The witches of New York are back! In the epic conclusion to the award-winning series, the final Mortiz sister’s story is told. Infused with Latin American tradition—the Brooklyn Brujas series follows three sisters—and brujas—as they develop their powers and battle magic in their hometown and worlds beyond.
Rose Mortiz has always been a fixer, but lately she’s been feeling lost. She has brand new … feeling lost. She has brand new powers that she doesn’t understand, and her family is still trying to figure out how to function in the wake of her amnesiac father’s return home. Then, on the night of her Deathday party, Rose discovers her father’s memory loss has been a lie.
As she rushes to his side, the two are ambushed and pulled through a portal to the land of Adas, a fairy realm hidden in the Caribbean Sea. There Rose is forced to work with a group of others to save Adas. Soon, she begins to discover the scope of her powers, the troubling truth about her father’s past, and the sacrifices he made to save her sisters. But if Rose wants to return home so that she can repair her broken family, she must figure out how to heal Adas first.
Brooklyn Brujas Series:
Labyrinth Lost (Book 1): Alex’s story—set in the mythical fantasy world of Los Lagos
Bruja Born (Book 2): Lula’s story—urban fantasy set on the streets of Brooklyn
Wayward Witch (Book 3): Rose’s story—set in the magical fairy realm of Adas
Perfect for those looking for:
- A fantasy witch series
- Latinx books
- Dark fairy tales
- Young adult fantasy
- Books about sisters
more
I loved the first two books in this series and have been waiting eagerly for this third and most likely final story. It had been a while since I’d read them though it seems, so there was a bit about Rose that I didn’t necessarily remember from before. As with other books like this during this crazy pandemic time, my mind had a bit of a struggle keeping on track with the story, so that is part of why I gave it 4 stars probably.
The world the author wrote for us in this book was beautiful and vivid and so colorful. I know part of the time it took me to read was spent stopping and trying to make pictures in my mind by rereading the details in the descriptions of each of the Adas, or fairies of this world that Rose ends up in with her father.
The book began and I wanted to shake Rose for doubting everyone, but of course like her sisters she had to cast a spell that would lead to a little bit different result than she’d hoped. She found out that there may be something to her feelings. And when she and her father got taken to the other world we learned just what her father had actually been through in his time when he’d been lost there before, and it made sense why he’d been so withdrawn and different when he’d come back and even still after he seemed to be getting back as part of the family.
All the characters we met were unique and so full of life, and made the story so much more. I also did really like the way the whole debacle was solved in the end, a very creative way that I was unsure how it would even happen until it did. And the extra things Rose learned and gained in the land of Adas made the book that much better.
Now while I think this is the final book in the series I have to wonder if we will get a book for one of the characters from the first book, Nova. I’d love to see what happens to him on the path he chooses at the beginning of this book.
Much like the previous novels, Wayward Witch follows the youngest of the Mortiz daughters as she embarks on a journey to save her father and the fairy kingdom of Adas. However, while she is doing this, she also has to find a way to control her newfound power, a power that causes the Adas to call her the Siphon. Rose struggles with her power and the similarities it has to the Devourer, the evil witch who destroyed countless lives and almost destroyed her family.
Much like the previous novels, this one follows the same formula: it is a story of self-discovery. Rose is having a hard time trying to reconcile her new-found powers. It has cost her a lot of her faith and her belief in her family. Rose is not like the rest of her family, all of whom live happily with one another. Rose sees the cracks in her perfect life, and it makes her question everything, which causes her to break everything and sending her on an adventure in fairyland. Rose does nothing but struggle to understand her powers, and the journey she goes on allows her to just that.
While the journey is excellent, the story drags out just a little bit. The pacing is slower than the previous novels, but the adventure is still there. There is also the bonus of representation. Cordova invented a word for non-binary Brujas. It was such a beautiful added element to the novel that brings powerful representation into the novel. Readers are going to love that, and it highlights how even the smallest details can be powerful and meaningful.
Overall, Wayward Witch was a great way to bring the story to a perfect close. It tied up most of the loose ends and brought together a family while highlighting the importance of acceptance, representation, and love.