My big issue with this book is that it takes a ‘feminist’ retelling approach to an incredibly complicated story of a real life woman that was filled with violence and colonialism. By introducing magic to the story, Chapa manages to undermine the tragedy of Malinalli’s real life in favor of a fantastical girlboos story. And frankly I could care less for that.

This book has taken me what feels like an age to finish. The pacing was really slow for so much of the book. I am not familiar with this figure in history, it wasn't something covered when I was in school (so little was), so I have no historical context of who they are.

That aside, I never felt like I understood the world, and it's supposed to be a historical fantasy version of ours so there was always this disconnect. The magic felt glossed over at best. I also was never sure of how old she was during any part of the story. At one point she mentions "when I was young" but then a sentence later she mentions that she's barely 12 and that left me thing 'that's still young, what do you mean?'

The story is primarily told from Malinalli's perspective, as it is her story, but it was so focused on her all the side-characters fell a little flat, which for me left Malinalli as a bit of a hollow character. Her personality was the arch-type 'loud and angry', not that she didn't have reason to be either of those, but with no other emotions, it made her a tough character to empathize or sympathize with when I probably was expected to. I don't like the trend of a good female character is one that angry or "acts like a man". Men and women are allowed to be sad and vulnerable, and I didn't see any point where she displayed one of those emotions even when it would've made sense for her to.

I don't typically read historical fantasy that follows person who actually existed, so these issues might not bother people who read this sub-genre more than I do. But for me, this book was a little lackluster.

Two reasons this didn’t work for me: number one, it’s written in the same sort of style as Circe, The Witch and the Tsar, Nikki Marmery’s Lilith, and so on – the trend of ‘feminist’ myth retellings that I really wish would stop already. (I say ‘feminist’ in quote marks because it’s the laziest, most superficial type of GirlBossTM nonsense we were supposed to be done with in the 90s, not anything thoughtful or gods forbid intersectional.)

The second reason this isn’t for me is that it’s… How do I put this? You know how sometimes lit fic authors put magic in their books, but they won’t call it SFF? When you get an author who wants to play with SFF’s shiny toys but doesn’t want to engage with the genre? That’s what Malinalli reminds me of. It’s as if it’s not actually a fantasy novel because if it was, the magic would be more than an aesthetic, than set dressing. We wouldn’t gloss over it, handwave it. Out of nowhere Mali and her twin start being able to send each other visions? Don’t worry about it. Mali goes from barely being able to sew to embroidering masterpieces overnight? Shrug. One day she starts being able to bring her embroideries to life? Eh, whatever. I mean, Mali barely reacts, and the narrative just tells us about these magical happenings, summarises them for us, instead of showing them to us and letting us experience them!

Because the magic doesn’t actually matter???

So fans of historical fiction should enjoy this fine; I just wouldn’t give it to any SFF readers. But what that means is that the main reason I didn’t get on with this one is that it’s not for me: I’m not the intended audience, and that’s absolutely fine.

I did think the pacing was too fast, that we were rushed through things that would have had the impact they were meant to if the writing hadn't been on fast-forward. But in terms of what it's trying to be, Malinalli's not terrible.

Great book! I was unfamiliar with the story/legends of Malinalli but loved this retelling of her story!

Thank you Atria Books & Primero Sueno Press for granting me an ARC!

Veronica! Malinalli has found a spot on my top 2024 reads! Gosh this was so good. I absolutely love reimagined tales especially with female rage. This was right up the alley of genres and themes I enjoy. I’m definitely going to get myself a physical copy of this book and will be recommending to everyone. Thank you for graciously sharing this advanced copy to me.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books | Atria/Primero Sueño Press Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This retelling of La Malinche's story guides readers through her life, starting in youth. Filled with magical realism, the epic story is recounted from Malinalli's perspective. I was already familiar with the story and Nahuatl, so I was rooting for the story and perhaps it made me a bit more critical.

The pacing took me quite some time to get used to, probably about 100 pages. The descriptions were beautiful, but I would have preferred more balance with dialogue in the beginning. The beginning was slow for me. The middle had a lot more energy in pacing, but I wanted more depth for the other characters. Towards the end, I expected much more zest for this epic story. Unfortunately, it feels like it petered out in a rushed way.

With that said, I think it's worth reading and exploring for the historical value and conversation.

I loved the concept of this book but did not love the execution. It seemed at times to move far too fast for my liking and supporting characters felt barebones.

