WELCOME TO AUGUST, mis internet amigxs!

We're entering the month before Latinx Heritage Month which means a typhoon of books are coming your way this month, but before you get to the drop, some announcements...

AUGUST BOOK CLUB

As a reminder, we're reading The Intrigue by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (audiobook) this month!! This noir truly captivated me and I'm so excited to chat with you on Discord about it.

We're also continuing Cuba: An American History by Ada Ferrer (Audiobook) for those who are on the Summer School journey with me.

VOTE FOR SEPTEMBER FICTION AND NONFICTION READS

Our September book club poll for both our fiction and nonfiction sidequest reads are up for another couple of days on both Bindery AND Discord. Get your votes in before the polls close! Official announcement will be made before the end of the week! (the error with voting has been fixed and you CAN vote twice now!)

And now onto all the August Latine releases on my radar!!

AUGUST 4th

Literary Fiction

Take What You Can by Naima Coster (Audiobook) One of my most anticipated Latine reads of summer is finally here! From the author of What Mine Is Yours comes a work centered on friendship, class, new motherhood, and independence.

Romance

Drawn Together by Mercedes Ron (Audiobook) SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE! This forbidden love story is giving The Bodyguard vibes.

AUGUST 11TH

Romance Fantasy

The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Audiobook) My favorite Silvia Moreno-Garcia is getting the Bramble romance treatment--re-release of the classic threads magic fantasy novel, Silvia's only work not set in Mexico, that I can best describe as Age of Innocence meets The Prestige

Short Story Collection

Pinen by Daniela Catrileo and translated by Jacob Edelstein (Audiobook) A fierce, tender collection of stories about the lives, traumas, and dreams of Mapuche youth in modern-day Chile

Romance

The Replay by Leonor Soliz: Second-chance sports romance--Breaking up with Dominic Wright was the hardest thing I've ever done. Working with him years later is making me forget why I ever did.

AUGUST 18TH

Romance

Mutual Discord by Liana De La Rosa (Audiobook) Contemporary romance debut from our historical romance queen, Liana De La Rosa! 2 PR leads, forbidden love, friends to lovers, a love triangle?!?! I'm already sat.

Old Flames by Nadine Gonzalez (Audiobook) What happens when a horror and a fantasy writer check into a haunted Air BNB? If fate has its way, the star-crossed lovers will find each other in this world or the next?

Mystery

Sleeping Sisters by Jennifer Givhan (Audiobook) Centers fight for justice for missing and murdered Indigenous Latina girls and women--inspired by actual events (the West Mesa murders in Albuquerque)

The Secret Dinner by Raphael Montes (Audiobook) Look, I'm only 1/3 into this mystery taking place in Brazil, but it's been the WILDEST of roller coaster rides I have been on this year.

Pop! by Angel Luis Colon Adult (Audiobook) organized crime thriller about an assistant who wants to take out their incompetent boss.

Translated fiction

The Loneliest Tree In The World by Mariana Salomao Carrara: Brazilian translated work about a family of tobacco farmers through the eyes of various objects in their home—an old mirror, a pickup truck, a protective work smock, and a sick, loving tree.

Nonfiction

What Will They Say: A Liberating Guide for Latinas by Denise Soler Cox (Audiobook) Adult Nonfiction Self help? Exposes 9 common Latinx cultural taboos no one dates discuss and shares her road-tested advice to blast through them and reclaim your power. Available in both English and Spanish.

Chancla: Healing Our Families, Ourselves, and Our Culture Through Nonviolent Parenting by Leslie Priscilla (Audiobook) Available in both English and Spanish.

The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War On Democracy by Gil Duran (Audiobook)

Picture Book

Please Pass the Tamales by Silvia Lopez (Audiobook)

Middle Grade

The Hungry Forest by Kaela Rivera (Audiobook) From the author of the Cece Rios series comes a new middle grade adventure.

AUGUST 25TH

Literary Fiction

Crocodopolis by John Manuel Arias (Audiobook) Costa Rican author, Arias, is back with a tale of sibling rivalry, family secrets and the fate of a nation.

Dey by Edwidge Dandicat (Audiobook) Taking place in Haiti, Miami, and Brooklyn, a woman whose sense of self and family are called into question when she gets caught in a random act of violence one sunny Florida day.

Middle Grade

No Place On Earth by Andrea Beatriz Arango (Audiobook) Middle Grade Puerto Rico A boy forced to move from PR to Yellowstone National Park after his mom and dad separate and she gets a job there. Gustavo has chronic nightmares and when he gets to the park, he starts seeing one of his classmates in his dreams. When something bad happens in dream Yellowstone, Gustavo is the only one who can help his friend.

Sing Me A Story: Latine Short Stories in Verse by Latine Authors, edited by Aida Salazar (Audiobook) Middle Grade Anthology Poetry: short stories in verse about the power of music.

Don't Wake Up by Cassandra Ramos-Gomez (Audiobook) Another installment in the Doll Island middle grade horror series

xo,

Carmen

Happy August! I was on a roll last week, finishing up some books that had been lingering for me. And they were mostly pretty darn good, too! An excellent way to wrap up July. Books marked with a * were gifted to me and books marked with a ^ I was paid to read.

Moss'd In Space by Rebecca Thorne* - Listen, I knew this book was gonna be a slam dunk for me, and I was right. Found family in space is my favorite subgenre by a mile, and then you make it cozy and add in a sentient moss computer? Let's go! I really loved the main trio, and I also liked that the romantic element was in the background (or basically nonexistent) for most of the book. Thorne says she was inspired by Murderbot, and you can easily see that. Basically, if you're looking for Murderbot with less murder, this is the book for you.

A Different Kind of Justice by David D'Alessandro^ - I never would have picked this up if it wasn't assigned to me in my side gig for Books Forward. It's just not my jam. Man looks back on his life and the grudges he's held and decides it's time to enact his own justice. Okay. The one thing I did like about it was the way it highlighted how Italians used to be considered a nonwhite other in this country.

Where They Last Saw Her by Marcie R. Rendon* - I really like Rendon's mystery/thrillers centering on missing Indigenous women. They are painful reads, but I'm such a fan of her headstrong women who take things into their own hands even when it scares them. The audiobook is narrated by bookstagram's own Erin Tripp, and she's just the best.

Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim* - A fascinating premise - what if when you crossed a border, there was a chance you split into multiple people, with one of you staying behind and one continuing on? This book was more of a character study than I anticipated, and I think it could have been a little shorter since there was a lot of ruminating over the same questions throughout. That said, I cannot stop thinking about it and what I would do if I found myself in Soyoung or Yujin's predicaments.

Kill All Wizards by Jedediah Berry* - What a funny little book, and I mean that in the sense of funny-haha and funny-strange. Think if Douglas Adams wrote something with a medieval bent. This story takes all kinds of strange turns, which is a feat for something that's less than 200 pages. I already can't wait for the sequel.

Where There's Room For Us by Hayley Kiyoko* - I didn't know I needed a cozy YA sapphic historical romance, but I did! Listening to this book was like snuggling into a warm blanket. There's not a lot going on plotwise, but I was so charmed by the sisters in the central family and their loving, chaotic relationships. The central problem was fascinating and also a bit strange - in this world, queerness is completely accepted, but land and titles still only pass down through male heirs. So it didn't always logic, but it was sweet enough for me to stick with it. Also, Kiyoko and Jemima Kirke are both A+ narrators.