Battle Hill Bolero

Bone Street Rumba #3

by Daniel José Older

In the third in the richly detailed and diverse (io9) urban fantasy series, the time has come for the dead to rise up against the shady powers-that-be...
"The time has come for the dead to rise up..."
Trouble is brewing between the Council of the Dead and the ghostly, half-dead, spiritual, and supernatural community they claim to represent. One too many shady deals have gone down in New York City s streets, and those caught in the crossfire have had enough. It s time for the Council to be brought down this time for good.
Carlos Delacruz is used to being caught in the middle of things: both as an inbetweener, trapped somewhere between life and death, and as a double agent for the Council. But as his friends begin preparing for an unnatural war against the ghouls in charge, he realizes that more is on the line than ever before not only for the people he cares about, but for every single soul in Brooklyn, alive or otherwise..."

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal, Science Fiction Fantasy, Ghosts, Speculative Fiction

317 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 3, 2017

About the author

Daniel José Older is the New York Times bestselling author of the Young Adult series the Shadowshaper Cypher (Scholastic), the Bone Street Rumba urban fantasy series (Penguin), and the upcoming Middle Grade sci-fi adventure Flood City (Scholastic). He won the International Latino Book Award and has been nominated for the Kirkus Prize, the Mythopoeic Award, the Locus Award, the Andre Norton Award, and yes, the World Fantasy Award. Shadowshaper was named one of Esquire’s 80 Books Every Person Should Read. You can find his thoughts on writing, read dispatches from his decade-long career as an NYC paramedic and hear his music at http://danieljoseolder.net/, on youtube and @djolder on twitter.

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

A highly satisfying end to the trilogy. The cast list is immense, given the story spans two previous novels and a whole book's worth of short stories, all of which tie into the ending, but Older handles it with bravura. A wild ride with diverse characters, a satisfying romance, and some baroque urban fantasy weirdness.

[Carly · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Tonight we rise as one and change the world!"

Bone Street Rumba. Half-Resurrection Blues. Midnight Taxi Tango. Battle Hill Bolero. From the titles alone, it's clear how important an influence music is on Older, and his love of rhythm and texture can be felt through the pages. Sure, it's a story about ghosts and humans duking it out against supernatural monsters, but for me, the series is just as much about New York City, the backstreets and communities that half-dead Carlos Delacruz and his full-ghost and human friends inhabit, from the juxtaposition of layered history in the ghost world to creeping gentrification to chatty santeros to the clash of cultures on the city streets. In Battle Hill Bolero, the story really picks up its tempo.

If you've read my reviews before, you probably know I'm somewhat cavalier about series order-- even in this case, I started with Midnight Taxi Tango (#2) and only recently went back to read Half-Resurrection Blues (#1). So please take my word for it when I say that this book simply won't work without the previous two in the series. (In fact, that realization, which occurred within the first chapter of this book, is the reason why I went back to read the first book.) Any discussion of the plot necessarily involves spoilers for the previous books, so consider yourself warned.

After the slow buildup in the previous books in the series, the rebellion against the Council has finally reached boiling point. After a host of mutual misunderstandings, Carlos and Sasha are finally trying to work things out, complicated by the revolution exploding around them. Battle Hill Bolero is chock-full of battlescenes, and some of them are pretty awesome. However, I did find it surprising that, given the series' focus on exploring the humanity of the other characters, there was so little concern for the sanctity of the lives (or unlives, as the case may be) of the adversaries. This is a civil war that pits friend against friend and coworker against coworker. How did the fight against the Council become a fight against a faceless enemy? I also don't tend to find plotting to be Older's strong point, and this book was no exception. I never really understand why the antagonists--and some of the protagonists-- do what they do; their often contradictory actions seem to serve only the plot. One thing that drove me slightly nuts was Carlos's entirely inconsistent status as secret rebel. At one moment, they're looking for a traitor; at another, he's going out to a bar with them; at another, they offer him a job; at another, they're attacking his house. It was logically inconsistent and didn't even really drive the plot. The ngks were another issue. While it was gratifying to see all the pieces of the previous books come together, I have no clue how or why they got involved, and why anyone thought it was a good idea to employ the magical equivalent of a nuclear attack. And while it was interesting to finally find out what happened at Carlos's death, it was sort of a letdown. Honestly, the whole "murder their whole families" thing still makes no sense to me, particularly given that Carlos and Sasha had no idea who they were in their previous lives anyway. But the biggest issue was, of course, Flores. Other than to drive the plot, what was the motivation for all the insane actions he took, from sending them to the Web to starting a war against them to bringing in Caitlin? He was basically a plot device, and a shallow one at that.

