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ericawrites's review
5.0
I loved this so much! I listened to the audiobook, and it was beyond fabulous to have Vico Ortiz narrating the tale.
Mar is an instantly loveable character. Their pirate father made a deal with the devil when Mar almost died during their birth to save Mar and have 16 years of injury and death-free successful pirating. On Mar's 16th birthday, the pirate ship goes down, their father's soul goes to the devil, and all the crew members, but Mar, parish. But the devil wants Mar's soul, as Mar has magical powers, and he tries to bargain with Mar over their dad.
Mar is saved by another pirate ship. They befriend Bas, the captain's son, and they are hounded by the devil's demonio Dami. Mar cannot help but notice how pretty both Bas and Dami.
With the Catholic colonialism in the Caribbean, Mar must hide their magic. Which is sometimes hard because they need to use it, or else it overflows, and because they want to help people with it. This secret is used in parallel with Mar hiding their trans masculinity. I appreciated the mix of hidden identities and how Dami knew everything. Plus, Dami is genderfluid, and their demon abilities allow them to change their body and clothing on a daily whim. Their gender is a little different every single time that Mar sees them.
The world-building was superb. Novoa played with the era's historical colonialism and realities while also adding enough fantasy fun for a big YA adventure. The pacing was excellent for keeping the plot moving. (Though perhaps Mar and Bas were tossed in jail/prison one too many times.) The ways that Mar used their magic were inventive and fitting for the story, especially for the ending.
I'm really looking forward to reading more books by Novoa.
Mar is an instantly loveable character. Their pirate father made a deal with the devil when Mar almost died during their birth to save Mar and have 16 years of injury and death-free successful pirating. On Mar's 16th birthday, the pirate ship goes down, their father's soul goes to the devil, and all the crew members, but Mar, parish. But the devil wants Mar's soul, as Mar has magical powers, and he tries to bargain with Mar over their dad.
Mar is saved by another pirate ship. They befriend Bas, the captain's son, and they are hounded by the devil's demonio Dami. Mar cannot help but notice how pretty both Bas and Dami.
With the Catholic colonialism in the Caribbean, Mar must hide their magic. Which is sometimes hard because they need to use it, or else it overflows, and because they want to help people with it. This secret is used in parallel with Mar hiding their trans masculinity. I appreciated the mix of hidden identities and how Dami knew everything. Plus, Dami is genderfluid, and their demon abilities allow them to change their body and clothing on a daily whim. Their gender is a little different every single time that Mar sees them.
The world-building was superb. Novoa played with the era's historical colonialism and realities while also adding enough fantasy fun for a big YA adventure. The pacing was excellent for keeping the plot moving. (Though perhaps Mar and Bas were tossed in jail/prison one too many times.) The ways that Mar used their magic were inventive and fitting for the story, especially for the ending.
I'm really looking forward to reading more books by Novoa.
bettielovesbooks's review
5.0
A book full of magia and adventure, impossible to put down! The narrator too did a great job with the tone and the pronunciation of all the Spanish words correctly and without an accent. I enjoyed it immensely.
raecello's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
currentlyrhiding's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
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
asriram's review against another edition
1.0
This book was extremely boring. The author’s explanation of queerness and the main character’s experience as a trans masculine nonbinary individual, as well as their explanation of genderqueer identities, felt expository in a boring way, the plot was uncompelling, the magic system was dull, and the interpersonal relationships were completely unengaging. There were a couple of good moments, but overall, 1.5/5 stars, rounded down to 1/5 star.
malalaisee's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
3.75
megangour's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
ashjreads's review against another edition
3.0
I'm a bit torn about what to rate this one so I'll give it a 3.75 aka 4/5 for now, but I may come back and edit this.
The nonbinary Latinx pirate book.... I enjoyed it! The writing was vivid and incredibly descriptive. I feel the author did a great job with setting up scenery, it was a very visual book for me!! If you don't understand Spanish, you may be a little lost reading this one. I can imagine there was a lot of people out there with Google translate at the ready while reading.
The main thing that bothered me is that Bas like... misgendered them the whole time and even by the end, they never correct him? If you're romantically involved with someone, I imagine you'd want them to use the right pronouns and stuff. Guess that's just me. Mar stated that while boy didn't fit quite right, it was better than being called a woman. But they aren't either, so why don't you correct your man friend perhaps? Idk. Mar had more tension with Dami than with Bas the entire book. I said what I said.
This book was excellent at discussing gender and dysphoria without it being the main plot of the story. I really liked that it was just normalized and not the entire story. Also, magical top surgery wasn't on my Bingo card for this one but it got a giggle out of me for sure.
This was a solid pick for book club, shoutout to me for that I guess.
The nonbinary Latinx pirate book.... I enjoyed it! The writing was vivid and incredibly descriptive. I feel the author did a great job with setting up scenery, it was a very visual book for me!! If you don't understand Spanish, you may be a little lost reading this one. I can imagine there was a lot of people out there with Google translate at the ready while reading.
The main thing that bothered me is that Bas like... misgendered them the whole time and even by the end, they never correct him? If you're romantically involved with someone, I imagine you'd want them to use the right pronouns and stuff. Guess that's just me. Mar stated that while boy didn't fit quite right, it was better than being called a woman. But they aren't either, so why don't you correct your man friend perhaps? Idk. Mar had more tension with Dami than with Bas the entire book. I said what I said.
This book was excellent at discussing gender and dysphoria without it being the main plot of the story. I really liked that it was just normalized and not the entire story. Also, magical top surgery wasn't on my Bingo card for this one but it got a giggle out of me for sure.
This was a solid pick for book club, shoutout to me for that I guess.
jubilee4's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
explorebooks's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0