Padilla creates a fantastic and tumultuous new world in San Lazaro and Betania, islands in the Caribbean connected by a shared history yet divided by modern conflict. Following Ines Zaragosa’s journey to and between the islands, Padilla immerses the reader in a complex yet rich moment in the joint histories of the islands within Ines’s personal story and journey. Padilla’s characters emerge fully formed and drive the story forward; The Lost Princess of Alicante is a story of relationships between people and the islands, and these relationships are strong and dynamic, evolving across the book’s narrative. Padilla’s world comes with complicated political relationships and historical narratives, capturing some of the larger challenges of the postcolonial world through this historical fictional lens, and the setting encapsulates key, relevant, and modern historical themes in a unique way. As for the characters and their relationships, Padilla highlights the challenges of maintaining and creating relationships, particularly ones with such complex significance for the larger populations of San Lazaro and Betania. Overall, Padilla’s novel and its exploration of these larger postcolonial themes and political complications adds to the historical fiction atmosphere of the novel, while the characters, setting, and relationships found in the pages of The Lost Princess of Alicante bring the novel to life and make it such a compelling read.

This book was an interesting take on the politics and love on an imaginary island. I loved the premise and the writing, but for some reason its wasn't un-put-downable to me. I think it is because it lingered to long in the ailing destiny of the aunt.

So for this I give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

I do look forward to see what the author will write next because she truly does have talent.

A historical novel is going to be fiction, but this one focuses on an imaginary island in the Caribbean, giving the author a greater degree of freedom. We learn about the kind of life people had in colonial days, the hard work and hardships. In more modern times a young woman in America, named Inez, is also working hard, with a teaching job and partway through a Master's degree. She lives with and cares for an aunt who is anything but kind - turns out the aunt has lied to Inez about her background. The young woman is found by people claiming she holds high rank on the Caribbean island. Well, I think the unpleasantness had to be provided in order that Inez would do what she does, which is to drop her relatively privileged life - and study - and go to an island with a troubled past and generational poverty.

The fantasy of being secret royalty is one of the famous story tropes, but this setting is unusual and will reward a visit. I think what would make me like the book more would be a strong love affair, as this would seem to provide strong personal motivation. No doubt an educated, educating young woman would be an excellent role model, so there is a lot to like.

Readers may be interested in The Pirate's Daughter, by Margaret Cezair-Thompson, about the fictional daughter of Errol Flynn in Jamaica.

I read an e-ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.