Buddy Reads & Rants: Cemetery Boys (Jonny Pongratz & Misty’s Book Space)
Hello Blogging World!
Jonny
I love cemeteries, though I’ve never met a cute guy at one. Talk about FOMO! I’m so jealous of Yadriel. 🙁
Misty
Hey everyone, long time no talk. Unlike Jonny I’m not a fan of cemeteries. I’m fine with going in the day to visit loved ones who have passed but actually living in or near one umm no thank you!!
This buddy read and rant is for Cemetery Boys (Cemetery Boys #1) by Aiden Thomas.
Blurb:
Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.
When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.
However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He’s determined to find out what happened and tie up some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.
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***Brief disclosure***
Jonny is an Amazon affiliate and earn a tiny commission for purchases made through the Amazon links in this post. It’s a great way to help him keep things running on his blog if you’re already intrigued enough to make a purchase.
Buddy Read Book Rant:
Jonny
I’m so glad this was a hit for both of us! We’ve read a bunch of books together and not all of them were winners, so I’m really grateful this panned out for us. What did you love most about this book? I loved the latinx family members and how close they are to one another. I had a stepdad back in the day (ex-stepdad now). His family is latinx and while I didn’t get to observe all of their traditions, the closeness of family felt so on point. I just fell in love with the whole family and their quirky bickering.
Misty
I’m so glad we have another one to add to our loves list. Also I just have to say thank you for being so patient with me with this one. You flew through it in no time and it took me 2 months to finish it because of my stupid weird reading mood lately.
There are several things I loved about this one. I didn’t know how it was going to play out but I I obviously have to say the romance (do you know who you’re speaking to?? 😆) I also love the family dynamic (both real family and found family) as well as getting to learn about the Latinx culture.
Jonny
No problem at all! I read it for this grad school class (also because it just sounded cool) and literally had to read a book about every two or three days, so the pressure was so on. Glad that class is over!
Hahaha, I’m not surprised, but I also really enjoyed the romance. It didn’t overpower the plot too much but was still somewhat important to the story and especially Yadriel. Yeah, I felt ingrained in the culture and I loved all the details (please do not ask me about the time I visited my step-grandma and saw a severed cow head in the kitchen!) around it too.
How did you like Yadriel? I’ve gotta say, this is the first book I’ve read with a trans character as the MC where they weren’t overly sexualized, so I really appreciated that and getting to know Yadriel helped me think of what a trans youth’s troubles might be as they come of age.
Misty
I would be stressed out having to read books that fast. I mean sometimes I can fly through a book but generally I’m a slow reader. I can imagine you are. Congratulations by the way on your graduating. I bet you’re ready for the next phase of life.
Anyways back to the book. I feel like it did take over the plot. Like the romance and the mystery wasn’t balanced in my opinion. That being said it clearly didn’t mess with my enjoyment of the book overall in the end. I don’t even want to know about the cow. I loved Yadriel. I’m pretty sure this is the first book I’ve ever read with a trans character in it. I could be wrong about that though so don’t hold me to that statement. As far as I can remember this is the first one. Coming back to the whole loving it because it taught me so much about not only the Latinx community but also about what’s it’s like to be transgender and things they have to go through. I’m sure there’s still so much much I could learn but I feel like this was a great place to start.
What did you think of Julian? I know when we first started reading it I told you it took me a little bit to get into it but as soon as he made an appearance I was hooked. That’s still very much true but the more I read he started to bit a bit annoying at times but by the end I was loving him and honestly holding back tears.
Jonny
Oh, there’s definitely a lot of pressure when you have a TBR deadline like that, but I’d actually done three classes like that so I got used to it. That being said, it’s so great to be done with grad school and to be able to just have free time again. Definitely slowing down my reading from here on out!
Oh, I can see what you mean. Maybe because Yadriel’s emotions about Julian steered their decision making at a certain point onward. Yeah, Yadriel’s inner voice felt pretty authentic to me. I’m gay and have only had a couple of trans friends who ended up moving away, so my personal knowledge is very limited. I think queer/trans or questioning teens would see themselves in this book and that’s so important.
I loved how opposite of Yadriel Julian was! He was pretty easy to understand for me, and I liked his attitude. It made things a lot more entertaining.
I agree with you. After reading the first chapter I wasn’t hooked, but I kept going and it got better and better, especially after Julian hits the scene. I’m glad you were moved by the story! I’ve only cried reading one book (A Monster Calls), so it takes a lot, but it did pull at my heartstrings for sure.
Misty
Oh I definitely feel like this book will make some people feel seen. Am I right in saying this is an own voices book?
Oh I loved that this is an opposites attract story. Me and my husband are complete opposites in pretty much everything so it’s nice seeing it represented in books. I understand his actions and would even say it’s accurate representation for a teenager but it didn’t keep him from annoying the crap out of me sometimes lol.
I’ve cried while reading several books over the years but I will say it’s harder to get me to full on cry. I get teary eyed here and there which is what happened with this book.
