The prose was beautifully and lyrically written, but the overall story was difficult for me to follow (likely because of the story's inherently fast pace). I found myself wishing that the story was longer, as I connected more with Altagracia in the lasts few chapters.

I'm definitely intrigued enough to purchase this title on release day and revisit the story again in the near future!

Thanks to NetGalley and Querencia Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This short story feels like a non-coherent fever dream, poetry and a composition of music all rolled into one. And after finishing it, I think that’s most likely the author’s intended point.

It took some effort to get used to the style and rhythm of Martinez’s writing, as it shifts between different point of views and settings from one line to the next throughout the course of the story. I think this is probably a story I’ll revisit and re-read at some point in the future, as there is a lot to take in all at once on the first read.

I will most likely purchase this at release, as the cover is gorgeous and would love to have it adorning my bookshelf.

This review is now live on Goodreads.

Thank you to NetGallery and Querencia Press for providing me with a free copy for my honest review.

I'm going with 3 stars for this book which hurts me because I really want to love it unconditionally- there's so much more i want to learn about Altagracia and her other lives but I'm left wanting.

Martinez's writing was beautiful but there were times I was a little confused about what was happening, especially with the mix of first and third- person points of view. I assume it was the 'lives that slide in and out of memory, out of time' mentioned in the description but I would've liked for that to be a little clearer so I could still follow along.

Martinez mentions in her afterword that there was an earlier, much longer manuscript and I wonder if it would have answered the questions I have, and those posed in the book description that were left unanswered? I would've liked to have spent more time seeing these other lives and how they impacted the Altagracia we're with.

I did (heart-breakingly) enjoy the reveal around the doppelganger as well as Altagracia's realisation that she's not alone. I felt the last chapter was bittersweet because while it was a great ending and kept to the pace of the rest of the book, I wanted more time with it.

Despite this, I think this is a book I will come back to another time to see how I read it then. The cover is beautiful so it will make a great edition to my bookshelf and being a short story, it will be easy to come back to for a quick read.

NetGalley provided me with a free version of this book for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Querencia Press for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

I fully admit that all I thought about when clicking the request button was how beautiful this cover would be on my virtual bookshelves. As for the story locked inside, I have to admit that it was confusing. Each chapter( and there are 10) seems to present a different storyline
for the titular character Altagarcia Sanchez. Are we seeing snippets of her life? Time travel? Some type of MCU multi-verse? Is Altagarcia suffering from a mental illness?


I wish I could answer these questions for my fellow reviewers. Unfortunately, I am still dazed and confused.






Expected Publication 28/02/25
Goodreads Review 27/01/25
#TheOtherLivesofAltagraciaSanchez #NetGalley.

It took me a bit to get into the style of the writing for The Other Lives of Altagracia Sanchez. But once I got into the story, it began to make sense. I'd be interested in reading more by Martinez. They have a unique, mesmerizing style to the writing. It was as if I were in a black-and-white dream and I needed to see the dream in color. Martinez wrote my dream in color.

#NetGalley #TheOtherLivesofAltagraciaSanchez

I am rounding up.

This is lyrical, but like a song, it is more concerned with rhythm and rhyme than a coherent narrative. Martinez mentioned in the afterword that this is what was left behind from a much longer manuscript. I would love to get my hands on that. Martinez writes beautifully and evocatively, and I hope to read more from her--especially when she is given more room to explore. At its best, it is a surreal amalgam of Sandra Cisneros and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. There is no "at its worst," except in that there are the flashes of story I wanted to read a hundred pages more of; I am left unfulfilled and frustrated, as I feel like I was barely introduced to Altagracia.

This felt like stream of consciousness mixed in with a lucid dream. While labeled fantasy I kept thinking that the main character had an undiagnosed mental disorder. While I did not love this I would recommend to fans of lyrical writing and stories told out of order like the Night Circus

This book was such a treat to be able to read. At under 100 pages on my ereader, I read this in between bigger books as a pallete cleanser and it was wonderful.

I need to purchase this book once it comes out based on the cover alone, but there is so much culture in this one book, I need it on my shelf forever. I am so happy I found this Sci Fi short story on Net Galley! I received a free copy. This is my opinion I am leaving voluntarily. Thank you Querencia Press for the privilege of letting me read this!