From the Bookshelf of Nothing But Reading Challenges…

Cemetery Boys (Cemetery Boys, #1)

Aiden Thomas

Start date: November 1, 2020

Finish date: November 30, 2020

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What Members Thought

Jun 23, 2020 Heather - hturningpages rated it really liked it

Shelves: loved-it, mystery-thriller, reviewed, arcs, lgbtq-characters, bookclub

Rating: 4/5 cinnamon roll ghosts

Format: ebook. I’d like to thank Fierce Reads and NetGalley for a free copy of this book as part of a #YallStayHome prize!

What it's like:
This book reminded me a bit of the movie Coco (supernatural adventure on Dia de los Muertos) but the friendships and romance reminded me more of the Raven Boys.

To sum up:
This is a story about a Latinx trans boy and his journey towards finding acceptance of himself, among his family, and his fellow magical community of brujos an Rating: 4/5 cinnamon roll ghosts

Format: ebook. I’d like to thank Fierce Reads and NetGalley for a free copy of this book as part of a #YallStayHome prize!

What it's like:
This book reminded me a bit of the movie Coco (supernatural adventure on Dia de los Muertos) but the friendships and romance reminded me more of the Raven Boys.

To sum up:
This is a story about a Latinx trans boy and his journey towards finding acceptance of himself, among his family, and his fellow magical community of brujos and brujas. Yadriel knows that he is a brujo in his heart, but his family and fellow brujos are less convinced. When Yadriel’s magical family senses one of their own has just been murdered, Yadriel is determined to become a full brujo so he can find them and release their spirit. When Yadriel and his trusty bff and vegan sidekick Maritza attempt to find his cousin’s spirit however, they accidentally summon a beautiful angsty ghost named Julian instead. While Julian doesn’t remember how he died, they quickly realize that this mystery could reveal something about Yadriel's cousin’s death as well. Together, Julian, Yadriel, and Martiza attempt to find answers on the streets of Los Angeles, to find answers for Julian and find Yadriel’s cousin before Dia de los Muertos.

What I loved:
I loved how Thomas wove in intricate elements of Latinx culture into this story. The slang, the food, the traditions, it all created a vivid backdrop for this story. I loved Julian’s journey of gaining confidence in himself and his identity as a boy and as a brujo, and how each element of the mystery came together. The slow-burn romance was torture to endure but made the climax of events at the end all the more powerful.

What was meh:
The only parts I didn’t love was in the middle when the pacing slows a bit. I don’t enjoy when in the middle of a story the main character has to go to school or do some mundane activity to “play it cool” for their community or their parents haha. This part was relatively painless though and did serve a purpose for finding out information important to the mystery so I'll allow it haha.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I loved Aiden Thomas’ narrative voice, the rich setting, the magic, and the relationships in this book. I can’t wait to have my own physical copy of this book and to read whatever he writes next! ...more

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Oct 04, 2020 Ketutar Jensen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: series

One of the best love stories EVER!

I love this book! It managed to keep me interested, wanting to know what happens all the time, and the final boss was scary! Dang! And I was scared of that something would happen that wasn't supposed to happen...
The yearbook scene... *_* Oh <3<3<3
"Is he your friend?" *_* Oh <3<3<3
And Maritza "And I did it without blood!" Er... Yeah... sure... no blood... X-D
I have to say the last chapter was a bit... hurried. But it was still good.
*_* Oh <3<3<3
:-D

Also, in th ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 23, 2021 Brenda rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Just not my thing.

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 25, 2024 Cora rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, kindle-unlimited, kindle, fantasy, romance, paranormal, california, paranormal-romance, lgbtq-author, lgbtq

This was a very good read. The representation of diverse characters is excellent and I appreciated that the author wove some social commentary into the story. The world building was interesting. It left me wanting to learn more about the brujx people who live in the cemetery. There was a bit of a mystery that had a lot of potential, but it was mostly sidelined for a big part of the book that focused more on the relationship between the two boys. It was a very good debut book and I look forward t ...more

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Sep 25, 2021 Logan rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: own-bought-ebook, borrowed-library, borrowed-ebook, paranormal, young-adult, lgbt

Slooooooow pace. Characters get introduced and discussed who have no impact on the story. The central mystery is not even fully defined until the last quarter of the book and then with hardly any effort is revealed and tied up without any real emotional investment. The characters were lovely but so underdeveloped by wasting pages on actions that accomplished nothing. To top off my disappointment, the two main protagonists are finally accepted by their families for their differences, but only aft ...more

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