Charlie Hernández & the Golden Dooms by Ryan Calejo: Review & Giveaway

Charlie Hernández & the Golden Dooms by Ryan Calejo
Published by Aladdin on September 13, 2022
Genres: Contemporary Fantasy, Middle Grade
Pages: 384
Source: Blog Tour, The Publisher
My rating:

Inspired by Hispanic folklore, legends, and myths from the Iberian Peninsula and Central and South America, this third book in the Charlie Hernández series follows Charlie as he fights against an army of the dead.

After hitchhiking across Central and South America to rescue the Witch Queen and face off against La Mano Peluda, Charlie Hernández is pretty much grounded for life. But after all he’s been through, some quiet time at home with his parents might be nice. Though it would be better if he didn’t have to share his room with his obnoxiously perfect cousin Raúl, who’s staying with them.

But quiet is hard to come by when you’re the fifth and final morphling, and it’s not long before death walks back into Charlie’s life. Or at least, the dead do, starting with a mysterious young calaca who corners him at school, dropping cryptic hints about trouble brewing in the 305. With the League of Shadows focused on repairing fractured alliances and tracking gathering armies, this one’s up to Charlie to solve.

Following the clues only leads to more questions, and not even teenage investigative journalist extraordinaire Violet Rey can figure out how a sudden rooster infestation, earthquakes, missing persons, and a pet-napping gang of lizard-men—whom Charlie doesn’t recognize from any legend—are all connected. Most concerning of all is when they learn a map has been stolen that reveals the locations of the Golden Dooms, the twelve ancient calaca watchmen who form the magical barrier between the realms.

To stop the impending invasion, Charlie and Violet must outwit an ancient evil and unravel the most sinister of schemes. That is, unless they’d rather watch the Land of the Living get overrun by the dead.

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Charlie Hernández & the Golden Dooms is the third installment in the series, and it continues the humor, adventure, and heart of the first two books. When a calaca (a Mexican skeleton of sorts) shows up at Charlie’s school and begs him for help, he can’t refuse. And of course, his incredibly intelligent and inquisitive longtime crush Violet is ready to put her sleuthing skills to the test and jumps right in to help. As with the previous books, the kids end up interacting with both heroes and monsters from Hispanic folklore, and often Charlie uses details from their stories to defeat his foes. This installment of the series introduces a new important character, Charlie’s cousin Raúl, who intimidates Charlie more than a little with his good looks and suave demeanor. Their relationship ends up being a fun addition to the book, and Raúl has a few surprises in store! And Charlie’s crush on Violet also reaches new heights while they’re trying to solve the mystery of the Golden Dooms and save humanity, once again. This series is perfect for kids who enjoy Rick Riordan’s books. It’s a non-stop page-turning folklore-filled adventure!

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via Rockstar Book Tours so I could provide an honest review. No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

Grab the first 2 books in the CHARLIE HERNÁNDEZ  series now!

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