The Lords of Night by J.C. Cervantes || MG Adventure With Aztec and Mayan Gods

The Lords of Night (A Shadow Bruja Novel)

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

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.

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Perfect for readers who want:

• More books related to The Storm Runner series
• Rick Riordan Presents releases
• Diverse mythology based on Aztec and Mayan cultures
• Lots of action and adventure
• Interesting and unique sorts of magic
• A super fun squad

Many thanks to Rick Riordan Presents and Rockstar Book Tours for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I’ve heard amazing things about The Storm Runner series, so when I saw the author was starting a new series (from Rick Riordan Presents, no less), I thought it would be the perfect chance to read some of her work! Plus, it’s kind of impossible for me to resist the idea of not only Aztec and Mayan mythology but also the idea of a shadow witch. Sounds pretty cool, right?

The Lords of Night is the first in a companion series to The Storm Runner series. It’s filled with magic, Mayan and Aztec gods, danger, adventure, and a really fun squad of superpowered godling children.

For some reason, I actually hadn’t realized that this is a companion series to The Storm Runner, which I think is a pretty big thing to keep in mind. You must read that series before reading this one, or this book makes a whoooole lot less sense. Despite missing out on a whole chunk of the story, I did enjoy the adventure and little bit of a mystery in this one. Plus, this squad? Oh my gosh, they are soooo fun. How do I get friends like this in the real world?

It’s really important to know that this is a companion series to The Storm Runner series by the same author, and reading that series is basically required for understanding what’s happening in this book.

I say that because it’s something I wish I had known going in, but I had somehow missed that fact? I wanted to start my review with it, because it’s super important, big red letters, underlined, and lit up in neon. While it’s possible to read and enjoy this book without reading the other series (I mean, I did it, after all), you will not understand what’s going on in a lot of it, and you will be extremely confused.

The book starts on a note that makes it feel like a sequel, which had me confused right from the start. The characters already know each other, and they make references to things that have already happened and that they’ve already been through. I’m not sure where the disconnect was with this one, if it was just poor marketing or my failure to pay attention, but I did notice that on Goodreads, the blurb of one edition mentions that The Storm Runner is a prequel series (at the very end) but the other editions do not. And of course, the edition that it defaults to when I look up the book does not include that information in it. So I’ve included it here, right upfront, just in case!

The Lords of Night launches into action almost immediately and carries it right through the end, with plenty of action, adventure, and mystery to hook readers and take them along for the ride.

Despite being confused at first, as I said, it doesn’t take long for the story to ramp up, which immediately grabbed my attention. Ren is involved in some pretty dark stuff . . . pun only sort of intended, considering she’s a shadow witch. Sorry, not sorry. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The Lords of Night are pretty quickly introduced, and I love the way it’s done, so I won’t ruin it for everyone. The writing for their introductions is so lovely and gripping! It really sets the tone. So not only do our intrepid young heroes need to figure out who the heck these Lords of Night are, but also how Ren is connected to them and why they seem so fixated on her.

I was immediately hooked on this mystery and all the weird happenings surrounding it. Strange symbols, ghostly apparitions, and the way these lords seem to know something about Ren that she doesn’t. Cervantes weaves a very tense, suspenseful atmosphere that caught me up in it.

This isn’t your everyday band of heroes. This squad is unexpected, unorthodox, and probably not recommended, but it sure is fun.

Of course there’s Ren, the shadow witch, who’s at the center of it all. This is her story, obviously, so it makes sense that she’d be there. But there’s also Ah-Puch, also known as A.P. for short, who is a god with a bit of a teenager complex. By which I mean he’s definitely been de-aged into a teenager. I’m sure you can all imagine the nightmare that would be, especially if you were an all-powerful god previously.

Then there’s Edison, who’s . . . different. I’m not at liberty to say how. Shhhh, it’s a secret! Needless to say, he didn’t have a traditional upbringing, and he’s really just experiencing life out and among people for the first time in this book. It’s daunting, as one can imagine. He’s also delightfully out of touch with modern society, having spent way too much time watching old movies, and it shows. Still, it’s hard not to fall for his simple charm.

Then there’s Monty, who is . . . something else. She’s a bit younger than the others, but entirely eager to prove herself, both to them and to her family. For her, this quest must go right and successfully conclude. Everything is at stake for her. Not that it sours her mood any. On the contrary, she’s more determined than ever.

Despite everyone having kind of a lot going on in their lives right now, they’re all-in for this adventure, each for their own reasons. And together, as a team? Well, they almost get by. I wouldn’t go as far as saying they’re competent, but they certainly work well together, and they’re super funny, to boot!

I really appreciated the way that all the characters were dealing with their own personal struggles, even as they took on this much bigger plot.

Ren, for example, starts the book off dealing with cyberbullying. Which may seem like such a simple thing in the face of all the things she’s been through, but even godborns have insecurities. And being called names never feels good.

Each member of the squad has their own demons to overcome (sometimes literally), whether it be familial obligations and pressure, finding a place to belong, or, you know, suddenly finding yourself a teenager with no god powers (*shudders*). I appreciated how the personal journeys were slipped in alongside the overall quest. It added an extra depth to the characters.

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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1 winner will receive a finished copy of THE LORDS OF NIGHT, US Only.
Ends November 5^th, midnight EST.

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