A review by redhairedashreads
Celestial Monsters by Aiden Thomas

4.5

4.5 stars 

“You’re only a monster if you choose to be.” 

This book picks up right where The Sunbearer Trials ended and continue’s Teo’s story, but this time instead of trying to survive the trials he is trying to fix what he brought upon the world by not sacrificing Auristela to Sol.  Teo, Aurelio, and Niya have two weeks to stop the Obsidians before the Sol stones go out. 

Like the first book, I was instantly sucked into Teo’s story and seeing these characters overcome the challenges they face. Teo has really grown since he was first introduced. He is no longer the spoiled and unconfident Jade who is focused on pranks and having fun. He is now a fighter, protector, and is determined to protect his friends and people. I really loved seeing Teo become confident, be the unofficial leader, and argue for a better future. 

Another wonderful surprise about this book was that we actually get Xio’s POV as well. We ended the previous book with Xio betraying everyone to help resurrect the Obsidians. We see the progression of their feelings about the Obsidians and about themselves. Not only is Xio doubting his choices, we see them also looking at their gender and trying out new pronouns. I think this is the first book I have read where a character changes their pronouns halfway through and I want to read more of this in the future. 

For the other characters in this book, we see Aurelio struggle to work without his sister but also open up to Teo and Niya more. We see beneath the facade that he has put up for years and find a man who doesn’t really want to fight but continues to because of his mother’s demanding influence. We also see Teo and Aurelio finally admit their feelings and become a couple. I really loved the progression of their relationship during this story. 

My favorite character in this series is probably Niya though. She is brilliant, strong, and very amusing. I really love the friendship between her and Tio and how it grew to involve Xio and Aurelio over time. Also the friendly banter between Niya and Teo was always so good. Thomas does a wonderful job at creating a solid and beautiful friendship between these two that you can’t help but love. 

The character development for all of the characters is probably one of my favorite parts of this duology. When this story started they were all teenagers but by the end of this book they have become responsible young adults who are determined to make the world a better place. I loved how all the main characters questioned tradition and all fought to change the world for the better. Thomas really does a fantastic job at creating solid characters with great development over a story, even the villains are fantastic. 

Overall, I think this was a wonderful conclusion to this story. It was a fun and action packed read that I couldn’t put down. Also I love how queer inclusive and accepting this world is, and find I really want more fantasy like this. Also I really wish the real world could be this way. 

*ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*