I'm sad to say that this book wasn't for me and I didn't even finish reading it because of this fact. I was fascinated by the description. I love tales about mythology and magical powers, but as soon as I started reading I felt like it was very hard to get my head into the book. I realised after a while that this was because of the head-hopping that happened every couple pages. I found it really disconcerting the way POV was handled by the author. I'm so sad that this stopped me from enjoying the book and I'm sure someone out there will love it, but it was a struggle for me personally.

I can honestly say - this book was not at all what I expected when I had read the blurb, It is by no means a bad book. I was just very surprised by the order in which this book tackled events.
Usually, when a character travels to a different world, the main fight comes after meeting the characters and their families. Not in this one.
At first, I was very confused because it felt so wrong. But after finishing the book I have to admit - this order was much better. I hope there will be another book because I have the feeling Zeke's story isn't finished yet.
Zeke was a great character. Reading his POVs were always exciting - oh, and did I mention that he is part Native American? This was my first book EVER having a main character who is Native American! It was amazing.
The Menewa's life and history was not nearly enough explained but what I got from the book was magical. I really hope there will be a second book, hopefully fixing the relationship between Zeke and his father and letting us know more about the Menewa.

I received a free copy by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

After his mother’s death in a car accident, Zeke is sent to live with a father he barely knows in Illinois. Chicago couldn’t be more different from the Arizona desert or further from his Mexica heritage, and he struggles under the weight of his grief and his father’s expectations. After a particularly nasty fight, Zeke flees to the lake to calm down, but something extraordinary happens. The water takes him to a world connected to Earth, where a snake-like race called the Gyrazu are attempting to overtake the magic-guarding Menewa. It turns out that Zeke has a power of his own, and it may be the key to saving his new friends. I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at CamCat Publishing. Trigger warnings: parent death (off-page), severe injury, abduction, explosions, violence, blood, grief.

This is a fun, adventurous fantasy novel, and I’m happy I had a chance to read it. It may fall closer to the middle grade/younger YA end of the spectrum, and there doesn’t seem to be anything too difficult about the language or the concepts for readers just starting to venture into YA. Espinoza has created a fantasy world loosely based on Anasazi culture with a cool, almost symbiotic connection to our Earth. This only starts to develop toward the end of the novel, which can happen with first books in a series, but I still wish we’d gotten a little more of the world-building here. It seems like an interesting magic system that Zeke and Naya are only just starting to discover.

I had some trouble connecting with the characters, and I think part of that is a tell rather than show writing style. We’re told often that Zeke is rebellious and Naya acts before she thinks, but it’s harder to see those things in action. The action of the novel is actually one of its weaker points, and it seemed like there was a lot of characters running around, hiding, and generally not having a plan, which doesn’t lend itself to a strong plot or particularly vivid scenes. It takes them a while to find their footing, though I found the pacing in the second half of the novel better than in the first, when things finally start moving along. (It also needs another round of grammar checks, but I can overlook that on small press books.) Nothing is really resolved in this book, leaving a lot open for the rest of the series. I likely won’t continue with it, but I wouldn’t discourage anyone from picking it up if it sounds interesting.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

This was a bit of a difficult one to get through, if I'm being honest. While the plot was interesting, the writing was incredibly expositional and didn't really keep me engaged. The characters were great, mostly Zeke and Thain, which made the chapters focusing on Naya and Callie less intriguing than theirs, which was a shame since their chapters really moved along the plot.

However, Zeke's troubles and past involving his mother was really touching, and reading about that was my favourite part of the book.

this one was a little weird for me, but overall good. I would recommend it to friends but probably not all of them lol. The world and character development were great, the magic system was ok. My heart broke for the main character especially through the beginning of the book but really all throughout as his story unfolded.

i felt for Zeke, I really enjoyed going on this journey with them. The other characters were great and I really enjoyed reading this book.

This book was very touching and made a few tears spew, considering it was YA i was surprised with how well I connected the protagonist and his journey.

The plot was gripping, I couldn’t stop reading this, I throughly enjoyed every page though I felt the ending was a bit rushed.