karcitis's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, Murder, Gore, Grief, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Car accident, Cannibalism, Body horror, Medical content, and Injury/injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Self harm
Minor: Eating disorder
ashyouwish's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Car accident, Child death, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Self harm, Violence, and Vomit
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Bruja Born is about clinging to love gone sour, plans gone rotten, and the strength required to accept new realities and move on. The young brujas are fierce, brave, and naive in ways that make them feel like the children they are. A good sequel.
The sibling dynamic between Lula, Alex, and Rose feels complex and genuine. Even though Rose hasn't been a pov character yet, she feels like a full character in context with Alex and Lula, which can be tricky to pull off.
I get stressed out by stories which have extended sequences where someone is lying about something huge, and that's a driving factor in most of this book, so it was difficult for me to read. It's a common trope, so that's mostly a thing I had to adjust to, and not a fault with the story. Given that, I still like this one and I was satisfied by the ending.
My one concern is that when reading this book, it feels like I'm missing information, like there's more I should have known coming in. After finishing the book, the supplemental material indicated that a group encountered there, the Thorne Hill Alliance first appears in The Vicious Deep, also by this author, so I'll skip over to that series and see if that addresses this feeling. If it feels like something was said elsewhere because it literally was in a different, earlier book, that's fine. If it's because this book vaguely gestures at world-building without putting enough detail in, that would be a negative for me.
I must say, Zoraida knows how to write a cliffhanger, I'm itching to read the next book.
The sibling dynamic between Lula, Alex, and Rose feels complex and genuine. Even though Rose hasn't been a pov character yet, she feels like a full character in context with Alex and Lula, which can be tricky to pull off.
I get stressed out by stories which have extended sequences where someone is lying about something huge, and that's a driving factor in most of this book, so it was difficult for me to read. It's a common trope, so that's mostly a thing I had to adjust to, and not a fault with the story. Given that, I still like this one and I was satisfied by the ending.
My one concern is that when reading this book, it feels like I'm missing information, like there's more I should have known coming in. After finishing the book, the supplemental material indicated that a group encountered there, the Thorne Hill Alliance first appears in The Vicious Deep, also by this author, so I'll skip over to that series and see if that addresses this feeling. If it feels like something was said elsewhere because it literally was in a different, earlier book, that's fine. If it's because this book vaguely gestures at world-building without putting enough detail in, that would be a negative for me.
I must say, Zoraida knows how to write a cliffhanger, I'm itching to read the next book.
Graphic: Vomit, Blood, Gore, Violence, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Death, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and Cannibalism
Minor: Ableism and Pregnancy
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