Review by orionmerlin - Cemetery Boys

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orionmerlin 's review for:

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

3.75

emotional funny hopeful 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

Characters – 8/10

I loved Yadriel and Julian, but I’ll be honest: they’re carrying this story on their backs while a lot of the side cast just…exists. Yadriel’s determination to be recognized as a brujo felt powerful, but his arc is painted with pretty broad strokes – “prove myself, get validation, win love.” It’s effective but a little on-the-nose. Julian is the chaos gremlin who lights up every page, and while he’s hilarious, his emotional beats sometimes feel rushed, like Thomas didn’t trust us to sit in the messy parts of grief. Maritza? Total gem when she’s around, but she basically peeks in, says something sarcastic, then vanishes until the plot needs her. And don’t get me started on the villain, whose motivations boil down to cartoonishly obvious bad guy with a neon sign over his head. Characters were fun, but multidimensional? Only some of them.

Atmosphere / Setting – 8.5/10

The cemetery setting has style, but it’s more vibes than substance. I got the incense, the marigolds, the spooky midnight rituals, sure – but when I stepped back, I realized a lot of the backdrop was set dressing. East L.A. as a location never fully breathes outside the cemetery gates. The cultural atmosphere (brujo traditions, Día de Muertos) is what sticks, and while that’s beautifully woven in, it sometimes reads like a highlight reel of traditions instead of a lived-in world. Still, the spooky-cozy mashup worked – I just wish the world beyond the rituals and food descriptions felt as real as the characters’ emotions.

Writing Style – 7/10

Thomas’s prose gets the job done, but it’s not exactly dazzling. Dialogue? Sharp, funny, and easily the best part of the writing. Narration? Serviceable, though occasionally clunky with exposition dumps that scream “debut novel.” Some sentences feel padded, like the book’s trying too hard to keep us grounded in details that don’t matter (do I need a full paragraph about fetching supplies from a car? No, thank you). And the magic explanations wobble between overly vague and too spelled out. The voice is youthful, yes, but sometimes it skews shallow – I wanted more nuance in the heavier moments instead of breezy YA shorthand.

Plot – 6.5/10

Let’s be real: the plot is predictable to the point of parody. I knew who the villain was almost as soon as they walked on stage, and the supposed “twist” landed like a wet balloon. The pacing is also lopsided: the first half crawls with family squabbles and Julian antics (fun, but repetitive), while the climax happens at breakneck speed, tying up emotional arcs and murder-mystery threads with an almost Disney-level bow. Stakes feel high in theory – death! identity! betrayal! – but because the villain is such an obvious caricature, tension leaks out. The emotional throughline works, but the mystery? Paper-thin.

Intrigue – 8/10

I was hooked by the characters, not the actual mystery. I kept turning pages because I wanted more Yadriel-Julian banter and soft moments, not because I was dying (heh) to see how the murder case resolved. The middle stretch drags with “let’s go talk to X and see if they know anything” loops, which killed momentum. That said, once the romance picked up, my investment shot back up. The final act did keep me glued – but less out of suspense, more because I wanted to know if the couple would survive the melodramatic climax.

Logic / Relationships – 7.5/10

The magic system is clear enough, but it has that YA hand-wavy quality where rules bend if the plot needs them to. Yadriel’s powers fluctuate conveniently – sometimes he’s struggling, sometimes he pulls off miracles, no explanation given. Relationships are the strong point, though even there I raised eyebrows. Yadriel and Julian’s romance develops in about three days – it should feel like insta-love, and honestly, it kinda does. Their chemistry sells it, but if I stop to think about the timeline, it’s ridiculous. Family dynamics were believable in the tension but too easily resolved – years of doubt and deadnaming get smoothed over in a handful of pages. It felt emotionally cheap compared to the rest of the book’s sincerity.

Enjoyment – 8.5/10

I had a blast reading it, but I can’t pretend it’s flawless. It’s like a really good Halloween movie marathon snack: sweet, addictive, a little cheesy, and not built to withstand much scrutiny. I enjoyed the ride – I laughed, I even got misty-eyed once or twice – but I also rolled my eyes at how easily the ending tied up. I’d recommend it for the fun characters and heartwarming romance, but not if you’re expecting a tightly plotted mystery or deeply fleshed-out world. Would I reread it? Maybe for comfort, but not for depth.

Final Verdict: Cemetery Boys is a charming, heartfelt YA debut that shines in its characters and cultural grounding, but stumbles on predictability, pacing, and shallow worldbuilding. Fun as hell, but not as groundbreaking as it wants to be.

Content Warnings