I am not exactly sure what I just finished reading. I am confused about the timeline, the characters and the point of the story. It is well written, that is a given but I think that I am not the target audience for a book like this. 3 stars for effort and 5 stars to the narrator who did an amazing job.
Thank you to Net Galley and RBmedia | Recorded Books for a chance to listen to an audio version of this book.

Brother Brontë started off strong, but lost its way in the end. I was grabbed by Neftalí and Prosperina, and the rate in which they acclimated to their near-apocalyptic surroundings; in a world where books are being taken and burned, and all unemployed mothers are forced to join the “worker mother” program, where they work and live in a factory under constant surveillance.

It feels very atmospheric, which I enjoyed, but it lacks in sufficient overall world building; placing you right in the present with them without much information on Pablo Henry Crick- the tech giant authoritarian mayor- or how he came into office. I initially liked the idea that since he came into power when they were so young, their world had always been like that- but I think the more it went on without any expanding info, it became a bit lackluster.

I thought the POV change to the author of Neftalí’s beloved books was unnecessary, and didn’t add much to the story. Once we get back to the girls, the last third of the book is fairly disjointed, jumping from different plot points that could’ve been more fleshed out and connected without the aforementioned change in POV. There was a lot of potential, I’ll probably check out the author’s previous novel Tears of the Trufflepig.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for early access to the audiobook- available as of February 11th.

this dystopian book-in-a-book covers climate change, late-stage capitalism, book banning, and all the topics that will make you feel like humanity is heading toward the wrong direction. I thought the start was very strong, but it lost its momentum somewhere in the middle and never quite recovered. A solid book that could benefit from tighter editing

I had such high hopes for this with it being a dystopian novel, but I struggled to follow the world building and to get invested in the story.

I can't say that this book came together for me. I'm still not sure what I'm supposed to do with the second part and there's probably a ton of symbolism that went over my head. Definitely one I need to reread now that I know what to expect.

I will give Victoria Villarreal five stars though for her amazing narration.

BROTHER BRONTË by Fernando A. Flores is an off-kilter near-future dystopian novel set in Three Rivers, Texas. I call this a "soupy" book because the way the worldbuilding is pieced together feels like how you’d make a stew: raid the fridge, throw some ingredients together, and serve it up. In this dystopia, the ingredients include bans on literacy, the forced labor of all mothers in a fish cannery, climate catastrophes, a Bengali tiger (?!), immigration raids, corporate-political corruption, and stories within stories. It may sound like a lot, but I wanted to see where Flores would go with it all.

As a stew, this novel is going to feel too weird and random to many readers, but I can see it working for those who like to lean into the bizarre. For me, though there were some interesting subplots (especially one involving an author, and an identical twin turned wannabe assassin), the novel didn’t quite have enough 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 there. Any commentary about haywire politics and repressive governments got lost in the rowdy arbitrariness of the imagery and plot; it was hard to take seriously. The numerous characters didn’t get developed in a meaningful way. The one thing this novel does deliver is taking readers on a “mordant, gonzo romp” as the blurb describes it, so if that sounds appealing, do give this one a try!

I started this on print first but wasn’t vibing with the writing, so I moved to audio, which was (for me) a more enjoyable experience. Victoria Villarreal does a great job with the narration.

This book floored me. I listened to the audiobook (which was very well done), but I could only listen for about an hour at a time. The novel is set in a post-apocalypic world where towns have been privatized (independent from state and federal governments), the mayors of the towns have absolute power, and child-bearing women are forced to become "worker mothers" in a large, prison-style fish cannery. Books are outlawed and destroyed at random by roving street gangs with portable book shredders. The world is a mix of Fahrenheit 451 and The Handmaid's Tale, and the main characters, while never naive or innocent, possess a resilience and a resistance to tyranny that is truly inspiring.

I love the narration and the languages used for this one. I love the stories within stories and the world building. It is a weird book but you melt into it after a while. I do feel like maybe I was not smart enough for a large part of this.

Set in the near future of 2038, the story unfolds in the wasteland of Three Rivers. Oppressed under a tyrannical rule, the people are banned from reading, and mothers are forced to work as laborers. Somehow surviving these odds are two girls, one of whom loves to read secretly. When the atrocities rise beyond their limit of tolerance, they seek external help from an underground rebel group and an injured Bengal tigress.

Drifting through this world, you catch hints of dystopian themes and autocracy peeking through the curtains. Intended to reveal its rules layer by layer, you may find yourself wondering what's going on for a significant portion of the book. However, I would suggest you trust the process and go with the flow.

