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Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar // Night Markets, Star Courts and Desi goodness

GOODREADS // AMAZON // BOOK DEPOSITORY The daughter of a star and a mortal, Sheetal is used to keeping secrets. Pretending to be "normal." But when an accidental flare of her starfire puts her human father in the hospital, Sheetal needs a full star's help to heal him. A star like her mother, who returned to the sky long ago. Sheetal's quest to save her father will take her to a celestial court of shining wonders and dark shadows, where she must take the stage as her family's champion in a competition to decide the next ruling house of the heavens--and win, or risk never returning to Earth at all. This gorgeously imagined YA debut blends shades of Neil Gaiman's Stardust and a breathtaking landscape of Hindu mythology into a radiant contemporary fantasy.   ( A huge thank you to the  HOV Tours  and HarperTeen for the eARC and the opportunity to be a part of this blog tour.  ~When a book sees you~      Yes I am absolutely going to s

Review: Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova

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

I fall to my knees. Shattered glass, melted candles and the outline of scorched feathers are all that surround me. Every single person who was in my house – my entire family — is gone.

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 markings 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…

Beautiful Creatures meets Daughter of Smoke and Bone with an infusion of Latin American tradition in this highly original fantasy adventure.
“I'm not the encantrix everyone thought I would be. Right now, I'm just a girl, and there is also magic in that.”

Alex is not your average girl. She is a bruja who doesn’t have powers yet... or so she wants people to think. She hates her own magic and believes her magic is the reason her family is crumbling. I loved looking at the story from Alex’s point of view. I loved Rishi more but Alex is quite the reliable protagonist.

I loved the wonderful sister relationships among Alex, Lula and Rose. Their conversations and banter were among the best parts of the book.

Rishi is my favourite character. She’s a Hindu (Squeals happily!!) and she’s quite the sassy, sarcastic and wonderful friend. The banter between Rishi and Nova added so much humor to the story.

Nova is among the most interesting characters I’ve read in a while. He's a boy of darkness made of light. He’s complex and mysterious and I can’t wait to know more about him as the series progresses.

Also the diversity in the book is so AWESOME! Most if not all characters are POC, we have a bisexual protagonist and a lesbian main character. Best part is that the diversity is treated as just another character trait and not an “issue”.

The entire plot is like nothing I've ever seen before. The story starts at page one and doesn't slow down until we reach the final page. The plot is about Alex saving her family, coming to terms with who she is and understanding her feelings for Nova and Rishi. I must mention that while I absolutely LOVED the story, I wish the adventure had been more intense... like I was never scared for the characters or worried for their safety. But honestly speaking it’s not much of a complaint at all.

Also, this book has a love triangle but I liked it! That hardly ever happens. But the romance and the love triangle is NOT the focus of the story but adds to it quite beautifully.

I adored the writing. There are so many characters in the story and each had their own voice. I would never mistake one for the other. The imagery was beautiful. I enjoyed the creative depiction of Los Lagos and the world building is on point. The world of Labyrinth Lost is so interesting and complex and I definitely would love to explore it more in the rest of the series.

- The Characters
-The diversity
- The plot
- The writing

- Hmmm, the lack of intensity maybe? (Like I said, not much of a complaint.)

A well written wonderfully diverse story with memorable characters who'll stay with you long after you've closed the book. If you love thrilling adventures across new realms and enjoy reading about sassy and interesting characters, this book is for you.


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