Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Cemetery Boys

I listened to the audiobook version so this is going to colour my review/rating a bit, because I'm still trying to get used to this medium of reading, and my mind doesn't always cooperate and tends to wander a lot.

I felt like the beginning and the end of the story were stronger and more memorable, whereas the middle part was a bit slow and, to be honest, I remember very little of what happened, it all kind of blurred together.

I really liked the representation of the trans experience thorugh the character of Yadriel. We got to see the big and more evident aspects of it, but also the little and everyday details.

I appreciated the cultural elements, as well as their more fantastical re-imagination; though I think maybe at times the author verged into overexplanation. I also liked the interspersed sentences and expressions in Spanish.

I wasn't quite sold at the beginning on the romance but, as the story progressed, it got better and I'm not ashamed to say that

when Julian said "mi querido"

I screamed.

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christinereads1823's review

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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? No

4.75

SUCH a great story. I fell in love with Yadriel and Julian as they fell in love with each other. Aiden Thomas's writing is magnetic, with gorgeously vivid descriptions of Latinx culture alongside gripping action and a clear understanding of his characters and their emotions.

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mylynn's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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? No

5.0

I loved this! It has vibrant worldbuilding, intersting lore, great complex character development, mystery,slow-burn romance, banter, etc. This book centers around Dia De Los Muertos, and our main character and his family are brujx who help spirits (brujo) and are able to heal (bruja).

I loved the coming of age story of Yadriel, as he journeys to gain acceptance from the other brujos. Maritza was a great companion to Yadriel and I loved how she was also going against the grain in her own ways. Julian was my favorite character, I loved how he questioned Yadriel's motivations and showed Yadriel that he didn't need to prove anything to the other brujx. I love that we got to meet Julian's friends and see into his life and he had some of my favorite lines. I've said 'love' so many times in this review but it is what it is.

I listened to the audiobook and it was a great experience. I loved the emotion that Avi Roque put into his performance, and he definitely brought the characters to life. At the end of the audiobook there is a really cute interview between Aiden Thomas and Avi Roque and I could seriously listen to them talk excitedly about anything all day long.

There's a reason I can't stop reading YA and it's because it continues to deliver books like this one!

This was my first book towards the January prompts from #TheDiverseBaseline (prompt: Latine Author).

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