ARC Review~ Labyrinth Lost

~Review~

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova had a lot of potential. I fell in love with the idea of Alice in Wonderland mixed in with a little bit of Limbo filled me with excitement. Now I won't say that this book was terrible, I did still enjoy it but I felt like it didn't live up to the potential it could've. There were aspects I really enjoyed, but their were some that threw me off.

Firstly lets talk about the love interests, I was aware that there was likely to be a F/F pairing because of what I had been hearing. To be truthfully honest it was probably one of the reasons why I picked it up. There's not a lot of F/F pairings in the world of YA novels, well not nearly as much as it could be or as much as I wished there to be. I loved Alex and Rishi, however I didn't liked them as a pairing. As individuals I liked both characters. They had quirky traits to make me love them individual but not as a whole. I felt like cute scenes were forced, we as readers didn't truthfully get to see things develop. I liked the idea of maybe Nova and Alex together, because of us seeing the development, but even then I wouldn't have pictured them together either. I really was cheering for Alex and Rishi, and at times I did love the fact of them being together, but something about the chemistry was off. This in turn just caused me to cringe sometimes. I had high hopes for this F/F pairing, but unfortunately that part of the story didn't get fulfilled for me as a reader.

Now I actually really loved the world building for Los Lagos. I was really looking forward to this twisted dead wonderland kind of thing, and it totally lived up to this. There was complexity behind it. The writing was really brilliant and I would give Zoraida a huge round of applause for this aspect of the novel. This part of the Labyrinth Lost is what did actually live up to the potential I had felt for the book in the first place. I felt submersed but not suffocated . Everything worked well together and everything had a place. 

Overall Labyrinth Lost had it's downfalls, but I wouldn't say that I didn't enjoy it. The story was unique and promising in it's own way. I definitely appreciated the world the author created. The love was a downfall, and I found the pacing to be a but off. Though I would still recommend this book and I am looking forward to encountering the second book. 

**Disclaimer: I received a review copy from the publisher in order to give my honest review of this book. This does not effect nor influence my opinions about the book in any which way**

~About the Book~

Title: Labyrinth Lost
Author: Zoraida Cordova
Publication Date: September 6th, 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Source: eArc provided by Publisher from Netgalley
Description:
Nothing says Happy Birthday like summoning the spirits of your dead relatives.

Alex is a bruja, the most powerful witch in a generation...and she hates magic. At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of her power. But it backfires. Her whole family vanishes into thin air, leaving her alone with Nova, a brujo boy she can't trust. A boy whose intentions are as dark as the strange marks on his skin.

The only way to get her family back is to travel with Nova to Los Lagos, a land in-between, as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland...

Will this book be on your TBR for September? Have you pre-odered it already?