazing to watch his confidence soar and to see him embrace the hero's journey. Yet throughout all of this, more than anything, Teo has always had his compassion. He's always looking out for the underdog, always understanding of others in a way sometimes even Niya and Aurelio can't manage. It's Teo and his steady heart that drives the entire story. It's Teo that has the ability to change the world for the better, and the ability to convince others that they can too.
Niya is always a joy to read, she's brilliant and absolutely hilarious. My favourite moments were always the moments of banter between Teo and Niya (and especially the moments where they ganged up to tease Aurelio), they have such a beautiful friendship that Thomas writes phenomenally. He easily captures the pure love that they hold for each other and the lengths that they're always willing to go to for each other, and we get to bask in the beauty of it. It's so refreshing to read about such an unalterable friendship.
Aurelio was an incredible addition to Teo and Niya's merry band, I loved his steadfast energy, but I loved when we were able to see beneath his façade and into his moments of weakness even more. They all played off of each other so well.
I am exactly the type of person who enjoys Fellowship more than any of the other parts of Lord of the Rings and so inevitably I adored the wandering quest aspect of the story the most. I loved the small moments of happiness, the side quests, the heartwarming conversations, the strange and funny situations they somehow found themselves in. It was such a fun read and I enjoyed every minute. Because of this, I sometimes wished the action-heavy second half of the book would sometimes slow down a little, but I think that's just a me thing! I always like the slower moments more, but, for all its action, it still managed a lot of heartfelt moments amongst it all.
I loved how Teo's connection to birds was used all throughout, I always found it so sweet and such a warm and nurturing kind of connection to feature. I adored how the birds played their part as they are such a huge part of Teo's life and it was really nice to see that shown in this book as well. It's the little things that make the difference, that add the heart to a story!
Another thing I loved was the questioning of the world order all throughout. More than anything, I adored getting to see so many of the different cities and landscapes of the world and how every one was so unique not only in structure but also in how they operated. I really appreciated how these differences became such eye-opening events for Teo, I loved how they infused into this overarching question. Now that the world has been turned inside out, can we finally question it? As we fight to rebuild it, can we fight also for a better one? Maybe we don't want things to just go back to the way they were, maybe we need to force it to change instead. I adored this theme running as an undercurrent all throughout the book, influenced this way and that by any number of new sights, conversations and revelations.
I think this is truly such a wonderful series, it's incredibly fun to read and I'd highly recommend it! I think so many people of all ages would really enjoy this, it's so diverse and uplifting and centres trans characters as the heroes of their own stories. I adore reading fantasy set in queernorm worlds, books about queer and trans struggles are so immensely important, but stories where queer and trans characters simply get to exist are immensely important too! We always need more queer joy and I adore, adore, adore how Aiden Thomas has such well-written, but casual representation all throughout their stories. From Teo's jade green top surgery scars, to Xio figuring out who they are, to the easiness of queer love, I adored every moment. (This carries over from the first book where I absolutely sobbed at one of the most gender-affirming and beautiful moments!)
Books like these are so astoundingly important, especially for teens and a YA audience, which this is for. I'm so grateful and so happy that this exists! Thank you Aiden Thomas, I will read everything you ever write!
Thank you Macmillan Children's Books for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Want to read
December 10, 2022I NEED this today please.
Want to read
April 16, 2023WHY IS IT NOT 2024 YET I NEED THE SEQUEL TO MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE BOOK RIGHT THIS SECOND I HAVE ALREADY WAITED FAR TOO LONG!!!!!!!! *screams into the void*
Merged review:
Update: So apparently the pub date got pushed back to September 2024 so I will be dying inside for the next year and a half. 🥲
Please Aiden, I beg of you to give us a morsel– a cover, title, release date reveal, anything, we are out here being starved to death by this agonizing wait. 😭
Merged review:
Update: So apparently the pub date got pushed back to September 2024 so I will be dying inside for the next year and a half. 🥲
Please Aiden, I beg of you to give us a morsel– a cover, title, release date reveal, anything, we are out here being starved to death by this agonizing wait. 😭
January 24, 2023
as a writer i say do take your time
as a reader i say please give us at least a crumb of this book please
as a reader i say please give us at least a crumb of this book please
Want to read
December 18, 2023OH MY GOD???
June 16, 2024
This was probably my most anticipated 2024 release, and I'm so happy I got to read it already! I practically inhaled this, and it was so much fun. Plotwise, this would honestly be a 4 star read, because I did think the story sort of dragged a little and didn't always seem to go anywhere. But I love the characters and the writing so much that it still felt like a 5 star read for me. The writing is so fun, the characters are all so distinct, and I loooved seeing so much more of Xio in this installment.
Want to read
June 30, 2022oh my absolute god this exists we’re getting a sequel
Want to read
June 29, 2022thank you, universe.
Want to read
June 3, 2023every once in a while I remember the sunbearer trials and the fact that the sequel isn’t out yet ☹️ manifesting a least a cover reveal soon
Want to read
May 10, 2024ok now ik there's a second book coming out i can read the sunbearer trials without fear in my heart
Want to read
June 29, 2022IT'S HAPPENING, Y'ALL!!!!
