Well this was just great! Ancient mushroom magic? I was sold already but then you add in the gods/goddesses, queerness, family, and the excellent characters/writing? This is definitely one of my favorite YA's of the year.

Lucha is such a great main character, her struggles and fears and dreams feel like they bleed off the page and into the reader. While the themes in this book are not necessarily new or uncharted territory, it feels fresh. Author Tehlor Kay Mejia has an excellent writing style that feels almost like a fairytale or an epic being read aloud before bed. This is a one setting read, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time! I definitely have to check out this authors other work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

LUCHA OF THE NIGHT FOREST follows Lucha Moya, a girl from a desolate and oppressed town called Robado, who hunts dark beasts through the Night Forest to help her younger sister and mother survive. A dire situation leads her to make a bargain with a scorned god which places her in the middle of a conflict she has no way to escape. Lucha must step into her power, or be consumed.

I really enjoy Mejia’s writing style and this book was no different! The tone is so atmospheric and eerie which worked so well with all the twisting details of the plot. I really enjoyed the characters, specially Lucha and her journey throughout the story. Unfortunately, the romance didn’t work for me. There were too many obstacles between the characters for me to buy into the pace of the feelings developing. However, I really enjoyed the overall message of the story and the unconventional ending. Would recommend for lovers of fierce, Latinx women and of exploring what it means to be chosen and to choose.

This year, I’ve been especially craving stories about living houses and haunted forests. Lucha of the Night Forest falls into the second group, and I can safely say that if you enjoyed Wildblood by Lauren Blackwood, you’ll definitely enjoy this one. It ticked so many boxes for me—queer romance, a spooky forest, the power of nature, ethereal creatures, a girl who learned how to live while she was just trying to survive, and so much more.

The driving force of this book is Lucha’s relationship with Lis, and the lengths to which she’ll go in order to save her sister from the horrors of the world. She is not always successful, and sometimes she makes decisions that serve her own self-interests at the expense of others around her, but at the end of the day, Lucha remains an empathetic character. We can understand her drive to protect her sister, and we can see that she is only human. Would any of us make a different decision if we found ourselves in a similar situation? There are certainly some parallels between her and Katniss Everdeen.

Unfortunately for Lucha, there are greater forces at work here. On the night she thinks she’s lost Lis forever, Lucha taps into a hidden power inside her. Wild with desperation, she makes a deal with El Sediento, a nightmarish creature with red eyes and a wide smile. He is straight out of a horror novel, and I’d be lying if I said his visage didn’t send goosebumps down my arm.

Despite the ancient gods and mythical creatures found throughout this book, Lucha of the Night Forest is about people—the good, the bad, and everyone in between. This book has a lot to say about the power of humanity and what kind of person we choose to be. Because at the end of the day, this is not a simple story of the Chosen One fighting because destiny commands it; at its foundation, this is a story of choice. It also has cool mushrooms, and for me, that’s always an added bonus.

- LUCHA OF THE NIGHT FOREST is a dark YA fantasy that I couldn't put down. I read the whole thing in one day because I had to know what was going to happen to Lucha.
- The world invented in this book isn't super detailed, but enough to get you invested and rooting for everyone. Even when characters' motives are at odds, you still want all of them to succeed.
- I loved that there was sapphic attraction between Lucha and Luz, but that it wasn't the driving force of the story, simply one element of it.
- This book doesn't shy away from the idea that systems are built to keep whole classes of people down, and also that even if you think you're doing good, you can still be doing harm in ways you haven't considered.

“What must it be like, Lucha wondered, to believe in something so much that nothing scared you?”

Tehlor Kay Mejia has done it again, folks.

I don’t know where to even begin when it comes to Lucha’s story, and the amazing world and story Mejia has crafted. The writing, as always, is impressive. Mejia’s worldbuilding throws you right into the story – you’re following Lucha as she weaves throughout the city, as she takes on scary monsters, as Lucha refuses to let anyone pull one over on her. You can’t help but double check to make sure you haven’t actually been teleported to Robado. The magic system in this story feels wholly unique, and I enjoyed every time we got to see it in action.

Focusing on plot – the story starts off a little slow, but the writing really captures your attention and draws you away from the pacing as you become wrapped up in the worldbuilding and the characters. By the end, you’re itching for more, and the ending is a very satisfying one (in my opinion).

Where Mejia excels the most is in the craft of characters. Lucha is such a well-written protagonist – she’s messy, she’s honest, and she’s angry. Lucha’s dedication to her sister, Lis; her motivations to leave behind Robado, her hatred of Olvido, and her fear of believing in someone other than herself – all of it makes her all the more real, and all the more the kind of character you root for from beginning to end.

