this was a fantastic read, I really enjoyed it and I really can't wait to read more from the author.

LOBIZONA is a YA contemporary fantasy that uses Argentinean folklore and Spanish slang from multiple Latin American countries, which I found very interesting since my first language is Español. The story deals with werewolves, witches, and something in between. But before getting to that part, we spend the first quarter of the story or thereabouts with Manu in her current world: She and her mother are illegal immigrants and are afraid ICE will snatch them away any time. To make matters worse, they cannot go back to Argentina or else...

Then Manu discovers hombres lobos and brujas.

From here, there's some sort of boarding school involving a unique game. Sounds familiar? I see a Harry Potter influence, which I found a bit peculiar. Of course, it isn't the same. This is a school for young werewolves and witches. No magic wands involved.

Overall, a good read with an interesting ending, an ending with a hook to the next book in the series.

Lobizona by Romina Garber transports readers into a uniquely magical world filled with the brujas and lobizones of traditional Argentine folklore. Our main character Manu has spent her life in hiding. As an undocumented immigrant living in Miami, Florida her life is shadowed by fear of discovery. But it's Manu's unusual eyes, like little golden drops of sunlight, that require her to stay within the safety of her surrogate grandmother's tiny apartment.
But those unusual eyes aren't the only thing Manu inherited from the father she never met. When mysterious strangers begin poking around their home, and Manu's mother is suddenly detained by ICE, Manu finds herself thrust into the magical world of her father's past. She seeks refuge at a magical school, hidden amongst brujas and lobizones who have eyes just as strange as Manu's. Once again Manu finds herself hiding from the label "illegal." And if she cannot unlock her apparently dormant powers before the next full moon she'll be discovered for sure.

This is the first werewolf centric book I've read that I actually enjoyed. I think they're typically found in urban fantasy, which I'm not a huge fan of, and the world-building around them seems pretty stale to me. This was NOT the case for Lobizona. I was absolutely enthralled by this magical world hidden in the depths of the Everglades. Garber struck a perfect balance between contemporary and portal fantasy. Manu's voice was fresh and relatable, but the magical world she found herself in felt very grounded in history and tradition.

I loved how many of the characters Manu interacts with turned out to be more than meets the eye. Like Cata, who I fully expected to be a traditional Mean Girl, but who actually turned out to be one of my favorite characters. I actually really enjoyed seeing Manu's friends struggling with the moral implications of helping her, and each of them having a different motivation or idea of what she could accomplish or should aspire to. Often times in YA groups tend to get on the same page too quickly or put a lot of faith into a Chosen One for seemingly no reason. Although we don't always fully understand her friend's motivations, their decision to help her never seems too unreasonable.

There were so many little world-building details that I loved. But the concept of Septibol was a really cool one. I don't typically enjoy reading sports scenes, especially made-up ones, but Septibol made logical sense to me. And the added magical elements were really cool to envision. Plus I loved the pack dynamic of the lobizones and seeing them mess around with Manu.

Overall I loved this book and would 100% recommend it. Especially for fans of books like Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova or Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto.

Unfortunately, I cannot review this book. I had to DNF it as it was nothing that I was expecting it to be. It was way too slow to get into and I just cling force myself any further.

My goodness, I don’t know how I will survive waiting for book 2 . I absolutely loved this book. I love the Latinx cultures woven into it, and the characters and the whole story line. I got that feeling that I got when I first read Harry Potter. This is definitely going to be one of my top series.

This book had such a dynamic mc! The journey she went through was so well written. Romina truly has a masterpiece on her hands. Also, the real life topics she integrated into her story was so well done. The plot was solid. Character arc amazing!

Normally I'm not as big a fan of werewolf stories, but Lobizona is definitely one of the exceptions. This was such a fun story, filled with great writing and compelling characters. There were only a few things that stopped this book from being a five-star-read for me.

I did really like the characters. Each one was so well-developed and fascinating. And seeing Manu grow throughout the book was so much fun. That being said, there were a few cliches involving the characters that drove me a little crazy. One of which being a bit of insta-love, which is generally a massive pet peeve of mine. But aside from that, I adored these characters and loved watching their stories unfold!

The beginning also moved a little slow for my taste. But, once the pace picked up, I was completely drawn into this story. The plot and the world are so interesting that even with the slower beginning, I still ended up loving this book!