I'm drawn to these books because of the vivid glimpses of New York that Older gives us, the diverse characters, not the plot or action scenes. And I absolutely loved some of the characters introduced here, from Kris the take-no-prisoners ghost to Red, a transgender pirate whose spunky spirit outlived his body by centuries, as well as old friends from previous books. And then there's the sheer love of language that imbues the story, and the sly situational humor that is such an integral part of urban fantasy. For example:

"Meetings are Satan's way of balancing out all the beautiful things in the world, like music."

We even get an enjoyable cameo from Shadowshaper as well as a few hints about the next mythological entities Carlos and the gang will encounter. Battle Hill Bolero is a watershed book for the series. It absolutely cannot be read without the other books in the series, for the plot is filled with an unexpected but gratifying symmetry. I'm not sure where Older will take the series next, but I'm definitely in for the ride.

~~I received this ebook through Netgalley from the publisher, Berkley Publishing Group, in exchange for my honest review. Quotes were taken from an advanced reader copy and while they may not reflect the final phrasing, I believe they speak to the spirit of the novel as a whole.~~

Cross-posted on Booklikes.

[Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This wrapped up the series very nicely, if a bit predictably. I liked that we learned more about Sasha and Carlos's living lives and who they were before they died, though it did make their already messed up relationship more messed up, but somehow it all still manages to be sweet in its odd way.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very satisfying conclusion to this trilogy.

[Taryn]

If you were wondering how many urban fantasy books I can read in a row before burning out, the answer is two and a half.

This is really good and I'll come back to it. Just not in the mood right now.

[Nicole Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a disappointing conclusion to the trilogy. I still liked what the author was doing, I love seeing real Brooklyn in urban fantasy (not whitewashed Brooklyn), and I appreciated his ideas on social justice, racism, sexism and narratives in genre books, but the story was not great technically. The pacing was off, there were so many narrative loose ends that should have been cleaned up and cut out but weren't, and there were too many character points of view. Now obviously you can introduce a new character POV later in a series and it can work (take Reza in book 2 who was AWESOME) but it didn't work very well here and I didn't care very much about the new viewpoint characters because they were confusing and didn't seem to have that much bearing on the story, which was all over the place. Case in point--Caitlin Fern: why did she even have to be there? She didn't contribute anything to the story, that I could see. Not even dramatic tension really. And what about Kia, who was absolutely awesome in book 2 and was weirdly mentioned and then sidelined in this book? And I gotta say, maybe some women think about sex the way the 3 women in this book did, but I don't believe that all women think about sex the same way, like they did. It sure seemed like it was the way a guy wants to imagine all women think about sex. That is just a minor point in the overall lack of care given to character development and the structure of the story.

[Vanessa Ricci-Thode · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic. It's late and I'm tired and I don't have words for this book. It's just so good. And I'm still grinning like a damn fool over a cameo made by a certain anti-heroine from a different series that I also love so much. And even more than that, I love how this book, this whole series, is laced with poetry, how you can feel the music in every word. Plus it's got a smartass snark-streak I love.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a good end to the trilogy, and I'm so sad to part ways with the Rumba folks. I'll be counting on the Shadowshaper novels to let me know how everyone's doing. :)

********
Read Harder: fantasy novel

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been reading this since January and just now (June) made myself finish it so I could get it gone. So many battles and battle plans and blah blah blah. Really loved book 2 in this series, so disappointed at this being such a slog.

