hispanic heritage readathon – But First, Kafka

Hi I absolutely did not mean to fall off the face of the earth for a little while! October is always one of my busiest months, and it hit me with a massive reading slump, which in turn made me not want to blog either. I have a backlog of books that I can’t wait to review, starting with the ones I read for the Hispanic Heritage Month readathon!

There were a few books on my TBR for this readathon that I was unable to get to. The first was Solita by Vivien Rainn. This book was released in April but was impossible for me to find anywhere in any format. I was really bummed about it because it’s a gothic paranormal romance, and I hope eventually I can find a copy of it!

The second was Jawbone by Monica Ojeda, which is a contemporary horror that drew inspiration from Lovecraft and creepypastas. I figured it was right up my alley, but I only made it about 50 pages in before putting it down. I found it really difficult to get into, and the paragraphs were long and never-ending. I might pick this up again at some point, but for now it’s on hold. The third was Bindle Punk Bruja by Desideria Mesa, and honestly time just got away from me on this one and I was unable to read it in time. I will definitely be reading it soon, though!

I was able to read the rest of the books for this readathon, including Ophelia After All, which I already wrote a full review of. I’m in the middle of a full review for Together We Burn, so keep an eye out for that! I wrote mini reviews about the rest of the books below!

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National Hispanic Heritage Month started on September 15th as a way to celebrate histories, cultures, and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America. Five Latin American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) gained independence on the 15th, while Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on the 16th and 18th.

One of my reading goals for the last few years has been to read more books by BIPOC authors or about BIPOC characters, and I have to admit, they’ve been some of the best books I’ve read lately. The Hacienda and Mexican Gothic are definitely in my top 10 for recent years. There’s something so refreshing about learning more about different cultures and histories, and for me personally, there’s something comforting in reading books with the Spanish language in it.

This month, from September 15 to October 15, I’m going to aim to read eight Hispanic novels. Eight seems like a high number considering I’ve been in a reading slump most of the year, but I’ve been highly anticipating a lot of these stories for a long time and can’t wait to finally get to them! As always, I’ll do a wrap-up at the end of the month and review everything I’ve read.