The Age of the Seventh Sun by Lani Forbes
There are 3 books in this series:
1. The Seventh Sun
2. The Jade Bones
3. The Obsidian Butterfly
WARNING: There is a huge cliffhanger at the end of The Seventh Sun so have book 2 ready and on deck. Now that I think about it, there’s a cliffhanger at the end of The Jade Bones too.
Full disclosure: I read The Seventh Sun in February of 2020 and then again earlier this month right before diving into The Jade Bones. When I first finished The Seventh Sun, I ran to Edelweiss and Netgalley to see if I could get an ARC of The Jade Bones. Then 2020 happened and kind of ruined all books with any kind of angst or apocalyptic themes. So despite how excited I was for the story, The Jade Bones found its way onto my backlist. But fear not! I am slowly trudging through the backlist and I am finding gems. This series is one.
We are going to cover 2 of the 3 books. I haven’t started book 3 yet. I only have one Audible credit and I have to make a hard decision between The Obsidian Butterfly and This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron. (If my mini-me doesn’t use the credit first 😒).
In case you missed it, here’s my review for This Poison Heart and you’ll see my dilemma 😂
I will mark spoilers just in case because it is harder to avoid spoilers when talking about a series.
The Seventh Sun
Robyn Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Storygraph
Goodreads
Controversy: I looked at other reviews after reading because my rating is higher than the average rating. I don’t want to spend too much time on others’ reviews but I’ll give you a heads up with the issues I found.
This is not an #ownvoices book. So if you’re looking for that, this is not it.
This book is loosely based on Aztec/Mayan culture with a little Egyptian culture sprinkled in there. Remember that it is a fictional book. If you are hoping to learn something about either culture, this book is not it.
Plot: Prince Ahkin just inherited the throne (and a slew of problems) due to his father’s sudden death. He feels unprepared for the role he has in his empire. Especially since he and his sister are the last ones of his bloodline, the last ones who can raise the sun daily. The sun is fading and everyone feels as if they are headed towards the next apocalypse. He is also being pressured to choose a wife from one of the 6 noble daughters that are sent to his city, a wife to be the other half of his duality. Those who are not chosen must be sacrificed to the gods to bless their marriage. No pressure.
I’ll cover the characters when we talk about The Jade Bones. I will add that I’ve read The Seventh Sun as an ebook and as an audio. In the audio, I want to point out that Yemania’s voice was jarring and pulled me out of the story. She was so whiny.
Review: (2020 read) Okay, I have always been interested in Mayan and Aztec culture and this book has some strong themes of both cultures. There’s drama and suspense. There is a ship that you can’t help but root for and then that ending…. I need the next book like yesterday!!! I really don’t want to spoil anything for you but I loved this one. Check it out.
2022 Reread edit: I listened to the audio this time around and some of the voices were annoying so I think it took me out of the story a bit. The blind faith that the prince has in the rituals made me roll my eyes this time around too. Mostly because I’ve seen blind faith in a lie cause destruction since I read it the first time. I will however keep the rating at 5 stars.
The Jade Bones
Did I mention that this book also ends in a major cliffhanger?
Robyn Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Storygraph
Goodreads
This book picks up right where The Seventh Sun left off. So if you haven’t read that there will be spoilers in this part of this blog post.
Plot: Mayana and Ahkin are in the Underworld, desperate to get out and reclaim the throne. They must survive several trials with impossible odds. They have to learn to trust each other, the gods, and their abilities to succeed. All with an ominous warning from the mother goddess, Ometeotl. Yemania, who survived the Empress selection ritual due to Ahkin entering the Underworld, has her own challenges she must face. She deals with betrayals and the new Empress, Ahkin’s sister, has made her the new High Healer. She meets and falls in love with an enemy and must keep that secret for fear of the empress learning of their romance. Which is made even harder by her needing to be close to the Empress to figure out what exactly she is up to.
Characters: I don’t know if there was much character growth in this book. In the end, Ahkin and Mayana show a little growth but mostly Ahkin is still overly self-sacrificing. Mayana is still trying to prove herself, whether to herself or simply to break out of the expectations she feels are placed on her. Yemania is still whiny and I spent some time mad at her decision-making.
This storyline is high stress. Yemania’s, I think, is supposed to be a reprieve from the constant life or death situations that Ahkin and Mayana are in. However, Yemania’s situation is also full of narrow escapes from death.
I did listen to the audio of this book. I decided to since I realized that I butchered all of the names of the characters and places in the first book. So I would suggest at the very least looking up how to pronounce them online.
As always, I’m here to help you with your challenges so…
Read these books for the following:
Underworld (book 2)
Forbidden Romance (book 2)
Dual POV (both)
Betrayal (both)
Mythology (both)
I’m off to start another book! As I mentioned earlier I have an extensive backlist 🙈🙈 and I’m slowly chipping away at it.