2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

So the cover art and the synopsis drew me in, unfortunately BINDLE PUNK BRUJA didn't quite live up to my expectations. It's good, but I think it would have been better if it was about 100 pages shorter. The magic system was interesting and I wish Mesa dedicated more time in the novel to exploring that than giving readers so much day-to-day information about running an illegal jazz club.

Luna/Rose was ok, but it was the side characters that caught my attention. I was much more invested in their outcomes and would have loved a few chapters from their points of view. Also, the Al Capone bits of the plot didn't seem all that realistic. Overall, this is a decent read, but ultimately fell short for me.

Frankie Corzo does a good job with the audiobook narration.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and HarperAudio in exchange for an honest review.

Bindle Punk Bruja By Desideria Mesa

Release date: September 13, 2022

Short review: its pretty good. This story takes place in Missouri in the 1920s. Bindle Punk Bruja follows Luna Alvarado ,who is a witch, however her magic doesn't work quite as well as it should. To the rest of the city, her name is Rose Lane, one of the first women to own a speakeasy. With her half-brother Javier being her bartender, Luna's club does well but then things change.

The Roaring Twenties, brujas, and a female lead are all elements that could make an incredible story, but the writing itself just didn't stick with me. I commend Desideria for the work she has done as I feel there is a need and want for magical Latinx stories. Someday, I'd love to give it another chance.

Brindle Punk Bruja is a NA fantasy about a flapper era mobster controlled nightclub scene and the fallout when a flapper girl with magic wants to open her own club. Great audio narration.

The 1920’s dames, broads, and other mobster colloquialisms take away from the story. The story is a woman who wants a place of her own. Her adversary? Sexism and infantilizing men who casually look her up and down, putting their paws on her.
But enough. Enough with the mob lingo. I can’t root for the underdog when I’m pulling my hair out with this heavy handed 1920’s schtick.

oh my goodness, this book did not disappoint! i loved the 1920s setting & the latinx representation! the magical world building was just phenomenal. i loved this narrator so much. she brought so much light & depth to this character just amazing. I loved the historical aspect with the magical setting. cannot wait to buy a copy for my shelf.

There are a lot of reasons that I loved this book and a lot of reasons that I was bored with it. I love the feminist witch being a badass boss during prohibition and I loved the cast of characters. It very much felt like a comfort read. I did not like the endless bad things happening and felt like the situations repeated themselves a bit. I did enjoy the way things ended and would recommend this as a nice book to curl up with.

It is with great pleasure that I write this letter of recommendation for this book because... I TOTALLY ADORED IT!

If you like accurate historical fictions that are also super fun because of their high entertainment value, topped with the cherry of relevant social commentary on the many prejudices and inequalities of the time period... Then this book is for you with its lively storytelling placing an eccentric bouquet of diverse and mischievous characters in realistic but hilarious situations!

YES, I KNOW. That was quite the description so, yes, this kind of books are not easy to find. That's why, I tell you, THIS BOOK IS A GEM!

Actually, I had only found ONE book like this, THE DIVINERS. One book... until now!

And I don't say this lightly! The Diviners is waaaay up there for me, top-shelf, an all -time favorite that I thought could never be surpassed. If anyone had asked me what could make The Diviners better, I wouldn't have known what to say because I never imagined such thing and YET this book did the unimaginable: this book is MORE!

So, yes, think THE DIVINERS but... even better!

1- Even more diverse characters that are even sassier facing even more prejudice and inequalities, especially an...

2- Even more interesting main character. Things just not happened to Luna (AKA Rose), she drives the plot herself with her courage and determination! She creates...

3- Even more tension and conflict with her daring attitude, refusing to let these gangsters bully her around even though they are the rulers of this...

4- Even more fascinating {under}world plagued with bigotry, cunning and corruption and soooo well developed with all the good, bad and ugly of this time period!

I especially recommend the audiobook, which is a fantastic immersive experience with all the immigrants' accents, the musical cadences of the sassy flappers, the drawls of the bigoted chauvinist villains... all of it so much fun!

This is a great story about finding oneself and self-identity. Without explicitly mentioning it, code-switching is a huge focus throughout the book not only for the MC but also for a lot of the cast.
Sprinkle in some magic, bootlegging, and the underbelly of Kansas City, Missouri, and it's definitely a 10 out of 10 for me. I would consider this New Adult/General Adult Fiction. I don't think the characters' ages are explicitly mentioned, but it's definitely very sex-forward without being spicy.

