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BookView Review rated it:

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

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Publication Date: August 1, 2023

Publisher: Atmosphere Press
ISBN-13: 9781639888863
Price: $18.99 Paperback
Genre: Fiction, Historical
Page Count: 466
Distribution: Ingram

Padilla combines expert prose, artfully chosen historical details, and convincing characterizations to deliver a memorable tale of historical fiction. Inés Zaragosa is living with her abusive Aunt Sofía in the American Southwest, struggling to earn her master’s degree in History while working as a cook for an affluent family in the town. When Don Román Velásquez, Aunt Sofía’s wealthy cousin, suddenly arrives and asks the two women to accompany him to the island of Betania, Inés discovers an existence she never anticipated. Padilla’s writing is expert, and she depicts with honesty and compassion her characters’ complicated inner lives, portraying people who are by turns vulnerable and strong, dejected and hopeful as they grapple with the tiring circumstances of their lives: Magdalena’s struggle feel all too real, particularly her confusion, inner turmoil, and vulnerability as she adjusts to life on the island. Equally compelling is Padilla’s depiction of the Caribbean islands San Lázaro and Betania with their beautiful and sometimes rugged landscape. Told in third-person omniscient narration and first-person journal entries, the story contemplates love, passion, family, friendship, relationships, power, politics, and hierarchy. Poignant, entertaining, and thoroughly gripping, the novel will linger in readers’ minds long after they turn the last page. 

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