[KA · Rating 5 out of 5]

A conclusion to the series that is better than any of the previous books. I loved the Ghost Riders and the Black Hoodies, ghosts who were cyclists killed by cars and people of color (often kids) killed by unjust police violence, respectively. It was exciting to see these people empowered, along with ghosts from the African Burial Ground in Manhattan.

A couple of critiques: 1) Fern's racism in an early scene is just over the top. White people are often racist; however, educated white people are often racist in much subtler ways. 2) Authors should never use "jackhammer" in a love scene. Ever.

[Hilary Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series! If you are planning on reading it, be sure to read Salsa Nocturna between Midnight Taxi Tango and this book. There is a lot that happens in those stories.

Now I must read some Chuck Wendig!

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Battle Hill Bolero (Bone Street Rumba #3) by Daniel José Older was a great finale. I'm going to miss this world and these characters, especially Carlos himself. I enjoy Older's brand of urban fantasy and nearly at the top of his game in this series. If you're a fan of the genre, you're going to have to give it a try.

[Diayll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally Reviewed At:Mother/Gamer/Writer
Rating: 5 out of 5 Controllers
Review Source: NetGalley
Reviewer: Ariel

Battle HIll Bolero is the third book in the Bone Street Rumba by Daniel Jose Older. I haven’t read the previous two books in the series, and it didn’t make me love this one any less. Battle Hill Bolero was by far one of the best books I’ve had the pleasure of reading this year. It was completely action packed, full of colorful, authentic characters, and there was never a dull moment.


Coming into this not knowing the characters already, I did have a hard time at first just because there are SO MANY characters, but you get caught up really quickly. Like, within the first chapter or two quickly. Also, there is a really handy character chart at the very beginning of the book in case you’re coming in late to the series, or you need a refresher from the first two books.


The battle between the Council and the rebels has been brewing for quite some time, and it finally comes to a head in this book. Carlos and Sasha, the main romantic side to the novel, have come together after spending months apart, and are finally ready to try and work things out. Sasha had killed Carlos in their previous lives, so they definitely had some issues to sort through.


I absolutely loved all of the characters in this book, but Sasha was probably my favorite. The mother of two twins, she definitely struggles with that a bit, but she is seriously one bad-ass lady. She is one of the major players in the rebellion and she is going to do whatever it takes to make sure the Council goes down. She also learns a lot of things about herself, which made her seem so much more real to me. She meets a man within the first chapter who claims to be her husband from when they were still alive, so she has to deal with that, plus making sure the babies are safe, plus dealing with the Carlos stuff, plus the rebellion, and she takes it all in stride. Seriously one of the most admirable characters I’ve read about in a long time.


Carlos was another big favorite, of course. He has done a lot of thinking since he walked away from Sasha months ago after discovering that she killed him in their first lives. This isn’t to say he hasn’t been busy. He’s been a major player in the rebellion, and while he hasn’t seen Sasha since he found out the truth about their past, he writes letters to his two babies and sends them to Sasha through mutual friends. I really admired that he took that time to reach out to his kids even if he doesn’t necessarily get to see them.


I could go on about all of the point of view characters, but it would take way too long. Know that they’re all very alive and vibrant and well-rounded and fantastic. The writing was beautiful; the dialogue all flowed really nicely and felt so authentic. I do want to take a minute to talk about how much diversity was in this book. It was so amazing to read something that had so many people of color. It really brought to my attention how many books about white characters written by white authors I read, and that’s something I really want to work on with my reading choices in 2017.


Battle Hill Bolero gets 5 out of 5 from me. I loved everything about it, and I look forward to going back and starting from book one so I can truly appreciate how amazing this book was.

[Lauren Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Urban Fantasy" isn't really my jam because it's honestly boring: trope-y, super white and heteronormative. This trilogy was the opposite. I'm so glad I read it and am thankful for how radically amazing it is.
I was apprehensive at the beginning of this one- Older introduces a lot of new characters and it honestly felt like a bit of a whirlwind, especially after what happened in book two. But it quickly came together and he really pulled off a solid final installment. He linked events from the first two books, making the series cohesive and complete. Also- goddamn can this man write a badass battle sequence.
Older's writing felt effortless- the story flowed and his characters were wonderfully REAL, refreshing individuals. He really hit it. Bolero was also quite sexy and gave queer individuals some attention on the page, not "off camera" which would have been easy to do.
JUST SO GOOD.

