As someone who loves mythology and any sort of retelling, this book jumped out at me immediately. It tells the story of two teens, Eury and Pheus, living in the Bronx. After Eury's home is destroyed during Hurricane Maria, she ends up staying with her aunt and uncle in the Bronx while she recovers from what her mother assumes to be a mental breakdown; in reality, though, she is being haunted by Ato, a spirit of death. There, she meets Pheus, a talented musician who quickly falls for her. As the pair get to know one another and begin to unravel the mystery of Ato's presence, disaster strikes again, and the two must figure out how to overcome the unimaginable.

This was a charming book that I thought handled the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice very well, and, with the modern twist, made it into a story that the audience will fall in love with. The plot was compelling and had me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire read. I really enjoyed the family relationships that the author featured, as I think that they help to really flesh out the two main characters. Pheus and his dad had such an interesting dynamic, and Eury and Penelope's love for one another was incredibly heartwarming. Eury and Pheus were lovely together, and their characters meshed well, although I would have loved to have seen more scenes with just the two of them getting to know one another. I think that seeing them interact with one another a bit more would have really driven home the later plot points of the novel and made the actions feel more believable. 

While I cannot speak directly on the quality of the representation in this book, as I am not a member of any of the communities featured, I loved the diversity in this book. Eury's POV in particular left me thinking about the struggles faced by Puerto Ricans in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria even after I was done reading. Getting a deeper look into the grief and trauma experienced by those affected was really eye-opening to me, especially seeing it through the eyes of someone so young. 

All in all, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. The integration of myth and religion into such a contemporary setting is such a wonderful concept, and it is executed quite effectively. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a diverse urban fantasy, or to anyone looking for a sweet and fun myth retelling.

this book will go down as one of my favorite releases from 2020. it is important, but it is also necessary. not often do we see ourselves in the spotlight, so from a puerto rican girl, i thank you. so much.

Lilliam Rivera is an author that I've been meaning to read for years now and I'm so glad I finally took a chance on this book. It was SO GOOD. The writing, the imagery, the characters...everything about this was just so beautiful and I enjoyed it so much. 

When I heard that this was a retelling of the Greek myth Orpheus and Eurydice I had to pause and actually look up the myth because the only thing I knew about Greek myths is that they always end tragically. And this myth is no different. But I do like how Lilliam took this myth and made it more modern, not to mention incorporated religion and Dominican culture. 

I especially loved Eury who may come across as weak to many but she does a lot of growing in this book and honestly, it's ok to be scared and not know what to do. She is a teenager, they both are and I loved how this book emphasizes that. They're not going to always know the right thing to do, they're going to make mistakes and that's ok. It should be expected. Orpheus is a very likable character as well and I loved his relationship with his father. 

The reason for 4 stars and not 5 is that I wish there was more development of the romance and I wish there was an epilogue. The romance was definitely sweet but it didn't feel as strong and concrete as I wished it would be. It felt a little insta-lovey and while I do understand how it works in context of the Greek myth, the fact that this book takes place over just a span of a few weeks (if even that) and they are both from such different worlds, I was hoping for...more. I think an epilogue could've given that because by the end, I was unsure if they would even last long term. Which, ok I know this is YA and they are teenagers and who knows what will happen, but it would've been nice to have a little bit more of reassurance than what we got. But that could also just be me and my dislike of HFN endings. 

This book is a must for YA fans who love Greek myths but also who are looking for a story that will transport you into a world that has you looking around your own world and looking at it a little bit differently. I can't wait to read more books for this author!