Rebecca Roanhorse

Return to The Meridian with New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Roanhorse’s sequel to the most critically hailed epic fantasy of 2020 Black Sun—finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, Lambda, and Locus awards. 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.

Fevered Star

Alli

She shivered; she could not help it. The contrast was too startling, the contradiction disconcerting. She had come to face a nightmare and found this man instead.

"I lived my whole life with the sun and took it for granted," Iktan said, tone pensive."I will not make that mistake again." 

He became the shout of a thousand prayers on a thousand lips. He became a prophecy of revenge. He became the blossoming shadow that engulfed a sun. 

Within even the smallest act of love lives the potential for a miracle.

Sabrina D. 

“We are but fevered stars,” he intoned, like an orator on a stage. “Here a little while, bright with promise, before we burn away.”

What strange creatures humans are, to dream so much and achieve so little.  

Fevered star was much slower than Black sun in terms of pacing but this book gave us a more in depth exploration of the characters, politics and world building. It's a common occurrence in trilogies that the second book isn't as good as the first and third and usually acts as a filler in between the two so I didn't really mind that this book was a bit slow

The plot mainly centers around the political tension between Tova's clans and the Meridian cities and builds up for an upcoming battle in the next book. I really liked the political intrigue, betrayals and plotting and scheming from all sides. In addition this book has magic, witches, mermaids and prophecies which all tie nicely into the story

The characters were certainly the best part of Fevered star, they were well developed and interesting to follow. I hadn't cared much for Nara in Black sun but I loved her journey in this book. Serapio still remains as my favorite character, and while we didn't get enough of him I loved all the chapters we got. My only complaint for this book is that Xiala's storyline revolves around Serapio, I love their relationship but I hope she gets more of her own journey in Mirrored heavens

June

Fevered star was much slower than Black sun in terms of pacing but this book gave us a more in depth exploration of the characters, politics and world building. It's a common occurrence in trilogies that the second book isn't as good as the first and third and usually acts as a filler in between the two so I didn't really mind that this book was a bit slow

The plot mainly centers around the political tension between Tova's clans and the Meridian cities and builds up for an upcoming battle in the next book. I really liked the political intrigue, betrayals and plotting and scheming from all sides. In addition this book has magic, witches, mermaids and prophecies which all tie nicely into the story

The characters were certainly the best part of Fevered star, they were well developed and interesting to follow. I hadn't cared much for Nara in Black sun but I loved her journey in this book. Serapio still remains as my favorite character, and while we didn't get enough of him I loved all the chapters we got. My only complaint for this book is that Xiala's storyline revolves around Serapio, I love their relationship but I hope she gets more of her own journey in Mirrored heavens

I’m usually so scared to read sequels because more often than not, they let me down, but this was still a work of art. Because my standards for the first one are so high, I cannot give this a full 5 stars, but it was close. I continue to love the depth of the characters, the magic systems, the lore, and the overall worldbuilding. Despite the fact that the world created is so vast and unique, we truly get an understanding of how it works, which is not easy for a high fantasy story.

The political intrigue and maneuvering is still engaging, but where they lost me a little bit is the fact that this novel is clearly here to put the pieces in place for whatever is to come in the final installment of the trilogy. It was very entertaining and insightful, but it was still very much exposition that set up for the third book.

Another issue I had is keeping track of who is who. I’m not sure if I’m just in a different headspace than I was in the first book, or if there are more characters we are seeing the perspectives of, but I found myself sometimes needing to take a second to remind myself of who is talking and where they are in the story. However, once I figured that out, I was right back into it.

Finally, the author somehow makes me root for many people on warring sides of the political spectrum. Normally, there are the heroes and there are the villains, but here, there’s both and neither. One chapter I want one group to win, and the next, I’m on someone else’s side completely. I’m very excited to see how all this ends.

Nik ✨

I’m usually so scared to read sequels because more often than not, they let me down, but this was still a work of art. Because my standards for the first one are so high, I cannot give this a full 5 stars, but it was close. I continue to love the depth of the characters, the magic systems, the lore, and the overall worldbuilding. Despite the fact that the world created is so vast and unique, we truly get an understanding of how it works, which is not easy for a high fantasy story.

The political intrigue and maneuvering is still engaging, but where they lost me a little bit is the fact that this novel is clearly here to put the pieces in place for whatever is to come in the final installment of the trilogy. It was very entertaining and insightful, but it was still very much exposition that set up for the third book.

Another issue I had is keeping track of who is who. I’m not sure if I’m just in a different headspace than I was in the first book, or if there are more characters we are seeing the perspectives of, but I found myself sometimes needing to take a second to remind myself of who is talking and where they are in the story. However, once I figured that out, I was right back into it.

