Rick Riordan Presents: Dawn of the Jaguar

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents the breathtaking finale to J. C. Cervantes’s Maya-inspired Shadow Bruja duology, in which Ren makes a bargain for her life.

Shadow bruja Ren Santiago was relentlessly pursued by the evil Aztec Lords of Night, who claimed that she was destined to be their queen, a destiny she wasn’t willing to accept. So she chose death instead.

Too bad death wasn’t the answer to her problems. Ren soon realizes she must return to the land of the living to make things right. Unfortunately, that means negotiating with Ixtab, queen of the underworld. Ixtab offers her ten days aboveground in exchange for the discarded crown of jade and shadow. If Ren fails, she will return to the darkness for eternity. Ren agrees, knowing full well that she also has to save her friends Marco, Monty, and Edison and, while she’s at it, put those pesky Lords of Night back to sleep forever.

The only problem is, Ren lost her shadow magic and time rope when she lost her life. How will Ren manage to accomplish what feels impossible? The answer lies not in manipulating shadows or time, but in recognizing the awesome power that has always been inside her.

J. C. Cervantes’s trademark humor, incredibly high stakes, fascinating characters, and shocking plot twists are on full display in this epic conclusion of an unputdownable duology.

J. C. Cervantes (she/her) is a New York Times best-selling author of books for children and young adults. She grew up in San Diego and was fascinated by stories about Maya gods and magic as a child. Those tales inspired her to write a middle grade fantasy trilogy about children of Maya and Aztec gods for Rick Riordan Presents: The Storm Runner, The Fire Keeper, and The Shadow Crosser, and two spin-off novels: The Lords of Night and Dawn of the Jaguar. For more work by J. C. Cervantes, look for her YA romances Flirting with Fate, and Always Isn’t Forever, and her entry in the YA fiction series The Mirror: Fractured Path. Follow her on Hive Social @JCCervantes and Instagram: #AuthorJCervantes.