Thanks to NetGalley and the author for giving me this arc. This was an interesting reading experience for me. Even though I quite enjoyed the plot and the storyline. This book wasn’t really for me. Having heard such good things about it I desperately wanted to pull through but I wasn’t able to. This book just wasn’t for me.
I would really like to give this book another try in the future.

The Spanish Daughter is the story of Puri, the oldest daughter of a recently deceased cocoa planter. Puri's father left Spain when she was very young for Ecuador where he started a cocoa plantation and a new family. Upon his death he has left 51% of the estate to Puri and the rest to his other 3 kids. On the trip over to Ecuador tragedy strikes and Puri is no longer sure who she can trust.
The story is set in 1920 in a region of Ecuador that was about to go through a change related to cocoa. It is a nice blend of historical location, murder mystery, and family drama. This is a great story that brings out a different culture that most American's might not be used to reading about. I definitely recommend.

Interesting story of love, family love and struggle, murder and mystery. Puri's father died and she had an inheritance from him in Ecudor. She had always wanted to visit him. Now that both her parents were gone, she could go. She convinced her husband to sell their chocolate shop and go. On the way sailing there someone tried to kill her and did kill her husband. He and the killer both went overboard. She left the ship at shore dressed as her husband, not knowing who had wanted to kill her, suspecting why. She had not known that her father had another family there on the plantation. While in disguise she got to know her sisters, brother and their friends. Slowly the mystery unfolds and the story builds. Jealousy and complicated relationships unravel, and Puri learns more about herself as she can act in ways differently as a man, with rights, and is treated differently than she would have been. But she also sacrifices the true relationship with her family. She is legitimate, they are not, and their father didn't let them forget it, yet he lived with them, not with her. It's interesting that an area that grows cocoa beans does not make them into chocolate. Puri brings that knowledge there with her grandmother's invention. An intricate story with an interesting conclusion.
I received this book free from the publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. #TheSpanishDaughter #NetGalley

The Spanish Daughter is part historical fiction, part domestic narrative, part cozy mystery.

We dive straight into it and that's fantastic. We immediately have stakes, someone is trying to kill our main character, Puri, and she doesn't know why so she dresses as her husband to try to find out what happened.

Puri arrives from Spain in Ecuador where her father left her his cacao estate upon his death. She realises her father had a whole new family and she has stepsisters and such. We follow her trying to uncover who in that new family wanted her dead (probably for her large chunk of the inheritance).

It's probably closer to a 3.5 stars for me, but I just didn't love it. I liked the general vibe, but there are things about the narration that didn't sold it to me.

First was the main character's feelings toward her father. He left when she was 2, he never came back, and she seems to want to be so loyal to him. She's meant to be in her late 20s so it's been maybe 25 years. She says her love of chocolate comes from him. Can you inherit taste from parents you don't remember? I guess that's a larger question.

There's a lot of commentary about the differences between men and women shoehorned in there too. And that's me speaking, biggest fan of feminist stuff. It was maybe a little too on the nose.

Also, I think it's worth mentioning, but I didn't love the 'colonial' vibe of this book. I picked it up because it was based in Ecuador and by an Ecuadorian writer. But maybe I should have known from the title (lol) that this book is primarily about European characters.

That said it's an easy read, it's mostly fun and lightly intriguing. I'd recommend it if you enjoy historical fiction with female characters at the heart.

Lorena Hughes’ second novel drops a murder mystery into a simmering tale of sibling rivalry, gender-bending impersonation, and chocolate, and the result is scrumptiously readable. As in her debut, The Sisters of Alameda Street (2017), The Spanish Daughter vibrantly recreates the author’s native Ecuador. In 1920, the coastal city of Vinces is known for its European architecture and cacao production. An experienced chocolatier, María Purificación de Lafont y Toledo, called Puri, sails from Seville to claim an inheritance from her late father, cacao plantation owner Don Armand, who had abandoned her and her mother decades earlier. She discovers, to her shock, that someone wants her dead.

Aboard the ship to Ecuador, Puri’s husband Cristóbal is killed in an attack meant for her, and so Puri disguises herself as Cristóbal—lowering her voice, wearing his clothes, and donning false facial hair—to determine who wanted to steal her rightful legacy. Puri surprisingly learns that her father had a second family, but while her half-siblings are resentful over Don Armand’s will, they treat “Don Cristóbal” with respect and don’t seem especially murderous.

This family has secrets aplenty, though, and Puri must sneak around the hacienda without letting her disguise slip, a challenge when she’s not comfortable riding horses, and when the dashing plantation administrator takes her drinking and to visit prostitutes (these scenes and Puri’s reactions are hilarious). The story explores gender roles with thought-provoking understanding. The plot feels initially jumpy when the viewpoint switches to Puri’s half-sisters at different times in the past, but these segments serve to illustrate family dynamics while adding to the puzzle.

