to be honest, i was pretty disappointed from this book. im going to try my best not to compare it to FC Yees avatar novels and judge it on its own, but i cant help that this book lacks of everything i loved about the kyoshi and yangchen novels.
i simply didnt connect to the writing style, the book over all didnt feel challeging, it didnt make me think, it was mostly pretty flat out and i felt it didnt leave room for the reader to try and deduct things on their own. the book also felt, for lack of a better description, pretty fan-fiction-y, in some parts more than others especially. i also felt that Ribays writing so often felt indecisive - like he doesnt know when some things are best left out, and this is even expressed in the fact that there are SO many lists?? i seriously couldnt ignore it because he was listing things left and right, it was so much that it was weird and legitimately bothering me. (a little ironic since rokus whole big flaw is being indecisive). Ribay even included a cut chapter in the soecia edition that i read, saying he had to cut it but still just wanted it to be included!
one thing i did like about the book is rokus character- or i liked that didnt like him. he'd been my least favorite avatar since before id read the book and id been looking forward to see if the book would make me like him or dislike him more - and i really like that they leaned in to his annoying-ness and punchable-ness. not to be a hater but hes so fucking stupid and i love when he gets humbled especially by gyatso.

i will say i disliked it when malaya died, i actually liked her and her relationship with gyatso, and i hated that sozin got away with it, but im sure that will be addressed in the following book (i hope)

im sure there are people who enjoyed this book and that’s completely valid, i just had high expectations and was disappointed.

3.75 ⭐️ A perfectly fine addition to the Avatarverse, but couldn’t compare to my love of the Kyoshi novels. There were quite a few references to the animated series and to the previous books, which I always enjoyed. Rangi Jet Stepping reference ftw.  Standout stars were Gyatso, Malaya, and Sozin’s section bc honestly the Roku focused chapters were just a little meh. If another Roku book is written I’d like to see it after he’s become a fully realized Avatar and really intertwine the story with Sozin more and his decisions that lead the Fire Nation into the 100-year war. 💦🪨🔥💨

Heck just give me a Gyatso-focused Avatar companion book and a Kyoshi movie and I’ll be just peachy. 👍

Another solid read in a consistently solid series of spin-offs. It’s a mostly seamless hand-off from Yee to Ribay, so anyone worried that this outing wouldn’t have the same thematic foundations and characterizations can rest easy. This one doesn’t have the same oomph as the initial Kyoshi duology but seems to share common ground with the Yangchen books. Ribay’s commentary on colonialism is notably sharp, which is not a new subject for the Avatar series to explore but takes a far fuller, more central role here than ever. I appreciate how Ribay showcases the dangers of invading a world that doesn’t belong to you, and no matter how good the intentions you have going in, you’re still an invader. Placing Roku in that role—at least on some level—is a wise move, and Ribay does an excellent job of showing how even a hero with good intentions can still do more harm than good when inserting themselves into a world that doesn’t belong to them. Good stuff! 

The overall plotting and writing are very comfortably YA, for better and otherwise, which means I was never uninterested but did find myself wishing for a softer touch at times, specifically with the character work. Some of the tensions suffer from prequelitis, too, since the animated series told us exactly how and when certain events in Roku and Sozin’s relationship play out. It lessens the thorniness of their fraying friendship, and I don’t quite think Roku’s characterization is strong enough to convince me that he’s ignorant of the path his friend is already going down. Still, the structure is rock-solid, even if the execution is a little loose, and I’m eager to see where Ribay takes it in the next book. This gets 3.5 stars from me!