I would definitely recommend giving Lobizona a read! It's fun, well-written, and is just a great story. I'm excited to see what happens next!

This was really good!! At times I was a tiny bit bored but overall, so good. Romina wove such a gorgeous story!!

Wow this was really good. It's my favourite trope of magic world hidden within our world. Found the mythology and magic fascinating. It had a love triangle which I hate but the way it was resolved was perfect! The way the spanish was translated in this book was really interesting and well done. Like most times it wasn't fully translated but you understood what had been said by the way the other characters reactions were written. I'd be curious if spanish speaking people liked that because I imagine word for word translations would be repetitive. Loved the friendship group. Especially liked Pablo and Javier so I hope to see more of them in the future novels.

I adore this book with it's strong roots in a folklore unfamiliar to me, it feels unique and exciting. With it's inclusion of current societal topics including sexism, gender identity and racism/immigration it feels modern with relevant reference to labels and issues around identity. There were unpredictable twists and turns, a fabulous cast of characters beyond the main, and gorgeous use of language to create truly captivating depictions of the magic and folklore of this world that is so like ours, and yet different in the most magical of ways. See my full review over on twwbookclub.co.uk, which will be published a little closer to the release date.

I really enjoyed this book and it's characters. I couldn't bring myself to put the book down as I wanted to keep reading and see what happened. I agree that people can't be illegal like objects can, and it was a good story about belonging to more than one place but not really belonging to any place. I have already recommended this book to a couple friends who I thought would enjoy it as well.

This was such an interesting story, based on an Argentinian legend about the seventh son of the seventh son. Not only did the author intrigue readers with this legend, she gave us incredible insight into what it means to be different. Pulling in her own childhood history of moving to a different country as a child, she provided us with rich descriptions of different cultures. In addition, she incorporated the dire situation of illegal immigrants in the United States. This story isn't just about cultures and countries, it's about the power of friendship, family, and love, and discovering what is most important to you.

Wow. After reading this book that's all I can say.

This book is about a girl named Manuela who is an undocumented immigrant who fled Argentina with her mother. Her father's family is after them so she has been confined in an apartment in Miami to keep her identity a secret and to protect her from the outside world.
But then her safety is compromised when her surrogate grandmother is attacked and she is forced to flee when ICE arrests her mother. She is drawn to a school where everyone is not what they seem to be. She discovers that this school is a connection to her father so she decides to stay. The only problem is that she doesn't fit in and has to hide who she is.

This book has something for everyone. This is a coming of age story that also discusses some hard topics like illegal immigration, gender equality, racial superiority and sexual orientation. Along the way you learn about the strength of friendship, the need for family and the search for a sense of belonging. I think everyone should read this book so that they can see the terror that illegal immigrants face and understand the struggles of those that are seen as "less" than others. This is a beautiful story that is wonderfully written that could not have come at a better time given the struggle for equality that the world is facing today.

ARC provided by Wednesday Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

This book came to me at such a great time in my life! I fell in love with the world and the characters that brought this books to life, I wish so badly that it was a reality.

So what is it about?

Manuela has lived her life on the run. If it wasn't bad enough that she's undocumented living in the U.S., she's also hiding from her dad's crime family, struggling with puberty, homeschooling, and her freaky-looking eyes. But then her family is attacked and secrets are unearthed that lead her on a journey she never would've expected. Suddenly, Manu is thrust into a world of werewolves and witches straight out of an Argentine folk story. How is she connected to this world? Who is she really?

My absolute favorite part of this book was the integration of Argentine culture into the storyline. From fairy tales to food, traditions and social interactions, Argentina is woven into every bit of this story and gives it a breath of life. I loved that Spanish was so easily mixed in with the entire story. As a Spanish speaker, this was such a refreshing aspect of the book, but was definitely easy to understand for non-spanish speakers as well! In my opinion, this book did a great job of being accessible to everyone while also giving a look into the language, culture, and experiences of Argentinians and undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

The mystical concept, rooted in an ancient legend, is one that is so interesting and unique. Women have elemental powers, among others, as brujas and men are the strength and protectors as lobizon, yet like many things, this legend was rooted in "traditional" gender roles, and led to the society in this book to follow them as well. In many ways, this book is a feminist one as well, as Manu's very existence breaks the roles that the society has come to rely upon and challenges so many of their traditions! I loved getting to read these key scenes where gender roles were challenged and stereotypes broken in unique ways.

