I couldn't finish this sadly. I just couldn't get into it and it felt too long for me.

I didn't like the characters and I felt lost quite frequently.

It is a very well researched book and I learnt a few thing from what I read, but this book just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sun of Blood and Ruin utilises a mythology I’m not massively familiar with, Mesoamerican, and because I love learning about mythology, I happily read it. Described as a gender-bent Zorro, the book follows Leonora, the unlikely vigilante who takes on the name Pantera, as she navigates balancing seeking justice and self-preservation in a world determined to overpower half of her identity.

While I enjoyed the second half far more than the first, I think the plot was crowded, trying to cram in a lot of exposition and characters which led to some dilution in characters I would have loved to see more of. Dialogue sometimes felt wish washy, there were several conversations that I swear happened multiple times between the same characters which felt tiring. However, the action scenes felt fresh and exciting so ultimately made up for it. I would have loved to see more of Leonora and her brother and how they navigate their differences but with the, spending half of the book in different places I understand this wasn’t always necessarily possible.

Overall, this was an exciting YA debut that is a solid introduction into Mesoamerican and Mexica beyond what the mainstream teaches.

A novel based on Mesoamerican mythology and is likewise located in the Mexican lands, quite sometime after Montezuma’s II fall… spiced up with fantasy elements. Anyone who knows my strong interests in Mesoamerican cultures would know that I would definitely jump at the chance to read a new book like that. So I did.
It definitely feels refreshing to see Nahua mythology used this extensively and while this is the author’s debut and world-building at places is a bit lacking – I, with my vivid imagination and previous knowledge of the culture, didn’t struggle one bit. It could be improved with more details though!
The story itself is more adventurous than anything else. I’ve seen reviews where people grumble over “tepid” romance – I don’t feel that more was needed. While good romance can spice up the book, I don’t really think that in this particular book, it would be necessary or even beneficial. It’s slowly built, very low-key with a focus on beliefs, magic and mythology as such. Which, I must also add, leads to quite an interesting story development. The whole idea for this book was the best thing, to be honest!
The only thing that I tend to find somewhat irritating is the character of the main heroine – impatient, led by rash decisions and at times naïve… and yet. For all of those, who in each book try to find the main characters to be relatable or mirrors of themselves (or dream versions of themselves): no, you don’t have to relate with the main character that much in order to still enjoy the book.
As far as I understood that is the first book in the series… I don’t know what the second book will bring but I’d love to see the story continuing from Tezca's perspective instead.

this was okay, but read a little juvenile and i didn't feel connected to the characters or what happens to them at all. i can see other reader enjoying this a lot tho!

— thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the free digital ARC.

My second DNF of the year, and another one I truly wish I hadn't left unfinished.

There's not a lot I can say about the story other than I'm not really feeling it. I love the well-researched historical and cultural references, but that's all that stood out to me.

Unfortunately, the tone of the story doesn't suit me, and the main character has been annoying me so far to the point that I can't see myself continuing with the story. Moreover, I was disappointed by the fact that despite being a "mestiza", the main character comes from a noble descent and thus from a privileged background. I would have loved to actually see marginalized historical figures brought to the spotlight, and as a result, I found this book to be a significant missed opportunity to actually portray and honor a pure indigenous character fighting back against the colonizers.

I will keep an eye out for the author's future works because I'm genuinely curious about what she will write next after concluding this series. However, for now, this book simply didn't work for me.

It's really hard to write a review when you really didn't get on with a book at all. First of all I really dislike pinpointing why. After all reading is so subjective and what one reader dislikes another loves and a negative review just feels mean, especially for a debut. If I'd bought this I probably would have just given up on it early on and not reviewed at all, but as I received it through Netgalley, honesty and a review are part of the deal.

So... I was really looking forward to this YA fantasy set in New Spain (now Mexico) promising a deep dive into Mexican mythology, history and place all of which I know far too little about, starring a shapeshifting female Zorro. Unfortunately the book didn't work for me at all and I was very close to DNF and have to admit to skimming the last third. First person present (nearly always a no from me and I wish YA would stop using it), a lack of world building when we needed it, unrealistic dialogue almost like a playscript, two dimensional characters including the lead and just far too much crammed in so I couldn't get lost in the book but felt jerked around. Some will love it, but sadly this wasn't for me.

1.5 stars.

