Wayward Witch by Zoraida Córdova (ARC Review)

Title: Wayward Witch
Author: Zoraida Córdova
Type: Fiction
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Date published: September 1, 2020

A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Note: This book is part of a series, and there are likely some spoilers in the synopsis below.

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.

⤖ My Review ⬻

I remember starting the first book in Zoraida Córdova’s Brooklyn Brujas series back in 2016 when I had just started book blogging. I had gotten a NetGalley account that year, and remember being so excited to get approved for an e-ARC of Labyrinth Lost! I have grown with this series, not just as a reader, but especially as a book blogger! The Brooklyn Brujas series is a series that I’ve actively been following throughout my “career” as a book blogger, and finishing the series now has definitely been bittersweet. (I would not be upset if Córdova decided to continue this series or do a spinoff series!)

Now that I’ve laid all of this out for you, it should come as no surprise that I was both excited and apprehensive about picking up the last book in the series, Wayward Witch. This did not come from a fear that Córdova would let me down in some way–I love her storytelling! The apprehension came from anxiety (that I’m sure I share with a number of you) when it comes to finishing a series and having to say goodbye.

But, I tried to put all of these depressing thoughts aside and finally picked up Wayward Witch (a little later in the year than I would have hoped due to COVID-related mental health things and other obstacles) and started reading. I’ve always been curious about Rose, and was super excited that the third book would finally give more insight into her character as well as play out her story arc. And speaking of the story arc, I had no idea what sort of journey Córdova would take me on!

Wayward Witch takes us to the land of Adas, which is quite different from the worlds we explored in Labyrinth Lost and Bruja Born. And as if that’s not fun enough, the author added in a quest! I love quests. But, enough of my blabbering. This was a nice wrap to the series, and I definitely enjoyed it. Also, I’d like to say again that I would not be upset if Córdova were to do a spinoff or continue the Bruja Born series. If that’s not the case, however, there are other books of hers that I look forward to reading and recommending!

⤖ About the Author ⬻

Zoraida Córdova is the author of many fantasy novels for kids and teens, including the award-winning Brooklyn Brujas series, Incendiary, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: A Crash of Fate. Her short fiction has appeared in the New York Times bestselling anthology Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View, Star Wars The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark, Come on In: 15 Stories About Immigration and Finding Home, and Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women and Witchcraft. She is the co-editor of the bestselling anthology Vampires Never Get Old. Her debut middle grade novel is The Way to Rio Luna. She is the co-host of the podcast Deadline City with Dhonielle Clayton. Zoraida was born in Ecuador and raised in Queens, New York. When she isn’t working on her next novel, she’s planning a new adventure.