Cemetery Boys

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.

When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.

However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He’s determined to find out what happened and tie up some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.

Content Tags:

Perfect for readers who want:

• Transgender rep
• M/M slow-burn, ill-fated romance
• Latinx rep
• A trio who are clearly friendship goals, complete with banter
• Cute doggo sidekicks who would lick you as soon as look at you
• Large Latinx families with strong family bonds
• A compelling paranormal murder mystery
• A knife right in the feels … but in a good way?

Many thanks to NetGalley and Swoon reads for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. Quotes are taken from an unfinished version and may differ from the final product.

If summoning ghosts that refuse to cross over and instead just nag your every moment isn’t my aesthetic, I don’t know what is. Of course I had to read this book.

Cemetery Boys is a slow-burn M/M romance that will pull you in with an intriguing mystery and then trick you into fretting over the well-being of these precious cinnamon rolls for the other 320 pages.

It’s a trap, guys. For real. I confess, I was a little surprised. I thought I was here for the mystery, where a brujo dies violently but no one can find his body or what happened to him. Sounds right in my wheelhouse, right? Yet, while I did enjoy that aspect of it, what ended up getting me was really the characters, and what I most enjoyed in this book were the little interactions between Yadriel and Julian that had me falling in love with them and tricked me into wanting this romance that was doomed from the start to be a thing.

Forget quinces. This is the coming of age celebration you want to have.

I mean, if you’re a brujo, they straight up give you a dagger that was made specially for you. Sorry, but nothing says, “Welcome to adulthood,” more than being handed a pointy object that’s meant just for you. I approve of this, and if I’m honest, I’m a little disappointed at the marked lack of dagger-giving during my own teen years.

In Cemetery Boys, the brujx have a ceremony when they turn 15 to officially come into their powers and be blessed as one of Lady Death’s own. At this point, they get a portaje. For brujo, it’s a dagger that lets them sever a spirit’s connection to the living world and send them on their way. For bruja, it’s a piece of jewelry that can hold sacrificial blood that they use to heal. No matter how you slice it, it’s a pretty good deal, just for turning 15. And to think, all I got was the crippling anxiety that comes with knowing you’re one year closer to college.

The powers in this are subtle for most of the book, mostly manifesting in the ability to see and interact with spirits. But when they’re needed, they sure do come in handy.

Part of the book itself is Yadriel and his cousin Maritza really coming into their power. Maritza refuses to use hers, because she’s vegan and doesn’t want to use animal blood to heal (and human blood is out of the question for some really good reasons that I won’t get into … you know, like death). Yadriel’s struggle, on the other hand, hits the feels much harder. Because he’s transgender, his family denied him a ceremony, refusing to accept him as a brujo and attempting to force him to become a bruja.

Which leads us to the next point, I suppose …

I am not transgender, and despite having transgender friends, this book was more of a learning experience for me than anything. Yadriel’s journey is so moving and emotional.

At its core are emotions that I think many of us can recognize: wanting to find a place to belong, trying to carve out space for yourself in a world that doesn’t always want you. That basic human need of wanting to be understood and accepted is part of what I think makes Yadriel’s voice so relatable and easy to lean into.

Where Yadriel’s perspective becomes all the more heartbreaking is that his identity is constantly being disregarded by the people who are supposed to love him the most, and the reader can see him being worn down, over and over again, with the daily worries of who’s going to hurt him today.

It’s the small things in this book that jump out the most for me, things that would never occur to me to have to worry about, like wearing a binding and how that impacts daily life, or the fact that a yearbook exposes your dead name and so may not be the same nostalgic keepsake that it is for others.

I did love that even though this could, by all rights, be a really depressing read, it isn’t, because Yadriel is carving his own way in this book—surrounding himself with a solid support system and forcing his family to see him for who he truly is.

It isn’t easy, so I don’t want to minimize that, but I was rooting for Yadriel so much and I want to emphasize that even though his struggle is so emotional and often painful, there are a lot of really sweet moments on his journey and it’s not all doom and gloom.

The trio vibe is really strong with this book, and these characters make it work.

My favorite parts of this book are for sure when Maritza, Yadriel, and Julian are together and just … are themselves? Their adorable, banterish, slightly threatening, sometimes fluffy selves. Their personalities just jumped right off the page, and I felt like I was getting to have this experience with them, as a fourth member of the trio … a quartet, maybe? Minus the singing, because … yikes. I think we’ve established that none of them are great at singing, and I for sure am not adding anything to that equation, thanks.

There’s a lot of found family going on in this book, too, but also just complicated family relationships in general.

Because life is hard, and family is sometimes harder. You love them, but you also can’t guarantee you’re not going to wake up early one morning and just smother them in their sleep. It’s complicated.

I don’t actually want to say too much about this, because learning about Julian and his background is part of the charm of the book (and his character itself), but prepare for some surprises! The way he frets over his found family is just *chef’s kiss*. And when it comes to his biological family? Feels. All the feels. I’m not usually a crier, but the Sammie reading this book was a hot mess, okay?

