Book Review - The Rick Riordan Presents: Lords of Night by J.C. Cervantes

 

 

The Rick Riordan Presents: Lords of Night by J.C. Cervantes is about a young woman, Renata Santiago, who tries to control her destiny. Fourteen-year-old Renata is different from the other godborn, and one of the most powerful of them. From her dad, she has Mexican blood that allowed her the ability to manipulate shadows. Her mother, Pacific, a Mayan goddess, bestowed on her a magical golden rope that she could use to control time. She used up the time rope’s ability when she prevented a few gods from being transported and getting stuck in 1987. With her unique powers, she was able to save the gods including her best friend, Ah Puch, the god of death, darkness, and destruction. While she did manage to save him, Ah Puch is stuck as a teenager with no divine powers.

While Ren has godlike DNA and friends, she is also an ordinary teenager. She wishes that her blog about aliens would get more respect and that people would stop bullying her online. She knows that there is a connection between aliens and the Mayan civilizations. She is desperate to prove her online haters wrong. When she receives a fan email about a potential alien sighting in Kansas, she jumps at the chance to prove her theory. However, when she arrives, she feels that the five renegade godborns might be behind the “sighting”.

As Ren investigates the possible alien sighting, she finds herself tangled in a plot to wake up the nine Aztec Lords of Night. Ren wants to stop the five godborns before it’s too late. However, none of her friends are available to join her journey. Luckily for her, Ah Puch has a few tricks up his sleeve to help her. Will Ren be able to stop the Lords of the Night from awakening?

The book is the first part of a duology series, but it continues the story from another series. The book can be read as a standalone, but I feel like I am missing some nuances from the characters and story because I didn’t read the previous series. They felt very one-dimensional and flat for me.  I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters because the author did give a bit of background on them, but it wasn’t enough for me to care.

I felt the book was moving slowly and then towards the end, the writing felt rushed and sloppy. The book sort of ended on a cliffhanger. While it took some time for me to get into the book and it wasn’t interesting enough that I would want to continue the series. I feel readers who are familiar with the prior series would enjoy this book more than I did.