Audiobook Review: Cemetery Boys: Espiritu by Aiden Thomas

When we last left Yadriel and Julian, Yadriel had pulled Julian back from death using a forbidden ritual and the two of them had finally, finally gotten their act together. Julian was alive. They were together. The brujx community was beginning to accept Yadriel as a full brujo. It felt like a happy ending. Espíritu picks up right there, except Julian is seeing things nobody else can see, the community Yadriel worked so hard to be part of is facing a new threat, and being alive turns out to come with complications nobody prepared Julian for. Six years between books and Aiden is making us feel every single one of them with this book! Read on for our thoughts!

TY to Macmillan Audio for the audiobook, which in no way impacted this review because, let’s be real, we already had several copies of this book preordered!

Espíritu (Cemetery Boys #2)

by Aiden Thomas
Published by: Feiwel and Friends
on September 8, 2026
Bookshop
Goodreads

New York Times-bestselling author Aiden Thomas returns to the beloved world of Cemetery Boys in Espiritu, this time following Julian, who is dealing with newfound powers, a new relationship with Yadriel, and the return of demons he had hoped were gone forever!
Julian used to be a ghost and now he can’t stop seeing them.
Ever since being sacrificed as part of a forbidden ritual, Julian has been able to see and communicate with the spirits of passed brujx. And that would be okay, if it allowed him to be part of his new boyfriend's community. But Julian’s also seeing other shadows in the corner of his eyes, glowing eyes in the dark, and “dark spots” on people – gaping, black gashes that are somehow wrong. He did ask his new magical boyfriend about it, but Yadriel has never heard of anything like it either, and he’s so busy with his new Brujx responsibilities, trying to figure out where all the new malingos are coming from, that Julian hates for his problems to ruin what little time together they have.
Then, a strange new brujx shows up. Ángel, as a nonbinary brujx, can heal the living and release the dead, but more than that, they can also see the same dark spots as Julian. Despite Yadriel’s reservations, Julian eagerly accepts their help. But, Ángel’s ruthless methods feel wrong to Julian, who wants to move away from hurting others.
With the shadows growing darker, and the discovery of a gaping dark spot on his friend Luca, Julian has to decide who he wants to put his trust in, and just how far he’s willing to go to save what is his.

Review

Kelly bought eight copies of Cemetery Boys when it came out in 2020. We have been waiting for this sequel ever since. Espíritu was worth every bit of that wait.

Julian Diaz used to be a ghost. Now he cannot stop seeing them. Ever since being sacrificed in a forbidden ritual, he can communicate with the spirits of passed brujx, which sounds like a gift until you factor in the shadows in the corner of his eyes, the glowing eyes in the dark, and the gaping black gashes he can see on people that should not be there. Yadriel is busy with his own new responsibilities within the brujx community and Julian does not want to be a burden, so he does what Julian does: handles it himself, badly, loudly, and with maximum chaos.

What Aiden does with Julian’s POV that the first book could not is go deep into trauma through the specific lens of the brujx worldview. Cemetery Boys watched Julian from Yadriel’s perspective, which meant we saw his bravado before we saw what was underneath it. Espíritu flips that completely. The grief Julian carries, for his old life, for the person he was before the ritual, for the family structures that failed him, is front and center, and it is handled with real care. This is a Coco meets Frozen situation in the best possible way, that specific flavor of dead parents and chosen family and the cost of holding onto people past the point where they can stay. And yes, there are dead parents.

The new characters also have depth. Ángel, the nonbinary brujx who can see the same dark spots Julian sees, is not just a plot device. The expanding world of the brujx community and the introduction of the malingos as a genuine threat gives the whole story stakes that feel earned rather than manufactured. And getting to spend more time with Maritza, with Yadriel’s family, with the community Julian is trying to find his place in, is exactly what a sequel should do.

The Disney beats are scattered through the whole book like little Easter eggs and I loved every one of them. I see you, Aiden 😉

The audiobook is the move. Avi Roque returns for Yadriel and the addition of Vico Ortiz, who OFMD fans will recognize immediately, as Julian. Vico brings Julian’s chaotic energy and his more vulnerable moments with equal ease and the dual narration gives the two boys such distinct presences that you are never confused about whose head you are in.