[ItsNasB · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's more than the fabric of this beautiful story that grabs you. For me, it was the thread that wove the fabric together. The subtle moments that kind of snuck up on you. It's a testament to the greatness of Older's writing. This book brings the whole Bone Street series together and carries it across the finish line so perfectly. You may end it wanting more but you'll also finish it and feel so satiated. Every feel that one can have will be experienced in this. Bless yourself. Get this book. Thank me later.

[Fangs for the Fantasy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The dead now rise… up.

The Council has had its own way for too long. Too many souls have been lost. Too much injustice has been swallowed. The Remote districts, the rebels, the dispossessed are rising up – war is coming.

Of course Carlos, half dead, memoryless and very much adrift – is in the middle of this; even as his own history and murky past come crashing around him.



There’s a lot about this book series I love – which are continued excellently in this book. I love many of the characters and the conflicts they face and the lives they’ve lead. I love their voices and the excellent solid realness behind so many of them. Most of the main cast feel like people, complete people, not extras to advance someone else.

Most of the cast are also POC with their cultures, races and origins clearly labelled. As I’ve said before, this book series does so well with racial diversity because it doesn’t just use racial labels as brief descriptors but not involving them in their actual depiction. We have several latino characters (and “latino” is not just a wide vague descriptor but we have notes on the different South American and Carribean nations and cultures that are covered by that label), Black characters, Native Americans, Asians – there is a huge racial diversity in New York City and this is reflected in this series

The ghosts themselves have so many different and excellent little factions – from the poignant spirits of the Black Hoodies – ghosts killed by police, to the ancient, slow incomprehensible and enigmatic ancient ghosts, to the calm and powerful ex-slaves to the fluffy and slightly silly cyclists who died in traffic accidents. All little societies coming together for reasons both meaningful and silly and all very human.

It’s these characters continuing their story from the previous books which truly make this series – not just Carlos and Sasha but the many powerful characters around them as well. But still, Sasha and Carlos’s examination of their past, both the revelations and how they dealt with it – and how they then relate to each other given their very very very very oh-so-very complicated history – are an excellent part of the book (if almost tangential to the main story). Especially with Juan Flores mixing it up even further.

The plot itself had large amounts of epic elements as well. We have a grand conflict, with sacrifice and loss and desperation and power and passion. It was at times very emotional, often very moving and often blood-fizzling exciting

What did make it harder for me to follow this book is that there’s such a huge number of characters in this book. This is the book where everything comes to a head and we have the full blown conflict with all kinds of factions and forces coming together


But I think that this would work better if we moved it to maybe 3 books in the future it would be better. We have all these many factions, all of these different groups and districts and people all with their own grievances against the council along with other supernatural beings like the River Giants –but all of them feel a bit out of the blue. They’ve all just appeared: the relatively narrow story we had about Carlos and his close associates has now exploded to include all these vast new cast members who are either completely new or had relatively minor roles before. But the way they’re written almost implies we should know them or be invested in them or even get the conflict each personally faces. It feels almost like book three there was a sudden decision to tell a whole different story but there were these two other inconvenient prequels to fit in somehow.


Read More

[Udayan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intricately detailed world. Interesting diverse and non-traditional myths as background. This series promises so much.

Where it fails is in its characters who are nothing but an endless parade of super bad-asses sounding exactly the same.

