Review: Labyrinth Lost

Brooklyn Brujas, Book 1
By Zoraida Córdova
Available now from Sourcebooks Fire
Review copy

Zoraida Córdova's The Vicious Deep trilogy is my favorite thing to come from the mermaid mini-trend in YA. I knew I wanted to read her next YA urban fantasy novel, so I was sold on LABYRINTH LOST even before I saw the gorgeous cover.

LABYRINTH LOST did lose me a little at the beginning. Alex is a bruja with great potential, about to step into her full power at her Deathday celebration. But she doesn't want the power, because she believes her power drove her father away. (I found it obvious that this wasn't the full truth, but it is understandable that Alex can't see past the trauma of childhood abandonment.) When she meets a mysterious hot boy named Nova who promises he can help her get rid of her powers, she instantly believes him. No one but Alex is surprised when the spell he gives her goes horribly awry.

Once Alex, Nova, and her non-magical best friend Rishi travel to the liminal Los Lagos to rescue Alex's family, I was fully onboard. I loved the quest through a magical, dangerous land filled with strange people who could be enemies or allies and had their own motivations and stories. But the journey to that point was a slog, with Alex making one obvious bad decision after another.

I'm pretty sure when I reread LABYRINTH LOST I'll skip over most of the beginning. Because the rest of the novel, honestly, was exactly what I wanted. I'd even idly thought, "Wouldn't it be nice if X happened?" and the book delivered. LABYRINTH LOST even recovers from the lame, cliche bad boy setup and develops a believable romance with sparkling chemistry.

I also found the world Córdova creates fascinating. Her brujas are of her own creation, and they stand out from the usual crowd since she syncretizes various Latin American myths and folklore. Fans of Daniel José Older's SHADOWSHAPER and Bone Street Rumba novels will find much to love. 

The beginning had me worried, but I was write to trust that Córdova would deliver a book that I found enthralling. I am eagerly awaiting the second Brooklyn Brujas novel.