#AmReading YA

Wayward Witch
Zoraida Córdova
Series: Brooklyn Brujas
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy 
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Rose Mortiz has always been a fixer, but lately she’s been feeling lost. She has brand-new powers she doesn’t understand, and her family is still trying to figure out how to function in the wake of her amnesiac father’s return home. Then, on the night of her Deathday party, Rose discovers her father’s memory loss has been a lie.

As she rushes to his side, the two are ambushed and pulled through a portal to the land of Adas, a fairy realm hidden in the Caribbean Sea. There, Rose is forced to work with a group of others to save Adas. Soon, she begins to discover the scope of her powers, the troubling truth about her father’s past, and the sacrifices he made to save her sisters.

But if Rose wants to return home so she can repair her broken family, she must figure out how to heal Adas first.

Having finally learned the truth about her powers, the youngest Mortiz sister was struggling not only with controlling her gift, but also with finding her place in the family. On her Deathday, Rose and her father were taken back to Adas. There, she was charged with fighting the rot that was destroying the land. As she fought for this world, she learned how to harness her power while also discovering a lot about herself. 

I am always so sad to say goodbye to a series, and this is one I have loved since the very beginning. Córdova did an incredible job with all of these books, and I adored getting to know each and every one of the Mortiz sisters. 

Like the previous books, this one was packed with action and magic that had my heart pumping. Rose had a difficult task to tackle, but thank goodness she had help. I was quite a fan of the band of Guardians put together to save Adas. They challenged Rose, and though they were not gentle with her, they helped her grow. As the little sister, it was easy for Rose to fade into the background and play the supporting character role, but here, she was forced into a high stakes do-or-die situation, and she rose to the occasion. She had these brilliant moments, which really touched me and also made me quite proud of her. 

I really enjoyed this book. Though, because this was the finale, I was left a little wanting. The standout elements of this series for me was the familial bond. The second book was one of my favorites, because the entire family banded together for their battle. They spent a lot of time on-page together, and I loved every second of it. I missed that in this book. I was also left with some questions. A VERY big one as a matter of fact. I am still holding out for more Brooklyn Brujas books. I mean, there was a B I G and awesome reveal in this book, and I think that could definitely be explored more. I'm just saying.....

Even if I don't get any more books, this series will still rank high for me. Córdova created a fantastic world, and I am grateful I had the opportunity to explore it. I am also happy to have had the pleasure of spending three books with the magnificent Mortiz family. I relished this magical journey, and will fondly remember my time with the Brooklyn Brujas.  

The Insomniacs
Marit Weisenberg
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

A sharp and romantic novel about two suburban teens who can’t sleep uncovering the secrets of their neighborhood by night. Think The Summer I Turned Pretty with flashes of Rear Window!

When seventeen-year-old competitive diver Ingrid freezes up and sustains a head injury at a routine meet, her orderly life is turned upside down. Now housebound and sedentary on doctor’s orders, Ingrid can’t sleep and is haunted by the question of what triggered her uncharacteristic stage fright.

The only thing she remembers about the moment before the dive is seeing Van, her neighbor, former best friend, and forever crush, on the sidelines. Then one sleepless night, she sees Van outside her window...looking right back at her. They tentatively begin “not sleeping” together every night but still living separate lives by day.

Ingrid tells herself this is just temporary, but soon, she and Van are up every night together, increasingly intertwined in helping each other put pieces of memory together. As Van works through his own reasons for not being able to sleep, both of them are pulled into a mystery that threatens to turn their quiet neighborhood into a darker place than they realized.

After suffering a head injury, Ingrid is plagued by insomnia as she tries to unravel what was behind her diving accident. Her sleepless nights lead her back to her once best friend, also unable to sleep after a night of blackouts and holes in his memory. Together they search for answers, while drawing closer to one another and renewing their friendship. 

The promise of mystery drew me to this story, and yes, there was a mystery going on, but I found myself more intrigued by Ingrid. Here was this young woman, who was an accomplished diver with an Olympic dream. She was always able to do it all and do it all well. From the outside, you would never guess the weight of the baggage she carried. There were a bunch of reveals about Ingrid's past and present throughout the story, which told the tale of a girl, who was let down by those she hero worshipped and depended upon. This experience, this hole in her memory forced her to confront some of the truths about her life. It was a bit sad to watch her close the door on certain people in her life, but I was happy to see her make a conscience choice to save some of the other relationships which had suffered over the years. 

One of the relationships she chose to save was with her childhood best friend and neighbor, Van. After her father left, Ingrid put up a wall and broke her connections to the past. She dedicated herself to diving, in an effort to impress her absentee father, but she never stop caring about Van. The nights they spent awake together ranged from awkward and tense to delightful. They resuscitated their relationship and let some new feelings burn, while uncovering those missing pieces to their memory puzzles. 

This book, for me, was a coming of age tale wrapped in a mystery with a touch of romance. I was all in from the very first page, and I found myself fully invested in the outcome. Ingrid may have set set out to discover what went wrong the day of her ill-fated dive, but she ended up finding herself in the process, and I enjoyed getting to be a part of her journey. 

**ARCs received in exchange for honest reviews.

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