Reading from her point of view, readers can experience how Lucha overcomes her trust issues and fears through her inner monologue and profound self reflection. Her growth throughout the story is impressive – and her strength is undeniable.

Lucha’s relationship with Paz was interesting. Paz wasn’t just a love interest, but an integral part in helping Lucha overcome her trust issues. Their romance was one of yearning, denial, and hope. I like how the ending addressed their relationship – it felt very realistic, and I’d love to see more of them in the future.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the story! It’s a great read for fantasy lovers, and especially for those looking for a good Latinx sapphic story.

Lucha of the Night Forest is a powerful story about sisterhood. It's a force that pulls you through the story. That no matter what happens, Lucha will always try to save her sister. In a world surrounded with inequity, with drugs, and power, Lucha is about to risk everything to save her home and her sister. Lucha of the Night Forest is a story that unfolds and expands. With an immersive forest setting, it features characters who are trying to protect each other. Fleeting moments of power, bargains and compromises, if you love Kay Mejia's writing style, you'll have to add Lucha of the Night Forest to your TBR.

Lucha of the Night Forest by Tehlor Kay Mejia is a young adult fantasy. It has plenty of mushroom magic, sapphic longing, and good vs. evil. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

• As if power or money had ever made a better man.
• ...art never told the whole truth.
• The only thing heavier than a parent's presence is their absence.

I would have liked to see at least one male character that wasn't a villain. The romance suffered from instalove, which I'm not a huge fan of. There were some pacing issues with the time spent in the forest vs other parts, but the book was well written and enjoyable for the most part.

Heavy CW for drug addiction and threats of male violence.

DNF at 70%

I really tried to finish this one. Really, I did. But every time I tried to read, it felt like the words were running away. I had no grasp on what was happening, and I never had time to really absorb the plot because it moved so fast. This book felt like a speedrun. I appreciate that it was a standalone, but I feel like it destroyed what this one had to offer. Not for me

If you've ever thought that the movie Jupiter Ascending needed fungal horror and a creepy forest, then this is that book!

Lucha reminded me of Koral from Monsters Born and made and Katniss from The Hunger Games – a girl desperate to save her family. She willingly enters a dangerous forest where monsters, lost gods, witches are rumored to lurk, and giant white mushrooms that feel like they have appeared straight from my nightmares. When a deal goes wrong that brings Luche connected to a missing god, the forest learns to answer her anger. With the help of an acolyte, Luche might survive destroying the drugs that harm her community.

Tehlor Kay Mejia has already proven talented at writing horror, as seen with the middle-grade series Paloa Santiago. The Night Forest is terrifying and gives me another reason to avoid unusual mushrooms. I admire Lucha's ruthlessness, which makes a beautiful juxtaposition against the tender care she shows for her sister. However, there were times when I had trouble discerning between the two POVs, one first-person and the other third-person, the switch in style almost throwing me out of the story. And while the plot is ambitious for a stand-alone, a duology would have worked better with the pacing and narrative structure.

That said, Lucha and the Night Forest is a book about the allure of power and the lengths people will go to have it.

NetGalley provided a copy. All opinions are my own.

Lucha of the Night Forest is my first book by the author and now I’m even more excited to read the other two I own. This YA fantasy book was a great escape. And let talk about the cover. Isn’t it absolutely beautiful?! It was one of the main reasons I felt drawn to this book. I absolutely enjoyed the sapphic love love element, but I do wish I would’ve been fleshed out slightly more. But maybe that was the point… How much can you flesh out a budding romance when you’re dealing with circumstances like the ones Lucha found herself in? It could be because I have a cold, but this book freaked me out more than I thought it would, but take that information with a grain of salt.

Thank you so much to the author and @tbrbeyondtours for my review copy and allowing me a spot on the tour! I am in no way influenced in my review. Make sure to check them out for future tours🤩
https://tbrandbeyondtours.com/

𝔽𝕒𝕧𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕤:
✨ Strange things happened in the Bosque de la Noche every day, that much was known in all of Elegido. Monsters were born and died without a human ever laying eyes on them. Witches and spirits and (some said) even deities walked in its shadows
✨ There was no goddess, Lucha had known that for a long time. No savior. There was only what you were willing to do for the people you loved. Only what you were willing to pay for their freedom
✨ Many of them seek power for themselves. Some for righteous reasons, some for less. But the world strives toward balance. Power, and responsibility. For those aware of this balance, they must always exist together

Lucha

I’ll make this simple. I trudged through the first 70% of this book waiting for it to end. And the. The last 30% felt incredibly rushed. I wanted to see more depth in the characters. Paz had no personality, Lis was really boring as well. I loved the potential of this story, but I found myself not caring what happened to anyone in the story and just wanting it to be over. I feel like it needed editing in the middle specifically because all I was doing was reading about the forest and cliffhangers at every chapter end… but they didn’t make me want to continue. I have loved other works from this author, but this one just was not it for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Lucha of the Night Forest follows Lucha, a girl who makes a deal to protect her sister.

