This was certainly an interesting book. There was soap opera level drama throughout. At times it gave thriller or whodunnit vibes. At other times I started to get just history fiction themes. Overall it was an entertaining read.

This review will be posted on December 15, 2021 to: https://instagram.com/amandas.bookshelf

After surviving a murder attempt, Puri disguises herself as a man for protection while she figures out who wanted her dead. She arrives in Ecuador to claim her inheritance, but her dead father's three other children are less than pleased about sharing their thriving cacao plantation and valuable land with a sibling they never knew. This #OwnVoices novel is remarkable for its coverage of the history of cacao, Ecuador and its history, the European landowners who came to grow cacao, and the gender roles and norms of the early 20th century. Puri is a fantastic heroine: brave and fearless as she investigates who tried to kill her, aware of the new freedoms she has while living as a man, and a successful entrepreneur with a thriving business as a chocolatier. (It was so cool to read in the Author's Note that Puri's grandmother was modeled on a real Spanish woman who invented a cacao bean roaster in 1847.) What didn't work for me, and is completely preferential, was the writing style. I was told a lot of things Puri did, but not often shown them. As such, I didn't feel really sucked into the novel, which was a tad disappointing, but it instead felt like I was watching a play. Given the historical setting, I wanted to feel and experience the plot more. #TheSpanishDaughter Rating: somewhere between 😐 / meh, it was ok and 🙂 / liked it
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This book is scheduled for publication on December 28, 2021. Thank you @kensingtonbooks for providing me this digital ARC via @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well written period piece full of emotion. Loved the setting, and the story. Bit far fetched but a good telling nonetheless.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

Puri is informed that her long absent father has passed and she is to inherit his cacao plantation in Ecuador. Faced with this golden opportunity, she closes her chocolate shop in her native Spain and convinces her husband Cristóbal to sail across the ocean to claim her fortune. In Ecuador at last, she will be able to truly pursue her passion for chocolate and make her grandmother proud. Aboard the Andes she is stripped of her illusions when an attempt is made on her life. In a struggle, the mysterious assassin and her husband go overboard and plunge to their deaths. Frightened and on her own, Puri dons Cristóbal’s clothes to conceal her true identity. Who could resent her enough to wish her dead? Clearly someone is unhappy that she is coming to fulfill her father’s final wishes. As a man, Puri is able to set aside the cumbersome social expectations of women and is able to explore some of the freedoms allowed to men. But do men really have it any easier? Our protagonist finds adventure, but it is not exactly the adventure she anticipated. Upon arrival she dines with her father’s lawyer and a sparrow-hawk dives at the window. Aquillino laments, “the poor creature must not have seen the glass, it didn’t know what it was getting itself into when it came.”

Hughes presents a window into Ecuador in the early 1920’s when cacao’s golden pods beckoned Europeans with their promise of riches. Ecuador’s ‘Little Paris’ provides a lush setting with characters reminiscent of a grand telenovela. I so enjoyed reading The Spanish Daughter and highly recommend it to historical fiction enthusiasts.

Many thanks to Netgallery for the gift of this digital ARC! Watch for it - pub date 28 Dec 2021

I learned so much reading this book and Ecuador is now on my travel list.

I did not correctly guess as I was reading and learning the characters who the murder was and who sent him; that reveal was amazing. I enjoyed the family dynamics and need this to be made into a telenovela!

I'm not normally a fan of books written in the first person. This is an exception and tempted me to try more. The story took place in Ecuador on a cacao farm. The history of farming and the opportunity to learn mixed well with the story of the man who started the farm after leaving his family in Spain. Being successful at farming came at a cost to both his family in Ecuador and his family in Spain. When his two worlds collide after his death, the options for adventure and misadventure were varied. Lorena Hughes did a fabulous job of bringing the two together in unexpected ways. This is one author I will read again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Spanish Daughter is a tale of loss, of hope, of intrigue. Puri is somewhere new. Halfway across the world to claim an inheritance. Alone. She never expected to be alone. While she investigates the reason for her situation, dressed as her husband, and tries to find her his murderer, she falls in love with Ecuador. With the little french settlement near the cacao plantation she has inherited. She feels at home. However, she can't shake the feeling of being in danger. Not until she knows who killed her husband and tried to murder her.
This story is a wonderful blend of historical fiction and murder mystery. I could not put it down. It was incredibly well-written, complementing the atmosphere of the story being told. Every character is in some way suspicious. It was an amazing set up and the resolution knocked me off my feet. I was not completely happy with the ending, it felt rushed and left me a little unsatisfied. But that might be because I'm a horrible romantic!
The characters were very diverse for historical fiction, which left me pleasantly surprised. There is some homophobic sentiment, although the whole story is set in a (historically accurate) deeply catholic colonialist community, so it would be ingenuine otherwise. The lgbt characters are not punished for their identities, but rather supported in a way that is historically realistic and so I personally thought it was well-handled. Another side-effect of this setting is the colonialist language used. Makes me cringe, but it is historically accurate. Generally, I felt these issues were handled in a way that kept the cringeing to a minimum without erasing the harmful beliefs people in such circles held (and sometimes still hold). I am not indigenous though, so please read reviews by folks who are on that in particular.
I particularly loved the heroine and her developement within the story. As a man, she enjoys the freedoms that affords her and also experiences men in less stiff and regulated spaces than the public. This leads to a fascinating process of learning to understand men and their role in her society, as well as the divide between men as people and men as providers that is so prominent for her. Also it leads to more than one absolutely hilarious situation!
Overall, I recommend this book to anyone who wants a historical novel they will fly through.

