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The Sisters of Alameda Street
A generational saga that mixes historical fiction with the romance and intrigue of a Latin soap opera.
When Malena Sevilla's tidy, carefully planned world collapses following her father’s mysterious suicide, she finds a letter—signed with an “A”—which reveals that her mother is very much alive and living in San Isidro, a quaint town tucked in the Andes Mountains. Intent on meeting her, Malena arrives at Alameda Street and meets four sisters who couldn’t be more different from one another, but who share one thing in common: all of their names begin with an A.
To avoid a scandal, Malena assumes another woman’s identity and enters their home to discover the truth. Could her mother be Amanda, the iconoclastic widow who opens the first tango nightclub in a conservative town? Ana, the ideal housewife with a less-than-ideal past? Abigail, the sickly sister in love with a forbidden man? Or Alejandra, the artistic introvert scarred by her cousin’s murder? But living a lie will bring Malena additional problems, such as falling for the wrong man and loving a family she may lose when they learn of her deceit. Worse, her arrival threatens to expose long-buried secrets and a truth that may wreck her life forever.
Set in 1960s Ecuador, The Sisters of Alameda Street is a sweeping story of how one woman’s search for the truth of her identity forces a family to confront their own past.
When Malena Sevilla's tidy, carefully planned world collapses following her father’s mysterious suicide, she finds a letter—signed with an “A”—which reveals that her mother is very much alive and living in San Isidro, a quaint town tucked in the Andes Mountains. Intent on meeting her, Malena arrives at Alameda Street and meets four sisters who couldn’t be more different from one another, but who share one thing in common: all of their names begin with an A.
To avoid a scandal, Malena assumes another woman’s identity and enters their home to discover the truth. Could her mother be Amanda, the iconoclastic widow who opens the first tango nightclub in a conservative town? Ana, the ideal housewife with a less-than-ideal past? Abigail, the sickly sister in love with a forbidden man? Or Alejandra, the artistic introvert scarred by her cousin’s murder? But living a lie will bring Malena additional problems, such as falling for the wrong man and loving a family she may lose when they learn of her deceit. Worse, her arrival threatens to expose long-buried secrets and a truth that may wreck her life forever.
Set in 1960s Ecuador, The Sisters of Alameda Street is a sweeping story of how one woman’s search for the truth of her identity forces a family to confront their own past.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published July 18, 2017
337 people are currently reading
2791 people want to read
About the author
Lorena Hughes
6 books552 followersLorena Hughes is the award-winning author of The Queen of the Valley, The Spanish Daughter and The Sisters of Alameda Street. Born and raised in Ecuador, she moved to the United States when she was eighteen. Her novels have earned acclaim from outlets such as The Washington Post, Ms. Magazine, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Woman's World, PopSugar and BuzzFeed. The Spanish Daughter was an Amazon Editors' Pick, a Publishers Marketplace Buzz Books selection, a Once Upon a Book Club pick, and a Reading Group Choices Most Popular Books of the Year. Lorena can be found online at Lorena-Hughes.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews
June 30, 2023
Description: A generational saga that mixes historical fiction with the romance and intrigue of a Latin soap opera.
Considering what I just shared, you can either continue reading my review or move on – no feelings will be hurt!
When I first heard about the book, I think I was mostly intrigued because it introduced us to Melena who wanted to find her mother, who she originally thought had died at her birth. But, after her father’s death, she learned that she was still alive. The only problem was, she only knew her mother’s first name started with an A.
(Okay, I do like a little mystery – I can’t help myself!)
As she goes to find her, she soon learns that there are four sisters with the first name starting with A.
So, now which one could be her mother?
Well, needless to say, the charm of this book is as much about learning about the sisters, as it is watching Malena grow as a young woman.
Lorena Hughes has brought us into the house on Alameda Street and given it a thorough dusting: by which I mean she’s given these aging sisters a second chance—and us the chance to see them decide how to live again.
But, I will not lie – it is a soap opera page turner, for sure!
Considering what I just shared, you can either continue reading my review or move on – no feelings will be hurt!
When I first heard about the book, I think I was mostly intrigued because it introduced us to Melena who wanted to find her mother, who she originally thought had died at her birth. But, after her father’s death, she learned that she was still alive. The only problem was, she only knew her mother’s first name started with an A.
(Okay, I do like a little mystery – I can’t help myself!)
