The Raybearer series by Jordan Ifueko is made of Raybearer, Redemptor, and the companion book The Maid and the Crocodile. It's a YA fantasy set in a secondary world inspired by Nigerian culture. I read The Maid and the Crocodile first, at the recommendation of my librarian friend. I liked the world and went back to read the other two, however I don't recommend this reading order, as The Maid and the Crocodile spoils all of the events from Raybearer and Redemptor.

Raybearer and Redemptor focus on Tarisai, a girl who can see peoples' pasts with a touch, but who was neglected by her mother and whose father was a magical creature most akin to a genie called an alagbato. Tarasai's mother wished Tarasai into existence in order to kill the crown prince. As prince, he chooses eleven children from around the empire to magically connect to him and help run the country when they become adults. Tarasai must fight the wish in her blood compelling her to kill the prince as they grow up together and she struggles to find her purpose. Redemptor continues Tarasai's adventures and focuses on the empire's annual sacrifice of children to angry spirits.
The Maid and the Crocodile focuses on Sade, a woman who can eat curses and sees manifestations of people's strong emotions. Sade becomes bound to the crocodile god, who plans revolution for the empire and must balance his demands with her new job curse eating for a fancy hotel. However, as he makes more demands, Sade realizes there's more to both of them than she thought.

These books are set in an interesting world with a unique magic system that I appreciated. I thought it was cool how magic often obligated people to each other, which I hadn't seen much of before. The Maid and the Crocodile also featured a disabled woman with vitiligo, and it read like pretty good representation as far as I can tell. While the characters' successes were predictable, the methods to get there were always interesting and kept me reading.

I don't have any major complaints, but I will say it's been a while since I read the books and they haven't stuck with me as much as I'd expected. There are moments that I can recall well, but nothing that burns in the back of my mind like my favorite books.
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This series is for you if you want Nigerian-inspired fantasy, unique magic systems, or fantasy politics. These books aren't for you if you aren't in the headspace to read about child neglect or sacrifice, if you want epic fantasy with big battles/lots of travel, or if you want adult main characters.


Have you read the books in the Raybearer world? What did you think? Let's discuss in the comments!

Left: Wilbur curled up with a good book. Right: the entire All Souls trilogy.

My friend loaned me Deborah Harkness's All Souls trilogy (aka A Discovery of Witches series) after I mentioned how I'd been enjoying the TV show (from AMC, on Netflix). I wanted more character development, and she said it was in the books. The series includes: A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, The Book of Life, and a companion novella, Time's Convert.

A Discovery of Witches follows modern witch, Diana, who is in denial about her powers and prefers to focus on her academic pursuits as a history professor studying alchemy and how it was an early form of science. On sabbatical to Oxford, she calls up an old manuscript, Ashmole 782, and discovers it's full of magic. After returning it to the archives, she learns this book has been missing for centuries and every creature wants it: witches, vampires, and daemons. Vampire Matthew Clairmont tries to solve the mystery of the book with her, and ends up needing to protect her as well. As the two search for answers about the book, they also learn about each other: that Matthew is more than a vampire biologist and Diana has more power than either of them anticipated.  The series follows their quest for the book and the lengths they go to stay together. 

This series is what happens when you mash dark academia with cozy fantasy. There's danger and libraries and secret magic, but there's also cooking spells in a quaint kitchen, very few on-page deaths, and a lot of sipping tea by the fire. I didn't mind that mash up, and I liked knowing more about the characters.  The books had a calm, often safe feeling, despite the stakes. A perfect escapist fantasy for escaping a stressful reality.

One thing I liked more about the show than the books (blasphemy, I know), was that the show followed the antagonists as well. I could see their plans form and they didn't just pop up out of nowhere, which is how the books felt. That's the price of sticking with mainly the FMC and MMC POVs in the book. There were a lot of side characters named, and I often just had to let those names float by me because I couldn't remember them all. Unfortunately, despite knowing the characters better, I still felt like the books and show shared the same problem: the romance goes from 0 to 60 in no time. And don't get me started on the resolution of it all, I was not satisfied.

This series is for you if you liked the Discovery of Witches TV show, enjoy cozier fantasy, want an older FMC than the usual 20-something, or enjoy dark academia but want it to be a little lighter. This series is not for you if you need a constant fast pace or high tension, if you dislike historical fantasy (most is modern, but the past becomes very relevant), if you dislike fated mates or big age gaps, or if you're not in the headspace to read about miscarriage or a complicated pregnancy. 


Have you read A Discovery of Witches? How did you think it compared to the show? Let's discuss in the comments!

Now that I'm back from my January hiatus, it's time to set some reading and writing goals for 2025. 
READING GOALS

1) Read my physical TBR
Same as last year, although I don't have a backlog, but I do have new books!

2) Find comparison titles for my next book
Similar to least year, but this is for a different manuscript with a completely different set of comp-needs. 

3) Beat Last Year's Pages Read
In 2024 I read 24,133 pages, but I'd like to read even more. Once again, I'm not caring about the number of books, because so many fantasy books are super long, and I don't want to punish myself for reading those thick gems.

4) Keep up with podcast reading
I can't believe the Judging More than Just the Cover podcast didn't make my goals for the last few years! I guess it's because I always finish reading on time, but maybe the more I read, the more episodes we'll have?

Once again, I won't be setting a goal for the types of books I read because I enjoyed last year's flexibility. 


WRITING GOALS

1) Keep sending queries until my list runs out or I get an agent
This may take more than a year, but if I have minimum 5 pending queries out at a time, I'll be happy. 

2)  Finish the secret collaboration project
Yes, you read that right. I've been working on a project with someone and this looks like the year we'll finish it.

3) Finish the draft of my next novel
It's still early days on this one, but with my trusty outline I think I'll be able to get a first draft this year. 

I fully admit that I should also have social media goals, like growing my platform on BlueSky or Threads or even growing this website's views so that when (aren't I cocky by saying when, not if) I get a book deal, I'll have better reach. However, this is not the year for that growth to happen for a myriad of personal life reasons. So, I'm giving myself a pass to focus my stress elsewhere and let my online presence grow when I have space for it, not because I feel like I have to.

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Want to share your reading or writing goals? Let's chat in the comments!