Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Bindle Punk Bruja by Desideria Mesa

9 reviews

rhi_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Misogyny, Classism, Violence, Torture, Homophobia, and Hate crime

Moderate: Drug use, Lesbophobia, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Antisemitism, and Alcohol

abominablesnowaro's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Homophobia, Classism, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Antisemitism, Stalking, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Outing, and Torture

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

empearl1's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Racism, Hate crime, and Gun violence

Moderate: Sexual assault

stardust_heidi's review

dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Antisemitism, Murder, Racial slurs, Violence, Hate crime, and Homophobia

carolined314's review

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.75

This is a deeply hardboiled story starring a strikingly agency-filled lady who is passing as Caucasian in the 20s. Not only is she hiding her race, but also her magic, and yet she finds a loving community and support in many different ways. She also encounters quite a bit of violence, suffering, and pain.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, and Sexism

Moderate: Homophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Grief, Hate crime, and Outing

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

rhiannonafternoon's review

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Homophobia, Hate crime, and Sexism

Minor: Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault

mjwhitlock18's review

emotional slow-paced

3.5

Historical magical realism inspired by Mexican folklore, set in Kansas City during prohibition. A female bootlegger hiding her magical abilities, her heritage, (and usually her feelings) dreams of owning a jazz club, but has to contend with sexism, bigotry, and local gangsters while protecting her family and growing her business. 

This book starts off slow and has some extraneous parts that lend to that feeling; I had a hard time getting truly immersed and entranced with the story. But it is easy to like and root for these characters. It portrays the experience of children of immigrants and I appreciate the queer representation as well. I like that we get to follow Luna’s journey of coming into her magic as well as her identity overall. I like the character of Heck Kessler, even if he fits stereotypes in a few areas; he was just enjoyable and relatable and loveable. 

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperVoyager for this eARC to read and review! To be published Sep 2022

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Hate crime, Racism, Antisemitism, Violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Miscarriage and Alcohol

Lynching of a POC implied