Older shows repeated flashes of what it could have been but is not. Very frustrating.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like urban fantasy AT ALL and you haven't read these (and I include the vampire & werewolf people in that), you're doing yourself a disservice. And +1 for noir fans.
This reads like a trilogy conclusion, which on the one hand is sad (no! more!) but on the other hand it's nice to recommend them knowing they are, in fact, going somewhere.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time I finish one of Daniel's books, I instantly start missing the world and the characters. I'm sad this trilogy is over but I very much look forward to whatever amazing stories he gives us next.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Battle Hill Bolero
Author: Daniel Jose Older
Publisher: ROC by Berkely via Penguin Random House
Publishing Date: 2017
Pgs: 320
Dewey: PBK F OLD
Disposition: Irving Public Library - South Campus - Irving, TX
_________________________________________________
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Summary:
The dead and the half-alive have been under the thumb of the Council of the Dead for a long time. And that thumb has become more constrictive and more controlling and seems to be reaching for more power all the time. A revolution is brewing among the ghouls, ghosts, and spirits of New York City. The Council has become more and more involved in the shady deals that they are purportedly supposed to be preventing or policing. A war is coming.
_________________________________________________
Genre:
Ghosts
Dark Fantasy
Urban Fantasy


Why this book:
Cause I read the first two and loved them.
_________________________________________________
The Feel:
Incredible.

It is easy to fall back into the rhythms of Soulcatcher Carlos DeLaCruz’s life.

Favorite Character:
Mama Esther is my favorite.

The throng haints. They’re ghost, spirit devourers that are many tentacled clouds of mouths. And then they capture and devour another etheral presence, it is added to the throng haint. Sometimes you can see the person who was devoured still in the monster, screaming as it is both devoured and used by the monster to devour others. ...awesome.

Least Favorite Character:
Flores...for being as much of the BBG in this one as he is, even though he is just one of the BBGs, he just isn’t. He’s got a cool look. But he comes across as weak. Course, considering his backstory, that might be right in line with who and what he is. He made a deal with a devil...and it didn’t turn out like he expected. Then, he made a deal with the Council and same...and then, he made a deal with a potentially worse devil...he’s an idiot.

Plot Holes/Out of Character:
I get wanting to know what Flores knows. But Sasha going for a walk with him into more and more dangerous territory isn’t smart. Especially in light of Big Cane disappearing.

Favorite Scene / Quote/Concept:
Mama Esther’s last stand.

Hmm Moments:
Good to see the Council going to get theirs. Who died and left them in charge?

For being on a war footing, Cyrus’s war council sure is too trusting. And for a buncha ghosts and half-deads, they’re putting too much trust in the living.

Meh / PFFT Moments:
Seeing the return of the cockroach man’s sister is meh. Woulda been okay with moving on from all that.

Juxtaposition:
I love the whole “their friends are our friends/their enemies are our enemies” feel that emanates from these books.

The Unexpected:
Damn...the Council is in bed with the Roach Demon’s sister. Wow. I knew they were shit, but I thought they were just bureaucratic shit.

Movies and Television:
This shouldn’t be a movie because they’ll never do it justice.
_________________________________________________
Pacing:
The pace is great.

Last Page Sound:
Awesome. Wish there were more.

Questions I’m Left With:
But as we spin toward the story’s climax, weren’t the Faceless and the Roach Witch going to take a run at Sasha and Carlos’s twins? Why did the attack on the twins play out off camera?

Author Assessment:
Lives up to the previous installments. Will definitely be reading more of Older’s stuff.

Editorial Assessment:
Well done.
_________________________________________________

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the world that Older created. This is a diverse and exciting Brooklyn. There are people of all different races and sexual orientations. There are American Santeria priests working alongside Haitian doctors. The women in these books are amazing. They defy stereotypes and each is a distinct individual.

I'm not a person who tends to drool over book covers but seriously, look at this cover. That is amazing.

Unfortunately, Older creates all these wonderful characters and then doesn't seem to fully know what to do with them. I've had this complaint about a lot of his books. The plots are forgettable. He writes a better sense of danger here than in Shadowshaper but it is still ultimately disappointing. I would be interested to see if that is the case if this were read back to back instead of waiting months in between.

