Bookish First Review - Sunbearer Trials

Elements of this story reminded me of the Hunger Games (but with less killing), and the ranking system seen in Divergent. That said, this story was uniquely its own. Sometimes the blurbs of books promise a series of competitions, but then only consist of a small portion of the book. The Sunbearer Trials were not that. The reader goes along through multiple trials which carry all the way until the climax of the novel. I loved seeing the challenges they each faced and loved the cast of characters who competed. My main complaint with this book was that the cast of characters in the world was extremely vast. The beginning especially left me feeling overwhelmed with each of the gods, all their children, their unique powers, and the history of the gods, and how the Sunbearer Trials started. I wrote out 3 lists (the gods and their powers, the kids and their godly parentage, and then one of the competitors with their powers). I used these lists to reference frequently while reading and it helped so much! I wish the publishers would've done that work for me though haha. I look forward to the next book (and have a new list ready based on that ending....)

LGBTQ rep: Transgender main character, transgender side character, a subtle M/M romance