This was a fun, fast-paced sapphic fantasy. While I did think some parts were rushed, Lucha was easy to root for. The magic system was intriguing and the overall plot kept me riveted, and wrapped up nicely. As with most stand alone fantasies, I could've read a hundred additional pages in this book and been happy, but overall it was an enjoyable read.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Lucha of the Night Forest by Tehlor Kay Mejia is a dark YA fantasy full of coolness and danger. The story revolves around Lucha, whose sister has left her to serve a true villain. Lucha will do anything to save her. She'll awaken her unknown forest powers. She'll team up with a dark entity. She'll even sacrifice her own life if it means that her sister will be safe. Will Lucha succeed in her goal, or will her powers get the best of her?

Here is an atmospheric excerpt from Chapter 1:

"Robado was a night place, and tonight Lucha Moya was glad of it. In night places, no one looked twice at a girl like her. Even one with a long knife strapped to her belt.
...
Revelry wasn’t Lucha’s purpose tonight, but the crowd served her needs nonetheless. She slipped in among the bodies, moving north, trusting that her expression would deter conversation if her knife didn’t. She had no friends to worry about offending. None in the south ward, nor in this entire cursed city.
But no one came to the Scar—named for its utterly barren land—to make friends. In fact, no one came here at all. You were born here, you died here, and you lamented your rotten luck every day in between."

Overall, Lucha of the Night Forest is an amazing, Hispanic-inspired YA fantasy full of danger. One highlight of this book is how it was darker than I anticipated. This definitely veers on the darker side of YA. Content warning: threats of physical and sexual violence to girls/women. Another highlight of this book is how cool Lucha's forest powers are. I thought they were so cool, and I loved reading about Lucha's journey. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of YA fantasy in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in March!

Lucha of the Night Forest begins in the Scar, a desolate drug-ravaged community run by the merciless Los Ricos. At age 16, Lucha knows the biggest dangers to survival are trust and hope. Her father is dead and her Olvida addicted mother is missing, leaving Lucha and 13-year-old Lis to fend for themselves.

From the start, this story is dark and heartbreaking. Author Tehlor Kay Mejia doesn’t pull any punches, and Lucha’s desperation is palpable. The reader, too, finds their own hopes for Lucha repeatedly dashed as she and Lis fall victim to Los Ricos.

At rock bottom, Lucha makes a deal with El Sediento, a nightmare incarnate from the mysterious Bosque de la Noche. His power will allow Lucha and Lis to escape, and together they will destroy Olvida and Los Ricos.

The author’s skill in world building is clear from the first page. As Lucha moves through Robado, the city and its inhabitants were as clear in my mind as a motion picture. By weaving mood and mythology through this detailed imagery, Mejia truly brings this world to life. The constant sense of unease and danger were acutely felt in the pit of my stomach.

As much as I love stories with magic and fantastical creatures, this book’s strength is in the truths it tells about human nature. Mejia explores the lure of power and how it corrupts, along with the choices we make when we’ve run out of options. Themes of freedom, loneliness, forgiveness, free will, and responsibility are integrated throughout.

Lucha of the Night Forest is a YA fantasy, a coming-of-age story, a sapphic romance, and a critique of those who wield power. Readers who travel with Lucha won’t be disappointed and might even find hope at the end.

Thank you to TBR and Beyond Tours, Make Me a World, Random House Children’s Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced digital copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for allowing me access to this book. I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would! This world is incredibly interesting, cruel, and beautiful. And I enjoyed the relationships between the main characters. It was a fast read and it was pretty action packed. A good 4 star ⭐️ read.

This was a good fantasy! The magic system was SO interesting, Magic mushrooms? Are you kidding me? Also, I loved Lucha as a main character. She was so strong and cynical, but she also had so much love to give. The plot was cool too! I loved the idea of her adventuring through the magical forest with her sister and a budding romance.