I think this might be a series that is best binge-read. I found myself losing details of what happened before. Minor characters that I barely remembered become important as the series progresses. There is a list of characters in the front of the book but reminders of who they were weren't worked into the story. I prefer being reminded in the text instead of having to refer to a glossary of characters.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves Urban Fantasy and great characterizations.This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story

[Troy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just...wow.
Across the previous two books, Older weaved a milieu of characters that you love and hate, along with a number of losses that you feel in your gut and triumphs that make you cheer out loud. And this comes to an absolutely apocalyptic conclusion here.
This here is masterful. I cheered, said "oh no" out loud more than once, and turned the pages obsessively. His language of inclusion and representation, of brown folks being the heroes and the fallen, the villains and the, well, dead, resonates with me and I'm hoping a ton of more readers.
I hope great success finds this cat sooner than later; he deserves it. For my part, I'm going to recommend this series to all of my peoples.

[Erin Hartshorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent third book that drew on everything that came in books 1 and 2, and went back to resolve things set in motion. Older also developed the already rich characters further, with the exception of some of the villains (such as Botus, head of the Council of the Dead).

[Jennifer Stoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, that book FLEW by. Amazing stuff, great end to the series. Everyone came together so well and I enjoyed the daylights out of the whole thing. In fact, I will give it the highest of compliments - I did not think about checking my phone once while reading this....

[Elena Linville-Abdo · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can find this review and more on my blog.

I must admit that I'm disappointed with this book. I had loved Midnight Taxi Tango (which I reviewed as well), so I was looking forward to see what trouble Carlos, Sasha, Reza and Kia would manage to get themselves into next.

Well, bad news is, even though we still get Carlos and Sasha POVs, Kia is virtually non-existent in Battle Hill Bolero, and Reza seems to have taken a long sabbatical or something. Same goes for a few other characters I really liked from the previous books, like Baba Eddie. Instead, we are introduced to a plethora of new characters that seem to have come out of nowhere, like Krys, the River Giants and a bunch of other ghosts. Oh, they are interesting and fully fleshed out, but they seem tacked on to the story and spend most of the book on the outskirts of the main action, sorta hanging there with nothing particularly important to do until the last battle.

Oh, don't misunderstand me, I really loved Krys. Once again, Mr. Older has a knack for creating wonderfully diverse characters that you WANT to follow. The problem is, the path Krys follows is barely tangent to the story for most of the book. So much so that her story feels disconnected from the main events.

And why is Caitlin even in this book? Her story was pretty much done with the destruction of the blattodeon at the end of Midnight Taxi Tango. Oh, we could have had an excellent revenge arc where she could have sought to destroy Carlos and Sasha for bringing down everything she'd worked for her entire life. Unfortunately, the author chose not to take that route. Instead, she is hangs on the outskirts of the story for most of the book and only plays an important role during the last battle, but even that story arc could have been taken out of the book entirely without any major damage to the story. Caitlin is a non-entity. She gets no personal development at all, which is rather surprising for an author who loves creating characters that feel so alive they jump out of the book page at you. Her only role in the book is to be a weapon and to distract Carlos from the main fight for a few minutes.

This is so disappointing because, like I already mentioned, she could have been so much more. Just imagine - a powerful necromancer going after the people who killed her family, destroyed the cult she had dedicated her entire life to and basically left her future in shambles. That warranted a whole book dedicated to the clash between these powers.

And this is where my major complaint about Battle Hill Bolero lies - the story. It doesn't feel like the third book in a series and a direct continuation of Midnight Taxi Tango. When I started the book, I had to go on Amazon and make sure that I didn't skip a couple more books in the series, because I was so confused with the direction of the story. By the end of Midnight Taxi Tango, Carlos, Sasha and their group had defeated the blattodeon and saved their children from a gruesome fate. Yes, there had been rumblings about the Council of the Dead amongst the ghosts, and Carlos didn't particularly like his employers, but nothing even hinted at the full-out confrontation we start Battle Hill Bolero with. Where did that come from?

The author implies that only a few months passed between the two books, but for the situation to escalate like this, a lot of things must have happened. Things that aren't even mentioned or explained. So the reader starts the book with a nagging feeling that they skipped an important portion of the story. As a result, I felt disconnected from most of the new characters. I was so busy trying to figure out the stakes and the whats and the whys of the situation to concentrate on the plethora of new characters that were thrown my way.

