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karcitis's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Violence, Gore, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, Addiction, Abandonment, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Confinement
Minor: Torture, War, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, and Animal cruelty
spinesinaline's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Still working out my feelings on this one but I did love getting to revisit this family. Thanks to Raincoast Books for an ARC!
The third of Córdova’s family-centric Brooklyn Brujas series, this one wraps up the story with the youngest, and perhaps most powerful, Mortiz sister. I was very excited for this one after reading the second, which gave hints as to Rose’s power and the possibilities for a book focused entirely on her. I haven’t read the first in the series but each book is largely self-contained as it follows one sister, though there’s of course some tie-over to previous events.
While I enjoyed this one, I much preferred the second book and I don’t know if some of my enjoyment was tampered by it being an advanced copy. There were a lot of missing words, which I’m sure would’ve been fixed up in the final version, but also continuity issues that made it difficult to follow the story. Some scenes felt like they jumped very quickly, some characters were in two places at once – it all left me feeling confused while I was also trying to follow the MC as she worked to uncover the actual mystery of the story.
It’s still a fun read but I felt much more drawn into the story with the second book, though I was glad to see Rose experience her powers.
The third of Córdova’s family-centric Brooklyn Brujas series, this one wraps up the story with the youngest, and perhaps most powerful, Mortiz sister. I was very excited for this one after reading the second, which gave hints as to Rose’s power and the possibilities for a book focused entirely on her. I haven’t read the first in the series but each book is largely self-contained as it follows one sister, though there’s of course some tie-over to previous events.
While I enjoyed this one, I much preferred the second book and I don’t know if some of my enjoyment was tampered by it being an advanced copy. There were a lot of missing words, which I’m sure would’ve been fixed up in the final version, but also continuity issues that made it difficult to follow the story. Some scenes felt like they jumped very quickly, some characters were in two places at once – it all left me feeling confused while I was also trying to follow the MC as she worked to uncover the actual mystery of the story.
It’s still a fun read but I felt much more drawn into the story with the second book, though I was glad to see Rose experience her powers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Death, and Grief
samusc's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
TLDR: 5/5 Stars Any story with mermaids is a good one.
Wayward Witch delivers a strong conclusion to the Brooklyn Brujas series, focusing on the youngest sister Rose and her readjusting father. Córdova has given Rose a distinct voice, that I had been eagerly anticipating reading, since she had been spoken over in the previous books. Of course as the journey begins, she often finds herself wondering how her sisters would respond to the situations she’s found in.
As always, Córdova’s descriptions of this new realm are magical. She expanded on concepts of the adas that were first mentioned in Labyrinth Lost.
The new characters were very memorable, in particular Iris (what’s not to love about a warrior princess?) and Lin. In my genderfluid opinion, Lin was great nonbinary representation and it was lovely meeting a brujex with a serious impact on the story.
Family continues to be a strong theme in this installment, with truth as well. This featured a neat take on a ‘truth serum’ scenario and the classic adage ‘be careful what you wish for’.
Another detail I appreciated with this book is the glimpse we get at the mothers’ wavering faith. She’s dealt with several crises over the years and naturally Alex as the eldest takes on some of the burden.
After finishing this third book, I would love to see more of this family, but am thankful for what we as readers have been given.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Confinement
Minor: Animal death
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wayward Witch is about coming to terms with the past; fixing what you can and forgiving where you must. It continues the trilogy's emphasis on family while expanding all the wonderful things that can mean. Filled with fairies and a whole new realm to explore.
Bruja Born left me feeling like I needed to know more, and Wayward Witch gave me answers in a way I wasn't expecting. It would have been easy to give answers about Rose's dad in a way that pushed her to the side, but instead she really shines here and I love it. I like how this is a journey story like Labyrinth Lost while still being its own thing. Rose was in the previous two books and I really enjoyed her as the POV character for this one. She gave me a new person’s perspective on characters I already knew, plus a different way of thinking about the book’s world. She really got out of her siblings' shadows and had her own thing going on. I'd been wondering what her book would be like back when I read Bruja Born and enjoyed how Rose felt like a full person even though we hadn't gotten her side yet.
In any story where the protagonist is uncertain of their memory it can be difficult to portray memory gaps in a way that feels natural when reading. This book manages that balance splendidly. It’s subtle enough that I felt good when I first noticed it, like I’d caught this great bit of story by paying attention. I love the story, there’s a lot of characters but it stays pretty focused by making each one either really memorable and very important or okay to pay a little less attention to. There were several very moving and surprising moments, including one particularly great surprise towards the end that I loved.
The world-building really shines; it has a starting place from the previous two books, but rather than stay comfortably close to home it ventures out into a strange and wonderful place. I already knew the author is great at describing magical creatures (that was one of my favorite things in The Vicious Deep), but the fairies here are really amazing. I kept having a new favorite fairy every few chapters as subtle shifts in emphasis gave several of them time to stand out from the group.
I'm sad for the trilogy to be over but I suspect there will keep being more in this world, I certainly hope I'm right.
Bruja Born left me feeling like I needed to know more, and Wayward Witch gave me answers in a way I wasn't expecting. It would have been easy to give answers about Rose's dad in a way that pushed her to the side, but instead she really shines here and I love it. I like how this is a journey story like Labyrinth Lost while still being its own thing. Rose was in the previous two books and I really enjoyed her as the POV character for this one. She gave me a new person’s perspective on characters I already knew, plus a different way of thinking about the book’s world. She really got out of her siblings' shadows and had her own thing going on. I'd been wondering what her book would be like back when I read Bruja Born and enjoyed how Rose felt like a full person even though we hadn't gotten her side yet.
In any story where the protagonist is uncertain of their memory it can be difficult to portray memory gaps in a way that feels natural when reading. This book manages that balance splendidly. It’s subtle enough that I felt good when I first noticed it, like I’d caught this great bit of story by paying attention. I love the story, there’s a lot of characters but it stays pretty focused by making each one either really memorable and very important or okay to pay a little less attention to. There were several very moving and surprising moments, including one particularly great surprise towards the end that I loved.
The world-building really shines; it has a starting place from the previous two books, but rather than stay comfortably close to home it ventures out into a strange and wonderful place. I already knew the author is great at describing magical creatures (that was one of my favorite things in The Vicious Deep), but the fairies here are really amazing. I kept having a new favorite fairy every few chapters as subtle shifts in emphasis gave several of them time to stand out from the group.
I'm sad for the trilogy to be over but I suspect there will keep being more in this world, I certainly hope I'm right.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
CW for imprisonment, death.
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