As she goes to find her, she soon learns that there are four sisters with the first name starting with A.
So, now which one could be her mother?
Well, needless to say, the charm of this book is as much about learning about the sisters, as it is watching Malena grow as a young woman.
Lorena Hughes has brought us into the house on Alameda Street and given it a thorough dusting: by which I mean she’s given these aging sisters a second chance—and us the chance to see them decide how to live again.
But, I will not lie – it is a soap opera page turner, for sure!
October 11, 2017
I was lucky to read an advanced copy of Lorena Hughes's debut novel and was happy to provide a blurb for it. This story and the writing are at times funny and yet suspenseful, and always engaging and full of heart. Here is what I wrote for the blurb:
"Gripping and suspenseful, The Sisters of Alameda Street is the fascinating story of a young woman's quest to find her mother among a family she never knew she had. Hughes's cast of characters and their mysterious pasts twist and turn as mistaken identities, long-kept secrets, and long-lost loves are revealed to create a delightfully intriguing read."
"Gripping and suspenseful, The Sisters of Alameda Street is the fascinating story of a young woman's quest to find her mother among a family she never knew she had. Hughes's cast of characters and their mysterious pasts twist and turn as mistaken identities, long-kept secrets, and long-lost loves are revealed to create a delightfully intriguing read."
August 20, 2017
When you meet this book’s engaging 20-year-old heroine in a dirty taxi for the first time on page one, Malena Sevilla is itching to get her hands on a feather duster. Later, you’re not all that surprised when she starts a mud fight with a cousin—because Malena, in coming to sleepy San Isidro in search of her roots, is changing fast. By then she’s met her four mysterious aunts, the slightly mythic sisters of Alameda Street, all with names starting with an A. At least she believes they’re her aunts, but a letter she’s discovered among her dead father’s effects leads her to suspect one of them is her mother. Such is the premise for this intricately plotted first published novel by Lorena Hughes, whose previous work, I note without surprise, has won prizes in a variety competitions.
If you want realistic fiction this might not be the novel for you. Malena’s successful identity shift and amateur sleuthing, for instance, and the sheer number of layers to the story—the family secrets, the misunderstandings, the parallel plot lines—are the stuff of works like Wuthering Heights, with maybe a little Daphne duMaurier and Midsummer Night’s Dream thrown in. The complicated plot and “unrealistic” imposture were my favourite parts of the story, however. Of course Malena, whose life has been truncated by the loss of her mother and years of domestic drudgery, at a loose end and unenthusiastically training to become a nurse, needs to enter another unfamiliar world, to breathe its strange and maybe dangerous air, to change. And the imposture isn’t just about Malena leaving her old life behind, becoming another person. Cleverly, it also stands for all the lies that have been buried in her family for so long, that it’s the business of the story and of Malena herself to bring to light.
It turns out there’s a lot of tragedy. And yet the story isn’t dark, there are flashes of humour, some of them involving Malena’s undignified sleuthing activities. The book ends on an optimistic note, with happiness not merely for the newest generation but for the sisters themselves. Because they also get to experience positive change, as what’s been buried is revealed.
Lorena Hughes is originally from Ecuador, and she’s spoken about having to adapt her writing in English, making it less flowery. I have a soft spot for flowery writing, myself (duMaurier’s Rebecca is pretty flowery!) and perhaps we’ll see her writing style continue to evolve, combining the book’s current straightforward narration with more emotion unleashed. Because romantic suspense, which this is, is all about the unleashed. Connected with that, another thought: the danger always with romantic suspense, built into its conventions, is that the ingenue heroine wanders into things simply too big, too weighty, for her filtering consciousness to put before the reader. The miserable lives the author assures us they lived before they wandered into the melodrama don’t always convince us or make them the best interpretors of old buried suffering. There is a little of this going on here and maybe why Amanda’s storyline wrap-up, for instance, is more satisfying than Malena’s. This is a minor problem, however. Because the charm of this book is as much about the sisters as about Malena. Lorena Hughes has brought us into the house on Alameda Street and given it a thorough dusting: by which I mean she’s given these ageing sisters a second chance—and us the chance to see them as they decide to live again.
