ARC Review: Bruja Born by Zoraida Córdova

Title: Bruja Born
Series: Brooklyn Brujas #2
Author: Zoraida Córdova
Source/Format: Netgalley; eARC
More Details: Young Adult: Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks Fire; June 5, 1018

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

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...

Labyrinth Lost was one of my favorite reads from last year, and I was more than ready to return to the world of the Brooklyn Brujas. As such, I had high hopes that I would love Bruja Born just as much Labyrinth Lost. I did have one minor issue with it (more on that later). That being said, it was still such a fabulous story full of magic, family, and mayhem.

Lula Mortiz appeared in the last book, but wasn’t on-page much due to the circumstance surrounding the story of Labyrinth Lost. I remember her sister, Alex more, because she was the main character. So, I was excited to see that Lula was getting her own story. What I initially remembered about Lula was that she was a healer who seemed sure of her place in the world as well as confident in her magical capabilities. Bruja Born had a different Lula, and if you’ve read Labyrinth Lost you’ll understand what I mean. At the start of the story, she comes off as bit selfish and self-absorbed. She was readily willing to ignore the pain of others because she felt like they owed her. There was a point where her selfishness and refusal to accept what happened—as well as attempting to ignore what was really going on—kind of irritated me after a while. However, I also got that that pattern of behavior had a place in the story. Lula was supposed to be different and hurt in so many ways. So her willingness to cling to the one thing she perceived as being the most good and stable aspect in her life was believable.

Bruja Born was story about magic, family, and choices. Choices are tricky. Some are right, others are wrong, some are mistakes and you don’t even realize it until later. And the story of Bruja Born illustrates how a split second decision, a moment of desperation, can have unforeseen and lasting consequences. It was also kind of a coming of age type story. Lula had to grow up and understand her mistakes and be held accountable for her actions, as well as learning to let go of the past—no matter how painful—in order to move forward. So, despite my irritation at some of the things that happened, as far as the story overall, Bruja Born was amazing.

It was also nice getting to see some familiar faces from Labyrinth Lost like Rishi, Nova, and others. I also liked the new characters who were introduced, and I have my fingers crossed that they’ll make another appearance in the next book.
I’ll read the next book in the series since the story seems like it’s going to focus on Rose. I’m looking forward to that...

Disclaimer: This copy of the book was provided by Sourcebooks Fire via Netgalley for this review.

About the author...

Zoraida Córdova is the author of urban fantasies The Vicious Deep trilogy and the Brooklyn Brujas series. Her short fiction has appeared in the New York Times bestselling anthology, Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View. Zoraida’s most recent release, Labyrinth Lost, won an International Latino Book award, was named a Best Book of 2016 by Paste Magazine and has been optioned by Paramount Studios. Zoraida is also the author of the upcoming Hollow Crown, to be published by Disney Hyperion in 2019.

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Aggretsuko...

Before I get to the main part of the latest installment of thought corner, first I've got to get to some of the technical details about the subject of today's post...

Details...
Title: Aggretsuko
Release Date: April 10, 2018
Rating: TV-14
How I Watched: Netflix Subscription
Netflix's Aggretsuko Page
Trailer from Netflix's Youtube....

Has anyone else watched Netflix’s 2018 show, Aggretsuko? I have, and now I need to talk about it....

So, back when Netflix premiered the trailer for the show, I admit that I was a little skeptical about how good it was going to be. But, I was so very-very-VERY wrong. I watched it with my little sister, and we both loved the show! So, today, I’m here to talk about all the reasons why I absolutely adored Aggretsuko in an attempt to convince other people to watch it too.

I had to take a couple of days to sit and process my thoughts about Aggretsuko. It’s such a great show and all I want to do is gush about it to anyone who might ask me if it’s worth watching. It is. Yes, definitely go watch it now. But for those who haven’t watched it, I’m going to try to keep spoilers out of this post.

So, Aggretsuko is one of the best animated shows I’ve watched. The animation style is cute (as expected of something associated with Sanrio; I mean, they’re the same company behind Hello Kitty), the humor was spot-on, and the subjects the show covered were shocking in that they were realistic—mirroring some current discussions about workplace bullying, bosses abusing their power, and even romantic relationships. The combination of characters, story, and an incredibly strong script ended up making Aggretsuko pretty awesome.

Let me explain... 

One of the most defining elements of Aggretsuko was the main character. Retsuko had a job she hated, a slew of terrible bosses, and often expressed her rage. In fact, now that I think about it, the show was all Retsuko’s daily life, which covered how she navigated all those issue. I lived for Retsuko’s reactions. And I’m glad that the creators didn’t shy away from showing Retsuko’s rage toward the unfair expectations stacked on her desk each and every day. It was refreshing to see how bluntly overworked and tired she was with certain aspects of her daily life, because rather than pushing aside the pain, anger, and fatigue, Retsuko got to express it. And that. Was. Awesome. She also had that one hobby where she could really decompress. And that was also awesome.

The whole cast was wonderful, but one thing I have to make note of was the friendships, particularly those between the female characters. And I just have to say: the portrayal of the female friendships was amazing. They actually seemed like good friends and not frenemies looking to one-up each other. Instead, they were supportive to each other and had conversations where they listened acutely to issues that they respectively faced.

Time for a couple other highlights…

• Fenneko, the Fennec fox character—you’d have to watch the show to know what I mean. 
• The setting—besides the whole anthropomorphic animals’ thing, the setting was pretty typical for a city. Still, I liked it a lot. 
• I have to mention Retsuko’s love of death-metal again. It was such an integral part of her character and often served as relief during stressful situations. 