There is also a concept of the dust with cloudy weather that drills down the effectiveness of a dystopian world on the brink of collapse. It was also interesting to read so many reasons behind the sun vanishing & I loved that the title finally makes sense at the end! Though it's not what you may initially perceive it to be, so stay tuned till the end for the sweet surprise. 😉

Audiobook/Book Review 📖🎧🌋

thank you partner @mcdbooks @fsgbooks @recordedboooks for the gifted copy + audiobook!

Brother Brontë
by Fernando A. Flores
Narrated by Victoria Villareal

About the book 👇🏽

The year is 2038, and the formerly bustling town of Three Rivers, Texas, is a surreal wasteland. Under the authoritarian thumb of its tech industrialist mayor, Pablo Henry Crick, the town has outlawed reading and forced most of the town’s mothers to work as indentured laborers at the Big Tex Fish Cannery, which poisons the atmosphere and lines Crick’s pockets.

Scraping by in this godforsaken landscape are best friends Prosperina and Neftalí—the latter of whom, one of the town’s last literate citizens, hides and reads the books of the mysterious renegade author Jazzmin Monelle Rivas, whose last novel, Brother Brontë, is finally in Neftalí’s possession. But after a series of increasingly violent atrocities committed by Crick’s forces, Neftalí and Prosperina, with the help of a wounded bengal tigress, three scheming triplets, and an underground network of rebel tías, rise up to reclaim their city—and in the process, unlock Rivas’s connection to Three Rivers itself.

🌋 My thoughts:

Loved it! I started reading the physical book but had a lot going on so I requested the audiobook and it was so so good! Victoria Villareal did a wonderful job with the narration. It was a fast listen and held
my attention throughout the entirety of the book. The one thought I haven’t been able to shake is why does this story feel painfully possible?! I don’t like it. To say this story made me feel a lot, would be an understatement. It’s truly horrifying but geezus are these women a force to be reckoned with. As more time passes since finishing this book, the more I love it and the more I realize it will stay with me for a long time. The writing was top tier and although this is the first book I’ve read by this author, it will not be my last! I highly recommend giving this book a read or a listen. Brother Brontë is out now!

Happy reading 📖 🌋🎧

Sigh - my first DNF for a NetGalley selection. I gave it a full 25% before calling it. Perhaps it is just not for me, which surprised me since it had elements I tend to like - post-apocalyptic, characters fig HT ing the system, an element of forbidden knowledge (reading). I didn’t dislike the characters, and didn’t dislike the idea, but it just didn’t come together for me. (I caught tones of Fallout Video game series and wanted more). I felt like 25% of the way in there wasn’t a solid goal. Perhaps I will try again at some point and I love the ambition of the book, but it fell short too soon for me to want to continue.

What drew me to Brother Bronte was the cover, so I definitely didn't know what I was getting into.

This book was all over the place, I didn't have any particular expectations, but the book managed to surprise me nonetheless.

It made my mind an absolute mess (It didn't help that I was reading it, or rather listening to the audiobook while being sick). But I did enjoy the ending, it tied up everything perfectly. The last 15% of the book were more heartfelt and more meaningful than the rest of the book. At least to me.

I'm leave it unrated on GoodReads.

Victoria Villareal did a phenomenal job narrating Brother Brönte. I honestly cannot have imagined experiencing this book any other way, she really brought the story and characters to life. For those unfamiliar with her work, she also narrated The Hacienda, Jawbone, and Monstrilio. If you’re a fan of dystopian literary fiction, weird books, and socially relevant plots, then I absolutely recommend checking out this audiobook.

Stories within stories, this interestingly organized, evocative, and intriguing novel has intertwined tales of multiple characters including a novelist who reinvents fictions such as a retelling of the twins, Pride and Prejudice, and the Brontë brother.
It’s set in the near future primarily in small-town Texas near the Mexican border, where you can’t see the stars or a blue sky because of volcanic ash or the detritus of war. No one we meet can say for sure why. It’s a time and place where books and readers are rare, and children don’t know how to add; where mothers are required by law to work slave-level jobs in the local cannery (and are held captive - “provided for” - there), so their children will receive food rations. Where girls might wear patterns in their tights to spell out protests, and can be killed for smoking in public. It’s bleak, with some bright spots of human kindness.
More than climate fiction, it’s a compelling and scary potential reality that might result from ongoing political schisms and fringe beliefs taking hold. My overall take-away is that we must value words and continue telling our stories. And not give up the fight!
My thanks to the author, publisher, producer, and #NetGalley for access to the audiobook of #BrotherBrontë for review purposes. The book is available now. Lots for books clubs to discuss!

