BLOG TOUR The Lords of Night (Shadow Bruja #1) by J.C. Cervantes

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THE LORDS OF NIGHT by J.C. Cervantes Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book:

Title: THE LORDS OF NIGHT (A Shadow Bruja Novel Book 1)

Author: J.C. Cervantes

Pub. Date: October 4, 2022

Publisher: Rick Riordan Presents

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

Pages: 320

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents J. C. Cervantes's exciting new spin-off from the best-selling STORMRUNNER trilogy.

"This duology opener is accessible to readers who are new to this world. An engrossing, god-filled delight."--Kirkus Reviews

Fourteen-year-old Renata Santiago is the most powerful godborn of them all, a bruja with a unique combination of DNA. The Mexica blood from her dad's side gives her the ability to manipulate shadows. Her mom Pacific, a Maya goddess, gifted her a magical rope that controls time, and Ren recently used it to save a few gods from getting stuck forever in 1987. She brought them back to the present, but her BFF Ah Puch, the once fearsome god of death, darkness, and destruction, is now a teenager with no divine powers.

Ren is also a girl with ordinary hopes and dreams. She wishes, for example, that her blog about alien sightings would garner more respect. She's always been absolutely convinced that there's a connection between aliens and the Maya civilization. Plenty of online haters feel differently, and they call her a fake, a liar, and a loser.

When Ren receives an email about an alien sighting in Kansas, she thinks it may support her theory. She also suspects that the cinco--five renegade godborns--are up to no good. Soon she finds herself embroiled in a quest to prevent the troublemakers from awakening the nine Aztec Lords of Night. Problem is, none of Ren's friends are available to help her hunt down the cinco and the dangerous gods they are resurrecting. Ren has no choice but to team up with two strangers recruited by Ah Puch: Edison, a teen hybrid demon, and Montero, an eleven-year-old Aztec hunter. Succeeding in this quest will prove that Ren is no fake, liar, or loser. But it isn't just another challenge. It could well be an impossible one that leaves Ren questioning her very existence.

Anyone who enjoys fast-paced myth-based adventures will be swept up in this one featuring Maya and Mexica gods and their magical offspring.

REVIEW of The Lords of Night (Shadow Bruja #1) by J.C. Cervantes
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: ARC (Courtesy of Publisher and Rockstar Book Tours)

J.C. Cervantes’ first book in the Shadow Bruja series, The Lords of Night is an action packed, mythology filled, lovable tale. A spin-off from the original books in The Storm Runner series, reading this book is like coming home and seeing an old friend after some time away. Familiar, but things have changed (in a good way). 

After the events of The Shadow Crosser, Renata Santiago (or Ren) wants a break. No evil quests to defeat villainous gods, no time traveling, no teleporting - just some time to pursue her theory of the Mayan civilization being connected to aliens, and running her blog Eyes in the Sky. But when she gets a message claiming a possible alien sighting, she’s swept back up into the world of Mayan and Aztec gods, and forced to rely on her friends (namely the powerless god of death, a demon, and an Aztec hunter in training) to get out alive. 

Ren is the most powerful godborn alive, due to the dual heritage she carries - part of her being descended from the Mayan goddess of Time Pacific, and the other a shadow brujx on her father’s side. Despite her powers, she struggles with confidence and she carries a lot of guilt for the events of The Shadow Crosser, and that crosses over into this book. I loved getting to see her growth over the course of the story, and how she comes into her powers a bit more. Zane being out of the picture really allows Ren to step into a leadership role. I also liked seeing the addition of some new characters to combat old foes (the ‘cinco’) and the newly introduced Lords of Night. Edison and Montero are great allies to Ren, and I was quite intrigued by the Lords of Night myth (having never heard of them before, the glossary at the end of the book helped a lot - especially with pronunciation). 