This romance is so not what I normally want in romance (where’s even the stabbiness?!). It’s a slow burn M/M romance between two cinnamon rolls. And yet … I absolutely loved this so freaking much.

It’s the cinnamon rolls. I’m sure of it. They get me every time. Ill-fated lovers is one of my favorite tropes, because if the romance is built properly, you want it so badly, yet you know it can’t happen, and it’s that delicious tension and drama that does it for me every time. Cemetery Boys is certainly no exception to that.

With each new reveal about Julian and his character, I fell in love with him a little more, and so did Yadriel … and who can blame him? The way these two interacted made my little black heart have all the feels.

And you know what? I stand by my statement that feels are so overrated. The struggle is real. Every sweet moment is yet another reminder that it’s not like the romance can just easily work out in the end, which adds another bittersweet layer on top of everything else.

So the fact that I totally fell head-over-heels for this romance that’s so different from the type of romance I normally read and love? Well, do with that what you will.

About Aiden Thomas

Aiden Thomas is a YA author with an MFA in Creative Writing. Originally from Oakland, California, they now make their home in Portland, OR. As a queer, trans, latinx, Aiden advocates strongly for diverse representation in all media. Aiden’s special talents include: quoting The Office, Harry Potter trivia, Jenga, finishing sentences with “is my FAVORITE”, and killing spiders. Aiden is notorious for not being able to guess the endings of books and movies, and organizes their bookshelves by color.

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The Writer’s Alley – Review
Local Bee Hunter’s Nook – Review + Favorite Quotes
My Honey Reads – #OwnVoices Reflection (IG)
The Reading Fairy – #OwnVoices Reflection (IG)

✦ August 20 ✦
Roro is Reading – Review + Promotional Post
Reading with Pride – Fan Art + Playlist
Kelsey Ford – Promotional Post
Ana and Books – #OwnVoices Reflection
Tanyx Screams – #OwnVoices Reflection

✦ August 21 ✦
Db’s Guide to the Galaxy – Review
Wow Books Nice – Review + Mood Board
Problems of a Book Nerd – Video Review
Pages Left Unread – #OwnVoice Reflection

✦ August 22 ✦
Al Garete Latinx – Review
Enthralled Bookworm – Reasons Why You Should Read Cemetery Boys
Puzzle Paws Blog – Review
Blck Bookish – Playlist

✦ August 23 ✦
The Bookwyrm’s Den – Review
Woven from Words – #OwnVoices Reflection
Every Book a Doorway – #OwnVoices Reflection

✦ August 24 ✦
I Am Lit and Wit – Review + Favorite Quotes
Stacia Loves to Read – Review
Unconventional Quirky Bibliophile – Blog Interview
Lecturas Lunares – #OwnVoices Reflection
Nox Reads – Author Interview

✦ August 25 ✦
Perpetual Pages – Video Cemetery Boys Tag + Favorite Quotes
Perks of Being a Bookworm – Review + Playlist + Mood Board
Xiomy’s Book Tales – #OwnVoices Reflection
Dragon on a Book – #OwnVoices Reflection

✦ August 26 ✦
Meagan Kimberly – Review
Luis Reading Books – Review + Favorite Quotes
Bookish Mica – #OwnVoices Reflection
Bookstagram Represent – #OwnVoices Reflection

✦ August 27 ✦
@berrybookpages – Favorite Quotes
Idle Minded Reader – Promotional Post
Nox Reads – Video 7 Reasons I LOVE Cemetery Boys
Jessica Reynolds – #OwnVoices Reflection
Honorary Trickster – #OwnVoices Reflection

✦ August 28 ✦
DJ Reads Books – Review + Playlist
Pei Reads – Review + Mood Board
Lady Witchling – Video Review
Bookishbellee – Reasons why I’m Excited for Cemetery Boys

✦ August 29 ✦
Nerdy Little Julith – Review
Kathy Trihardt – Video Review + Favorite Quotes
Jeffrey Merino – #OwnVoices Reflection
Spellbound by Books – #OwnVoices Reflection
Geek Declassified – #OwnVoices Reflection

✦ August 30 ✦
Emma’s Really Bad Reading Vlogs – Video Review + Favorite Quotes
DiamondXGirl – Promotional Post
Aelin’s Kingdom – #OwnVoices Reflection
Bookwyrm’s Guide – #OwnVoices Reflection
Paperback Pastelitos – #OwnVoices Reflection

✦ August 31 ✦
Books Build Life – Video Review
Sasha and Amber Read – Review
Salty Badger Books – #OwnVoices Reflection
The.Lingo.Lee – #OwnVoices Reflection

✦ September 1 ✦
Reading As(I)an (AM)erican – Blog Interview
metamorphoreader– Favorite Quotes + Mood Board
The Bookish Crypt – Promotional Post