Quirky Cat
Written on Aug 26, 2020
Wayward Witch is the third novel in Zoraida Cordova's Brooklyn Brujas series, and it is a whirlwind of a read. This novel is the epitome of change.
Things have been changing in Rose's family, and while everyone seems to want to act like it's for the better, Rose can't seem to let it go. Everything seems perfect, until you stare too long at it. Take the reappearance of her father.
She just knows there's more going on there. That he truly does remember what happened during the time he was gone. Then there's that whole mess with her new powers, which she has yet to fully get control of.
“I take a deep breath, trying to figure out how to explain what I'm feeling. My sisters are pretending everything is square, just like our parents. It's like we got to the end of the storybook and everyone has their happily-ever-afters.”
Before I dive into my review, I need to make a confession. I didn't realize that this was the third book in a series. Bad me! So I actually have not read the first two books (Labyrinth Lost and Bruja Born). Both of these are now on my TBR list (and I plan on rereading Wayward Witch at that point as well).
Despite that goof, I really did enjoy Wayward Witch. It was a fun and thrilling read, and it actually did a great job of allowing new readers to dive on in. It felt like Zoraida Cordova took the time to drop details and backstory here and there, all of which helped me follow along. More than that, it helped me enjoy the story and the characters within.
“Listen to me. I love you, Rosie. You need to know that I love you and I'm going to do everything I can to keep you safe. But I need your help, or they're going to find us. You have to get up.”
Wayward Witches is the third novel in this series, and as such it has a lot to get done in a limited amount of time. Not only is there a ton of stuff going on within this novel (all revolving around Rosie, as well as her family), but it has threads from the previous novels to wrap up as well.
It's a book full of amazing characters, with great elements and worldbuilding. There's a lot of culture portrayed within it, all of which made the story come to life. I only got a glimpse at some of the other characters (again, I failed to read the first two books first), but it was enough to get my curiosity going. Meanwhile, I really did enjoy Rosie's perspective. She was a charismatic and sassy character, and it was basically impossible not to enjoy her journey because of it.
All things considered, there was a lot going on in this book. Sometimes I had just a tiny bit of trouble following along, but honestly not as much as I would have expected (diving into the third book like I did).
In particular, I found myself enchanted by the magic within this novel. More importantly, the amount of variety in magical abilities. It was impressive and showed how much thought Zoraida Cordova put into the world.
If there's one thing I know, it's that I'm clearly going to have to go back and read the rest of this series. I regret not having read them in order, but at least I was still able to enjoy Wayward Witch.
Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