Want to read
August 28, 2023Teo and Aurelio are the next Percabeth and I’m here for it.
Shelved as 'wait-for'
June 28, 2022SCREAMING, CRYING THROWING UP
THE ONLY OTHER BOOK I HAVE SAID THIS ABOUT IS BABEL BY R.F. KUANG
I'M CRYING
THE ONLY OTHER BOOK I HAVE SAID THIS ABOUT IS BABEL BY R.F. KUANG
I'M CRYING
Want to read
October 25, 2022literally how did I not know about this... losing my mind
January 14, 2023
I would pull out my eyelashes one by one to get an early copy of this book 😭
Want to read
June 12, 2024Pre-Review: OMG THE COVER????????? IT'S SO PRETTY???????????
Want to read
June 29, 2022best news i've heard this week
Want to read
July 2, 2022I'M SO USED TO GIVING AND NOW I GET TO RECEIVE
July 24, 2024
*I received an ALC from Netgalley*
I read The Sunbearer Trials in October 2022, only a month after it was first released, and absolutely fell in love with the world, the writing, the characters, EVERYTHING. If you’ve read it, you know how that ending was painful knowing there wasn’t an official date for Celestial Monsters. Well, I’m so god damn HAPPY THAT WAD WORTH THE YEAR AND A HALF WAIT MY GOD!!!
Aiden Thomas strikes again with lovable characters, nail biting plot twists, and making you sob over fictional characters. If that’s what he wished for when they started to publish books, well YOU MADE IT.
I will forever love this duology and will continuously shove it down anyone’s throat who wants a YA fantasy with a trans MC, trans side characters, an achillean romance, a world with gods and children of gods, disability rep, and an overall amazing world.
I read The Sunbearer Trials in October 2022, only a month after it was first released, and absolutely fell in love with the world, the writing, the characters, EVERYTHING. If you’ve read it, you know how that ending was painful knowing there wasn’t an official date for Celestial Monsters. Well, I’m so god damn HAPPY THAT WAD WORTH THE YEAR AND A HALF WAIT MY GOD!!!
Aiden Thomas strikes again with lovable characters, nail biting plot twists, and making you sob over fictional characters. If that’s what he wished for when they started to publish books, well YOU MADE IT.
I will forever love this duology and will continuously shove it down anyone’s throat who wants a YA fantasy with a trans MC, trans side characters, an achillean romance, a world with gods and children of gods, disability rep, and an overall amazing world.
June 18, 2024
thanks to netgalley & macmillan children's publishing group for the free earc in exchange for a fair and honest review!
i read the sunbearer trials back in february 2023, so over a year ago now. additionally, my brain can't keep any information about a book for more than a month of two. so, basically, i forgot the entire plot of the sunbearer trials and didn't want to reread first.
despite my somewhat foolish decision to read this without refreshing my memory first, i found that most of the character had settled in my memory well enough for me to follow along without too much confusion. characters like aurelio and ocelo were easily recognizable, even with my impaired memory of the first book.
i'd say the sunbearer trials was a slightly better book, but its structure made it so that the pacing was easier to control. celestial monsters struggled in pacing a little, especially towards the beginning. things either jumped too quick or too much time was spent in one place for no apparent reason.
however, this was a good conclusion to the story. each character's arc was wrapped up nicely, and i appreciated the way the author made sure to allow each character to grow. it was refreshing to see genuine changes for the better in some of the characters that were universally hated in the first book.
read this if you enjoyed the first book, like percy jackson, or like lots of combat with gods.
i read the sunbearer trials back in february 2023, so over a year ago now. additionally, my brain can't keep any information about a book for more than a month of two. so, basically, i forgot the entire plot of the sunbearer trials and didn't want to reread first.
despite my somewhat foolish decision to read this without refreshing my memory first, i found that most of the character had settled in my memory well enough for me to follow along without too much confusion. characters like aurelio and ocelo were easily recognizable, even with my impaired memory of the first book.
i'd say the sunbearer trials was a slightly better book, but its structure made it so that the pacing was easier to control. celestial monsters struggled in pacing a little, especially towards the beginning. things either jumped too quick or too much time was spent in one place for no apparent reason.
however, this was a good conclusion to the story. each character's arc was wrapped up nicely, and i appreciated the way the author made sure to allow each character to grow. it was refreshing to see genuine changes for the better in some of the characters that were universally hated in the first book.
read this if you enjoyed the first book, like percy jackson, or like lots of combat with gods.
Want to read
November 10, 2023my heart aches for this book more and more with every day that passes
June 29, 2024
Sunbearer Trials was one of my top books I read in 2023 and I was so excited to win a Goodreads giveaway for an ARC of Celestial Monsters. What a perfect ending of the Duology. I loved the shift to a more “quest” style for the second book versus the tournament in the first book. Aiden Thomas has created an amazing world and continues the world building in this book. I hope other books set in this world are in the future because I didn’t want to leave. Full five stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews