Reviews

I'm in love with this book. Aiden Thomas does a fantastic job of balancing levity, joy, and affection with dread and grief. There are so many times I found myself grinning, then my heart sinking, or times when I felt sad but so hopeful, because of the bittersweet notes of the story. I loved how incredibly human each of the characters were, especially Julian. I've never encountered a love interest who was so likably dumb, awkward, loud, and rough around the edges. Yadriel's dad and grandmother were also lovable, well-meaning characters who made mistakes and then grew, like normal people instead of the flat, 2-D, 'instant allies' you see in some books. The twist was hinted at enough to make it understandable when it happened, and even when you knew it was going to happen, it still had the emotional significance it needed. There was so much effort and love put into the worldbuilding, story, and characters of this book. What a fantastic read! Huge shoutout to my friend who recommended this one.

cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition

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4.0

I really liked this book amazing world building and representation.
Yadriel and Julian are so cute and all side character are great especially Maritza.
Only thing I didn't like was villain very basic and a lot of exposition.
Anyway I recommend this book.

amyjayexo's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

lokislibrary's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

tencutepuppies's review against another edition

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4.0

(4/5) This book was so cute, it was definitely a great way to start off the year. It would have been higher than four stars for the excellent plot/writing style if not for the fact that I prefer books that rip out my heart and stomp on it. But that’s just personal preference, I’m sure this story will be five stars for many other people.

Learning about Latinx culture, especially involving Dia de Muertos, was a large part of the background that made the plot richer. I feel like we don’t see enough “mainstream” stories involving this culture, so I’m happy to see this one getting the recognition it deserves. The tying together of brujos and brujas and a secret magical society spanning generations was an idea I hadn’t ever read about before.

I found Yadriel’s struggle with his family’s not accepting his gender as valid equally heartbreaking and powerfully done. If I’m remembering correctly, I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that dealt with trans issues at its forefront, but this is certainly an informative read that offers a look inside the emotions involved with trans children not being accepted. However, as it deals with both trans and cultural struggles, the plot is fast moving and never boring. I believe I finished this book in basically one night because I couldn’t put it down.

Julian and Yadriel’s cousin were excellent and adorable secondary characters. Their banter was a joy to see. I mean, Julian was just a cute character period. The way he supports/treats Yadriel? My favorite. Julian’s friend group were all so different and well fleshed out for the few scenes they were in and I loved them all too.

The stakes were high in the end and I did NOT see the twist coming although I probably should have. For probably the entire last 100 pages, I was hanging off the edge of my seat, wondering if a *certain character* was going to make it to the end alive.

Long story short, I got exactly what I expected to get out of this book and enjoyed it very much.

isawaphoenix's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

Bury your gays? More like necromance your gays. /j
Seriously fantastic book that has an excellent coming of age and acceptance story that’s worth every page.

kickitupanotch7's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense slow-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

4.75

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