This was an incredibly enjoyable audiobook! I've heard so much about Bindle Punk Bruja and I knew I had to read (or listen) to it myself. This book is magical and a little gritty, the perfect balance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I was very excited when I found out about this book and then when I saw that NetGalley had an audiobook ARC, I immediately requested it! Witches, Latinx rep, LGBTQ rep, all set in the 1920s? Sign me up. In the end, this book was good, just good. I definitely was hoping for more. I think my main issue with Bindle Punk Bruja is that in the end, the book was too long. There were several times I found myself skimming chapters because nothing seemed to be happening.

What I did enjoy from this book was the representation. I loved that the MC and her family were Latinx and that the author showed how the world treated those who were darker and those who looked white. I also really liked the LGBTQ+ rep. I loved how the MC was not ashamed to be sexually liberal and knew what she truly wanted from her partners.

I would recommend this book to people even though it was a new favorite especially for this spooky reason and during Hispanic Heritage month.

Promising debut narrated by one of my favorite narrators, Frankie Corzo. Deeply researched with a strong sense of time and place (1920s speakeasy Kansas City) if draggy, I look forward to seeing what Mesa writes next.

Love the roaring 20s! Add a bit of witchcraft and a fabulous diverdity of charecters - it makes for a magical read! Recommended read!!!

I really wanted to like this book more, it really drew me in with the idea. But the story took far too long to go anywhere and took a lot of effort to stick with it.

“The promise of a greater future without the barriers of corruption carried them forward, though the price of assimilation would steal away at my own identity, my heritage just a whisper on the breezes like the old folklore that we tell.”

Sadly this didn’t work for me. While it includes great discussion on gender norms and stereotypes, discrimination and the abuse suffered by immigrants, and even the showcases the darker underbelly of the gilded age, I found this to be a bit too drawn out. The MC, Rose / Luna just didn’t feel as interesting to me, at times being all over the place and not in a good way. The romance element didn’t feel especially present or memorable, which would be fine, but ate up some plot time unnecessarily.

The family dynamics and aspect was captivating when it was on the page, but it was often overshadowed or taken over by the gangsters plot line. I also wanted much more on the magic system which seemed to be used when it was convenient. Ultimately it just felt like too many plot devices and side plots to come together. I think by removing at least one of the plots, if not a few, here could have been so much more on Luna’s immigrant background and family, her identity struggles and passing as white, and even the gender norms and disadvantages she experiences.

As an audiobook, this did help lift the story off the page, though as times it felt very monotonous instead of vibrant with tones and pitches.

I enjoyed the setting and characters in this novel- very fresh and original.

The main character's having to keep dual secrets - being half Mexican and being a witch was intriguing.

The only downside was the pace was a little too slow for my liking.

The narration was even, engaging and it was noticeable that the narrator speaks Spanish since their pronunciation was spot-on.

I would give this book a 3.5/ I LOVED the setting. The author painted the scene of bustling 1920's Kansas City. I loved the characters. However, you have to suspend your disbelief with this book. Yes, it would be classified as "historical fiction," but it takes a lot of liberties beyond the world where the main character is a bruja (or witch). Some of the plot was tied up a little too neatly in the end, especially since the characters had so many obstacles thrown at them over and over again. Overall, this was a fun book that tells the story of our dark past with free flowing booze and jazz music.

I liked the story of a multi-racial Latina club owner with passing privilege during Prohibition. As someone with a similar mix, I really appreciate how Luna/Rose's passing privilege was handled. I just wanted a little more out of the whole thing, more time with Luna's family, more of Rose's coworkers at the newspaper, more of the club, maybe less mafia, but Rose always wants less mafia in her life. Definitely an enjoyable read and a great take on Prohibition era America in general. I just wish that the characters were given a smidge more room to breathe. Would still recommend it to anyone who likes to read this time period.

While I'm not a fan of books set during WWII, I do like the 1920's. The flapper dresses, secret bars during prohibition, and jazz musicians are fun and exciting and I appreciated how the author incorporated slang to pull the reader in. The magic is nicely incorporated into the plot and I liked that while it helped Luna sometimes, she and her friends had to work out problems with regular means too.

The first half was fairly slow and I wasn't quite sure who was who in the large cast of characters. The pacing definitely picked up though and there were threats, plans gone awry, and several dire injuries. I really liked Heck, even though he felt kind of stereotypical. He was sweet and I wanted him to stop running from his true self and be happy. Luna was interesting, sometimes I loved how bold she was and how she chased her dreams, then other times she gave up too easily and needed to have some faith.

While I know Al Capone was big in this time period and Luna was working with several mobsters, I thought his parts were out of place and could have been written differently. I still liked it overall and the audiobook had some fun accents and music that I enjoyed.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to HarperAudio and NetGalley for the copy

I really enjoyed this book - and normally I don't like things set too far back. I will say the narrator really made it for me. I loved the growth of Luna/Rose. I loved the atmosphere and all the characters. 2022 is shaping up to be a good one with these magical realism reads. Add this one to the list!