07/11/2022
Mesa’s ambitious but messy historical fantasy debut plunges deep into the underbelly of Prohibition-era Kansas City, following half-white, half-Mexican Luna Alvarado as she crafts a new life for herself as Rose Lane, cub reporter by day, and speakeasy manager by night. Passing as white is not as difficult as passing as mortal; she’s also half bruja, or earth witch, and her powers manifest in an ability to charm men into doing her will by kissing them. She uses this charm to open a club “with real booze and a real orchestra” in the ritzy Hotel Bellerive—but as soon as she does, the Klan tries to shut her down, local mobsters extort her, all the men in her life try to claim and control her, and Al Capone schemes to use her to expand his operations across the Midwest. The result is fun but shallow, with brassy one-note characters who constantly repeat themselves and often speak in goofily rendered dialects (“Hey, latecoma’, I’m the one who’s skewa’d here!”) in between bewildering or groan-worthy descriptions of emotions (“his eyes hardening in sable angst”). This is a lesser addition to the recent slew of 1920s-set SFF, one perhaps best left to diehard fans of Prohibition-era historical fantasy. Agent: Rachel Brooks, Bookends Literary. (Sept.)
"Mesa’s debut mixes a bit of Mexican folktale, a chunk of magical realism, and tons of period detail into a page-turning urban fantasy that takes the glitter of Boardwalk Empire and combines it with a story of found family, mob violence, and romance." — Library Journal (starred review)
“Bindle Punk Bruja is a book you will dive into, gorgeously addictive and impossible to put down. It will transport you through time to a 1920s world soaked in gin, glittering in gold and edged in danger. Luna is a hero with an indomitable will, navigating blood-soaked city streets with dark humor and cutting intelligence. Sharp, smart and utterly enchanting, Mesa’s debut is a triumph that stayed with me long after I turned the final page.” — Greta Kelly, author of The Frozen Crown
"The friends and family surrounding Luna are a joy to meet...good flapper fun." — Kirkus Reviews
"Bindle Punk Bruja is the “bee’s knees” and the “cat’s meow.”" — Seattle Book Review
★ 07/01/2022
DEBUT Rose Lane and her ragtag band of social outcasts take on City Hall, the Mob, and the Ku Klux Klan in Mesa's debut Prohibition-era historical fantasy. Rose has a secret: she is a Latina, passing as white to provide for her family. But it's her power as a bruja, an earth witch, that makes the local mob covet her illegal jazz club and her power. They'll do anything to own her, and she'll do anything to keep her family safe—even finally using the magic that she's always seen as more curse than gift. Rose knows the price for being both female and non-white in a time and place that steps on both at every turn. That she wins by embracing her roots, gives the novel a kind of magic that urban fantasy readers will love. VERDICT Mesa's debut mixes a bit of Mexican folktale, a chunk of magical realism, and tons of period detail into a page-turning urban fantasy that takes the glitter of Boardwalk Empire and combines it with a story of found family, mob violence, and romance.—Marlene Harris
2022-07-27
One bruja—a witch—takes on the underbelly of 1920s Kansas City.
Luna Alvarado leads a double life; when she visits her family’s boxcar, she’s Luna, half-bruja with only the gift of charm, but in the city, she’s Rose Lane, reporter by day and proprietress of the speak-easy the River Rose by night. Luna’s abuela has powerful earth magic, and some of that power has passed down to Luna—enough to influence men through a kiss, but nothing more, possibly because of her White father. If his blood has diluted her Mexican magic, it has also granted her the ability to pass as White, an opportunity her mother insists she seize, even if it means growing apart from her family. Luna also has ambitions of her own: She wants to manage a thriving jazz club, no husband necessary. As Luna takes chance after chance in pursuing her dreams, she becomes ever more entangled with mob factions, rich men who keep secrets, and even the Ku Klux Klan. Tense action and scheming inside and outside the bedroom are interspersed with reflections on Luna’s identity and the inequities of the time that leave so many in the shadows. While the plot and characters are engaging, some dialogue is hampered by overwritten accents that, rather than establishing the setting, verge instead toward parody. Clunky voices aside, the friends and family surrounding Luna are a joy to meet—if she can find it within herself to let them in.
Good flapper fun, if a bit rough around the edges.
12/01/2022
Rose Lane, a part-time newspaper writer and underground nightclub owner in 1920s Kansas City, is really Luna Alvarado, raised in a boxcar by her family to pass as white. She's also a bruja, or earth witch, although her powers don't do much other than make men fall in love with her. She's determined to make it on her own in a man's world, but her naïveté and independence work against her—gangsters don't keep promises, and plants with magical powers won't keep her family safe. Mesa's debut fully immerses readers into the Jazz Age world of flappers and corruption—slang, snappy comebacks, and smirks inundate the novel—and even Al Capone and the Ku Klux Klan play important roles in the plot. Modern readers will appreciate the varied employees who find safety at Luna's speakeasy, but the plethora of characters and the number of major social issues tackled within the novel may frustrate others. Pleasant-voiced Frankie Corzo expertly portrays Luna, who intermittently speaks Spanish, and voices the occasional spell or curse with ease. The 14-hour audio seems overly long, but that is no fault of the narrator. VERDICT Recommend to Jazz Age aficionados, as well as readers of historical fantasy.—Sarah Hill
Frankie Corzo narrates this historical fantasy set in Kansas City. Luna is half witch, which gives her the ability to influence men through touching and kissing. And she's half white and half Mexican and can pass as white. The owner of a popular jazz club, she employs marginalized people and negotiates with bootleggers to create a welcoming atmosphere with plenty of illegal booze. Soon, her success catches the attention of vindictive mobsters, as well as the Ku Klux Klan. Corzo captures the novel’s 1920s dialect, immersing listeners in a time period of speakeasies and flappers. Corzo also delivers periodic Spanish dialogue and accents. Consistently paced and full of sensuality, this intense audiobook is hard to pause. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Frankie Corzo narrates this historical fantasy set in Kansas City. Luna is half witch, which gives her the ability to influence men through touching and kissing. And she's half white and half Mexican and can pass as white. The owner of a popular jazz club, she employs marginalized people and negotiates with bootleggers to create a welcoming atmosphere with plenty of illegal booze. Soon, her success catches the attention of vindictive mobsters, as well as the Ku Klux Klan. Corzo captures the novel’s 1920s dialect, immersing listeners in a time period of speakeasies and flappers. Corzo also delivers periodic Spanish dialogue and accents. Consistently paced and full of sensuality, this intense audiobook is hard to pause. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine