A while ago I shared my review of Labyrinth Lost and today is finally the day to talk about Bruja Born. It has been a while since I read Bruja Born, but I somehow never shared my review. I received Bruja Born through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. After listening to the audiobook for Labyrinth Lost, I decided to listen to Bruja Born as well. There will be some mild spoilers for Labyrinth Lost, so keep that in mind. Now let’s talk about this book!
Three sisters. One spell. Countless dead.
Lula Mortiz feels like an outsider. Her sister’s newfound Encantrix powers have wounded her in ways that Lula’s bruja healing powers can’t fix, and she longs for the comfort her family once brought her. Thank the Deos for Maks, her sweet, steady boyfriend who sees the beauty within her and brings light to her life.
Then a bus crash turns Lula’s world upside down. Her classmates are all dead, including Maks. But Lula was born to heal, to fix. She can bring Maks back, even if it means seeking help from her sisters and defying Death herself. But magic that defies the laws of the deos is dangerous. Unpredictable. And when the dust settles, Maks isn’t the only one who’s been brought back…
Cover
While I hate mid series cover changes, I love this new cover! The colors and the simplicity really speak to me. I would love to some day getting a boxed set for this series, but I’ll wait until all the books are published. Wouldn’t want another cover change 😉
This is a love story. At least, it was, before my sister sent me to hell.
Plot
The story picks up after the events of Labyrinth Lost and we get to see the impact and consequences those events had on the Mortiz family. Labyrinth Lost focused on Alex, this time around we get to read Lula’s story. Because the synopsis gives away quite some story from the beginning, it took me a little while to get into the book. I was waiting for something new to happen, but as soon as that did it was a very fast paced, action filled ride through the world of the Brujas.
I wasn’t expecting the turns this story took. It deals with some heavy topics, and does it in an important and inspiring manner. Lula grew a lot as a character and that gives us a beautiful story. While I really enjoyed the book, I never ‘believed’ in the love between Lula and Maks so to say. They seemed like a cute couple from what we saw in Labyrinth Lost but for me it never became clear as to why they were in love. It is clear Lula loves Maks so much, but it felt like it could’ve been any other guy instead of this precise person.
There is a lot of loss and grief in this book. But it also has a lot of familial, and unconditional love. It was wonderful reading about the three sisters, Lula, Alex, and Rose and see them come to terms with all that happened in Labyrinth Lost but also what happened in Bruja Born. I also loved the diversity in this own voices, Latinx fantasy.
Characters
Lula is the main character in this one, it took me a while to fall for her. But in the end she was a great heroine and I think she showed such character growth. Lula needs to learn to love herself the way she is, the way her outside has become. This is such an important message for teenage girls, and I loved that it was included. Lula also need to make some really tough choices but in the end she did wonderfully. In contrast to Labyrinth Lost, we didn’t really have a villain, the problem happing was due to Lula’s choices and that was quite refreshing.
We get to meet some interesting new characters and of course we see a lot of Alex and Rose. I especially loved reading about Rose and am so excited for her story. The sisters are amazing together and possibly the best aspect about these books. We also get to see more of Nova and that wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. It was interesting to see him in a different light and I can’t wait to read more.
“Magic transforms you. Magic changes you. Magic saves you. I want to still believe in all those things.”
World Building
The world got expanded a lot in this sequel! While we got to travel to an actual other world in the first book, Bruja Born enriches the world ‘as we know it’ so much. I loved reading more about the Bruja culture and all the supernatural that was going on. Hopefully we’ll get even more of that in the next book. As I said in my previous review, Zoraida has a way with words that makes everything come to life.
A highly enjoyable read, and one that is pretty underrated I think. There aren’t nearly enough people talking about this diverse fantasy series, I hope more will pick up these books. Can’t wait for the next book after that epilogue! Have you read Bruja Born? Are you planning on reading this series? Let me know in the comments!
