Review: Bruja Born

Title: Bruja Born (Brooklyn Brujas, #2)
Author: Zoraida Córdova
Publisher: Sourcebook Fire
Pages: 336
Genre: Fantasy
Review copy: Library
Availability: On shelves now

Summary: 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 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…

Review: The Mortiz sisters are at it again smashing the rules. This time, it’s Lulu and she’s fighting for her boyfriend of two years. Defying Death – no problem. But ignorance is definitely bliss in this case. Perhaps one is more likely to do the Death defying if one has no clue what the consequences will be. Because there are consequences. Big ones. Scary ones. Deadly ones.

As in the first book, the Mortiz sisters are bound together and will go to great lengths to help each other.  Their love is fierce and forever. That’s one of the things I enjoyed about both books. They have loyalty in the face of mistakes and some poor life choices. They hold each other accountable and even rub each other’s noses in the mess sometimes, but forgiveness will be there even if it takes a little while.

Bruja Born is full of humor, adventure, family & romantic love, and some slightly bizarre and terrifying magical creatures. There is no shortage of action and it’s fun to see creative way that magic is moving in this world. Again, the characters find that magic has a give and take to it and the sisters seem determined to learn things the hard way.

Recommendation: Get it soon especially if you enjoyed Labyrinth Lost. If it’s been a while since you read the first book, I recommend you read it again or at least skim or read a recap. Knowing all of the fine details of the first story isn’t absolutely necessary, but when I tried to read the book cold, it took a while to slip back into the world and cozy up to the characters. Once I revisited Labyrinth Lost (hopping around skimming here and there), my enjoyment increased significantly. The Brooklyn Brujas are intriguing and hopefully we’ll get to read more about them in the future.