Top Five Favorite TV Witches by Zoraida Cordova

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

FIVE FAVORITE WITCHES FROM TV by Zoraida Cordova, author of Labyrinth Lost

Magic and mayhem are two of my favorite words. When they’re combined with women and girls, I love them even more. In Labyrinth Lost, book 1 of the Brooklyn Brujas series, I wanted to write about three different sisters who embody this in completely different ways. Each book in the series is dedicated to a different sister’s journey. Alex’s story in Labyrinth Lost is about self-love, family, and accepting your own power. Because Halloween is the Witch’s New Year, I want to share with you some of my favorite witches from TV.

5. Melisandre. ONLY because she brought back Jon Snow.

4. Jesus Vasquez from True Blood

BRUJOS REPRESENT. When Jesus says “I am a brujo” for the first time, I got shivers. He’s gay, he’s Mexican. He was a breath of fresh air. I was upset over his demise.

3. Sabrina Spellman from Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

This was one of my absolute favorite shows of all time. I watched it every day as a kid. Sabrina was resourceful, quirky, funny, and totally weird. She didn’t fit in, despite her best attempts, and I felt that way, too. Plus, she got to do the kind of magic I wanted. Super easy wardrobe change.

2. Willow Rosenberg from Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Willow goes through some dramatic changes during the seven seasons Buffy was on the air. Booknerd, thriving college student, light witch, dark witch, basically goddess. She’s the reason the gang solves most of their problems. When she’s faced with ultimate darkness, she finds her way back. Every squad needs a brain, but Willow is more than that. She’s hope and kindness and loyalty.

1. Regina Mills AKA The Evil Queen from Once Upon a Time

I’ve been rewatching this show lately and have the utmost respect for Regina. She’s cursed in many ways, but she has a hero’s journey. Magic isn’t black and white, but the show (being Disney and all) places her in an interesting position. Her entire life keeps getting thrown off course by the “good guys” and she is made to take the higher road. She’s resilient and brave and has the best outfits of all evil queens out there. I’m rooting for her Happy Ever After.

Thanks to Zoraida for sharing her Top Five Witches - don't forget to check out her YA novel, Labyrinth Lost, with features LGBT+ characters. 

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova

Review by Lauren

source: copy from BEA '16; all opinions are my own

Official Summary:

Nothing says Happy Birthday like summoning the spirits of your dead relatives.

Alex is a bruja, the most powerful witch in a generation...and she hates magic. At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of her power. But it backfires. Her whole family vanishes into thin air, leaving her alone with Nova, a brujo boy she can't trust. A boy whose intentions are as dark as the strange marks on his skin.

The only way to get her family back is to travel with Nova to Los Lagos, a land in-between, as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland...

Review:

I loved Labyrinth Lost, which is a bit surprising as I don't normally seek out fantasy novels. Regardless, this one was fantastic and I highly recommend it. I'm actually glad this one is a sequel because I need more. However, I will say now that Labyrinth Lost is a full novel, so despite a few questions at the end that make you want to read the next book, this is a satisfying read all on its own. Now, as for the actual story, I liked the world that Cordova created called Los Lagos, where the main character, Alex has to travel to save her family. She is a bruja, which is a witch of sorts, except the power is something that travels through her family. Everyone in her family loves their magic, but Alex has always tried to run away from hers, hiding something awful about it. Her trip to Los Lagos is actually because she tries to banish her power and something backfires, putting her whole family in danger. Los Lagos is a full imagined world, and I loved the various locations and details that Cordova used to help readers visualize. One of the things that I really loved about the series are the varying characters. Everyone is so interesting and diverse. I LOVED the diversity, whether it was age, ethnicity/race, sexuality. It was all there and done so well! Alex is the main character and she is definitely a layered character that one can easily relate too. She fears and hates her power, but she fiercely loves her family and would do anything for them. Then there is Nova, who Alex doesn't know that well, but he agrees to help her through Los Lagos. Finally, we have Alex's best and only friend, Rishi, who has a much larger part in the book than I first realized. It's easy to see that Alex has a crush on Rishi, though it's not named right away. I loved that it just was though. Nobody, not even Alex, made it into a big deal. Again, this was great and I eagerly wait for the sequel!