I should probably start with a disclosure here. I do know Aiden personally and have been waiting for this before it was officially announced. And I knew before I got it that I was going to enjoy it.
The story follows Yadriel, a trans boy wanting to prove he’s a brujo to his family and does this in part by summoning a ghost to release to the other side. This goes wrong almost immediately upon summoning Julian and he has to uncover what happened to him.
The book is deeply rooted in Latinx culture, which is a welcome change given what I normally read. The book doesn’t so much explain the world to you as display it as is, making you feel more like this is the way things always were rather than like you’re stepping into something other worldly that might make it feel foreign and strange. It’s all presented like typical daily life, which was great.1
It’s also great to see the central narrative of a what’s been branded as a romance novel be about self-actualization instead of the pursuit of romance.
It is kinda a little romance-y in parts, but it’s mostly done in the service of character exposition and doesn’t overtake the more interesting parts of the story. Also, there’s a bunch of Spanish in this book which, while I don’t speak it, I was able to understand most of it from context cues.2
Overall, you should read it. It’s a fun book with a lot of things that I haven’t seen in any other books. Also, I want their book to be successful, so go check it out.