Review: Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova


Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova

Series: Brooklyn Brujas #1

Published by: Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: September 6th 2016

Genre: YA & LGTBQIA 

Pages- 336 pages

Format- eGalley (Netgalley)

Rating: ★★★★★

labyrinth-lost

 

Goodreads Summary:

Nothing says Happy Birthday like summoning the spirits of your dead relatives. 

Alex is a bruja, the most powerful witch in a generation…and she hates magic. At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of her power. But it backfires. Her whole family vanishes into thin air, leaving her alone with Nova, a brujo boy she can’t trust. A boy whose intentions are as dark as the strange marks on his skin.

The only way to get her family back is to travel with Nova to Los Lagos, a land in-between, as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland…

 

I’d like to thank Sourcebooks Fire for approving me to receive an eGalley of Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

During my search for diversification in YA books, I stumbled across Zoraida Cordova’s Labyrinth Lost. On the cover is a girl in a Death Day mask, making this an eye catcher for anyone walking by with an eye for stunning covers. I honestly wasn’t expecting to love this book as much as I did but it took me on THE MOST magical ride with elements of Alice in Wonderland along the way. We get introduced to our main protagonist Alex who is part of a family of “brujas” (Spanish for witch) & like every bruja before & after, she will need to have her Death Day celebration to mark her coming into her powers. Typically, the celebration is held on birthday’s in order to throw more over the top parties. Alex however, has no interest in having her Death Day celebration or accepting her powers…in fact she’s trying to stop it from ever taking place. One spell gone wrong results in Alex’s whole family disappearing into the in between world. A world where souls linger & are tortured. It was through the introduction of this underworld of sorts, that you are able to really appreciate & enjoy the writing style. Beyond this, would be giving away too much of the plot so instead I’ll go into some of the things that I loved about this book.

The #ownvoices movement that started recently has been one that I fully support. I love discovering new authors that are able to infuse their culture into their writing, their voices are ones that I can relate to & that’s always cool…seeing a bit of me in what I’m reading. In Labyrinth Lost, we are introduced to Alex’s ancestors (spirits of deceased family members) who as the author notes are from Ecuador, Spain, Africa, Mexico, and the Carribean. Although Alex & her family are not classified as practicing any specific denomination of religion, we do see some aspects of other religions such as Santeria & Catholicism with a new age twist. It was interesting seeing the authors spin on some of the Gods & being able to recognize the cultural influences. The families “Book of Cantos” was another very cool detail, it is a book that contains all of Alex’s ancestor’s spells & magic. It also contains quotes, sayings, and bruja(o) songs, each chapter started off with a snippet of a passage from their Book of Cantos. I also enjoyed the family dynamics in Alex’s home, one comprised mostly of women with their father’s unexplained disappearance weighing heavy in all of their hearts. The sisterly bond between Alex, Lula, and Rose stood out the most. Their interactions with each other felt genuine & realistic. Alex’s mom gave me a few laugh out loud moments & this is because I was able to see my mom & family in this character. This is a story of family & self-discovery, Alex knows that she’s different than the rest of her family and is scared to disappoint those that she loves by the choices she makes. I think everyone can see a bit of Alex in them no matter the cultural background/experience which is why I would recommend this book to everyone.

I’m looking forward to continuing with The Brooklyn Brujas series. I am also glad to have stumbled across Zoraida Córdova. I was just wondering how I can go about bringing more attention to this author when I received an e-mail from the publisher offering me the opportunity to feature the author in a Author Spotlight & Giveaway post, that’s on it’s way & you won’t want to miss it 😉

Has anyone else read Labyrinth Lost? I’d love to read your thoughts on the book. Please feel free to drop the link to your review or drop a comment my lovelies 🙂

Author: LairOfBooks

"I didn't choose the Book Life, the Book Life chose me"

27 thoughts on “Review: Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova”

    1. Thank you Amanda! 😊 The author took aspects of several cultures/religions & made it her own which I found interesting because you’re still able to see where she got each custom from. I truly enjoyed this book & hope to read more from this author. I hope you & your sister-in-law enjoy it…once you convince her to read it that is lol 😊💕

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  7. I’m so glad that your rating is a 5 stars! I do have a copy too. Can’t wait to read it. Did you receive an email about this book’s spotlight & giveaway? It says to review this book between 9/6-19/16 to be entered into a giveaway to get copy of the book, signed bookmarks, and coloring book.

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  8. I’ve actually been hearing so many amazing things about this book and I nearly clicked request on NetGalley but decided against it as my plate for review books is so full that I’m worried I might not get to all of them. (I need to calm my NetGalley click happy self 😂.) After reading your review I am definitely going to have to try to get my hands on this soon! I love books that highlight other cultures and throw their own twists. Great review and I’ll be on the look out for your Author Spotlight & Giveaway post! ♥

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    1. Lol yeah, this one was already released as of Tuesday. I’m also trying to stay on top of these NetGalley ARCS 😂😂😂 I should be posting the spotlight & giveaway today, def try your luck for a free copy to read at your leisure 😉

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  10. I’m glad you liked it and it gave you some cultural love.
    What’s the LGBTQIA angle? Is the main character part of it? I’m just curious…I see the diversity with culture, but I was wondering about the diversity with gender roles.
    Great review. Sounds like a fantabulous read. I was going to request it, but I didn’t want to get denied…it was listed when I was just starting my blog.

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      1. Gotcha.
        Yeah, I’m afraid to request anything else right now…I got FIVE to read, and that’s the most I’ve had. Luckily I’m still above 80%. But gotta get some out there. I don’t care if The Bone Witch doesn’t publish for a year…I need to get it read and off my shelf!

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    1. Thank you & that’s awesome, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! I know a few other bloggers who were recently approved & will be reading it soon so I hope to see it more on the blogosphere 😉 thank you for stopping by💕

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