If you want realistic fiction this might not be the novel for you. Malena’s successful identity shift and amateur sleuthing, for instance, and the sheer number of layers to the story—the family secrets, the misunderstandings, the parallel plot lines—are the stuff of works like Wuthering Heights, with maybe a little Daphne duMaurier and Midsummer Night’s Dream thrown in. The complicated plot and “unrealistic” imposture were my favourite parts of the story, however. Of course Malena, whose life has been truncated by the loss of her mother and years of domestic drudgery, at a loose end and unenthusiastically training to become a nurse, needs to enter another unfamiliar world, to breathe its strange and maybe dangerous air, to change. And the imposture isn’t just about Malena leaving her old life behind, becoming another person. Cleverly, it also stands for all the lies that have been buried in her family for so long, that it’s the business of the story and of Malena herself to bring to light.
It turns out there’s a lot of tragedy. And yet the story isn’t dark, there are flashes of humour, some of them involving Malena’s undignified sleuthing activities. The book ends on an optimistic note, with happiness not merely for the newest generation but for the sisters themselves. Because they also get to experience positive change, as what’s been buried is revealed.
Lorena Hughes is originally from Ecuador, and she’s spoken about having to adapt her writing in English, making it less flowery. I have a soft spot for flowery writing, myself (duMaurier’s Rebecca is pretty flowery!) and perhaps we’ll see her writing style continue to evolve, combining the book’s current straightforward narration with more emotion unleashed. Because romantic suspense, which this is, is all about the unleashed. Connected with that, another thought: the danger always with romantic suspense, built into its conventions, is that the ingenue heroine wanders into things simply too big, too weighty, for her filtering consciousness to put before the reader. The miserable lives the author assures us they lived before they wandered into the melodrama don’t always convince us or make them the best interpretors of old buried suffering. There is a little of this going on here and maybe why Amanda’s storyline wrap-up, for instance, is more satisfying than Malena’s. This is a minor problem, however. Because the charm of this book is as much about the sisters as about Malena. Lorena Hughes has brought us into the house on Alameda Street and given it a thorough dusting: by which I mean she’s given these ageing sisters a second chance—and us the chance to see them as they decide to live again.
December 16, 2019
“This family is in shambles”. These words sum up this book. I had considered a dnf for this book, however I really did want to know what happened. A book that jumped back and forth from the past to the present and a slow moving storyline that made it hard to follow the relationships of each character. I heard the words ‘historical fiction’ used to describe this book, not in my mind although there were little tidbits of the Ecuadorian culture given.
Now, I really want to make my last book of 2019 a memorable read so I will take time to chose it carefully in the next couple of days.
Now, I really want to make my last book of 2019 a memorable read so I will take time to chose it carefully in the next couple of days.
June 1, 2024
I LOVE the multi perspective trivial family drama.
August 13, 2017
Malena was raised by her doting grandmother and loving father in a city in Ecuador. Both revered the memory of her mother and taught her to honor her memory. After Grandma’s death, it is just her and her mathematician father. Imagine her shock when she comes home from nursing school to find her father has committed suicide. Alone she goes through his things and finds that her mother may not be dead and her father appears to have been blackmailed. Heedlessly she boards a bus to the address on an envelope looking for her mother whose initial is A in a small town in the Andes.
When she arrives at the house she is mistaken for an errant relative Lili and despite some misgivings, Malena goes along with the misunderstanding. This is where the book starts to resemble a French Farce. Mistaken identities, complicated relationships, grief, hope, deception, pride, and layer upon layer of secrets create a dizzying tableau as Malena tries to discover who her mother might be in a house where four women live whose name starts with A. As days and weeks pass she wonders how she will solve her mystery and how the family will forgive her for her deception.
The Sisters of Alameda Street is a tightly woven family drama where even the secrets have secrets. The strands of the story are all over place until they are snapped and align as if the family is waking up from a decades old dream. Suddenly alert they see that their dreams are within their grasp.
When she arrives at the house she is mistaken for an errant relative Lili and despite some misgivings, Malena goes along with the misunderstanding. This is where the book starts to resemble a French Farce. Mistaken identities, complicated relationships, grief, hope, deception, pride, and layer upon layer of secrets create a dizzying tableau as Malena tries to discover who her mother might be in a house where four women live whose name starts with A. As days and weeks pass she wonders how she will solve her mystery and how the family will forgive her for her deception.
The Sisters of Alameda Street is a tightly woven family drama where even the secrets have secrets. The strands of the story are all over place until they are snapped and align as if the family is waking up from a decades old dream. Suddenly alert they see that their dreams are within their grasp.
