Happy Tuesday, mis internet amigxs!

My sincerest apologies for not getting this to you sooner! I was on vacation for the weekend with some of my best girlfriends and I had to prepare a presentation, as well as pack and get Secret Santa gifts in a busy week, medically, for my Mami and I, on top of regular work and tending to my family. It was a BUSY week. I'd thought I would work this weekend casually among friends, but instead I just soaked in the love and friendship all weekend. I then returned home yesterday to no internet and it took until about 10 minutes ago to get it back....

Before I get started with the list, though, I also want to apologize Libritos and Lectores members for not getting you early access to the newsletter. I posted a poll about it recently for you, but this week, I'll begin to post a reformatted version of my personal Latine book spreadsheet for you, beginning with January 27th releases. Not only will I update with upcoming Latine releases, but I'll update with the almost 2,000 published Latine releases I've been tracking over the past 4+ years. This spreadsheet will be available to all subscribers at the Libritos and Lectores level to peruse as you're searching for more Latine books for Latine Book Bingo. Be on the lookout for the first update of this spreadsheet later this week! And if you haven't subscribed or were thinking about subscribing at a paid level, NOW IS THE TIME!

By the way, mark your calendars for February 4th for our book club discussion with Orange Wine author Esperanza Hope Snyder! We're voting right now for when book club will discuss the book on Discord, so make sure to get your vote in before tomorrow.

Finally, LibroFM is having a great Fantasy Audiobook Sale right now through February 1st! There are almost 100 best selling and buzzy fantasy titles on this list, most for less than $5!!! (Also, you chismosas didn't hear it from me, but they will also be giving away free audiobooks on January 31st and I will send you a link when it's live).

And, now, without further ado, today's Latine releases...

TRANSLATED LITERATURE

Apparitions by Margo Glantz and translated by Ellen Jones

Eating Ashes by Brenda Navarro and Translated by Megan McDowell (Audiobook)

GRAPHIC NOVEL

Mouse Guard: Dawn of the Black Axe by David Petersen and Illustrated by Gabriel Rodríguez

Blood City Rollers: Move It or Bruise It by V.P. Anderson and Illustrated by Tatiana Hill

CHILDREN'S BOOKS

Just Right by Torrey Maldonado and Illustrated by Teresa Martínez

xoxo,

Carmen

Happy (?) Tuesday, mis internet amigxs,

The news continues to stay heavy, so I hope all of you are taking good care of yourselves.

Please make sure to mark Wednesday, February 4th at 8:00 PM EST for our chat with Esperanza Hope Snyder, author of our January book club selection, Orange Wine. I'm really looking forward to speaking with her. If you're new here, we usually chat with the author for 30-40 minutes then we open up Q&A to book club members, so please start thinking of your questions for Esperanza now! Of course, we're chatting all month on Discord, so please join us there if you already haven't.

Also, in case you missed it, I've been running a challenge for myself on YouTube this month, challenging myself to post every single day in January and even though I have missed a couple of days, I'm already much more confident posting there. If you're participating in 2026 Latine Book Bingo, then I recommend this 2-part series (video 1, video 2) detailing 50 books you can read for different parts of the bingo card. In addition, I posted 15 Latine books releasing in 2026 I'm looking forward to. Beginning in February, I'll slow down production. My goal is to post at least 2 YouTube videos a month.

And now, on to this week's releases...

ROMANCE

The Lust Crusade by Jo Segura (Audiobook)

The Magic of Untamed Hearts by Raquel Vasquez Guililand (Audiobook)

TRANSLATED FICTION

Pedro the Vast by Simon Lopez Trujillo and translated by Robin Myers (Audiobook)

DARK ROMANTASY

A Vow In Vengeance by Jaclyn Rodriguez (Audiobook)

PICTURE BOOK

Apapacho Love: A Story About Hugs From The Heart by Cynthia Harmony and illustrated by Erika Meza

xoxo,

Carmen

PS--this is a reminder that this list is CURATED by me and not intended to be a comprehensive list of ALL Latine releases. Part of that curation is not promoting problematic Latine authors.