It is sad that this happened, because I truly loved this series; the diversity and complexity of the world; the vivid and interesting characters. But this book feels rushed and disjointed at the same time, which almost puts me off this series entirely. I might give the next book a read or I might not, but I won't be eagerly waiting for it anymore.

PS. I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Jacqie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've read one other book by Older, "Shadowshaper". That one is YA and I thought it was a bit slight, so I was curious to read one of his books for adults. I happened to see this on Netgalley and thought it was the perfect opportunity.

I think my reading of this book suffers a bit from coming in on the end of a series. A lot of the character development and relationships have already been established, so I felt like I was missing a lot. My favorite character was probably Sasha, and I might have liked Carlos better if I had gotten to know him over the course of the whole trilogy. Both Carlos and Sasha got POV writing, and so did Krys and Caitlin. My understanding is that Sasha and Carlos are mostly dead, although I'm not really sure what that means. They act like normal people, but their skin is greyish and they are cool to the touch. Not exactly zombies, not exactly like anything I can name. Krys seems to be fully a ghost. She's a teenager, and she likes weaponry. Caitlin seems to have been one of the bad guys from the last book, still lurking about and plotting revenge, mostly.

While the characters were interesting, the plot felt like it was all over the place. Everyone wanted to take on The Council (which apparently is in charge of the supernatural in NYC?) but I couldn't figure out why. Clearly they were unpopular, but I really didn't understand enough about the situation to get invested in it. Carlos and Krys were apparently moles within the Council for the rebels, but I didn't see them (especially Krys) do much spying.

The big mystery seems to be who Carlos and Sasha were before they died. I can certainly understand wanting to know that, but at the end the explanation felt almost drained of meaning. There was some quick exposition about their demises, but I never got a lot of emotion from either character about it. Was it because they had accepted their new identities and were moving on? I'm just not sure.

Krys ended up being pretty separated from all the other characters, to the point that I wondered why she was in the book. She also was pretty horny most of the time. Teenagers, I know, but it threw me a bit. She meets an Iyawo ( apparently a priestess-in-training) who doesn't touch people, doesn't have sex, and doesn't use mind-altering substances (mostly?) because she is experiencing a purification. This young priestess is sassy, but I wasn't sure why she was in the book either. She didn't seem to have a purpose other than to generate some steaminess.

Older isn't afraid to have his characters feel, care about each other, react accordingly. This may not have been the right book to try to get a feel for his writing. I don't know that I will go back and re-read the whole trilogy now that I'm thoroughly spoiled, but I would be interested in reading what he does next. I remember back in the day reading an exerpt from his first book, "Half-Resurrection Blues" on tor.com, and not being taken by the writing enough to want the whole book. So I think I'll look forward to whatever the next series is.

[Su · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I Could Have Asked For

I really, really took my sweet time reading this, because as the final installment of the Bone Street Rumba series I just didn’t want it to end. I’ve loved this series since the debut of the first book, and I’ve loved every spin-off short story and novella. Older writes with such beautiful mastery of language - his writing is as rhythmic and poetic as the many genres of music that makes appearances throughout.

The action is well-paced and very much alive. The development and structure is brilliant. Everything pushes the story forward and grows the characters further and deepens the story. Not a single word is ever wasted.

Plus Older presents a beautifully rich world. It’s a semi-fantasy world that I’m at happy to believe in. And bonus for me - it’s diverse and realistic in its diversity. The whole range of every demographic to be brought up (Black, Latino including Afro-Latinx, White, queer, age, class, etc) is presented and none in a tokenizing or faux-knowing way. I’m all about Older’s authenticity in his approach to the Brooklyn of his series and it’s overlapping/interwoven spiritual world. Now please be sure to catch that - Older’s Brooklyn and it’s spiritual world components. This series may not be the Brooklyn, you the reader know personally, but I think it’s totally worth introducing yourself to this version if it’s not.

