Nocturna, and the time my Duolingo Spanish was finally useful

This book is completely bonkers - it introduces a fantastical magical world with strong Latinx origins, which had me turning to my Spanish partner every once in a while asking what the Spanish words peppered throughout mean (although I am pleased to say those Duolingo Spanish classes finally paid off four years later).

We have some real gems, like a prince whose surname is literally 'Kings', and a nomadic thief who's aptly given herself the last name 'Go'. Other notable vocabulary includes throwaway words like 'Hello', 'wait', and such like, some of which have literally been used for spells. I wish it was that easy in English too, so I can order my dishes to Wash! and my food to Cook!.

Had this story been written by a white author, I would have rolled my eyes at the whole thing, but based on Maya Motayne's bio, I assume she's got Latinx heritage which she's weaving into her debut series, which instantly makes this 200% more charming and brings down the cringe factor to zero.

(Yes, I'm judgemental. I feel I am entitled to it after reading a bunch of books by people who can't tell Easter European countries apart and throw random phrases in to make their character more exotic.) In fact, the more I listened to this book, the more I found myself looking forward to the Spanish phrases. Kudos also to Kyle Garcia for doing such a splendid job narrating.

The magic in itself is quire interesting - it has basis in common tropes (manipulating different elements, magic words, natural vs supernatural magic, different people's magic having different qualities), but the way these are all woven together is unique and has me wanting to find out more. Oh, and because having magic is not special enough, we also have people with extra special magic unique to just them (propio). Buckle up, this just gets wilder.

Finn is a douche. There, I said it. If you've read my book reviews, you'd know that I'm 100% here for strong female characters. However, I do not like ones who have been overdone and turned into a complete asshole just for the sake of being sassy and making snide remarks, or being reluctant to join the protagonist on his quest. Initially she reminded me of Delilah Bard from A Darker Shade of Magic who I really disliked, so I was a bit weary of the whole thieving, 'I'm only in this for myself and the money' business, but as her backstory unfolded, my dislike for her lessened.

Alfie, on the other hand, is a soft marshmallow of a prince who I loved immediately. He has a tragic past, but he doesn't really use it to brood in the traditional sense. He's just the right amount of dysfunctional to be relatable without becoming a cliche. He does a whole bunch of things that are severely misguided, and clearly has a death wish, but I was rooting for him every step of the way, proud to see he faced some of his demons and came out the other side unscathed. He's not all vanilla either - early on, we see him use some trickery to get what he wants, and he carries a flask of tequila around just in case. I can get behind that. Although I must say, his chemistry with Finn felt a bit forced, and here's why.

Luka. He is the prince's best friend and everyone's favourite supporting character who literally saves the day and is openly gay, which made me like him instantly. But perhaps more importantly than Luka's day saving and general queer coolness is he fact that him and Alfie are literally made for each other. Had they not been cousins, I would have shipped them real hard, and I was still very disappointed by the pairing up between the prince and the thief.

Side note: Now that I'm writing this review, I realise that the main characters are giving me serious A Darker Shade... vibes - a rascal thief lady, a broody main character and his gay best friend, who is coincidentally way cooler that the two protagonists. I'll keep you posted on how the parallel holds up over the next instalments.

In terms of plot, I wasn't particularly blown away by the main conflict. I've kept this review relatively spoiler-free (for a change), so I'll stick to what you can already see in the synopsis. There's a dark magic on the loose and our heroes have to get it back under control before everyone dies. Decent story arch, but a bit heavy on the supernatural elements. The second book promises to be more focused on the political intrigue, which is only briefly glanced upon in Nocturna, so I'm looking forward to diving into that.

PS. I'll be a Spanish expert by the end of this maldito trilogy. (This joke is only funny if you've already read the book. Sorry, I couldn't resist).

4/5 stars