Jaguar Paloma and the Caketown Bar
by Jess Wells
Genre: Magical Realism, Historical Fiction
In 1865 in the shanty town of Tartatenango, the Caketown Bar is owned by the extraordinary Jaguar Paloma, matriarch of a village that is home to raucous miscreants, cast-off mothers, muleteers, and forgers. Amid drunken monks, a roaring trade in faked marriages just for fun, and the Romani, all balance on the knife-edge between legality and the illicit. Paloma’s life is honed by this community, as their lives are affected by her mystery and magic.
Co-founder of this extraordinary gathering is Orietta Becerra. Breathtakingly beautiful and ambitious, her distillery builds the success of Caketown. But when she crosses the tracks and marries the town’s mayor, her double life severs her friendship with Paloma and the town starts to pay the highest of prices.
Adding to this land of chaos and feminine power is a forger, a murderer, the darker shade of the female heart, and a Civil War that claims men before their time.
Caketown – men want to destroy it. Women want to play in it. The township itself has to fight on all sides to survive.
Told in evocative magical realism, Jaguar Paloma and the Caketown Bar is a tale of wronged women who stand up to be counted.
Jess Wells is the author of six novels and five books of short stories, winner of the Bronze Medal in the 2020 Foreword Reviews Indies Award for Adult Fiction/Romance, the recipient of a San Francisco Arts Commission Grant for Literature, a four-time finalist for the national Lambda Literary Award, and a member of the Saints & Sinners Literary Hall of Fame. Her work has appeared in more than three dozen literary journals and anthologies, has been reprinted in England and translated into Italian and Dutch.
Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
$25 Amazon
Related posts
1 Comment
Comments are closed.


Mental Health Resources for those in the USA - In light of the recent election, I want to put out a message that LGBTQIA+ and minorities are always welcome here. I may post promos in conjunction with tour companies that spout worldviews I don't always agree with, but we do our best to avoid any openly phobic posts, and should you notice any, I'd appreciate you contacting me with this form to let me know.

I'm doing my best to get everything up on the site and social media in a timely manner. Apologies if anything is missed or late! Between the state of the US right now, my mental/physical health, and some things going on in my personal life, things may be missed or late occasionally. I truly appreciate your understanding!
Sign up for my Newsletter to keep up to date on new announcements!
Subscribe to our newsletter!
Search for posts
Follow Me





Jaguar Paloma sounds like a fascinating read and the cover is quite intriguing! Thanks for sharing it with me and have a magical holiday season!