I would've loved this book to be longer, however. I felt that in some portions of the book, explanations could've been longer and the worldbuilding could've been more detailed to allow for the story to really breathe and take on its own life. I think there is still a lot to be done in that aspect and I hope to see more in the next books to come!

Definitely a fun and exciting read, I would recommend to anyone!

LOBIZONA is such a heart-breakingly REAL story about immigration and inequality steeped within a world brimming with magic. I love the mix of modern day magic with these everyday struggles, and the main character was so strong, earnest, and really a peek at what women, especially illegal women, must deal with when living in an almost unseen world. I really liked the pacing of the story, which is fast, but as the plot progressed, the pacing kept beckoning me to turn another page.

A genuine story about IDENTITY that I heartily recommend.

I had such high expectations of this book and, unfortunately, it just didn't deliver.

The first few chapters were incredible and engaging. From Manu's struggles with her identity to the moment her mother gets taken in by ICE, I felt compelled to reach into the pages and pull Manu out so I could help her, and I was enraged by the way immigrants were treated because it's exactly what's happening in real life. But the author lost me the minute they introduced a magic school. The summary has absolutely no mentions of Manu going to a school full of lobizones and brujas that sometimes lets them go to another dimmension. I found myself skimming most of those chapters, especially when there were pages upon pages of soccer games.

There was also a big reveal at the end that felt just a little too convenient for me.

The truth is that this book isn't bad. It's enjoyable, and I'm glad it highlights Argentinian culture. But I was expecting something completely different and it just didn't live up to the hype.

I was able to read Lobizona by Romina Garber for free from Netgalley for providing me with an advanced ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Manu is our main character. She is an undocumented immigrants who just wants to have a normal life.   Her mother is arrested by ICE and she goes on the run with very few clues as to who she actually is.  She has a journey of self-discovery and finds a place to belong to, only to discover if they find out what she actually is, she'll be killed.
This book addresses serious topics such as the struggles of undocumented immigrants, homophobia, and misogyny, while also delivering a fascinating magical world full of brujas and lobizones.

Okay, I want to preface this by saying that I went into this book with the full intention of loving it and enjoying it. I haven't read any book by an Argentinian author or about the difficulties of being a Latinx immigrant in America before and I was really excited to finally delve in. But after a couple of chapters into the book, I knew I was going to be disappointed.
We kick off the book after Manu has resurfaced back from a period of oblivion that lasts for three day due to the full moon and we directly explore the effect it has on her. The beginning was slow, and the further I read, the more I realized how unattached to the characters I was - especially to Manu. The writing wasn't my favorite thing as well but I just kept on reading anyway.
The plot really kicks in around the 22% mark. After ICE invades the work place of Manu's mom, Manu is forced to be on the run. And that's when things literally change direction and I'm taken off guard. Why? Because we're suddenly following Manu as she tries to sneak in and become part of a magical school for witches and werewolves ( one she randomly stumbled upon). But that's fine and all, until I start getting frustrated with our main character.
Before I even started this book, I knew Manu was a werewolf. It's pretty much said to you. And even if you didn't know, the signs are all there in the beginning. Manu suffers from terrible pain every full moon ( which also happens to be every time she menstruates) and as a result takes 3 powerful pills that knock her out for those three days. But the thing is, her body also changes after every resurface. As in, one time her hair grew thicker, another her body grew longer, her vision and hearing skills got ten times better. So on and so forth.
And all of that to me screams super abilities aka werewolf abilities. Plus, one of the most striking feature in Manu are her eyes. She has yellow irises that she hides behind glasses so can live among the people of Miami.
So tell me why - please explain to me - how it takes Manu 21 chapters out of 34 to figure out that she is a werewolf??? How did she not, not even once, consider that she might be one? She knows that her father is a werewolf and that her mother is an ordinary human and does not question whether that pairing might have made a hybrid.
Instead, she spends about 12% of the book if not more trying to awaken her witchy powers. Because in this world, females are always witches and males are always werewolves. But still …
Anyway, in the school we get introduced to new characters but the main ones are Catarina, Saysa ( my favorite out of the bunch ) and Tiago. Oh Tiago...why you got to be such a mess.
-you probably guessed right. Tiago and Manu are immediately attracted to one another from the first second that they meet. And the attraction is so strong that it's okay to flirt with him despite the fact that Tiago is hinted to be with Catalina. But that's fine right? Because Catalina is first shown to be mean and cold anyway.
I just wish the romance wasn't so insta-lovey and that it wasn't so prevalent. But regardless of that, Saysa is amazing and so passionate and I like her a lot for that.
Even though I had my issues with this book, I'm so conflicted because at the same time it tackled a lot of important topics. Like being an immigrant and feeling boxed inside a world that puts you down and doesn't hear you. I liked all the parts where the characters talked about standing up and fighting the prejudices and racism. And that's why, despite my dislikes of the plot and pace, I still do recommend this book nevertheless.
I still hope that when it gets published you do seek it out and hopefully read it.

