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"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 TrialsNew 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 show more 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.
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Member Reviews
After waiting impatiently for my library hold to come in, I devoured this sequel to The Sunbearer Trials. While I didn’t find this volume to be quite as successful as the first (there were a few scenes that felt a bit repetitive or strained), I remained fully invested in how these kids were going to pull everything off with minimal additional trauma.
Certain aspects of the ending can be taken for granted from fairly early on. Of course they are going to win, in general. And the strong anarchy/anti-hierarchy vibes throughout make it clear that there will be some dismantling of the existing power structure. So the main tension becomes, will a sacrifice still be required, and if so, who will it be? I think it is fair to say that the show more final sacrifice is certainly one I never saw coming.
I loved getting Xio’s perspective in this volume. I loved the Special Items that Teo, Aurelio, and Niya had for their journey, they were fun and helpful without being overpowered. I loved Paz and Yucca and their whole community outside of the entire structure of Reino del Sol. I loved collector card obsessed Xio creating names for all of their newfound abilities. I loved getting to spend some actual time with Fantasma.
But one of my favorite things was two separate scenes where Xio introduces their new pronouns to characters who are absolutely furious with them at the time, and both times the other character(s) instantly acknowledge and respect the new pronouns. Even as they continue to tell Xio off. IT WARMED MY HEART.
And as much as I loved my two soft boys in love, Teo and Aurelio, I love my impulsive shouty stabby child Niya, forever and ever.
(While I originally read this from the library, I eventually gave in and bought it when it came out in paperback (so it could match my copy of The Sunbearer Trials, of course)) show less
Certain aspects of the ending can be taken for granted from fairly early on. Of course they are going to win, in general. And the strong anarchy/anti-hierarchy vibes throughout make it clear that there will be some dismantling of the existing power structure. So the main tension becomes, will a sacrifice still be required, and if so, who will it be? I think it is fair to say that the show more final sacrifice is certainly one I never saw coming.
I loved getting Xio’s perspective in this volume. I loved the Special Items that Teo, Aurelio, and Niya had for their journey, they were fun and helpful without being overpowered. I loved Paz and Yucca and their whole community outside of the entire structure of Reino del Sol. I loved collector card obsessed Xio creating names for all of their newfound abilities. I loved getting to spend some actual time with Fantasma.
But one of my favorite things was two separate scenes where Xio introduces their new pronouns to characters who are absolutely furious with them at the time, and both times the other character(s) instantly acknowledge and respect the new pronouns. Even as they continue to tell Xio off. IT WARMED MY HEART.
And as much as I loved my two soft boys in love, Teo and Aurelio, I love my impulsive shouty stabby child Niya, forever and ever.
(While I originally read this from the library, I eventually gave in and bought it when it came out in paperback (so it could match my copy of The Sunbearer Trials, of course)) show less
What if the words he thought he’d grow into never actually fit?
I really liked this book more than the first one.
Partly because it was funnier, I laughed multiple times. Mainly because it had action, plot and character development, plus a nuanced fantasy allegory for queerness, and specifically genderqueerness.
The gods are like parents who are not connected with the daily life of mortals, and no matter how good and sweet they are, something is still missing. And maybe, if the world is built around the idea that some people are lesser or wrong like Jade or Obsidian, they'll end up angry and doing stupid things.
The first one had a lot of tropes and story beats I'd read one too many times, and this one also had some scenes that felt show more familiar. but it didn't bother me too much. (I guessed the two main character's arcs from the first chapter, but it was still satisfying to read)
I always love it when the status quo of a fantasy world is turned on its head, and this one messes with everything built up in book 1. show less
I really liked this book more than the first one.
Partly because it was funnier, I laughed multiple times. Mainly because it had action, plot and character development, plus a nuanced fantasy allegory for queerness, and specifically genderqueerness.