If you’re new to the series and trying to figure out whether it’s worth it to even start and commit to all three books - I say go for it. It was a wild and wildly pleasing adventure and I will surely reread this series. I even made my boyfriend and my mother listen to the audiobook versions on road trips with me and I read the books to them until they gently told me “enough for today, Love.” They got invested and soon I didn’t have to ask them if they’d listen or read with me they were asking what would happen next. If you have read any of the previous books in the series or any of its companion shorts or novellas, you know in your heart of hearts you gotta see this through and read this book. It is so worth it. I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to this journey.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Battle Hill Bolero is the third and final book in the Bone Street Rumba series written by Daniel José Older and centered on Carlos Delacruz, an in-betweener, agent for the New York Council for the Dead.

Council agent Carlos Delacruz is once again caught between sides when he and his lover, Sasha Brass – who, like him, is half-dead – are drawn into the rebellion against the corrupt Council. The organization is charged with mediating conflicts among members of the supernatural community, but growing evidence suggests they’re involved in something more ominous.

As usual in this alternate New York of overlapping powers and influences, nothing is cut and dried, and allies can turn into foes in the blink of an eye. As the battle lines are drawn, Carlos, Sasha, and their friends face treachery from multiple sides. Victory could turn on the possession of mysterious magical books, but they may have to take the battle to hell itself.

Battle Hill Bolero is written rather well. Older populates his paranormal Brooklyn with colorful everyday magic in a world dense with ghosts, undead, conjurers and spirit workers, and other supernatural beings and attuned humans.

Overall, the Bone Street Rumba series was written rather well. It mixes the grittiness of New York City and the supernatural world with colorful magic rather well. While short, this series makes a wonderful series and concluded rather well.

All in all, Battle Hill Bolero is written rather well and is a good conclusion to a wonderful series.

[Jessie Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

To quote myself while reading this book, "SPOILER ALERT: The Council of the Dead continues to be the worst."

If you've followed me for a while, you might have noticed that with a few exceptions, I prefer standalone books to series and often when I start a series that hasn't been finished yet, I rarely pick up the following books when they're finally published. But not only was Bone Street Rumba a series I continued, I actually read the books as they were released. Hands down, this is my favorite series in the past few years.

In Battle Hill Bolero, we find our favorite characters plotting to take on the Council of the Dead, which was exactly where I was hoping this series would go. The theme of resistance against injust and oppressive systems is prominent in this book and given everything awful happening in the world, yeah, this was really satisfying to read. This conclusion to the series goes at a breakneck pace, all energy and intensity building towards an action-packed conclusion.

Just like the second book introduced new characters, there's several new characters in this final book as well. It can be difficult to introduce new character in the final book in a series and weave them into a story that has already started, yet for the most part the new characters add depth to this already detailed world. There's queer and trans characters of color in this novel, which I appreciated (though I'd be interested to hear from trans reviewers about how well they feel the trans character is written as it's not something I feel I can comment on). And if you've read Older's other works like Salsa Nocturna and Shadowshaper, there's a few cameos you might appreciate.

I have a few complaints: Sometimes it is difficult to keep track of all the minor characters, because this cast is so huge and I really, really, really wished Kia would've been more involved. I also do agree that Caitlin Fern's chapters could've been cut and nothing too significant would have been lost. But really those are minor complaints and didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of this book.

As with the previous books in the series, I highly recommend the audiobooks narrated by the author (though I also purchased the paperbacks because I wanted this series on my shelf). Older's narration really brings the words on the page to life.

I definitely recommend the Bone Street Rumba series to urban fantasy lovers and paranormal lovers. This series is too good to miss!

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a logistical problem to writing series novels, especially when there is a full year between publication of the volumes. The reader does not necessarily remember every detail of the situation on which the previous novel closed, and the writer has to spend time catching the reader up. This is a particular problem here; I think it's because Battle Hill Bolero really starts in medias res. Events are moving so quickly that there is no time for leisurely organic plot exposition. It's hard to bond with the characters when we're not sure who they are. All that aside, the man can write. There is so much wit and political depth built into story. Action scenes are extremely well done -- they put you right at the scene, but Older never sacrifices the complexity of his worldbuilding for a cinematic moment.