ARC was provided by NetGalley & Wednesday Books in exchanged for an honest review.

This review is being published before the release date (August 4th, 2020)

Content/Trigger Warnings: Anxiety, talk of claustrophobia, xenophobia, sexism, discussion of menstruation, bullying, drug trafficking, drugging, talk of postpartum depression, trauma, misogyny, scene of attempted sexual assault, forced marriage, minor homophobia

“I come alive on the full moon.”

Dearest readers, I’m so thankful that I received an arc of this book. Not to mention that I was able to buddy read this book with so many of my fellow friends and partners at the Social Distance Book Fest. This book was captivating, unique, and I literally took a couple of weeks just to put my thoughts in order, to write this review and tell you all about it.

Our story follows Manuela Azul, an undocumented immigrant, who had her whole life turned upside down. Secrets are now coming to light, with her grandmother in the hospital and her mother taken into custody, Manu has no other choice other than to run. Only fate will lead her to a place that allows her to be herself, trace her heritage, and uncover her own story.

I loved Manu as a main character. She’s very strong, independent, and even though it’s not shown enough (in my opinion), she’s very family oriented. She also has this free spirit about her that I absolutely adored. The way Garber shows Manu’s vulnerability with being so uncertain, not wanted people to get in too deep with her situation, and the scene where she tries to push everyone away… I couldn’t stop appreciating that side of her and those vulnerabilities really resonated with me. I’m very much a person who wants to protect the ones she loves and cares about. So seeing Manu’s internal conflict about what she should do and how she do it, it really hit my soft spots.

“Because you can’t be invisible when your irises are yellow suns and your pupils are silver stars.”

The side characters were fantastic. I loved the way there were so many different personalities and how they all meshed so well with one another. What I really loved about these characters was how a small handful of them had Manu’s back despite everything. I loved how Cata and Saysa were willing to help Manu stay in the bruja part of the school, but what I loved the most is how Cata and Saysa both represented the angel on one shoulder with the devil on the other. Not to mention, we’re made aware of it later on in the story, but they’re both in a secret relationship with one another. And I think the thought of their different personalities coming together in a relationship really made me love them even more. Then we have Tiago and this poor boy couldn’t catch a break. Manu kept cutting him off left and right. It about killed me having to watch this boy get crushed so many time especially after a special scene that shows us the feelings growing between Tiago and Manu. Plus, his personality mixes so well with the way Manu’s personality is throughout this story. It was great chemistry and I truly felt that they were a perfect match for one another.

I also loved the way the magic was shown throughout this book. For my reading experience, the magic and the world felt very ancient, something alive and breathing. That feeling became even more solid after Manu is told Lunaris is the home of all magic and how Lunaris ends up having a real conversation with Manu. Ten years were added to my life by all of this. And I truly believe it was a clever idea to give Lunaris the ability to have a persona and the ability to communicate. And can I talk about this world building for a second?! I loved the world building in this book. I’m very picky about fantasy and world building. If a book can’t rope me in within the first five chapters, I will probably struggle with reading the book. However, for my experience, Romina Garber really gave me a vivid experience. It felt like I was walking right beside Manu as she moved from different areas in the book. I adore and crave books that can give me the vivid experience. And I think the author did a marvelous job delivering that expectation for me.

“You seek to discover your true home, yet you no longer have one… You have two.”

