"The Spanish Daughter"--by Lorena Hughes--set against the lush backdrop of early twentieth century Ecuador and inspired by the real-life history of the coastal town known as the birthplace of cacao, this captivating #OwnVoices novel from the award-winning author of "The Sisters of Alameda Street" tells the story of a resourceful young chocolatier who must impersonate a man in order to claim her birthright...

  

The Spanish Daughter

As a child in Spain, Puri always knew her passion for chocolate was inherited from her father. But it’s not until his death that she learns of something else she’s inherited—a cocoa plantation in Vinces, Ecuador, a town nicknamed “Paris Chiquito.” Eager to claim her birthright and filled with hope for a new life after the devastation of WWI, she and her husband Cristóbal set out across the Atlantic Ocean. But it soon becomes clear, someone is angered by Puri’s claim to the plantation…
 
When a mercenary sent to murder her aboard the ship accidentally kills Cristóbal instead, Puri dons her husband’s clothes and assumes his identity, hoping to stay safe while she searches for the truth of her father’s legacy in Ecuador. Though freed from the rules that women are expected to follow, Puri confronts other challenges at the plantation—newfound siblings, hidden affairs, and her father’s dark secrets. Then there are the dangers awakened by her attraction to an enigmatic man as she tries to learn the identity of an enemy who is still at large, threatening the future she is determined to claim.

Praise for The Spanish Daughter:

A Publishers Marketplace Buzz Books: Fall/Winter 2021 selection
 
“A lushly written story of bittersweet family secrets and betrayals that ultimately celebrates the healing power of hope, resilience, love—and chocolate!”  —Andrea Penrose, author of  Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens
 
“A lyrical and nuanced study of family and belonging. Readers will fall in love with The Spanish Daughter’s unique setting amidst the cacao plantations of Ecuador in 1920, its lush and vivid prose, and compelling and audacious heroine.” —Anna Lee Huber, USA Today bestselling author of Murder Most Fair
 
“A deftly written story entangling family, identity, chocolate and murder, set in the lush golden days of Ecuador’s cacao boom in the early twentieth century. Hughes gradually weaves the separate tales of her narrators into a single strong thread, drawing you into the world of three very different sisters united by deception and loss.”—Shana Abé, New York Times bestselling author of The Second Mrs. Astor

Lorena Hughes 

  

Lorena Hughes was born and raised in Ecuador until moving to the U.S. at 18. She has a degree in fine arts and mass communication & journalism from The University of New Mexico. In the last decade, she’s developed a passion for storytelling and writes novels set in South America, seasoned with mystery and family secrets. Her previous work won first place at the 2011 Southwest Writers International Contest in the historical fiction category, earned an honorable mention at the 2012 Soul-Making Keats Literary Competition, and was a quarter-finalist for the 2014 Amazon Breakout Novel Award. The Sisters of Alameda Street is her first novel.

http://www.lorena-hughes.com/