The gods are like parents who are not connected with the daily life of mortals, and no matter how good and sweet they are, something is still missing. And maybe, if the world is built around the idea that some people are lesser or wrong like Jade or Obsidian, they'll end up angry and doing stupid things.
The first one had a lot of tropes and story beats I'd read one too many times, and this one also had some scenes that felt show more familiar. but it didn't bother me too much. (I guessed the two main character's arcs from the first chapter, but it was still satisfying to read)
I always love it when the status quo of a fantasy world is turned on its head, and this one messes with everything built up in book 1. show less
This book is a little predictable in the best ways. I didn't predict the slight twist at the end! I truly love this series. I'm glad we got to see more of Aurelio and Teo's development, and Niya is hilarious as always. This book has multiple instances of one of my favorite queer jokes around pronouns, and it delighted me every time. This was another book I couldn't put down. I think I'll be returning to this series quite a few times in the future to visit Teo, Aurelio, Xio, and Niya.
4.75 stars
A beautiful conclusion to the Sunbearer Trials, Celestial Monsters dives into friendship, parent issues, and a budding Achillean romance.
This takes place immediately after the first book and finds Xio with the Obsidians and Teo with Niya and Aurelio setting off on their quest to restore the sun.
I really enjoyed Xio's POV and found the character development to be incredible. The questers' journey felt a little slow, but ultimately each step made sense in reaching the end. I absolutely loved all the cultural elements and exploration of the semi-dioses' abilities.
This is the fourth Aiden Thomas novel I've read and will absolutely continue to read more! Highly recommend for teens 13+.
Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the show more opportunity to read and review! show less
A beautiful conclusion to the Sunbearer Trials, Celestial Monsters dives into friendship, parent issues, and a budding Achillean romance.
This takes place immediately after the first book and finds Xio with the Obsidians and Teo with Niya and Aurelio setting off on their quest to restore the sun.
I really enjoyed Xio's POV and found the character development to be incredible. The questers' journey felt a little slow, but ultimately each step made sense in reaching the end. I absolutely loved all the cultural elements and exploration of the semi-dioses' abilities.
This is the fourth Aiden Thomas novel I've read and will absolutely continue to read more! Highly recommend for teens 13+.
Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the show more opportunity to read and review! show less
In a Nutshell: An interesting continuation and finale to the Sunbearer duology. This works slightly better than the first one in writing, pacing and action, but doesn't have a strong character development, and 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.
Plot Preview:
Bookish Yays: show less
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note: This review contains minor spoilers from Book One: The Sunbearer Trials.
Plot Preview:
show more
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: show less
In a Nutshell: An interesting continuation and finale to the Sunbearer duology. This works slightly better than the first one in writing, pacing and action, but doesn't have a strong character development, and 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.
Plot Preview:
Bookish Yays: show less
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note: This review contains minor spoilers from Book One: The Sunbearer Trials.
Plot Preview:
show more
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: show less
Awwww, I love this book so much! The characters are so awesome and it’s so much fun. Niya is my favorite. Can I marry her please? More! More!
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Author Information
7 Works 5,163 Members
Awards and Honors
Notable Lists
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Celestial Monsters
- Original publication date
- 2024-09-03
- People/Characters
- Teo; Aurelio; Niya
- Important places
- Reino del Sol; Los Restos
- Dedication
- To Alex Abraham, whose voice, humor, and genius can be heard in every page. This book wouldn't exist without your help.
And to Holly West and Emily Settle, for making my dreams come true. - First words
- Not all gods were created equal.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)In the fading light of the day, Teo knew he could trust that promise with every fiber of his being.
- Publisher's editor
- West, Holly
- Original language
- English
Classifications
- Genres
- LGBTQ+, Teen, Fiction and Literature, Young Adult, Fantasy
- DDC/MDS
- 813.6 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English 2000-
- LCC
- PZ7.1 .T4479 .C — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 285
- Popularity
- 112,492
- Reviews
- 7
- Rating
- (4.36)
- Languages
- English, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 3
