Reviews with content warning for Death - Cazadora

Reviews tagging 'Death'

Cazadora by Romina Garber

14 reviews

bookishmillennial's review against another edition

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews because I don’t like leaving them. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial

This was such a fantastic sequel & I don’t know when the third book is coming but *I NEED IT ASAP* !!!! (Who am I kidding, I have plenty of books on my TBR to keep me busy in the meantime but truly, this continues to be such an incredible series!)

This book spends a lot of time in the magical world of the Argentinian folklore, while Manu and her friends are on the run from the authorities and trying to protect Manu at all costs. Manu continues to struggle with her identity, misnomers, worrying over her parents’ statuses, and navigating a new romantic relation with Tiago. Manu also continues to contend with her new reality of her period being so violently horrible, and I really appreciated this representation. So many of us do struggle with reproductive system issues, and it’s almost an invisible illness that no one else understands.

I felt this book focused a lot on the friendship and relationship dynamics, and character building, which was done so delicately and with such great care! I especially appreciated the sex positivity we see with Manu and Tiago’s relationship. We need more of that in teen stories!

The commentary on what language they should use for Lobizonas and every other paranormal identity marker was fascinating, and it reminded me of the conversation the Latine community is having about whether to use Latino or Latine when describing entire communities. Romina Garber has such a special talent in illustrating intergroup and interpersonal conflicts in this fantastical world that can easily translate into real-world discourses we are having!

cw: sexism, postpartum depression, panic attack, self harm, miscarriage, menstrual cycle issues and pain, figures of authority abusing their power, racism, xenophobia/strong anti-immigrant sentiments, colorism, homophobia, death of a friend, stress and high tension that comes with being labeled as “wanted” by authorities and on the run, mentions of deportation and ICE, body horror (werewolf shifting), mentions of teen pregnancy as a result of rape (rape does not happen, but is threatened)

Content Warnings

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.5

Finished reading: August 24th 2023

“We are the narratives we tell ourselves. But do we shape language, or does language shape us? Do we define words, or do words define us? If everyone keeps insisting I'm this monster, how soon before I become her?”

It's true that I don't read a lot of YA fantasy anymore, but I couldn't resist joining the blog tour for the first book back in 2020 and I instantly fell in love with this Argentine folklore inspired high fantasy world. I've been meaning to read Cazadora ever since it was first published, but somehow it took me TWO years to actually do so. I'm definitely kicking myself now, because I ended up having another fantastic experience with this sequel! Cazadora offered all the things I loved in the first book, with the added bonus that you already know and care for Manu and her manada. The fantasy world itself is fantastic, and very much inspired by Argentina; the incorporation of both local folklore and customs brilliantly done. The Spanish phrases only add more authenticity to this story, and it definitely made my inner philologist happy. Most of the phrases are translated though, so it is still easy to understand what is happening even though you don't speak Spanish. The plot itself picks up where the first book ended; this is why I would highly suggest reading the books in order both to avoid spoilers and confusion about what is happening and how the high fantasy world works. There is plenty of new territory to explore in Cazadora though, and the story incorporates a lot of important topics along the way. The writing itself is simply fantastic, and I loved every single minute that I spent with this story. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed there will be another book in the future considering how things ended...

Content Warnings

ladygetslit's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional inspiring 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

5.0

This sequel was even better than the first book! My only complaint is there’s no third book and I’m not ready to be done with these characters and their world.

Content Warnings

thenovelmaura's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional 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

3.25

I won't bore anyone with a long review because it's been awhile since I read this one and it wasn't a standout for me. While I loved seeing Manu's world expand, I thought this was thematically underwhelming and repeated a lot of the events of the first book without building on them or offering anything new. There was a lot of character development but not a ton of plot development for the majority of it (although there were some very satisfying scenes near the end). During a book club discussion, Garber mentioned that she initially planned for this series to be a trilogy (the publisher only bought two books), and this one does read more like the second in a trilogy for me. Overall, I expect a duology to have a more powerful impact, but Garber is a talented writer and I'll definitely be picking up her next book.

Content Warnings

ava_cowbell's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book was amazing, I would even say better than the first. The story and world building are still beautiful. The magic system is well explained. And the romance only enhances the main plot line rather than an unnecessary extra often found in other books. I can’t wait to read the third book.

Content Warnings

ashleyreads88's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

I loved this and felt that it tied the duology together very nicely. The ending was something that I didn't see coming and I loved the shocking twist. I loved how much Manu and the other characters grew. The message that I got from this amazing duology is that there is always something to fight for.

Content Warnings

bookiecharm's review

Go to review page

3.0

Content Warnings

readandfindout's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous tense medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 3.5 stars
Plot: 3 stars
Worldbuilding: 4 stars

Content Warnings

brittshaw_p's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.5

4.5/5⭐️ | 1/5🌶 | 1/3⚠️ | 14+

Genre: YA contemporary paranormal fantasy

Diversity: latinx, 🏳️‍🌈 SC, disabled SC, feminist

Moods: dark, adventurous, rebellious, International

Pace: medium

Device(s):

Trope(s): found family, coming of age,

Notes: interesting and complex magic system, immersive contemporary world building, great exploration of friendships and found family, so many profound quotes, ending was powerful and left me wanting more, profound exploration of finding your place to belong

# of pages: 403

AB length:

Took me ~ to read: 5:35

Content Warnings

gentlethem94's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

While I enjoyed this second book, it fell in the same way Lobizona does. It feels still edited to help hand-hold white readers. The over-explanation of things in real-world Latine culture can be a lot and annoying for a fellow Latine person. This book also left me feeling a little deflated for Manu and her friends at the end. Yes you can change things from the inside, but it feels like a slap in the face to the undocumented folks who are seeing themselves in Manu, for her to end up where she does. Overall, still enjoyed the book.

Content Warnings

More...