This review will also appear on my instagram @/flybybooks in the near future.

I thought it was a wonderful and adventurous tale, and I found myself engaged with every page. I really enjoyed this book and the message it gave.

One of the reasons why I love historical fiction is to learn new things.

This novel was so interesting. Puri is a Spanish citizen, she lives with her husband and has her own chocolate shop, she learned to make chocolate thanks to her grandmother who also invent a cocoa beans machine. When she receives a letter that her father has died and has left her an inheritance in Ecuador, she doesn't hesitate to sell her things and make the trip to America, but the journey is so easy and she made it, but disguised as a man.

I like Puri, she is a smart and ambitious woman, I liked her observations about how different women and men behave before society and social norms. And the process of making chocolate, it's kind of ironic, that cocoa beans are from America and people have never eaten chocolate, it's an European fancy desert.
Also, I like the descriptions, you can almost feel the heat from the plantation.

Its a bit of mystery, when Puri arrives, she learns that she had sisters and maybe one of them had tried to kill her, you meet many characters, people who work for the family or relatives and they have secrets, the story reads quick, is fast pacing and entertaining

Thank you NetGalley, Kensington Books ANF Author for this great advanced ebook

The Spanish Daughter was an excellent historical fiction novel that has history, powerful, suspense, great amazing characters, and a fabulous story line!
I was absorbed in this book!
Set against the lush backdrop of early twentieth century Ecuador and inspired by the real-life history. This is one historical fiction you won't want miss!

This book has a beautiful choice cover and a well told story. A 3.5 rounded down to a 3.
Puri and her husband Cristobal are on their way from Europe to South America after the notice of her fathers passing. She only knew him when she was a little girl, but she was curious about him and her half siblings. However, on the ship a man attacked her and killed Cristobal. She discovered he was there to kill her.
She decides for her safety to disguise herself as Cristobal and tell her siblings that Puri died on the ship. Now free to look into who wanted her dead and why.

I was able to piece together the ending, but had been guessing most if the book. The ending was satisfying, but I wish there was more depth about some of the other characters

The setting of the novel is in Vinces, Ecuador April 1920. Maria Purificación de Lafont y Toledo (Puri) has been named in her estranged father’s will. Her father Armand, a Frenchman, abandoned Puri and her Spanish mother twenty-five years before and moved to Ecuador to own a cacao plantation. Puri and her husband sell all of their belongings in Spain, her beloved chocolate shop to emigrate to Ecuador. On the voyage to Ecuador, Puri is attacked by a would-be assassin and her husband is killed instead. Unsure of whom to trust, Puri dons her husband's clothing, spectacles, and steals facial hair from circus performers when she arrives in Ecuador. She plans to investigate who wanted her dead. Upon arrival she meets her father’s lawyer and discovers she has two half-sisters and a half-brother. Disguised as her husband Cristobal, Puri gets to know all of the people close to her father and tries to determine who would see her a threat enough to want her dead. Being dressed as a man she realizes is very freeing, but she's not sure who she can trust.

The cover to this novel is beautiful! I liked how we could hear Puri’s internal thoughts about being a man and pointing out the differences in 1920 society between men and women. I enjoyed learning about the half-sisters through the flashbacks and what made them the way they were. I do like that this is a historical story that I feel hasn’t been told before. Most historical fiction books are entwined with WWII, but this book shed light on on the cacao plantations in Ecuador and the devastating plague in the 1920's. There was a twist towards the end that I had pieced together, but overall the ending was very satisfying. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

At first I didn't think I'd be able to read much because of the uncorrected proof formatting (or lack of formatting: no paragraphs, odd line breaks, etc.). However, the power of the story kept me going, and eventually I didn't even notice the challenging formatting issues. I was completely unfamiliar with cacao growing, the process of making chocolate, or Ecuador and its French immigrants. So the plot and setting were unique for me and deftly captured.

