Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Bindle Punk Bruja by Desideria Mesa

3 reviews

madamenovelist's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Classism, Cursing, Death, Police brutality, Murder, Medical trauma, Homophobia, Hate crime, Gun violence, Gore, Grief, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Torture, Stalking, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Racism, Lesbophobia, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

jessicaludden's review

emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced

4.0

“Not just my love for Javier, but my love for who I’m supposed to be. Who I am—a bindle punk bruja whose courage never dies.”

Thank you Harper Voyager for an ARC of this book! Bindle Punk Bruja is set in 1920s Kansas City and follows Luna, a half Mexican woman who is a witch and goes by the alias Rose due to the fact that she is white passing. As she discovers new things about her powers, she works to get out from under the control of dangerous mobsters and own her own club in Missouri’s underworld of bootlegging.

I really enjoyed this! It took me a bit to get into it and sometimes the magic or setting could be a bit confusing, but once I hit a certain point in the book I couldn’t put it down. The stakes were always so high and the tension was there. There was always some kind of enemy coming to take Rose down, to the point where it was almost too much at the end. But I loved how the author included commentary on race and sexuality and gender. I loved how the main character was a strong woman who knew what she wanted and got it, but also had a lot to learn about who she was and what it meant to love others. What I loved most about this book was the relationships. I loved Rose’s bond with her brother and how important family is for her. I loved her relationship with Heck and how they cared for each other. I loved the romance between Rose and Gio. The tension was done really well and the the feeling of wanting to but not being able to was depicted well. Overall, I enjoyed this a lot and I loved the characters. I love that Rose was able to expand her family even more.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Antisemitism, Blood, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Alcohol, Cursing, Kidnapping, Outing, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content

ruthlessreads's review

adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

3.5

I finished this book because I really wanted to know how the story ended but I found a lot of the plot points pretty heavily contrived & very drawn out. The main characters were interesting with a compelling back story, thoughtful internal life, and complicated social relationships. But a lot of the side characters, even those that were supposed to be/feel more important, still didn't get fleshed out in a way that I felt like they deserved. I loved the historical references and some of the language used, as well as the way the author wove the injustices of the era & place into the story. I thought it was really cleverly done & that historical aspect really helped sell the plot of the story. I liked the main character, Luna/Rose, very much and would love to read more about her adventures & life in Kansas City. Overall, I liked this book but felt that it could've been shorter and the characters could've been fully written out more than they were. I'd definitely read more by this author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual harassment, Racism, Police brutality, Classism, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Religious bigotry, and Misogyny

Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Addiction, and Cursing

Minor: Sexual content