Three sisters. One spell. Countless dead. Lula Mortiz feels like an outsider. Her sister’s newfound Encantrix powers have wounded her in ways that Lula’s bruja healing powers can’t fix, and she longs for the comfort her family once brought her. Thank the Deos for Maks, her sweet, steady boyfriend who sees the beauty within her and brings light to her life. Then a bus crash turns Lula’s world … bus crash turns Lula’s world upside down. Her classmates are all dead, including Maks. But Lula was born to heal, to fix. She can bring Maks back, even if it means seeking help from her sisters and defying Death herself. But magic that defies the laws of the deos is dangerous. Unpredictable. And when the dust settles, Maks isn’t the only one who’s been brought back…
Brooklyn Brujas Series:
Labryinth Lost (Book 1)
Bruja Born (Book 2)
Praise for Labyrinth Lost:
A Bustle Best Book
A NPR Top YA Book
A Paste Magazine Best Book
“A richly Latin American, giddily exciting novel.” —The New York Times
“The best new series of the year.” —Paste Magazine
“This work is a magical journey from start to finish…” —School Library Journal, starred review
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Bruja Born is the second book in the Brooklyn Brujas’ series. I enjoy learning about the Latin culture and brujas while reading this story. In this story, we focus on Lula after the adventures in Labyrinth Lost. There are twists and turns as Lula and her sisters try to figure out what is happening to missing people in their hometown. The writing is enchanting amd swept me right into the story.
Following Labyrinth Lost, Bruja Born follows Lula as she deals with the PTSD of being trapped in Los Lagos. What was interesting in this novel is the fact that the previous novel hinted at this novel’s premise. The fact that Córdova took a small detail and ran with it magically is impressive and showcases her talent and her imagination.
Another exciting aspect of this novel is the departure it takes from the previous novel. This novel remains in the real world, but when Lula casts a canto that brings back the dead and makes them zombies, it makes for a refreshing read. What is also different is the fact that the story follows Lula now, not Alex. Readers only got to know Lula through Alex and their dynamics as sisters, now readers get to know the read, Lula. She is very different from Labyrinth Lost, but that is good. Lula is more complex, a little petty, and frail; she has PTSD, and what hurts her, even more, is the fact that she can only talk to her family; she cannot talk to her boyfriend who knows something is wrong, but cannot seem to help her. This highlights just how much damage bottling up feelings is, keeping it locked up, not just to one’s self but also relationships.
Lula’s life is all about secrets, being a Bruja is dangerous, but keeping secrets always does more harm than good, and Lula discovers that throughout the novel. It is as much an eye-opening journey for her as the previous adventure was for Alex. Moving at a smooth pace, the tension in the story rises as Lula discovers how to move past her pain and grief. Furthermore, the fact that this is a horror, as well as a fantasy, makes for such a great read.
Bruja Born is a cool and action-packed novel that gives readers an exciting and Latin imbued fantasy.
Great addition to this series!
The Mortiz sisters, if you haven’t read the first book in this trilogy, please go do yourself a favor and go read the first book (Labyrinth Lost) now. And then come back and let’s discuss this one. But back to the Mortiz’s sisters, these girls are amazing, first of all, but they are also tight, they will do anything for each other and this book proves it again how much they love each other and how far they go to help each other when needed.
Lula is the oldest sister and after what happened on the last book she hasn’t been the same, she is withdrawn from her sisters and from everyone pretty much. But what she didn’t expect to happen was the tragedy that happens to her boyfriend and friends which leaves most of them dead. She becomes desperate and asks for her sisters help and together they invoke a spell to bring Maks back. But, when all the dead bodies of all her friends mysteriously disappears, she starts to realize that something is wrong and then she finds out that she has risen an army of casi muertos which are creatures between the living and the dead. But, that’s isn’t the worse, the casi muertos will not stop until Lula dies, that way they will be able to live free for ever.
Lula will have to realize that once again will need the help of not only her sisters but her whole family to make the casi muertos go away, but at what cost? Because there is always a cost, right?
Lula has always been the bad ass sister and she proves it in this book, there is action, family drama and romance and magic,ah…what else could I have asked for it? I just cannot wait for the next book, because the little sister’s power is proving to be so much more than we all thought and I cannot wait to see what troubles she is going to cause lol.
5 out of 5 stars…
I got a free copy of this book from NetGgalley.
This is a sequel to the first one Lost labyrinth
I really liked the first one so could barely wait for this one to come out. But alas it wasn’t as good as the first one. This one is brutally violent. I almost stopped reading it. It is based on Day Of The Dead in Mexican traditions.
It also is about the main character in the first books sister and her high schools bus accident.
Gruesome happenings I would not recommend for young adults. The author is a good writer but this time the story line just did not appeal to me. I will buy her next book just because I liked the first one so much.