Review: Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova

Title: Labyrinth Lost
Author: Zoraida Cordova
Publisher: Sourcesbooks Fire
Published: September 6, 2016
Hardcover: 336 pgs

GoodReads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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

Quick Note: Damaris @GCR has also reviewed this book. Here's a link to her review here. 

I am not gonna lie. It took me a near-embarrassing amount of time to realize that Alex (our main character) was potentially bisexual. Because I wasn't prepared for it, I kept thinking that either her best friend was a man, or that their friendship was just really intense. *SMH* That being said, I really loved the fact that there was a sort of bisexual love triangle going on between our characters and I really love the fact that it was matter-of-fact. It was something I've never read before in a YA book, and it made for an interesting and unique perspective.

Now that I've gotten that face-palm out of the way, I'd say that overall, the book was a good read, but I'm not exactly sprinting to the stores for the next in the series. As a Latina, it was such a breath of fresh air to have this book in my tbr pile. I loved the spanish words that were purposely un-translated. I loved reading about Alex's culture and the different ways that some Hispanics live. Yes, I know it's fiction, but I'm assuming much of the author's writing comes from her own personal experiences.

Where the book faltered for me was delving so deeply into the paranormal and fantasy world. There were just too many times that I had to suspend my disbelief entirely just to keep turning the pages. And when Alex's best friend shows up in the in-between land, I just about had enough. It was just too unbelievable for me.

The love triangle seemed predictable and the overall ending was wrapped up too nicely. It left me feeling unsatisfied.

2.5 out of 5 stars.