I warn readers, however, not to read past the first paragraph or two of any summary... it gives too much away! Let the author introduce you to Puri and Cristobal's story and enjoy being transported to another time and place.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this title.

Although I enjoyed this novel it didn't seem to be as full and rounded out as I wanted. While Puri was an interesting character, especially when she was dressed as her husband, Cristobal, I never felt like the book was fully realized. There's a lot of potential here, but it was barely tapped into. I wanted more about the culture of the area on top of the interpersonal relationships of the characters.

4.5 stars, rounding down to 4.

This story is inspired by the real history of Vinces, Ecuador, also known as “Little Paris,” home to many cacao plantations.

This book had a lot of great twists that I didn’t see coming. The murder mystery was great and for a while I, along with Puri, suspected almost everyone. There were a lot of small threads that the author managed to pull all together in the end. It was so interesting to learn about the process of making cocoa from the cacao pods. I really enjoyed this book.

Parts of this novel was cleverly and well written, but I had some minor issues with the writing. It is sometimes unclear, when there is dialogue from multiple people, who is saying what. There are typos that I hope will be fixed before the book officially releases. This is not a book that I would be able to listen to on audio because there is a lot of bouncing around in the timeline. There is so much going on in this book; it’s like a soap opera. There were also some parts of the ending that I didn’t care for.

Overall: This book was great. I loved it! I stayed up till 5am finishing this book because I didn’t want to put it down! Read it in one day. It’s a great mystery with a ton of surprising twists that also teaches you about the making of chocolate. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction, or mysteries, or who wants to learn more about the chocolate making process through a captivating work of fiction.

Thank you Net Galley and Kensington Books for a copy of this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #TheSpanishDaughter

Puri and her husband are sailing across the ocean when tragedy strikes. They are traveling to a reading of her father’s will. A father that she hasn’t seen since she was two years old.
She meets her sisters and brother and the story takes off in many delicious directions. She is a chocolatier and the father has a cacao bean plantation. Lots of juicy characters and full of laughter, love, evil, and suspense. Enjoy this lovely story!

The Spanish Daughter by Lorena Hughes is an excellent historical fiction novel that has history, action, suspense, great character cast, and a fabulous backdrop that kept me enthralled from beginning to end.

I loved this gorgeous novel. The author's ability to describe the landscapes, locations, and flora/fauna really evoked vivid and realistic images for me while I read this gripping narrative.

I also really enjoyed being exposed to and learning about the process of growing, harvesting, and procuring cacao and all that is entailed into the process towards chocolate. I knew a little bit, but to see the history behind it during this time period was really a job and an education.

Puri's unique and harrowing journey was definitely action-packed, entertaining, and was really engaging. She is such a great and complex main character. The twists, turns, and experiences that were part of the narrative were well-developed and I really admired her bravery, passion, and fortitude. The fundamental aspects of love, loss, overcoming obstacles, friendships forged, and perseverance were prevalent throughout. I also really enjoyed the ending.

A great HF novel that I recommend.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Kensington for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication.

It was a good read. Not one of my faves, but worth the read. Great character development, but list my interest at several points and found my mind wandering. Had to re-read at several points. No something that I would read in one sitting. Took me several days.

This was fascinating! I had no idea about the true story behind it. Really well written and luscious descriptions of the chocolate and cacao, the sea crossings and landscapes, this was really atmospheric. It was a very compelling story and I will review in a longer format close to publication. Highly recommended though! And you have to eat chocolate of course when reading, it's the law ;)

In the aftermath of World War I. Puri’s Spanish chocolate shop has faltered and failed. Her only option to set out for the cacao plantation in Ecuador she inherited from her grandparents to learn more about the chocolate growing and making business. With her is her husband, Cristobal, who winds up killed on the ocean voyage. He is mistakenly killed by the mercenary sent to kill Puri; someone does not want her taking over the plantation. Puri assumes her husband’s identity, dressing as a man so she is able to hide and infiltrate areas women would not be allowed. She encounters new friends, family and enemies she never knew she had. This iush, tropical escape at a time when most of us are still stuck at home is a welcome escape