I was very excited by the premise of Sun of Blood and Ruin - I love stories about characters with secret identities, and "masked vigilante who is actually a noblewoman, set in historical Mexico" sounded very cool. Disappointingly, very little time is actually spent on this. The protagonist Leonora barely spends time as her alter ego Pantera, and not much time as a noblewoman either. That part of the premise is not the focus of the story.

I have no idea why this book is marketed as adult when it should be YA - the story and writing lack complexity and nuance. It's a coming of age story for the MC, and she falls in love for the first time, which are both storylines you tend to see in YA books. I could have enjoyed the book despite its failure to live up to the premise, and I do still enjoy some YA books, but unfortunately I had to drag myself through this. The writing and characters were just not enjoyable for me.

Scenes end and start abruptly, and events have little impact. For the first few chapters, flashback scenes are dropped in out of nowhere, last for a paragraph or two, then go straight back to the present, which I found jarring. Occasionally there is a good turn of phrase, but the focus is mostly on action and conversation rather than description. That would be fine if the action and conversation were enjoyable, but the action scenes are usually inconsequential and half the dialogue doesn't make sense. It seems like the author prioritised having characters say cool or meaningful lines over sounding like actual human beings. Finally, this is a personal preference, but I don't love first person present tense.

I despised the MC, Leonora. She's rash and impulsive, and she repeatedly does incredibly stupid things. Like a lot of YA protagonists, she seems unable to put any effort into lying or playing a part - when she is appearing as Leonora the noblewoman, she still talks exactly like Pantera and makes no effort to hide her opinions. Just once, I would like a protagonist who is at least somewhat good at espionage.

In addition to all that, Leonora has very little narrative agency - she spends most of the time either moping or reacting recklessly to other's actions. She loses most of the fights she's in despite supposedly being a badass swordfighter, sorceress and shapeshifter. Her emotions change on a whim - she will be feeling a certain way, then one line of dialogue will make her feel completely different. She has barely any character development. By the end she is more powerful, but she hasn't earned it or learned a single lesson. There's some stuff about her learning who she is, but it's vague as fuck.

The other characters are all one note and static. No one stood out.

The story itself, about native Mexican people fighting back against colonial Spain, could have been interesting and powerful if it had not been let down by the other aspects of the book. I found the mythology interesting, and I would love more stories with settings like this, which are rare in fantasy, but I am sorry to say I am unable to recommend this one.

Thanks to Harper Collins and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Sadly this book wasn't for me. I made it to 10% before I gave up. I couldn't grasp who the characters were and I constantly stumbled over the different names. At 10% I wasn't invested in the story and the writing style wasn't capturing my attention either.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book felt like it tried to take on too much, and ended up having some issues with pacing and world-building because of it. I spent most of the first half a little confused as to what was going on, which character was which and the meaning of many little anecdotal or mythological references. I'll admit that going in I didn't know a lot about the time period in Mexico or the folklore, so it would have been good to have some things explained in a contextual way - however, a lot of explanations ended up feeling a bit clunky and info-dumpy.

Having said that, once you push through to the second half of the book the pace quickens and things do start to make more sense - I only wish the first half hadn't been such a struggle.

The writing itself was at times beautiful and flowed freely, at others felt slightly forced. I think overall this is a good start to a series, I just hope things are tightened up a little in the next books. The pacing in the first half really lets it down, and I probably would have DNFed if it wasn't an ARC.

A great blend of two different mythologies, reflected in a cultural mash up to produce a fast paced swashbuckling adventure. If you're looking for fast paced, easily accessible fantasy that doesn't ask too much of you, and you're after a different setting, this book has got you.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating:4/5
"Whoever angers you controls you. When you let someone make you
angry, you’re giving them absolute power over you"

This was such a fun adventure!! 'Sun of Blood and Ruin' is a unique and refreshing fantasy- a rich blend of history, mesoamerican mythology and the tale of Zorro. While I'm not familiar with the character of Zorro, I know Aztec (Nahua) mythology quite well, and the author has done a great job incorporating Aztec gods and mythological creatures in this book! Set in a rich and vibrant world, it's a story that'll take you for a wild ride.
The book feels quite YA, although it has been marketed as adult. I don't care what the age group is, as long as the story is good enough to keep me engaged, but if you like your adult books to be truly adult, this might not work for you.
However, I'd have liked the characters to be fleshed out more, and romance was not very believable and well developed. This chapters felt quite disjointed, often taking huge time skips in between. I'm going to overlook these issues since I really enjoyed this book, and I'm eagerly waiting for the sequel!