This book also addresses many important issues, as well. There’s a huge discussion of immigration and about ICE which overlaps a lot with what’s happening in today’s time. I don’t want to speak too much on that because that’s not my story to tell. However, if this is an own voices read for you and you have a review for this book, talking about your own experiences, please send me a link so I can help boost your voice and story. This book also addresses the topic of gender and gender identity. This is another important topic that sparks many arguments and conversations today. Even though there has been so much progress, there’s many places where gender restrictions is still a thing or an issue. In the the same area, we have the relationship with Cata and Saysa where they have to hide their love and relationship because it’s illegal for them to be open about it. Once again, even though the lgbtqiap+ community has made great strides and helped the world progress so much, there are many places in the world where it’s illegal to be open about same sex relationships. So I really appreciated Romina Garber adding these topics in because they’re still important issues that exist today and it’s not talked about enough.

“Fierro valued every life, wanted the best for everyone no matter if they were lobizones, brujas, or humans.”

I also want to mention that any reader should practice self-care while reading this book. There are a lot of content warnings, but I want to point out that there is a scene of attempted rape and as a rape survivor myself, that scene left me very uneasy and how it went unchallenged. I would have liked to see it challenged more or see some form of punishment happen. While I realize this is to show how society handles sexual assault and rape situations, I feel like it could have been challenged more. As I mentioned, just practice self-care and step back when you need to while reading this book.

I think the biggest issue I had with this book and the reason why I couldn’t give this a full five stars was the translated Spanish. And what I mean by that is Romina Garber’s personality is very un-apologetically Latinx, but when you read this book, it’s anything but. Now, I’ve seen many authors who are un-apologetically whatever heritage they are in books. Julie Kagawa is one of the of the best examples I can think of because she uses a lot of Japanese words and saying in her books, but she doesn’t explain it every time she uses them in her Shadow of the Fox series. She has a glossary in the back of her book for readers to constantly reference. Then you also have the matter of Google which is there for a reason. Now, I could understand if the author was explaining the sentences to add to the world building, however, I thought the world building was beautifully done. So the fact that every time there’s a Spanish sentence spoken and then immediately translated right after it’s said was very surprising for me. I truly would have loved to have seen the author run wild with the Spanish, without translating it, and leaving a glossary or dictionary piece in the back of her book. I would have loved to have seen the editing process for this book because I truly believe the translations didn’t need to be added. In my opinion, the world building speaks for itself and I would rather have the author be un-apologetic about their heritage and culture then see them feel obligated to translate it.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time reading this Lobizona. I loved how there was such emphasis on family and how important it is, I fell madly in love with the world building and characters, and I think many readers are going to be putting this on their top books for 2020. I’m truly hoping more readers will pick this book up, preorder it, and get as excited as I am about this book. However, now that I’ve finished reading the first book, I need the second one immediately. Can I have it already?!


The quotes above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

Originally posted on my blog: https://www.homeofabooklover.com/

I've been eyeing this book since I saw it on Twitter and I am surprised to get an advanced copy. I am so thankful for this. I am so thankful for the extra free time due to quarantine. In all honesty, I am not much of a fan of werewolves stories because the previous books I've read didn't catch my attention that much - first impressions right? Anyway, this book is really different! It has this charisma where you just want to read it. I love the book cover as well, it is attracting and the illustration is really awesome.

Lobizona, it started with a very interesting chapter. It got me hooked easily and it was honestly hard to put down the book. All I wanted is to turn the pages until I get to know all the mysteries hiding from the story. How will the character discover her true self? What would be her reaction? What is her future? Things like those are in my head until I was able to discover the answers in the book. I liked how the story were made, the twists of the story was shocking especially that one near the end. I didn't expect that turn.

Manu is the main character in this story and she only wanted to live normally. She's been hiding all her life with her Ma and all she wanted is to become a citizen so she won't be discriminated and no more hiding from the authorities. But, her life changed in an instant when she discovered some of the things about her life, her true nature and soon her future. There are other interesting characters as you go along, Catalina, Saysa and Tiago are some of Manu's close friends who helped her discover herself. Every character are interesting and the power they poses is something else. They might not know their full capacity yet but it does sound like promising and amazing. Also, isn't it cool that they have a school for werewolves, witches and other creatures? I seriously can't wait for everyone to fully discover their true nature especially Manu she recently discovered hers and I'm curious what else can she do. How powerful can she be?

"Our trust in each other is the only thing they can't take from us."

Before I end this, I do suggest that this book is really worth reading. I'm excited for the next one and the book twist is really something I didn't expect. I have a feeling that Book 2 will be more exciting! Also, more Tiago and Manu story.