This audiobook was well produced and well narrated. I specifically requested the audio version because of the bilingual elements of the novel. I am thankful to the publisher and NetGalley for providing it to me in exchange for an honest review. Being able to hear the proper pronunciation of the Spanish enhanced the experience of the story. The narrator did an excellent job switching between characters, bringing out their personalities with pacing and tone.

In terms of the story, was this futuristic, anarcho-romp through a dystopian political hellscape a joy to read? Yes, mostly, once I let the madcap pacing and language wash over me. There's a lot to love in here: a novel inside a novel, two plucky teenage girls taking on the literal world, a near-future where books are outlawed and being literate is the ultimate taboo... but I found some of the stories inside the stories hard to follow. (Nested novels can be hit or miss for me, depending on how hard it is to shift from one story to another.)

I love young punks fighting the good fight in fiction, I just wish I had been able to smoothly follow the plot a bit more. (Also, to be fair, reading a novel with such frenetic energy at this particular moment might not be the easiest reading experience. But it might be cathartic for other folks!)

Thinking of comps for this is a real trick, but the reading experience reminded me of "The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion" more than anything I've read recently.

Readers looking for a raucous and bold dystopian tale should not miss this one.

This is a weird read. You're thrown into the world without any real explanation of what's happening, and the few details you do get near the beginning are so odd that it's hard to make any real sense of what's going on. The setting/world does become a bit clearer as the story goes on, but it takes time getting there. The writing also includes a lot of weird imagery, to the point where it was venturing into purple prose.

The plot starts off strong and I was interested in the characters, even though I wasn't entirely sure what was happening. But then Part II of the book flips to become essentially the biography of the fictional author of one of the protagonists' favorite books. While this section did provide a bit of background about the world/setting, it felt out of place. Especially because there were also lengthy synopses of fictional books included.

The strength of this work was the commentary included, especially since it feels more relevant these days in the U.S. than ever. Discussions about book bans, controlling access to education, forced labor, and late capitalism are all included in ways that add much to the dystopian feel of the book.

While this one didn't work for me, largely because of its disjointed execution, I can see why others will probably love it. If you're interested in dystopian fiction with a literary feel then you may enjoy this one. I did love the narrator, though. My thanks to NetGalley and RBMedia for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I started this book an immediately was tempted to put it down. Would this dystopian world be too close to the reality that we just might see ourselves in sooner than later. I kept on though and I am glad I did. This book was dark, thought provoking and well written.

Thanks to NetGalley and RBMedia for the Audio ARC!

I went back and forth between kind of disliking this book and really disliking it. There were large sections that felt like reading a writing project where the writer was directed to modify every noun with an adjective, and the more bizarre, the better. Then at other times, it wasn't as bad. But really, the underlying story was just weak and not really enjoyable. I thought the dystopian world depicted had some interesting points, but the writing style was just really amateurish and cringe-worthy. Unless you live, breath, and bleed dystopian fiction, I'd probably pass on this one.

This one starts off strong w place and setting but the novel fizzles a little into overdone plot with some bookbanning tropes. Well done audio, book not my favorite.

This near-future dystopian novel journeys through horrific oppression with strong women, heartening resistance, and many kinds of love. No spoilers.

Brother Brontë achieves a level all its own. This new novel stands out as speculative fiction of the best, crunchiest kind. Flores is immensely talented, a wild force. In the first minutes of listening, I knew this is the book I need for what we're living through. I want everyone to read this book.

As an oppressive regime attacks women, books, and literacy, street-level activism and webs of connection and care change lives. The visionary, masterful telling of stories within stories achieves states of buoyant wonder. In the midst of horror, it never becomes depressing. Instead, it's one of the most glowy, uplifting books I’ve experienced.

I strongly suggest a deliberate surrender to the book's world. It's strange, disorienting, and at times I felt lost, yet it's an exhilarating adventure with people I'd gladly visit again.

Victoria Villarea gives a captivating performance with distinctive voices and multiple accents to suit characters of different ages, origins, and personalities. The pacing and audio production quality shine.

Thank you, RBMedia, for this extraordinary ALC. These are solely my own opinions.
***TikTok release-day post scheduled for February 11
Added Goodreads link