Happy (?) Saturday, mis internet amigxs,

This has been a heavy week and I hope all of you are taking good care of yourselves.

Please make sure to mark Wednesday, February 4th at 8:00 PM EST for our chat with Esperanza Hope Snyder, author of our January book club selection, Orange Wine. I'm really looking forward to speaking with her. If you're new here, we usually chat with the author for 30-40 minutes then we open up Q&A to book club members, so please start thinking of your questions for Esperanza now! Of course, we're chatting all month on Discord, so please join us there if you already haven't.

Also, in case you missed it, I've been running a challenge for myself on YouTube this month, challenging myself to post every single day in January. I'm not certain I'm going to make today's deadline, but I have some reviews and other content I'll be posting soon. If you're participating in 2026 Latine Book Bingo, then I recommend this 2-part series (video 1, video 2) detailing 50 books you can read for different parts of the bingo card. In addition, I posted 15 Latine books releasing in 2026 I'm looking forward to. Beginning in February, I'll slow down production. My goal is to post at least 2 YouTube videos a month.

Finally, before I bring you this week's Latine releases, I'm contemplating some changes to your benefits and wanted to run something by you--I was thinking that instead of a weekly newsletter of Latine releases for Lectores and Libritos members, I'd instead make available to you my spreadsheet of Latine releases, both past and future. That way, you'd have something to reference when you're looking for your next Latine read. You'd still get the Tuesday New Latine Releases spreadsheet, but wouldn't receive the duplicate exclusive newsletter like this one. Let me know what you think. I'm still ruminating on this change, but if you have any feedback on your benefits as members...

And now, on to this week's releases...

ROMANCE

The Lust Crusade by Jo Segura (Audiobook) Contemporary romance following a plucky librarian and an archaeologist on the run who fake an engagement to save their lives all while catching feelings for one another.

The Magic of Untamed Hearts by Raquel Vasquez Guililand (Audiobook) Paranormal romance that centers the third Flores sister, Sage, who was trapped in an oak by the gods for 8 years. It's been 2 years since she was released and she's trying to find her way in life, dealing with a town that disparages her circumstances and her relationship with animals. Enter Adam Noemi, grandson of her elderly neighbor she cares for William, who's down on his luck, but also beloved by the town. In a scheme to reveal to the town what happened to her, Sage agrees to have Adam, a reporter, interview her. But her revelations also brings wall crashing down between them and something more grows between them. I'm almost done with this one and it's my favorite of the series so far. Full review to come soon...

TRANSLATED FICTION

Pedro the Vast by Simon Lopez Trujillo and translated by Robin Myers (Audiobook) A translated work of literary fiction that beckons Jeff Vandermeer where in a fire-prone landscape, humanity has encroached on nature enough and a deadly fungus mounts resistance.

DARK ROMANTASY

A Vow In Vengeance by Jaclyn Rodriguez (Audiobook) A Latine release with a limited edition first print run? WHAT A RARITY! The first book in the Immortal Desires series, this dark fantasy features enemies to lovers, dark academia, fake fated mates, forced proximity, touch her and die, and tarot tropes.

PICTURE BOOK

Apapacho Love: A Story About Hugs From The Heart by Cynthia Harmony and illustrated by Erika Meza

xoxo,

Carmen

PS--this is a reminder that this list is CURATED by me and not intended to be a comprehensive list of ALL Latine releases. Part of that curation is not promoting problematic Latine authors.

Happy Tuesday, Mis Internet amigxs!

Welcome to all the newbies to Bien Leidos newsletter and book club. I LOVE that we have so many like-minded chismosxs here with us now. If you're not already in Discord and interested in joining the chat for Orange Wine, get over there! The chisme is already piping hot and we'll be keeping the discussion going all month!