Jonny
For sure! It’s pretty inclusive in that it’s both trans and a gay character, so it tackles both groups. Yep, I’d say this is an own voices book. It felt very real and authentic.
You know, I’ve always been curious about what works for other people. I totally get the opposites attract thing, as that’s how I’ve navigated most of my dating life. But ironically my boyfriend and I are very similar and it works for us. Haha, yeah Julian could get really riled up and didn’t have the best self control. I can see how readers would only be able to take his character in doses.
Well I’d say any emotional reaction like that speaks volumes to the content. This was such an emotional book, and the mystery and fantasy shenanigans complimented it pretty well. Loved it!
Misty
I ended up looking up the author and he is a trans queer Latinx so I would say it’s definitely an own voices book.
You wouldn’t think being completely different in everything would be a good combo but we’ve made it work.
There were only a couple times where Julian got on my nerves a bit but even then that didn’t take away from my love of this book all that much.
Definitely any emotional reaction speaks volumes and I would say there were a few times where it had me laughing to. In the end I ended up giving it 4.5 stars.
Jonny
Oh wow, that’s amazing! I bet they really dug deep into their own personal history to present this in a very real way.
Yeah. I think in relationships it just comes down to accepting and respecting the differences that make us so unique. My boyfriend may not completely understand why I love writing books, but he’s always there for me cheering from the sidelines when I’m at events and whatnot.
I think it was when Julian got emotional and lashed out a bunch midway through the story that got on my nerves, so I definitely understand what you mean.
Oh yeah, some of their bickering and comebacks were hilarious. I live for the drama! I ended up giving it a four due to the beginning not gripping me quite as much as I wanted, but that’s still pretty darn good in my book. No books under four stars are allowed on my bookshelf at home (aka, I need another bookshelf lol).
Thanks for reading this one with me! I can’t wait til we get to pick out our next one. I’m free in January if you’re available. 🙂
Misty
Yes it’s all in finding someone supportive no matter what. My husband isn’t a reader but he will listen to me ranting about books that he has no idea what they are about.
Yes those were the times I felt like he was a little bit OTT. But overall I did really love him.
I like some drama but especially when it’s done in a humorous way. I only have space for one book shelf and it holds all of my TBR books. I put all of my read books in totes and take them to storage because I just don’t have the space. One day if we ever get our own place I will definitely need to go through my books and get rid of the ones I didn’t enjoy.
I always have fun buddy reading with you and I’m glad this one was a hit. Thank you again for being patient with me. Hopefully next year will be better. As for a buddy read in January you know I’m down. Did you have anything in mind?
Jonny
Oh my gosh, me too! I’ll just be blah blah’ing about my latest read and how awesome it was and the boyfriend will humor me no matter how often I’ve got bookish hearts in my eyes.
Yeah. In the end, Julian and Yadriel were definitely winners to me too.
Oh, for sure! I may love my dark stuff, but sometimes I just want to laugh. This book was great for that. Oh, that’s a good idea. All the ones I don’t like as much as I wanted I actually hand over to my mom. She resells a bunch of stuff and I’ve got quite the stack going. I guess it’s a good thing I’m the one hosting Christmas this year, haha!
Of course. Always happy to connect over these fun reads. Yay! I’m not sure what yet, but I’ve got some ideas I can share with you. Whatever we choose, I just know it’ll be amazing!
Misty
They were winner for me as well. I would love it if the author wrote a follow up book. It’s not needed or anything I just want more of these characters.
Oh I love dark stuff to but if a book can get me to laugh or cry that’s good because it’s actually kind of hard to do.
Ok just share them with me whenever you have time and we can go from there.
Jonny
Oh, that would be marvelous! Hopefully they decide to do that or something with a similar vibe to this one.
Exactly. I’ve been thinking about branching out and doing some funny books here and there. Guess I’ll add that to my new year’s resolutions! (I’ve got a big list already lol)
For sure! Thanks again my friend, and happy holidays!
Misty
Thank you and happy Holidays to you as well.
That’s A Wrap!
Thanks for joining us on our buddy read and rant of Cemetery Boys! We had a lot of fun, and hope you did too! We will definitely be doing some more buddy reads in the future, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, why not check out Misty and Jonny’s other fun buddy reads?
Buddy Read: Ravensong
Buddy Read: Wolfsong
Buddy Read: Magic Bites
Buddy Read: The First to Die at the End
Buddy Read: They Both Die at the End
Buddy Read: Under the Whispering Door
Buddy Read: The Burning World
Buddy Read: Warm Bodies
Buddy Read: The Wicked Deep
Buddy Read: The Locke & Key Series
Buddy Read: Dark Lover
Buddy Read: Please Don’t Tell My Parents I’m a Supervillain
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I had so much fun buddy reading this one with you even though it took me forever to finish it. Also thanks for getting me to finally read it. It had been on my TBR for a while before we picked it up.
Of course! I need to hack away at my TBR more consistently for sure.
Same!!