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amandadevoursbooks's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? No
4.0
Thank you to netgalley and MacMillan for access to this E-ARC. I was printed access to provide you an honest review in advance of the publishing day.
Pilar is back in the second outing of pillar Ramirez we return to Zafa. It's been in years since people are got back from sofa after the last book. Her cousin Natasha has stayed in Zafa and has learned how to be a bruja. The magical world and the world that people are lives in collide yet again. A new big bad has risen and is attempting to bring Trujillo back from the dead.
As with the last book, this book is rooted in the author's Dominican culture. The plot is engaging in fast-paced. We get to see friends that we met in the first book. The climax feels real and incredibly terrifying given who this novels big bad is trying to bring back.
What I loved about the first book was pilar's voice. This does come through in the Curse of San Zenon. I also loved the history and the impact of that history on the characters. This also came through.
Randall does an amazing job weaving a story around the traumatic impact of History and rooting it in his culture. I found the first book to have a little bit more development of the characters' relationships particularly between Pilar and Carmen. Pilar and Natasha are cousins, and I think they just got less time to spend together talking as they were going on the quest.
This book is split between a couple different points of view at the very beginning of the novel. The readers kind of thrown into a dream without really knowing what was going on and who was talking.
It turns out that this is Pilar remembering the life of the person who turned into the demon she's facing in this book. How it was handled was a little too abrupt. I spent some time being fairly confused at the beginning of this book. Once I understood what was going on I really appreciated the perspective that those particular chapters gave to the entire book.
This is a good second outing. it has great heart. The story is exciting and interesting. I think I liked the first book a little bit more, but this was a great read.
Pilar is back in the second outing of pillar Ramirez we return to Zafa. It's been in years since people are got back from sofa after the last book. Her cousin Natasha has stayed in Zafa and has learned how to be a bruja. The magical world and the world that people are lives in collide yet again. A new big bad has risen and is attempting to bring Trujillo back from the dead.
As with the last book, this book is rooted in the author's Dominican culture. The plot is engaging in fast-paced. We get to see friends that we met in the first book. The climax feels real and incredibly terrifying given who this novels big bad is trying to bring back.
What I loved about the first book was pilar's voice. This does come through in the Curse of San Zenon. I also loved the history and the impact of that history on the characters. This also came through.
Randall does an amazing job weaving a story around the traumatic impact of History and rooting it in his culture. I found the first book to have a little bit more development of the characters' relationships particularly between Pilar and Carmen. Pilar and Natasha are cousins, and I think they just got less time to spend together talking as they were going on the quest.
This book is split between a couple different points of view at the very beginning of the novel. The readers kind of thrown into a dream without really knowing what was going on and who was talking.
It turns out that this is Pilar remembering the life of the person who turned into the demon she's facing in this book. How it was handled was a little too abrupt. I spent some time being fairly confused at the beginning of this book. Once I understood what was going on I really appreciated the perspective that those particular chapters gave to the entire book.
This is a good second outing. it has great heart. The story is exciting and interesting. I think I liked the first book a little bit more, but this was a great read.
Content Warnings
Minor: Genocide, Violence, and War
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