It almost seems impossible there could be a satisfying ending to this complex state of affairs, but there is, very much so, and the novel’s atmosphere is as rich as Puri’s chocolate recipes.

Published in the Historical Novels Review, Feb. 2022.

4.5 rounded up to 5
Loved this book! Puri and her husband Cristobol are traveling from Spain to Ecuador to claim her inheritance from her father, a cocoa estate. On the ship, an assassin tries to kill Puri, but accidently kills her husband. In order to survive and figure out who wants her dead, Puri pretends to be her husband. We meet Puri’s family, who she never knew existed. It was interesting reading about how differently men and women were treated in the 1920’s. This had a great ending too. I enjoyed how Puri made connections with her new family and friends.
If you like historical fiction and family drama, this book is for you. I want to thank the author, Kensington Books and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

really drew you into early 20th century Ecuador with a charming narrator and a soap opera of a cast. Cacao is at the heart of this novel but in a low key way. The mystery is decent with lots of potential misdirections though the ending itself was a little..meh. Nevertheless, a very enjoyable read

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The Spanish Daughter by Lorena Hughes follows Puri, a Spanish chocolatier who inherited a cocoa estate in Ecuador. Ms. Hughes is an author who was born and raised in Ecuador, but moved to the US as an adult.

María Purificación “Puri” de Lafont y Toledo, a Spanish chocolatier, has inherited a successful cocoa estate in Vinces, Ecuador from her estranged father. Together with her husband, Cristóbal, Puri is leaving war ravaged Europe for a brighter future.

Going across the Atlantic Ocean, an assassin tries to kill them both. Puri is forced to take on Cristóbal’s identity attempting to discover the truth about her family, and father’s darkest secrets.

I do love chocolate, and I certainly love books.

Chocolatiering is an art which I always think would be fun, but I know it’s harder than it looks. Also, as a self-proclaimed chocolate connoisseur, I’ll probably never touch chocolate again if I have to work with it daily.

For the past few years, whenever I pick up a historical fiction book, I make it a point to read the author’s notes first. This gives me some historical context of what I’m about to read, and actually makes the story more enjoyable.

In her notes, the author imagined María Purificacíon Garcia, grandmother of the protagonist, invented the coffee & cocoa beans roaster. It’s sad that even knowing her name, I can’t find any information on her on the web. I’m amazed that the author managed to even to find her name.

I enjoyed reading about Vinces, Ecuador, nicknamed “Little Paris”, as well as the cocoa plantation. The descriptions of the local foods, customs, society, and certainly the cocoa industry were excellent.

There was very little “chocolate” in The Spanish Daughter by Lorena Hughes, though. I was looking forward to reading about the process of making chocolate, as well as cultivating the cocoa estate. Puri, after all, used to own and run a chocolate store, and she just inherited a vast estate. It would have been nice to go through the learning process with her.

There were two, maybe three, scenes of Puri preparing chocolate, very little about the actual cultivation and farming of cocoa beans. Instead we get a murder/mystery type of a story, which was fine, however unexpected.

I really enjoyed this unique story that takes place in Ecuador. Part mystery, part family drama and full of romance and intrigue, The Spanish Daughter had a little bit of everything.
Great read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved how unique this historical fiction was. That immediately attracted me to request this book. The characters were all developed very well and came to life through the pages. However, as I got more into the book, the less of an historical fiction novel it became. The Spanish Daughter resembled more of a family drama than anything else which put me off finishing it for so long. The culprit of the mystery was easy to guess which took away from the mystery element of the book.

Overall I really recommend this book to those who enjoy family drama or want a different historical fiction book.

This book is a historical fiction mingled with mystery and thriller, set in the 1920's in a small town of Ecuador. Puri owns a chocolate shop in Spain and when she gets a letter that her estranged father had left her cocoa plantations in her name in Ecuador, she set out with her husband, Don Cristobel to Ecuador. While travelling, an assassin tries to kill Puri's husband and she thinks one of her half siblings may have murdered her husband so she disguises as her husband to go meet her siblings, Angelica, Catalina, and Albert. All in all the book, for me, was just okay. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Puri and her husband leave Spain for Ecuador when her father dies, and she is to inherit a cocoa plantation and has a family of half siblings she’s never met. But things go awry when someone comes on board their ship to kill her, but kills her husband instead. Puri pretends to be her husband to find out who meant to kill her and why.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for the arc. I did receive both an ebook and audio version. What an amazing story. Narrator did a great job telling the story! The author and the narrator pulled me into this story and held me captive until the very end. Highly recommend.