Given that the main character of The Lords of Night is one of the side characters of The Storm Runner series, this is likely a book best suited for fans of the original series. I truly enjoyed how worldbuilding is structured in both series. Each one has elements of Mayan and Aztec mythology, though The Storm Runner series focuses more on Mayan mythology and The Lords of Night focuses more on Aztec ones. As such, the two sets of books have very different tones (especially since they have different leads). For those who haven’t read the original books, please note that the author does a great job of providing sufficient background information such that any readers new to The Storm Runner universe will not find themselves lost. I do, however, recommend reading The Storm Runner series first for the best experience. 

If you enjoy zany, action-packed, mythology inspired middle-grade tales, this is the book for you! I’m so excited for the final book in the duology to come out so readers (including myself) can see what happens next for Ren and the crew. The cliffhanger this book ends on is quite painful. Thank you to the author J.C. Cervantes, Rick Riordan Presents, Disney-Hyperion Books, and Jaime at Rockstar Book Tours for providing me with a complimentary review copy of this book. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review The Lords of Night immensely. Please note - I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All opinions expressed in the review are my own and not influenced in any way. 

About J. C. Cervantes:

J.C. is a New York Times best-selling author of books for children and young adults. Her books have appeared on national lists, including the American Booksellers Association New Voices, Barnes and Noble’s Best Young Reader Books, as well as Amazon’s Best Books of the Month. She has earned multiple awards and recognitions, including the New Mexico Book Award, the Zia Book Award, and most recently the 2021 New Mexico Land of Enchantment Readers’ Choice Award. 

She currently resides in the Land of Enchantment with her family, three spoiled dogs, and a lifetime collection of books. But she keeps part of her heart in Southern California, where she was born and raised. When she isn’t writing she is haunting bookstores and searching for magic in all corners of the world.

Her work is represented by Holly Root at Root Literary.

 

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Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of THE LORDS OF NIGHT, US Only.

Ends November 5^th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

10/1/2022

A Dream Within A Dream

Excerpt/IG Post

Week Two:

10/2/2022	@meetcuteromancebooks	Excerpt/IG Post
10/3/2022	Ya Books Central	Excerpt/IG Post
10/4/2022	The Momma Spot	Review/IG Post
10/5/2022	Wanderingwitchreads	TikTok Review/IG Post
10/6/2022	YA Book Nerd	Review/IG Post
10/7/2022	Eye-Rolling Demigod's Book Blog	Review/IG Post
10/8/2022	booksaremagictoo	Review/IG Post

Week Three:

10/9/2022	@jacleomik33	IG Review
10/10/2022	The Bookwyrm's Den	Review
10/11/2022	Nonbinary Knight Reads	Review/IG Post
10/12/2022	Ohyouread	IG Review
10/13/2022	A Backwards Story	Review/IG Post
10/14/2022	travelersguidetobooks	IG Review
10/15/2022	Jeff_of_allmedia	IG Review

Week Four:

10/16/2022	GryffindorBookishNerd	IG Review
10/17/2022	The Moon Phoenix	Review/IG Post
10/18/2022	Blog Write. Read. Live	Excerpt/IG Post
10/19/2022	The Chatty Bookworm	TikTok Review/IG Post
10/20/2022	Mindyourshelf	Review/IG Post
10/21/2022	Lifestyle of Me	Review
10/22/2022	Kait Plus Books	Excerpt/IG Post

Week Five:

10/23/2022	onemused	IG Spotlight
10/24/2022	bookbriefs	Review/IG Post
10/25/2022	Enthralled Bookworm Blog	Review/IG Post
10/26/2022	Two Points of Interest	Review/IG Post
10/27/2022	@drew_ambitious_reading	Review/IG Post
10/28/2022	PopTheButterfly Reads	Review/IG Post
10/29/2022	Books with Brandie Shanae	YouTube Review/IG Post

Week Six:

10/30/2022	Jenguerdy	IG Spotlight
10/31/2022	The Erudite Labyrinth	Excerpt