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A review by thebakersbooks
Bruja Born by Zoraida Córdova
4.0
4/5 stars - every bit as good as Labyrinth Lost!
I had reservations about the Brooklyn Brujas trilogy when I found out the second and third books would feature Alex's sisters instead of Alex as the main character. In Labyrinth Lost, Lula Mortiz is Alex's older sister: beautiful, a model bruja, and often a source of frustration for Alex. In Bruja Born, Lula comes into her own as a protagonist in ways that build on her established character while framing her more sympathetically.
Without giving away too much, I'd say this novel was surprising in the best possible way. I adored Lula's snark and her inner strength—author Zoraida Córdova's much-appreciated demonstration that strong women come in forms other than the oft-portrayed 'action girl.'Relatedly, I enjoyed that Lula was shown adapting to her disability at the end of the book, instead of the author finding a way to hand-wave the results of Lula's injuries with magic.
Bruja Born further develops the world of bruja magic, referencing (and introducing) some of the supernatural beings who live alongside the Mortiz family. In contrast with the first book, this one takes place wholly in the human world. The contrast between magic and mundane is fun, and the real-world setting elevates the stakes. It was also nice to see some of the characters from the last book through fresh eyes. Family, which was a major theme in Labyrinth Lost, also featured heavily in Bruja Born.
I only have two quibbles with the novel, and one didn't influence my rating. The first (the one that bothered me more) was Rishi's conspicuous absence. Spoiler for the previous book:Alex and Rishi ended up in a relationship at the end of Labyrinth Lost, effectively ending the romantic tension between Alex and Nova. Throughout that book, I had a nagging sense that Córdova favored Alex/Nova over Alex/Rishi, because however much I liked the idea of Alex and Rishi as a couple, they lacked chemistry, which came down to the writing. Given how the previous book ended, there was no compelling reason for her not to be included in the companion novel the way Nova was. The second minor flaw was a number of odd typos and word-level errors that must've been missed during the proofreading phase. They were annoying but not distracting, so they didn't lower my rating.
Overall, Bruja Born was an enjoyable read with well-executed emotional moments that earned their drama and plenty of cinematically narrated action. I'd recommend it to fans of urban fantasy and anyone who picked up the first book; even if you didn't enjoy that one, the change in POV and setting might make this more your cup of tea!
I had reservations about the Brooklyn Brujas trilogy when I found out the second and third books would feature Alex's sisters instead of Alex as the main character. In Labyrinth Lost, Lula Mortiz is Alex's older sister: beautiful, a model bruja, and often a source of frustration for Alex. In Bruja Born, Lula comes into her own as a protagonist in ways that build on her established character while framing her more sympathetically.
Without giving away too much, I'd say this novel was surprising in the best possible way. I adored Lula's snark and her inner strength—author Zoraida Córdova's much-appreciated demonstration that strong women come in forms other than the oft-portrayed 'action girl.'
Bruja Born further develops the world of bruja magic, referencing (and introducing) some of the supernatural beings who live alongside the Mortiz family. In contrast with the first book, this one takes place wholly in the human world. The contrast between magic and mundane is fun, and the real-world setting elevates the stakes. It was also nice to see some of the characters from the last book through fresh eyes. Family, which was a major theme in Labyrinth Lost, also featured heavily in Bruja Born.
I only have two quibbles with the novel, and one didn't influence my rating. The first (the one that bothered me more) was Rishi's conspicuous absence. Spoiler for the previous book:
Overall, Bruja Born was an enjoyable read with well-executed emotional moments that earned their drama and plenty of cinematically narrated action. I'd recommend it to fans of urban fantasy and anyone who picked up the first book; even if you didn't enjoy that one, the change in POV and setting might make this more your cup of tea!