I am a huge fan of historical fiction, as well as an avid listener of audiobooks. I was so happy to receive the audiobook (and printed version) of The Spanish Daughter by fauthor Lorena Hughes for review. Her prior novel The Sisters of Alameda Street, won several awards.

The Spanish daughter tells the story of Maria Purificacion, who, at the beginning of the book receives a note that she must travel to (from her home in Spain) to Ecuador to receive her inheritance from her father. He moved away long ago, but it appears, that he did not forsake her. As she crosses the ocean, with her husband, she feels she is being watched. Then, she is attacked, but it is her husband who is killed trying to save her. Someone wanted her dead before she received the inheritance. She shows up in Ecuador disguised as her husband Cristobal, and she plans to figure out who wanted her dead.

I really enjoyed everything about this book, the prose and the narration by Frankie Corzo is excellent. I highly recommend it!

Thank you #netgalley, @rbmedia for the audiobook and @kensingtonbooks for the ebook, in return for my honest review. 5 stars!

This book has all the combinations that resonate with me as a female reader - historical fiction with strong women characters. Quite well execution

I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting to watch the main character unravel mysteries surrounding her husband's murder while learning about the chocolate industry, Great characters and plot. I'd definitely recommend this book!

I just reviewed The Spanish Daughter by Lorena Hughes. #TheSpanishDaughter #NetGalley

🍫 With its pub day last week, I picked this one up and eagerly devoured this tasty ARC from NetGalley. Set in the early 1900s Ecuador, it’s the story of one woman’s strength and courage to discover the truth behind the murder of her husband as she leaves her home in Spain to visit the lands her father fled to when she was a child, and to obtain what was left to her in his will.

🚢 Puri was a chocolatier in Spain, and after selling their home and shop for life on her father’s cocoa bean plantation left to her after his passing, she and her husband Cristobal board a ship to Ecuador. On the journey, an attempt on her life fails when her husband intervenes and is killed. Before she docks, she creates an elaborate plan to cross-dress as her dead husband so that she can claim her inheritance and uncover who wanted her killed. Once she arrives she meets siblings she never knew of as her father had created another family, each person a suspect in her eyes. As a man, Puri sees life with its much different societal rules and expectations than she’s ever experienced before.

🍫Knowing very little about Ecuador, I found the historical information about the French landowners who arrived in South America to grow cacao for export, and created a Little Paris in the town of Vinces fascinating. The ties between Puri’s knowledge of chocolate making in Spain to introducing this indulgence to those who had only chewed on the beans kept me hungry to figure out who was behind the mission to remove her from the family equation.

🍫Pair with some delicious chocolates for this blend of family drama, historical fiction, and mystery.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

All her life, Puri has longed to travel from Spain to Ecuador, where her father has been since she was two years old. When she learns he has died and left an inheritance for her, she is eager to go. On the journey there, she is attacked, but her husband dies instead of her. Puri disguises herself as her husband to learn which of her half-siblings wants her dead.

This book left me with mixed feelings and I'd probably rate it at 3.5 stars. The setting of this story-a plantation in Ecuador-was my favorite part. The details kept me interested, and I loved learning a little about growing cocoa. I've not read many books set in South America. the plot of Puri disguising herself as her husband to find the killer was an intriguing idea.

What I didn't like was how the story was told. It is written in first person and mostly stays with Puri and her search for the truth. However, there are chapters that are told from the point of view of her half-sisters, Angelica and Catalina. These changes took me by surprise, especially because many of these also jump back in time. Either of these would have been fine on their own, but I didn't like them together. I found it a bit confusing to keep track of what was trying to be told to me.

Overall, this was an ok read. It wasn't awful, but definitely not a favorite. Readers who enjoy historical fiction set in the early 20th century may enjoy this one.

I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own.

The Spanish Daughter by Lorena Hughes blends the mystery of who is behind the murder of Cristobal with a well-researched historical story of the cocoa industry. A well-written, fast-paced read with a lush writing style makes this one hard to put down.

4.5 stars

While I decided to take a break from historical fiction and mystery this year, The Spanish Daughter has reignited my love for both genres.

With prose that is compulsively readable and a plot that unfolds deliciously, Hughes does a marvelous job of balancing between both genres. She incorporates just the right amount of historical context to give you a taste of the setting and adds just enough mystery to keep you engaged throughout. Throughout the book, she even manages to mitigate my biggest pet peeve of the mystery genre: the blatantly foreshadowed twist. The only complaint that I had was that for once, I actually wished that the book had been longer so that the ending could have been a bit more fleshed out.

After having a string of disappointing reads lately, this book came along at just the right time. I'm so glad that I am wrapping up my reading year on a high!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!