Although you can find me in the usual spots, Tik Tok and Instagram, in 2026, I'll be focusing on my YOUTUBE. In fact, I started a challenge to post one video there every single day in January. Today is day 6 and I'm happy to report that my 6th video just posted. All my YouTube content will be unique to what I post everywhere else, so I hope you'll follow me there, as well, for more expanded content. In fact, I posted 2 videos over the weekend that have over 50 Latine book recommendations for the Bien Leidos Latine Book Bingo Challenge. You can check out Part 1 and Part 2 that goes over the first half and then the second half of the bingo card, respectively. The rest of the months holds more vlogs, book reviews, anticipated 2026 Latine releases, Latine book recommendations and...more? Let me know if you have any suggestions of your favorite types of YouTube content in the comments. I'd love to experiment more!

A reminder for Lectores and Libritos members: I'm using the name you used to subscribe to Bindery when I read them out on Youtube, so if you'd like me to acknowledge a different name, please make sure to update your Bindery username name!

Speaking of new content, I'll be doing my FIRST interview for the podcast next week and it's...MIA SOSA! The podcast won't premier until next month, so let's keep this chisme between us for now!

And now...on to this week's releases!

It looks like publishing is easing into 2026, because we only have a paperback release, but let's celebrate it all the same because it's a book I read a few years back and absolutely adored!

First in the Family: A Story of Survival, Recovery, and the American Dream by Jessica Hoppe (Audiobook) This is an incredible memoir of recovery, particularly how BIPOC people are erased from the structures of recovery creating untenable spaces for us. Jessica is a lyrical and powerful writer who gives us a brutally honest reflection on her personal recovery efforts as well as breaking generational cycles.

As I was going through today's releases, I realized that there was an audiobook release for a 2025 book I recommended you pick up: Banned Together: Our Fight For Reader's Rights edited by Ashly Hope Perez (audiobook). This is a fantastic essay collection for young readers about book banning in the US and is critical for kids to read about stories disappearing from bookshelves.

Finally, I'm filming the first episode of the year of the Libby podcast this afternoon. If you haven't caught my appearances, you can find them everywhere you find your favorite podcasts. Here's a link to the final recording of 2025.

That's all for now! I'll see you next week...

xoxo,

Carmen

HAPPY FIRST SUNDAY OF 2026, MIS INTERNET AMIGXS!

I have missed you and apologize for no newsletters in December. I had a busy month with holidays, hospitals and planning so many new things here for 2026. I hope you've had a chance to catch me on social media, particularly the newest place I'm focusing on in 2026, YOUTUBE. I'm challenging myself to post one video there every single day in January and on this fourth day of the year, I'm happy to report that, so far, I'm succeeding. I'm also giving myself the grace to fail, brush myself off and continue as well.

My last 2 videos have been recommendations for the Bien Leidos Latine Book Bingo Challenge I posted about yesterday. The videos contain 50 Latine recommendations and I'll probably focus on making more videos after this posting challenge is over.

You may recall one of your perks as paying subscribers is to have your name read either at the beginning of the video, for Lectores members, or at the end credits, for Libritos members. I'm using the name you used to subscribe to Bindery, so if you'd like me to acknowledge a different name, please make sure to update your Bindery username name!

Speaking of new content, I'll be doing my FIRST interview for the podcast next week and it's...MIA SOSA! If you have a question for her, please drop it in the comments! The podcast won't premier until February, so let's keep this between us!

Reminder that we're reading Orange Wine by Esperanza Hope Snyder this month! I hope you'll consider joining the chat on Discord...and keep this chisme between us, but I think we'll be chatting with Esperanza in early February, so keep your eyes peeled!!!

I know last year I posted month recommendations, but I'm back to weekly posts, at least for now. There's a lot going on this January and it helps me to break up the posts into little pieces. If you have a preference, either way, then please let me know in the comments.

It looks like publishing is easing into 2026, because we only have a paperback release, but let's celebrate it all the same because it's a book I read a few years back and absolutely adored!

First in the Family: A Story of Survival, Recovery, and the American Dream by Jessica Hoppe (Audiobook) This is an incredible memoir of recovery, particularly how BIPOC people are erased from the structures of recovery creating untenable spaces for us. Jessica is a lyrical and powerful writer who gives us a brutally honest reflection on her personal recovery efforts as well as breaking generational cycles.

I'm very much looking forward to sharing with you the MANY more 2026 Latine releases to come! I'll see you next week.

xoxo,

Carmen