I gave it three stars because the pace was very confusing. A couple of other people mentioned this, but a few pages would take place over months while the rest of the book took a week, with little or no explanation about the time span. It made for a confusing experience.

Also, I'm sorry, but we know NOTHING about the sister, while she was the catalyst for the whole plot. Honestly, Lucha didn't seem to like her much either.

All in all though, it was a fun quick read! If you're looking for a darker YA with a cool magic system, consider checking this book out.

Lucha of the Night Forest is a fast-paced, entertaining, and emotional read. Lucha will do whatever it takes to take care of her sister, including tracking down the horrible creatures that live in the magical forest and their mother when she's disappeared down the rabbit hole of drugs for too long. This time however their mom isn't coming back, she's taken so many drugs that she doesn't even remember who she is let alone that she has kids at home that need taking care of.

When Lucha's sister is taken, and, she's thrown in a cell where no one will find her, Lucha embraces the darkness, the man who lives in the shadows, and her magical powers to get herself out and rescue her sister. She only has to agree to one thing, and it's something she already wants desperately.

I was fully invested up to and a little past this point in the story. I loved the way Lucha was able to wield her magic and the ferocity with which she did it to protect her sister. The forest was beautiful and deadly... my favorite kind to read about, and the writing was so vivid I could picture everything taking place. The parts where it lost me a bit were mostly the romance between Lucha and Paz, it didn't seem like they really knew enough, or even interacted enough to have that level of feelings for each other at the end of the book, and I didn't feel much chemistry between them. Also the way it ended almost made it feel like there should be more. It left me feeling a bit unfinished.
However, these few things were pretty minor in my feelings for the book as a whole. The writing sucked me in, and Lucha and her ferocity, ingenuity, and well everything about her, kept me flipping pages waiting to see how everything was going to play out.

An amazing fantasy! I loved the setting so much, and the world building was amazing! I really liked this one, and I look forward to more from Tehlor Kay Mejia.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 4 stars
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC of this book via TBR and Beyond Tours in exchange for an honest review!

Lucha of the Night Forest is a young adult story about Lucha, who makes a dangerous bargain to rid the world of a forgetting drug and to save her sister.

“Remember who you are. Remember that you have a choice.”

My attention was really grabbed by the synopsis and the gorgeous cover this book has. It made me very curious to start reading this book from the moment I had it on my kindle app! I am all for a magical forest, adventure and high stakes in books and this is a book that has all three.

The plot starts of quite slow and remains like that for almost 50-60% of the book, when it finally picks up. I have to be honest and say I didn’t really enjoy the first half of the book a lot. It felt a bit dragged and it didn’t seem as if the story was making much progress. It did lay down the “ground rules” of the world, showed the world Lucha lives in and what the drug does. I did really enjoy the second half a lot better, from the moment the pacing picks up.

The magic system is really beautifully and cleverly done, but I feel like I could’ve had a deeper understanding of the system itself. I do like how Lucha uses the powers she has to fight and not just sit back and watch what’ll happen.

The whole story is told from Lucha’s POV, so while we learn a lot about the world from her perspective, I do wonder what more a second POV could’ve brought to this story. It might have battled the parts where I missed a certain depth to the story.

The characters are nice, but I didn’t love them. What I liked most about Lucha is her loyalty, bravery and the love she has for her sister, for whom she is so selfless. I also liked the growth she had and learning to understand why her mother is like she is. It would be good for people to read that realization, because I feel like a lot of people don’t understand addiction and the need to escape, which this book can teach.

There was a little bit of romance in this book, but I feel like it was very novel and didn’t have a lot of time to truly develop into something strong and beautiful. I did like the bit of chemistry that the characters showed. I also really loved the portrayal of the sisterhood between Lucha and Lis.

I really loved how this book ended! It was a conclusion I hadn’t expected and at the same time it fits perfectly to the story. I think any other ending would’ve brought down the weight of the importance of having a choice.

Overall, Lucha of the Night Forest is a fantasy book that has a deeper meaning than it seems at the start. It starts of really slow, but the end is worth it.

I'm a fan of this particular author, so I think I inclined to like this novel from the start. Magic, Mexican myth, and a corrupted reflection of the Christ story help make this semi-gothic adventure compelling and highly readable. There is an ongoing love-at-first-sight romance (same sex) that I felt didn't really add much and at times the insistent will-they-won't-they actually got in the way of the primary plot. I suspect it is a stand alone book but if it isn't, I'd be excited to learn more about Lucha's later adventures. It does not appear to be set in the same world at Mejia's other fantasy series (which is also excellent)