The author of LABYRINTH LOST is Zoraida Córdova. Córdova has also written other incredible books, including The Vicious Deep series and the On the Verge series. Each of these book series is incredible in its own way, and LABYRINTH LOST is a wonderful tale of magic and romance. While I have some issues with the way the plot was presented, the surprise twists make it worth a read.

LABYRINTH LOST is about a girl named Alejandra --- she goes by Alex, though. She is one of the most powerful brujas (witches) in her generation, and yet, she absolutely hates magic. One day (her Death Day, specifically) she casts a spell to get rid of her magic. Something goes horribly wrong and bam: she magically gets rid of her entire family! Next she meets an incredibly mysterious brujo boy named Nova. Nova, Alex, and Alex’s best friend, Rishi, then embark on amazing quest to find Alex’s family. To do this, they have to travel through one of the most dangerous places imaginable: Los Lagos, a world in-between where it seems as though anything could happen. Through their journey they learn of love, friendships and many other important life lessons.

"LABYRINTH LOST is a wonderful tale of magic and romance....Cordova's world building was especially impressive.... "

In the beginning things are somewhat confusing. While the reader understands that Alex has nightmares about a specific time of her life, we don’t really understand why those memories keep surfacing, and the reason for those memories to appear to her. We learn in the beginning of the book that Alex hates her magic and has been trying to keep it hidden for a while now. This interesting take on magical powers transitions smoothly into the middle of the book when her magic breaks free.

In the middle of the book we get the understanding of what Alex does to try and get rid of her magic. We witness her, Nova, and Rishi go through the Labyrinth in Los Lagos, a terrifying world separate from our own. Cordova's world building was especially impressive here, as she managed to fully immerse me in the world of Los Lagos while maintaing her plot.

The end of the book is very interesting and is where the narrative really picks up. This is when we really see a different side to most of the characters. This is also when most of the secrets/ surprises of the book are revealed. I, of course, will not be telling you those secrets/surprises, as I believe you should read the book yourself --- especially if you like surprises, mystery and a bit of danger.

The development of the characters is where Córdova was a bit lacking as an author, as we don’t see many sides to the characters in the story. We only understand part of who they are and never really get the full gist of them. Alex is made out to be curious initially, but after one particularly noteworthy event, it seemed as if her curiosity vanished. Rishi, meanwhile, is presented as confident, but we never really see another part of her. Nova is said to be mysterious, but we never get a good glimpse into his background. The only real character development we see in the story is Alex becoming more and more accepting of her magic as she goes through the Labyrinth --- which was extremely exciting, don’t get me wrong.

I personally loved the twists in the end of the book. They really added the meat to the story and encouraged me to finish the book in only a few short days. I would recommend this book for someone 13 and older. I say 13 because the book did have a couple mature themes, interesting dialogue and mentions of things not suitable for younger children. You would also need a mature mind to really understand what’s going on in the story, as Cordova has woven an intricate and dense tale of magic, loyalty and acceptance.