All of the above culminated into one thing: I need a season two. So, even if you don’t watch for the animation, you should do it for Retsuko and if not for her and her hobby, then for Fenneko or Gori, or even Washimi and Haida.

Have you watched Aggretsuko? If so, then what did you like about it? If not, would you watch it?

Music Monday (45) CHVRCHES, Lone, & Les Friction

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: Lately, I've been listening to CHVRCHES's Love is Dead album. I remember liking a few of their songs and don't really know why I never got into more of their music until now. Anyway, a couple of my favorite songs include My Enemy featuring Matt Berninger, and Get Out. Today, I'm talking about My Enemy. I love everything about this song including Matt Berninger's part, which is perfect...

Adri: My first pick is Sleepwalkers by Lone. I may have already said this, but I get retro/pixel game vibes from a lot of his songs, and Sleepwalkers is one of those tracks.

My second pick is Your World Will Fail by Les Friction. I listen to this song way to much. I know every lyric! The first time I heard it I was intrigued how “calm” it started out before it intensified.

Have you listened to any of CHVRCHES's music? If so, what are some of your favorite songs?

The Friday 56 (132) & Book Beginnings: Heroine Worship by Sarah Kuhn

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Once upon a time, Aveda Jupiter (aka Annie Chang) was demon-infested San Francisco’s most beloved superheroine, a beacon of hope and strength and really awesome outfits. But all that changed the day she agreed to share the spotlight with her best friend and former assistant Evie Tanaka—who’s now a badass, fire-wielding superheroine in her own right. They were supposed to be a dynamic duo, but more and more, Aveda finds herself shoved into the sidekick role. Where, it must be said, she is not at all comfortable. It doesn’t help that Aveda’s finally being forced to deal with fallout from her diva behavior—and the fact that she’s been a less than stellar friend to Evie. Or that Scott Cameron—the man Aveda’s loved for nearly a decade—is suddenly giving her the cold shoulder after what seemed to be some promising steps toward friendship. Or that the city has been demon-free for three months in the wake of Evie and Aveda’s apocalypse-preventing battle against the evil forces of the Otherworld, leaving Aveda without the one thing she craves most in life: a mission. All of this is causing Aveda’s burning sense of heroic purpose—the thing that’s guided her all these years—to falter.

In short, Aveda Jupiter is having an identity crisis.

When Evie gets engaged and drafts Aveda as her maid-of-honor, Aveda finally sees a chance to reclaim her sense of self and sets out on a single-minded mission to make sure Evie has the most epic wedding ever. But when a mysterious, unseen supernatural evil rises up and starts attacking brides-to-be, Aveda must summon both her superheroine and best friend mojo to take down the enemy and make sure Evie’s wedding goes off without a hitch—or see both her city and her most important friendship destroyed forever...

Beginning: "I love being a superhero."

56: "It flashed red."

Comments: Sarah Kuhn is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Heroine Complex was already an amazing read, and I was more than excited to read the followup, Heroine Worship. This book didn't disappoint. Now I'm just waiting for book three. What are you reading this week?

Review: Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn

Title: Heroine Complex
Series: Heroine Complex #1
Author: Sarah Kuhn
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; paperback
More Details: Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: DAW; July 5, 2016

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Being a superheroine is hard. Working for one is even harder...

Evie Tanaka is the put-upon personal assistant to Aveda Jupiter, her childhood best friend and San Francisco's most beloved superheroine. She's great at her job—blending into the background, handling her boss's epic diva tantrums, and getting demon blood out of leather pants. Unfortunately, she's not nearly as together when it comes to running her own life, standing up for herself, or raising her tempestuous teenage sister, Bea. But everything changes when Evie's forced to pose as her glamorous boss for one night, and her darkest comes out: she has powers, too. Now it's up to her to contend with murderous cupcakes, nosy gossip bloggers, and supernatural karaoke battles—all while juggling unexpected romance and Aveda's increasingly outrageous demands. And when a larger threat emerges, Evie must finally take charge and become a superheroine in her own right... or see her city fall to a full-on demonic invasion...

I’m being completely honest when I say that the cover is what initially drew me to Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn. Then, once I started reading up about it, I knew that it was a book I eventually wanted to read. Well, I’ve read it, and I can say that I absolutely loved the story. I don't know why this hasn’t been made into a movie or TV show, because there’s a lot to love about this book.

I haven’t read anything with superheroes in a while, and I liked Kuhn’s approach. Her treatment of the story and characters took something like superheroines and demon villains and made it feel refreshingly new. There was a perfect balance between mystery, action, supernatural, and even a little romance. The story was just good. I also have to give Kuhn props for how she developed the platonic and romantic relationships. The characters talked to each other to work out issues even if the subject was a tough one, and it was glorious.

I liked that Kuhn decided to make the focus of the story the superheroines personal assistant, Evie Tanaka. Reading from Evie’s perspective showed a lot of the behind the scenes aspects of Aveda Jupiter’s crew for example the upkeep of the signature costume, support if an emotional crisis arose, and even something as simple as who’s going to buy the groceries. Evie was a wonderful character. She was good at her job, but I also liked the growth she went through once she reached her breaking point. There was also a day-to-day feel to parts of the story, and I liked those moments because it showed what life was like for Evie outside of working for Aveda.

There are more books to this series, and after the all the twists and that ending, I’m really looking forward to Heroine Worship....