Bindle Punk Bruja: A Novel

Written by Desideria Mesa

Narrated by Frankie Corzo

Boardwalk Empire meets The Vanishing Half with a touch of earth magic in this sexy and action-packed historical fantasy set in the luminous Golden Twenties from debut author Desideria Mesa, where a part-time reporter and club owner takes on crooked city councilmen, mysterious and deadly mobsters, and society’s deeply rooted sexism and racism, all while keeping her true identity and magical abilities hidden—inspired by an ancient Mexican folktale.

Yo soy quien soy. I am who I am.

Luna—or depending on who’s asking, Rose—is the white-passing daughter of an immigrant mother who has seen what happens to people from her culture. This world is prejudicial, and she must hide her identity in pursuit of owning an illegal jazz club. Using her cunning powers, Rose negotiates with dangerous criminals as she climbs up Kansas City’s bootlegging ladder. Luna, however, runs the risk of losing everything if the crooked city councilmen and ruthless mobsters discover her ties to an immigrant boxcar community that secretly houses witches. Last thing she wants is to put her entire family in danger.

But this bruja with ever-growing magical abilities can never resist a good fight. With her new identity, Rose, an unabashed flapper, defies societal expectations all the while struggling to keep her true self and witchcraft in check. However, the harder she tries to avoid scrutiny, the more her efforts eventually capture unwanted attention. Soon, she finds herself surrounded by greed and every brand of bigotry—from local gangsters who want a piece of the action and businessmen who hate her diverse staff to the Ku Klux Klan and Al Capone. Will her earth magic be enough to save her friends and family? As much as she hates to admit it, she may need to learn to have faith in others—and learning to trust may prove to be her biggest ambition yet.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Sep 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9780063056107

Desideria Mesa

Desideria Mesa is the author of the historical fantasy debut, Bindle Punk Bruja. Her craft often focuses on celebrating the successes and exposing the struggles of Latinx culture through Mexican folktales in historical settings. Aside from churning out novels, she enjoys writing songs, poetry, and short stories.

Reviews for Bindle Punk Bruja

[Juliana R. · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I only finished it because I wanted to count it towards my reading goal for the year, and I was more than halfway through. This book needed more and less. It needed a more thoughtful magic system that wasn't just a convenient plot device, and it needed connective tissue between scenes. I sometimes didn't know where or when we were because the narrative abruptly jumps. It also needed editing. There were too many characters, and the pacing was off. There were some good ideas, but the whole thing felt like a writing exercise that no one had bothered to make better. It gets two stars because I liked the characters, although the main character seemed hopelessly naive and overconfident (great combo!). Also, all these historical characters act like contemporary progressive liberals. That didn't bother me, but it was definitely noticeable, given how much the author was working overtime to make them sound like they were in the 20s and the overabundance of minor historical details. I don't really understand why everyone wants to pretend like every minoritized group supported each other for most of history when any amount of research will show that that is patently false, but whatever. I guess we all want an escape from reality? This just wasn't the one I wanted or needed. The cover looks really great, though. It's a 5 star cover.

[Kelly Swainson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great story, slightly cheesy/purple prose in places, but deserves 5 stars anyway.

[Bella Garcia · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really good book, I love the details and character development! It was just a little long but worth sticking through the end! 4.5 stars!