July 3, 2017
The Sisters of Alameda Street is described as historical fiction meets Latin soap opera, and it delivers on both fronts. It's set in a time and place I wasn't familiar with before: a rich setting where conservative religious values coexist with tango competitions and nightclubs and drama never runs low. Plus, it has the addictive, page-turning factor of frothy soap opera full of jealousy, secrets, and doomed love.
The premise grabs the attention: Malena knows one of the Platas sisters is her mother, but which one? Is it the woman trapped in a loveless marriage, the recluse, the widowed tango dancer, or the ill girl who died years ago? Lorena Hughes weaves all their stories together deftly and the pacing never lets up. I enjoyed watching it all unfold right until the conclusion.
The premise grabs the attention: Malena knows one of the Platas sisters is her mother, but which one? Is it the woman trapped in a loveless marriage, the recluse, the widowed tango dancer, or the ill girl who died years ago? Lorena Hughes weaves all their stories together deftly and the pacing never lets up. I enjoyed watching it all unfold right until the conclusion.
July 24, 2017
Her mother might live in this house. There was, of course, the possibility that she might have moved somewhere else, but what if she were here, at this very moment? Melena could be a few minutes away from meeting her. Seconds even. A tremor started in her gut and traveled all the way down her legs.
This is a saga, and it is full of secrets and dramas. After Malena Sevilla loses her father to suicide, she makes discoveries buried deep in her father’s trunk. Who the heck was her father paying on his teaching salary, already a struggle to live, and why? Her mother may still be alive, and living close by? Malena heads to the town of San Isidro in the Andes Mountains to finally dig up the truth. Upon arrival she is thought to be an expected guest, Liliana and what better way to study the family and find her mother than under disguise? All she has to go on is the letter A, but with Alejandra, Amanda, Abigail, and Ana it could be any of them and it won’t be so easy with the added burden of falling in love and her own deceptions. How could her mother give her away? That her mother regretted it and her father never told her is unconscionable, how could a letter destroy the things she believed her father to be?
With murder, family loyalties and secrets, open wounds, love and cowardice Malena may learn her father had reasons for hiding so much from her, but what about her mother? What will happen when the family she is starting to love discovers the truth about her? How culture, times alter the paths we take in life is evident in this novel- it certainly does have the Latin soap opera appeal. Scandal is always an ingredient but time is a strange beast, if you take what was once scandalous and apply it to modern times, it’s laughable unless you understand what being shamed could do to an entire family way back when, particularly in another country where your family name is everything.
Is it believable? Well… deception was certainly much easier before the internet. This is in the 1960’s so mistaken identity isn’t so far fetched, lord knows there are plenty of non-fiction about such things. I enjoyed it, but may be just a bit more dramatic than my usual reads.
Available Now
Skyhorse Publishing
This is a saga, and it is full of secrets and dramas. After Malena Sevilla loses her father to suicide, she makes discoveries buried deep in her father’s trunk. Who the heck was her father paying on his teaching salary, already a struggle to live, and why? Her mother may still be alive, and living close by? Malena heads to the town of San Isidro in the Andes Mountains to finally dig up the truth. Upon arrival she is thought to be an expected guest, Liliana and what better way to study the family and find her mother than under disguise? All she has to go on is the letter A, but with Alejandra, Amanda, Abigail, and Ana it could be any of them and it won’t be so easy with the added burden of falling in love and her own deceptions. How could her mother give her away? That her mother regretted it and her father never told her is unconscionable, how could a letter destroy the things she believed her father to be?
With murder, family loyalties and secrets, open wounds, love and cowardice Malena may learn her father had reasons for hiding so much from her, but what about her mother? What will happen when the family she is starting to love discovers the truth about her? How culture, times alter the paths we take in life is evident in this novel- it certainly does have the Latin soap opera appeal. Scandal is always an ingredient but time is a strange beast, if you take what was once scandalous and apply it to modern times, it’s laughable unless you understand what being shamed could do to an entire family way back when, particularly in another country where your family name is everything.
Is it believable? Well… deception was certainly much easier before the internet. This is in the 1960’s so mistaken identity isn’t so far fetched, lord knows there are plenty of non-fiction about such things. I enjoyed it, but may be just a bit more dramatic than my usual reads.