A good premise for this era of reclaiming story threads of major mythological and/or historical women —and it seems to be the first of its type in English for a Mesoamerican character— "Malinalli" is a quick-ish read that interweaves coming-of-age, elements of fantasy, falling short of good intentions due to pride/youth, interesting imaginary settings (like a temple of sorceresses) and a fair bit of research for the factual ones (say, now archeological sites like Cozumel show up with the names that their then inhabitants gave them, like Ah-Cuzamil-Peten).

The first chapter is very exposition heavy, so it wasn't the easiest to get into, but plot wise the story from there does tend to move quite fast. Albeit not always clearly for me — sometimes the telling of a day's events kinda randomly included the narrator's mentions or recollections of conversations from days prior that the reader hadn't been introduced or privy to, so following some parts or how time passes can get a bit muddled, and honestly I found the writing for several magical moments downright confusing. Other times the events were almost plowed through (the beginning of part 3 was a bit of a whirlwind, for example, and I similarly found the first half of part 6 and the very end/epilogue pretty befuddling).

Overall it is a great concept, but not my favourite execution. Having said that, it was an interesting enough attempt and I like the idea that it may introduce some people to a figure likely not well known outside of Mexican cultures. Especially as it was written first in English unlike other novelizations of La Malinche.

PS. Some may find the amount of names perhaps overwhelming; but if they can deal with this in the Greco-Roman or other mythological reimaginings that abound, they'll be able to do so here as well.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the premise of this book, but the execution left a lot to be desired. There are many plot points that are brought up and dropped and some characters just disappear. I also know this is based on real history, but I am not sure that the integration of magic into the real story made sense for the real ending. It all just felt a bit anticlimactic and the magic ability varied wildly depending on the situation.

I love the concept of taking a real person, especially a misunderstood woman, and giving her more agency so I hope books like this continue, but this one fell flat for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for this ARC.

When I found out that Malinalli by Veronica Chapa was a retelling about the story of Malinche I was excited but hesitant. I am not the greatest fan of retellings, as the previous few I've read were not only dry in their telling but also poorly developed.

Unfortunately I fear that the same problem I have with the niche genre, was also present in Malinalli.

The story opens to the story of Malinalli's birth, which was a promise of a prophecy foretold--in my mind at least-- and how her first day on Earth marked her for a long and twisted path that would take her far from home. Its premise gave me hope of what was to come, however I was sorely mistaken.

Bit by bit we explored every moment of Malinalli's life, which was primarily focused on her as it is about her life and her story. However, it hit me when I was about 90% of the way done with the story that Malinalli rarely focused on anyone who wasn't herself. Support characters barely existed in her life, as Malinalli herself rarely gave thought to the fact that they had their own lives that persisted outside her own. Even men that held a pivotal moment in her life were reduced to caricatures that really only painted them in two lights: a terrible man or a man who existed for a time. The lack of dimension in this world brought me entirely out of the story.

Following the flat supporting characters, Malinalli herself persisted as an insufferable protagonist whose mind we were trapped in. Everything she did was perfect, and if it wasn't she was better than those around her. She came off as a narcissistic know it all who really only had to think about it and she could do anything. On top of that, her personality seemed to follow that of the modern perspective: that a good female character is a loud, angry one. This trope annoys me to no end, as it erases the efforts other strong women both in fiction and reality made to gain an equal footing. Loud, angry women are not fun to read nor watch. They just come off as annoying.

For others, this may not be a problem and this may be right up your alley. Malinalli, however, encompassed everything I hated in fiction which made this more of a slog than an enlightening read about Malinche and her presence in the history of Latin America.

This book started slow but really got going about a third in. Following Malinaxochitl, a young girl in precolonial Americas as she matures, deals with loss and finds her power amidst the Spaniard invasion. This is a magically realistic historical fiction novel.

I really liked the internal conflict of the main character between revenge and ruin, or salvation for her peoples. I also loved that she made mistakes frequently and was neither full hero or villain.

Though this was an engaging story I found myself wishing for
more in quite a few places, but there was a lot of unique pieces to the book that will keep me thinking so thats why its a 4 star read for me.

Highly recommend if you like the Name Bearer, or Poppy War.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!!

What a great book!! It had me hooked from page one! I couldn’t put this down. I finished it in one sitting. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters. This was a first for me by this author but it will not be my last!!

I never heard of La Malinche before so I'm very happy I read this book and learned about a part of Mexican history that I never knew happened. We follow Malinalli, who history has branded a traitor to her people and a temptress,The author does an amazing job at telling Malinalli's story a because history has a way of being unfair and cruel to women. Through the author's lens we get to see Malinalli as a fully formed human and we get insight into the decisions she made both by her free will and some that were not. I enjoyed this book so much and I would recommend everyone read this historical gem!

