The Diablo's Curse

November 13, 2023
Taking place in the same world as The Wicked Bargain, this evocative tale by Novoa stars Mexico-born, gender-fluid Dami, formerly a demon, who is living their best life following El Diablo’s death. Walking among humankind, eating food, and being an active member of society has always been Dami’s dream. But that dream is snatched away when Dami’s demonic traits begin manifesting once again. To keep their new life, they must cancel all the deals they made as a demonio. That’s easier said than done, especially since cis white 16-year-old Silas refuses to renege on his bargain, which involves Dami keeping him alive as a countermeasure against a family curse that doomed Silas to die young. The duo instead team up with shipwrecked 16-year-old Mexican trans girl Marisol to journey across New England seeking Captain Kidd’s legendary lost treasure, which they believe can be used to break Silas’s curse. Some context and worldbuilding relies on having read The Wicked Bargain, which can be a deterrent to newcomers. Still, by utilizing Dami, Silas, and Marisol’s alternating POVs, Novoa explores themes of masculinity, gender, and colonization, and meditates on how the histories of queer and immigrant peoples intertwine. Ages 12–up. Agent: Louise Fury, Bent Agency.

December 1, 2023
A demonio grasping for humanity and a human boy with a family curse embark on a hunt for a treasure that will set them free. According to the terms of their bargain with el Diablo, Dami should be human, but their revelry comes to an end when food they should be able to taste turns to ashes in their mouth. El Diablo didn't tell Dami that if they failed to close all their open deals with mortals within a year, they'd revert to being a demonio forever. Silas Cain, who's cued white, carries the burden of a generational curse that would have killed him if he hadn't made a deal with Dami, but now he's stuck in a torturous loop of life and death. When Dami offers to set him free from their soul-binding contract, Silas strikes a new bargain that Dami has no choice but to accept--Silas will end their contract, but only if Dami helps him break the curse and save his younger sister from inheriting tragedy. This book, set in the world of The Wicked Bargain (2023), follows Dami to the New England coast through well-paced shifts in point of view and revealing flashbacks. High stakes and an enemies-to-lovers romance combine to create a satisfyingly suspenseful story. Dami and Silas share the narration with Marisol, a clever and endearing transgender girl whose adventure intertwines with theirs. Dami and Marisol are Mexican, and some of their conversations include Spanish. A tumultuous and romantic adventure. (Fantasy. 14-18)

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February 15, 2024
Grades 8-12 Dami, raised by El Diablo, has learned the ways of making deals with mortals to grant them the things they most desire: love, wealth, prolonged life. In exchange, those humans promise their souls, their firstborn--whatever it takes. It was through one of these deals that Dami entered El Diablo's world in the first place. Now, to avoid spending eternity as a demonio, or a being of the dead, they must end 127 contracts in eight months. Surprisingly, the first 126 are easy. Then Dami, Latinx half-demon, arrives in nineteenth-century Boston to free the final contractee, Silas Cain. Their bargain is the only thing keeping Silas alive, and he has unfinished business of his own. With their fates inextricably bound, and feelings beginning to smolder, the unlikely duo embarks on a hunt for buried treasure, facing certain death at every turn. Will they survive each other and meet the deadline or be doomed to live forever on someone else's terms? A standalone companion to The Wicked Bargain (2023), this propulsive fantasy explores more of Novoa's imaginative world.

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March 1, 2024

Gr 9 Up-Dami will do anything to escape being doomed to life as a demonio with no human senses after their awful childhood with El Diablo. Unfortunately, this requires them to undo each and every one of their 127 deals with humans; easy enough until Dami meets Silas, whose family curse of untimely death is thwarted by the deal Silas made with Dami. Unless Dami can help Silas undo the curse by finding and returning Captain Kidd's treasure, Silas cannot agree to dissolve the deal without dooming his sister to death, but as they travel to and try to survive the invisible island where the treasure lies, time is quickly running out for Dami's hopes of staying human. Upon finding the invisible island of Kidd lore, they meet shipwrecked Marisol, a smart, funny, and kind transgender girl who may be their only hope of figuring out the puzzles keeping the treasure hidden-and once the treasure is found, Dami will have to decide what is really most important to them. Novoa hits his stride here with snarky, sparkly characters, threading exciting action and Silas's repeated visceral deaths with warmly emotional and gently informative scenes. As all three characters work to break free of the roles that others have placed them in, questions of identity, self-awareness, and self-definition arise and are handled with genuine care and heart. The slow-burn romance feels sweetly shy and grows organically. VERDICT An energetic, dynamic, and satisfying adventure.-Allie Stevens

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