First of all, the Mesoamerican fantasy and mythology present in this was so rich and exciting to learn about! Plus, we love when women get over their hesitancy to kill and start wielding a sword against colonizers! That’ll always hit. I liked this genderbent Zorro-inspired fantasy…but there were also some critical things that I couldn’t overlook.

Namely, the wild last half. It feels so disjointed from the first half. It was fascinating to meet mythological beings, but some of the “twists” I saw coming a mile away and felt lackluster as a reveal. We lose the even pacing in the first half as well, and I fear too much was packed into the end. Also, the romantic connection between Leonora and Andres felt incredibly forced, their chemistry was stilted, and by the end I had no idea why she would even be interested in him.