Malinalli is a beautifully descriptive story that is part mythology, part history of the woman known as La Malinche. As a young girl, she was kidnapped by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés. She remains a controversial figure in Mexican history for her association with Cortés as his translator and mother of his child.
This story reimagines her part in history, interweaving her journey as a young woman in a compromising position with magic and mythology.
Malinalli is a complex character who is fueled constantly by her anger and longing to be powerful enough to save her loved ones. At times this can be intense and feels like an attempt to overcompensate for her real world reputation but it definitely keeps her going in situations where most would give up.
For me, the first 3/4ths of the story had steady pacing. The last quarter felt a little confusing and rushed to me, there were constant time jumps and so many things had changed between that I was unsure of what was happened and had to go back and re read the end of the last chapter to see if I missed something. Parts that I felt would have been incredible to read about were skipped over in favor of saying these things happened.
I really enjoyed the history and mythology of this story. Even though the majority of readers know what eventually happened during the conquest of the Aztec Empire, it was still a wonderful and updated story that kept me on my toes, unsure of how the story would play out.

3.5 stars.

This story follows Malinalli from ill-fated birth until the sacking of Tenochtitlan by the hand of Cortes. Overall, I think it's an extremely interesting look into life during that time and a tale of a girl unknowingly pushing against a doomed fate, but at times, the writing style ended up as a miss for me.

It was definitely an experience reading a book where our protagonist is so hopeful and determined to save her people when you, the audience, know the ultimately tragic way history unfolds after her. It gives the whole story an eerie, desperate feeling. I liked Malinalli's drive, but it made me sad.

The writing, unfortunately, was not for me. The magical realism could be a bit frustrating because I never knew what was possible, and because of the way it was written, I kept trying to find practical explanations for the things it was describing. Time could also be confusingly written, which gave parts of the novel a dreamlike feel.

When I say, I love Historical Fiction, I mean THIS! This book was such an amazing read. An incredible retelling of the woman known to most Hispanics as "Malinche", a traitor to her kind. I was in awe and honored to have had early access to this title. The writing is outstanding. This retelling was overdue.

this one was so frustrating. it started off incredible, but it really does fizzle once the spaniards get involved. it honestly makes me wish the author went full fantasy instead of keeping the historical aspects, because, to be honest— i just didn’t care for them. i wanted to go back to the world before the spaniards… and most of the scenes with them, they aren’t even doing the full on colonizing yet! so it’s just doubly boring! but i did really love the writing and the first half, and i’m glad to see more indigenous stories in this subgenre

This was a great book! I love the plot and the pacing. I also love how they added in the Mexican history and mythology that was throughout the book. I enjoyed the writing style, and the way this book flowed. Overall super enjoyable!!!


Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Note: Goodreads is only giving me the option to review the audiobook. I read this book in print.

Wow, this book. Such an incredible concept and story. Chapa has taken the historical figure La Malinche (or Malinalli, Malinalxochitl, Malintzin, Marina), who is seen by history as a temptress and a traitor, and reset her story in a vibrant epic. Chapa's Malinalli is a complicated character shaped by grief and rage, desperate to save her people from not one but two tyrants, caught between a clash of two civilizations - so much more than the weak or seductive female archetype from our history books.

The prose took some time to get used to, but although it mostly tells rather than shows, the all-5-senses imagery was so descriptive that I really felt immersed in the beautiful and brutal ancient world. The indigenous mythology was woven masterfully into Malinalli's story and added a third dimension to everything. I thought about this book night and day.

But the ending -- the ending. It threw me off guard, and not in a good way. What should have felt like a tense, explosive climax felt more like a fizzle. Mali's actions and motivations became suddenly confusing (which perhaps was intentional, but I couldn't wrap my head around it) and it all went so fast that the conclusion didn't feel like one. I'd really love to talk to someone who loved the ending and get their perspective! But I found it confusing at best and unsatisfying at worst.

4 stars for gorgeous book with an inventive (and important) reimagining of history but a strange and abrupt conclusion.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for this ARC! All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it had that retelling element that I was looking for from the description. It uses the Mexican history and was wonderfully done. The characters were everything that I was expecting and thought the fantasy element weaved a great story. I was able to learn more about Mexican mythology and appreciated getting to read this. I enjoyed how good Veronica Chapa's writing was and can't wait for more.