Available Now
Skyhorse Publishing
August 13, 2017
In The Sisters of Alameda Street when Malena Sevilla's father commits suicide, she finds a letter simply signed with an “A” that seems to imply that her mother was alive, not dead as she had been told. Following the return address to the town of San Isidro, Malena goes undercover to see if “A” still lives on Alameda Street. She discovers the family had 4 daughters, Amanda, Ana, Abigail and Alejandra. Which sister is her mother? Set in 1960’s Ecuador, the book covers Malena getting to know her aunts/mother while the reader enjoys flashbacks to the 1940’s while we learn many secrets and eventually who is her mother. A well written enjoyable read exposing many social mores of the Hispanic woman in the 40’s and the 60’s.
August 7, 2018
Although apparently written in English, this read like a translated South American novel ...as it should, given the subject matter. Suspenseful until the very end, because our heroine isn't who she says she is.
May 23, 2017
Very engaging story! I couldn't stop reading.
November 20, 2017
This story had a bit of everything from mystery to family drama. The author believably blended setting, culture and era. Lorena Hughes wrote the characters so well that emotion is conveyed to the reader. For example, when Malena is crying on Claudia's wedding day I found myself caring about the outcome of each character. Lorena Hughes skillfully sent the reader looking in different directions for clues to the conclusion. However, Malena's complete quest is revealed it completely shocks & surprises me. Great Story.
May 28, 2024
"historical fiction meets latin soap opera" is literally the perfect description for this book. it was a very fun read, really good escapist fiction. i wish there was a little more history and i had learned a little more about ecuador during the time periods covered, and i wish the romance was a little more... fleshed out? believable? but overall i found it hard to put down and enjoyed playing guessing games with book club about it!
August 30, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. I've been very into historical fiction lately, especially mysteries spannng multiple generations, so this novel was a delight to discover. It was a little dramatic, like a soap opera, but in all of the best ways. If multi generational mysteries with a sprinkle of romance float your boat, I strongly recommend giving this on a chance :)
August 5, 2017
Set in 1960s Ecuador, THE SISTERS OF ALAMEDA STREET follows Malena’s search to find her mother, one of four very different sisters whose names all begin with A. The complex relationships and well-drawn characters are just as vibrant as the setting of San Isidro, making this book a delight to read. A charming debut by Lorena Hughes!
December 18, 2022
This book reads like a telenovela, and I was here for every bit of the mess.
July 28, 2017
Reviewed for www.compassbookratings.com
Overall Review:
The Sisters of Alameda Street starts with a single tantalizing question that will grab readers from the very first page. With endless twists and turns, plus mysteries right and left, this soap opera-esque story never slows in pace. The Sisters of Alameda Street is set in Ecuador and flits between the 1930's and the 1960's. Author Lorena Hughes expertly captures the time period and the large cast of characters. The novel's lead heroines -- there are several -- are each fascinating, mysterious, and distinctly different. Despite varying time periods and points of view, Hughes manages to construct a clear narrative that is impossible to put down. The Sisters of Alameda Street is an irresistible and colorful read recommended for those who enjoy historical fiction and/ or family dramas.
Review of an Advance Reader Copy
For full content review, www.compassbookratings.com
Overall Review:
The Sisters of Alameda Street starts with a single tantalizing question that will grab readers from the very first page. With endless twists and turns, plus mysteries right and left, this soap opera-esque story never slows in pace. The Sisters of Alameda Street is set in Ecuador and flits between the 1930's and the 1960's. Author Lorena Hughes expertly captures the time period and the large cast of characters. The novel's lead heroines -- there are several -- are each fascinating, mysterious, and distinctly different. Despite varying time periods and points of view, Hughes manages to construct a clear narrative that is impossible to put down. The Sisters of Alameda Street is an irresistible and colorful read recommended for those who enjoy historical fiction and/ or family dramas.
Review of an Advance Reader Copy
For full content review, www.compassbookratings.com
July 7, 2017
A family saga filled with strong, resilient women.
Please note: I received an advanced reader's copy of this book from Edelweiss in exchange for an hones review. This did not influence the opinions of my review in any way.
My grandmother came from Mexico to America as a child. While she spoke fluent English, one of her favorite pastimes was watching telenovenas (Spanish language soap operas). We weren't allowed to call Grandma or disturb her in any way when her favorite show was on. She was addicted! The Sisters Of Alameda, by Lorena Hughes shows why! This was a highly entertaining book of the improbably complex love lives of four sisters. With a cast of fascinating women, I was hooked as well.