Finally, the author somehow makes me root for many people on warring sides of the political spectrum. Normally, there are the heroes and there are the villains, but here, there’s both and neither. One chapter I want one group to win, and the next, I’m on someone else’s side completely. I’m very excited to see how all this ends.

Kiran Aftab

Slower-paced and suffering slightly from middle book syndrome, but this book was still so good. Lots of political plotting, world building, character development and set-up for the next book. I really appreciate how the characters are written in this series - despite being insanely powerful, they struggle and are imperfect. Serapio may be the coolest, most interesting character I’ve ever encountered and then every other perspective in this book is a close second.

Slower-paced and suffering slightly from middle book syndrome, but this book was still so good. Lots of political plotting, world building, character development and set-up for the next book. I really appreciate how the characters are written in this series - despite being insanely powerful, they struggle and are imperfect. Serapio may be the coolest, most interesting character I’ve ever encountered and then every other perspective in this book is a close second.

I am very excited for the 3rd book. 

altlovesbooks

Kind of a disappointment when compared with the first book, not gonna lie. I read the first book earlier this year, loved it, and added it to my favorites list for this year without question. This one is very clearly Book Two, in that nothing of any particular special note happens, but we get a lot of exposition about what happened.

All of the previous points of view are here for you to read and digest their feelings after the aftermath of the first book. Lots of regret, lots of confusion, lots of anger to go around for everyone involved, which is understandable but also kind of....boring? It felt like the same points of anger, regret, confusion are repeated several times in several different ways across the viewpoints, and it started reading as very same-y by the end. Also, lots of political intrigue buildup in this book, so if that's not your thing, you probably won't enjoy this one very much. 

Funny enough, Xiala's viewpoint was my favorite in the first book, but I found it kind of bland in this one. She's just kinda....there, and all the badassery she showed in the first book now has her questioning everything and regretting things and being a downer and kind of wishywashy. (view spoiler)[I sort of wanted her to embrace her new side to a degree, not run from it (hide spoiler)]. She also doesn't seem to drive the plot any like she did in the first book, so it felt like she was just the reader's observer character in this one. I don't know, kind of disappointing.

But I do like all the political pieces moving around! I'm big on fantasy political drama, and it seems to be setting up for something good in the next book. There's just a lot of slog to get through along the way.

I was expecting a little bit more but at the same time I enjoy all the political plotting and the character development 

def will keep reading this series cause I am not tired of saying that this is one of the best POC I've ever read

valentina 🕯️

this book was def interesting

I was expecting a little bit more but at the same time I enjoy all the political plotting and the character development 

def will keep reading this series cause I am not tired of saying that this is one of the best POC I've ever read

Stefanie  Uwah

2.5
Things started off so great but after 150 or so pgs, the writing/plot became sloppy. So much happened with not enough buildup or background. I also feel like we were introduced to too many characters. The worldbuilding also took a major hit as well. I was so sure that book two of this series would be much better than book one, but I liked this one even less. The only exciting thing about this book for me was Serapio and we spend so little time with him but so much on Naranpa, who is one of my least favorite characters. Just meh. I'm so disappointed :/

Ava Noreen

In some way, Fevered Star was slower paced than Black Sun, but I honestly loved the descriptions and world building in this one. My breath caught when I read the descriptions of those black ships in the harbor with their blue sails (you know the ones), and I enjoyed the character exploration enabled by having our two casts of characters mix-n-match (the best non-spoilery way to describe this). There were also some side characters whose storylines I wish were more fleshed out. 

This book had a very bleak atmosphere but it was a solid follow-up to Black Sun and I look forward to reading the next installment.

Wowza this sequal was 😫. Live laugh love the continuation of characters and their continual development. At some points it felt a bit slow, but the shift at the end really made me hopeful and excited for whats next 👹👹👹

Claire Jorgensen

Cheryl Hedlund

The second part of this trilogy. We get to explore more of the world of the Meridian and the characters continue to wrestle with duty and fate. It starts right after the chaos and violence brought on by the Convergence (eclipse). The battle between the old gods of Crow and Sun begins. We get one new POV character. The world has shifted. The sun has not come out from behind the moon, starting a season of winter. The characters are dealing with the internal aftermath of trauma and a power struggle to claim rule and mold the political shape of this new era. Magic and the gods are coming back after being hidden and suppressed for hundreds of years. I was immersed and captivated in this world again. There was enough progression in the plot and reveals about characters and the history of the world that it did not feel like filler or just a bridge to the finale. It does end with a cliffhanger set up for the third book as series often do. The writing style has detail and imagery but does not get bogged down or flowery. The characters have dimension and are not stagnant. I will wait for the final book with much anticipation.

Fevered Star

Reviews

Highlights