I generously received an ARC though it doesn't affect my thoughts on the book.
I loved being able to dive back into the Bruja world and the Mortiz family. This is Lula's story who has no idea what she's getting herself into by trying to save her boyfriend's life.
Being young, in love and desperate to save loved ones can bring some people to the brink and when magic is involved, it can really complicate things.
This book was so addictive and hard to put down. I loved the strong bonds of family, friends and the power of redemption when things seemed to be at their darkest for Lula whose canto that she made with her sisters turned her boyfriend and fellow classmates into a creature very similar to a zombie.

Full of adventure, magic, Latin Gods and the power of love, I was a book I'm so very glad to have read and I'm just in awe of this series! Plus I love being able to touch up a tad on my Spanish! I highly recommend reading this series!! I can't wait to read Rose's story!!!

Zoraida Cordova is such an amazing writer! I love how she infused Latinx culture into this book unapologetically. We need more own-voices Latinx representation and Bruja Born delivers very well. Also, the sisterhood is great! I don't usually see a lot of books that show sisters who are tight-knit and close to each other like this one. The girls are amazing and this book shows how much they love each other. The worldbuilding was also really unique. I recommend this book to everyone!

i looooved this book so much and i cannot wait to continue on with the rest of the series! i love the characters and the queer representation and the magic. just an all around great time

Zoraida Córdova is a gem and I absolutely love her.  I need to reread this book when I am more in the mood for it, as I think I was trying to force something that wasn't there.  I think I would end up giving it a higher rating.

I tried reading this book but sadly I didn't make it very far while reading this book. I think that the different point of views made it a bit difficult to understand . I usually love this author's books and I hoped that this one would work out for me.

This series has always felt more Middle Grade than YA to me and I'm not one for MG. I DNF'd it about 30% of the way through. Entirely subjective.

I love the family dynamic and the fictional magical traditions in this series. This second installment was terrifically creepy, and I felt like the storyline was tighter than in Labyrinth Lost. I appreciated, too, that the author didn't force a romance into the story that would have been completely unconvincing, leaving us instead with possibilities for future stories. Solidly enjoyable.

I loved this one! I'm glad there's a good handful of Latinx authors coming out of the woodwork. They're all doing an incredible job of sharing their culture and their stories, and I'm glad publishers are giving them a chance! This was a well-written fantasy romp. The sisterhood was great- an aspect I don't often see in YA, and wish there was more of in terms of family dynamics. I'm really interested in getting to know the other sisters in later books, because they all had very clear personalities to differentiate themselves from one another. I enjoyed how the protagonist very close to her sisters and mother, even with tensions and secrets bubbling to the surface. The fantasy world was unique, and the magic system obviously steeped in lore. I'm not usually a fan of fairy lore, but I feel Cordova wrote it in very well in a dark, chilling, memorable way. All in all, it had some great twists, and turned a good handful of archetypes and expecations on their heads, making for a really thrilling read! I'm glad this series exists, because I know how important it is for Latinx readers out there..

The Mortiz sisters, if you haven't read the first book in this trilogy, please go do yourself a favor and go read the first book (Labyrinth Lost) now.  And then come back and let's discuss this one.  But back to the Mortiz's sisters, these girls are amazing, first of all, but they are also tight, they will do anything for each other and this book proves it again how much they love each other and how far they go to help each other when needed.

Lula is the oldest sister and after what happened on the last book she hasn't been the same, she is withdrawn from her sisters and from everyone pretty much.  But what she didn't expect to happen was the tragedy that happens to her boyfriend and friends which leaves most of them dead.  She becomes desperate and asks for her sisters help and together they invoke a spell to bring Maks back.  But, when all the dead bodies of all her friends mysteriously disappears, she starts to realize that something is wrong and then she finds out that she has risen an army of casi muertos which are creatures between the living and the dead.  But, that's isn't the worse, the casi muertos will not stop until Lula dies, that way they will be able to live free for ever.

Lula will have to realize that once again will need the help of not only her sisters but her whole family to make the casi muertos go away, but at what cost?  Because there is always a cost, right?

Lula has always been the bad ass sister and she proves it in this book, there is action, family drama and romance and magic,ah...what else could I have asked for it?  I just cannot wait for the next book, because the little sister's power is proving to be so much more than we all thought and I cannot wait to see what troubles she is going to cause lol.

5 out of 5 stars...

I got a free copy of this book from NetGgalley.

Bruja Born followed Lula Mortiz months after the events of Labyrinth Lost. I'll be honest and come clean and admit I messed up not immediately writing the review for this book. However, I can clearly remember the writing of this book. Cordova was able to keep the poetic atmosphere of her writing that I loved in Labyrinth Lost.

You won't get a more realistic urban fantasy than Bruja Born.

Of course I use the term realistic lightly considering this second-in-a-series standalone novel has magic and mayhem, death and resurrection, hunters and brujas and witches and vampires, and is just an all-around unrealistic story. But it's realistic in the way that, set in present day Brooklyn, these characters have their limits when it comes to their magic, consequences to their actions, and for Lula, a price to pay when in a bid to heal her severely wounded boyfriend, she ends up raising and becoming an anchor to a group of casimuertos - the undead.

Having betrayed her Gods - most especially Lady de la Muerte - by shattering that line between life and death and leaving the world unbalanced, it's up to Lula to fix her mistakes and make the ultimate sacrifice to save the world before it's too late.

I absolutely loved this story.

It was truly refreshing to read a book where magic comes at a price.
It was also truly refreshing to read a book where a teenage character is suffering from PTSD and was shown in such a way that really did such a subject justice.

