Blog Tour & Feature: Espiritu by Aiden Thomas

When Cemetery Boys came out in September 2020, Kelly bought eight copies. Two still live in her library. The other six she pressed into people’s hands because that is what you do with a book that has your whole heart. She called it joyful, which is maybe not what you would expect for a book about grief and death and transphobia and mystery, because Aiden Thomas created the gift that is Cemetery Boys with all of that and still manages to feel like a warm hug at the end.

We just shared a whole post about why queer YA keeps coming back to ghosts, tracing the thread from Cemetery Boys through I in the Shadows, The Corruption of Hollis Brown, I Was a Teenage Death God, and Take It to Your Grave. The argument we made is that ghost stories work for queer narratives because they hold space for things that were suppressed, incomplete, or refused, and that the resolution is never just about the ghost moving on. It is always also about the living person finally being able to move too. And then we remembered that Espíritu, the Cemetery Boys sequel we have been waiting six years for, drops tomorrow. Julian Diaz used to be the ghost. Now he is the one who cannot stop seeing them.

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.

Why Julian, Now?

Kelly and I both read Cemetery Boys when it came out in 2020 and we have been waiting for a sequel ever since. You too, yeah? We know it.

The thing about Julian Diaz is that he spent the entire first book being seen yet not. Yadriel could see him. Yadriel was the one with the power, the one doing the magic, the one trying to figure out what happened. Julian was the ghost, the one being found. And yet he was never passive (lol Julian being passive). The banter, the refusal to accept his situation, the way he kept showing up and pushing back even when he was literally dead and had very few options…that is what made him impossible to forget.

Six years later, Aiden is giving us Julian’s POV. Julian who used to be a ghost and now cannot stop seeing them. Julian who went through a sacrificial ritual and came out the other side with powers he does not understand and something darker than ghosts appearing at the edges of his vision. Julian who has a boyfriend now, a lens he was not born into, and a past that is apparently not done with him. Sigh.

There is something about getting the POV of the character who spent the first book being looked at rather than looking. Yadriel saw Julian. Now we get to see what Julian sees. Given what the book is setting up (glowing eyes in the dark, black gashes on people that feel deeply wrong, a return of demons he hoped were gone) whatever Julian is seeing is going to be something. Let’s go find out what that is tomorrow!

Follow the Tour

September 7th
Bookcrushin – Creative Post <– You Are Here
DB’s Guide to the Galaxy – Review, Favorite Quotes
Boys’ Mom Reads! – Promotional Post

September 8th
More Books Please blog – Review
bibliophilebree – Review
Drunk On Pop – Top 5 Reasons to Read Espíritu

September 9th
Mx. Phoebe’s Viewpoint – Review, Favorite Quotes
unconventionalquirkybibliophile = Mood Board
Paiges of Novels – 15 Reactions While Reading Espíritu

September 10th
elementarymydear – Review
Confessions of a YA Reader – Promotional Post

September 11th
Never Hollowed By The Stare – Promotional Post
Read in the Clouds – Review
The Book Dutchesses – Promotional Post

September 12th
dinipandareads – Review
Nonbinary Knight Reads – Creative Post

September 13th
Ilovebooksandstuffblog – Review
Betwixt The Sheets – Promotional Post