The Storm Runner #3: The Shadow Crosser by J.C. Cervantes

My name is Ren, and Zane just finished rounding up all of the godborns in the world. They should have been safe at SHIHOM where they'd learn to use their new powers, but then we received word that all of the Mayan gods had disappeared. This might have allowed enemies to break through the defense magic and even access the roots of the World Tree. How was that even possible, since the gods were the most powerful beings in the world? Then, we learned that Zotz and Blood Moon were behind it, but we still couldn't figure out their plans. We knew Blood Moon and her twin sons wanted revenge against Zane, and that might have included killing all of the godborns, but why couldn't we find the gods? We later discovered that my powers with time and shadows were crucial to stopping Zotz and Blood Moon.

You should probably read the previous books in the series first. Zane is the main character, and he's finally learning to master his powers with fire. However, he's unaware of another power he possesses, and it becomes extremely important as the plot nears its climax. Also, Zane and Brooks slowly admit the truth of their relationship which eases one of the underlying issues found in the previous books. A fun twist is that Zane has been forced to write true stories about his adventures which then become the books we're reading in the series. The books describe his feelings about Brooks and give background knowledge to any new characters. The author creates a conflict that seems to have no possible solution. The characters learn the location of the gods, but there's no apparent way to get there. The book mixes adventure, action, and humor to create an entertaining story. Zane makes funny comments to the readers, and the character interactions are often amusing. Imagine gods appearing and behaving as teenagers, and everyone teasing Zane about his feelings for Brooks. As I've said before in other posts, you'll enjoy this series if you like Rick Riordan and his Percy Jackson books. I recommend you give it a shot.