I feel like you never see any of those anymore when it comes to YA Fantasy. Usually the main character has an unlimited amount of power at their fingertips, and when they've experienced such things as Lula did in Labyrinth Lost - the first novel of this series, which takes place eight months prior to Bruja Born - the trauma isn't as focused on nor as affecting to the character as (I feel like) it should be. But Zoraida Córdova changed the game for this genre in Bruja Born.

It was real and raw and was such an original and enjoyable and thrilling story that I'm officially deeming it as one of the best reads that I have read in a really long time. With its vivid detailing and original storyline - one that kept me hooked until the very last word - I was taken on a journey of self-discovery, self-love, and self-healing in a world full of unpredictability, danger and magic, culture, belief and love. I enjoyed seeing Alex and Rose and Nova (aka Bae) again, and meeting new characters such as Rhett and McKay and Frederik, and I am now so ready to see what it is Ms. Córdova brings to us next in her uniquely magical Brooklyn Brujas Series.

One of my new favorite books! This author has such a way with words the pages flew by in no time! I can’t wait to see the next work by this author! This was such a joy to read!

I had really high expectations but by the end of the book I was forcing myself to keep turning the page. It wasgood, but nothing extraordinary for myself.

I got a quarter of the way through this book and could not understand what was going on.  The descriptions of what the characters were doing or going through did not make sense to me

I liked this one even better than its predecessor. I like the overall feel of the magic and the world-building. I also enjoy the blend of fantasy and horror. I'm especially fond of how much this book (and the previous one) focus on family. I look forward to reading additional books by this author, especially if they include these characters. Will definitely recommend.

Bruja Born starts off in the aftermath of Labyrinth Lost. Lula attempts necromancy and things escalate from there. It was fun reading from another sister's perspective. This was a much more evocative read than the first in the series and different, but still as magical. In the midway point, it loses its compelling nature for a bit, but thankfully picks back up. I really loved the worldbuilding and how diverse this felt without feeling at the same time forced. I'm a sucker for anything that has to do with witches and NYC, and I'm also a huge fan of family bonds within a fantasy dynamic, so that was an additional draw. I look forward to reading the next installment from Rose's perspective.

Zoraida Córdova knocks it out of the park again. Bruja Born is infused with magic and suspense, connected by the fierce love of sisters. This book is more centered in our world than Labyrinth Lost, but loses none of the magic. I loved that it was from the perspective of a different sister than the first book and I'm excited to read from the third sister's perspective in the next book. Córdova is a gifted writer and her books are automatic reads.

I wasn't able to read this because I wasn't aware that it was part of a series at the time.
Unfortunately, Netgalley doesn't allow you to not give feedback and not let it count against you (when it's a viable reason).
So I'm adding feedback to fix that.

Hopefully I'll be able to read this at some point! It was interesting enough to request right away, I was just brand new to Netgalley and learning the ropes. I think it needs to be a little more clear when a book is part of a series. It can be hard to tell!

I'm so happy I continued with this series! This book was quite a bit of an improvement from Labyrinth Lost. The plot flowed better, and I loved reading from Lula's perspective which surprised me. Based off of the first book I would have expected to like reading from Alex's perspective better. There was one or two confusing parts for me, but then I realized that this is set in the same world as Zoraida's other trilogy. So while I was slightly annoyed that we didn't get a better explanation of those elements, overall I really didn't mind. My favorite part of this book is that there were consequences for what Lula did. So often in fantasy books we see that magic can do anything. And even when there are supposed to be consequences to the magic some deus ex machina comes in and sweeps away those consequences, but that was not the case in this book. This also set up the last book in the trilogy so well and I can't wait to read about the last sister.

I have been sleeping on Zoraida Cordova's books and have regrets. There are the hallmarks of all the things I like - magical realism, witches, family bonds, NYC. Why, oh, WHY did I wait so long to get myself into Brooklyn Brujas. As you may have gathered, Brooklyn Brujas is a series that basically follows one sister as she deals with a large issue relating to her magic. 

The first book, Labyrinth Lost follows middle sister Alejandra (Alex for short). She has this massive amount of power - she's considered this generation's enchantrix. Only, she does not want that power. So, using advice from this shady guy, Nova, she tries to do a ritual on her deathday to get rid of the power. Only it backfires and her family ends up trapped in the magical realm. OH and you would think Nova is the love interest. HE IS NOT. In fact, it's a girl, Rishi. And that was quite the wonderful addition to the story. Let me say that I was 100% here for that. Overall, an interesting look at expectations and how sometimes it is not a bad thing to lean into them. When Alex accepts who she is and leans into it, I think that things really started to go her way.

Then, the second book picks up kind of close to the end of Labyrinth Lost. Bruja Born follows the oldest sister, Lula. She has the power to heal. Anyways, she's on a bus ride to a game and there is an accident. Unfortunately, everyone dies, including her boyfriend. Lula ends up bringing him and a bunch of other people back to life. This is fine and dandy, only he's not the same. So, similar to Labyrinth Lost, Lula's power backfires. She's got to get her messed all cleaned up because these people are actually going around eating people -- kind of like zombies. I actually enjoyed Bruja Born a little bit more, maybe because I could relate to Lula in being the oldest. Also, I could relate in making some not so great choices out of love. OH and also, their dad is back which adds in a pretty important family dynamic. 

I am excited for the third book which I am guessing follows the youngest sister and it comes out 2020, according to goodreads. I think Cordova is a writer to watch and well, I am going to be checking out her Vicious Deep books sooner than later (apparently there is also a connection to the Brooklyn Brujas books in that series as well).