What I Liked:
Characters:
The main character, Malena, is determined to solve the mystery of who her mother is. She knows that her mother's first name starts with an "A", and that she is a member of the Platas family. The only problem is that there are four daughters, all with names that start with "A"! I thought Malena was kind of reckless, but she also had been lied to by everyone she loved, so I think she felt like she had nothing to lose.
There are four sisters, Ana, Amanda, Alejandra, and Abigal. And, just like a soap opera, each character has their own tragic love life! While each has their own story, I think what they had in common was a desire for a great love. When each realizes they are with the wrong person, they try to change their situations.
Plot:
Each of the women in the story feel the need to conform to the norms of their times, which would mean finding a nice man, getting married, and having lots of babies. Some of them jump into relationships where they think they are going to be taken care of, only to find a reality where they are stuck. There are many twists and turns in this story, with lots of flashbacks to when the sisters were younger. I think the author did a great job of taking many different stories and molding them into a intriguing family saga.
What I Was Mixed About:
Missed Opportunity:
I wish the author would have done more to explore why the sisters felt so obligated to follow a traditional path. Was it a strong sense of Catholic guilt, or was it due to living in a small town filled with narrow-minded people? I think I would have been more emotionally invested if I understood why the women felt so stuck.
Confusing Plot:
There are at least five different plot lines happening in this book. As much as I get that it was important to have all the sisters names start with "A", it was hard to keep each character straight (particularly at the beginning of the book). A family tree, or some other kind of visual, would have been great for a reference.
What I Didn't Like:
I think the idea that Malena could dupe an entire family into thinking that she was someone else (for weeks) was over the top. This is one of those times where I really struggled with the "suspension of disbelief" that one must employ when reading a book.
Nevertheless, I found the resilience of the characters to be endearing. I thought this showed the chaos, and abundant love of a large family all living together. If you like family sagas, this story will carry you away.
Please note: I received an advanced reader's copy of this book from Edelweiss in exchange for an hones review. This did not influence the opinions of my review in any way.
My grandmother came from Mexico to America as a child. While she spoke fluent English, one of her favorite pastimes was watching telenovenas (Spanish language soap operas). We weren't allowed to call Grandma or disturb her in any way when her favorite show was on. She was addicted! The Sisters Of Alameda, by Lorena Hughes shows why! This was a highly entertaining book of the improbably complex love lives of four sisters. With a cast of fascinating women, I was hooked as well.
What I Liked:
Characters:
The main character, Malena, is determined to solve the mystery of who her mother is. She knows that her mother's first name starts with an "A", and that she is a member of the Platas family. The only problem is that there are four daughters, all with names that start with "A"! I thought Malena was kind of reckless, but she also had been lied to by everyone she loved, so I think she felt like she had nothing to lose.
There are four sisters, Ana, Amanda, Alejandra, and Abigal. And, just like a soap opera, each character has their own tragic love life! While each has their own story, I think what they had in common was a desire for a great love. When each realizes they are with the wrong person, they try to change their situations.
Plot:
Each of the women in the story feel the need to conform to the norms of their times, which would mean finding a nice man, getting married, and having lots of babies. Some of them jump into relationships where they think they are going to be taken care of, only to find a reality where they are stuck. There are many twists and turns in this story, with lots of flashbacks to when the sisters were younger. I think the author did a great job of taking many different stories and molding them into a intriguing family saga.
What I Was Mixed About:
Missed Opportunity:
I wish the author would have done more to explore why the sisters felt so obligated to follow a traditional path. Was it a strong sense of Catholic guilt, or was it due to living in a small town filled with narrow-minded people? I think I would have been more emotionally invested if I understood why the women felt so stuck.
Confusing Plot:
There are at least five different plot lines happening in this book. As much as I get that it was important to have all the sisters names start with "A", it was hard to keep each character straight (particularly at the beginning of the book). A family tree, or some other kind of visual, would have been great for a reference.
What I Didn't Like:
I think the idea that Malena could dupe an entire family into thinking that she was someone else (for weeks) was over the top. This is one of those times where I really struggled with the "suspension of disbelief" that one must employ when reading a book.
Nevertheless, I found the resilience of the characters to be endearing. I thought this showed the chaos, and abundant love of a large family all living together. If you like family sagas, this story will carry you away.
July 19, 2017
I liked this primarily for the unusual (for me) setting in Ecuador. Malena's quest to find her mother and her effort to untangle her family history are the basis for this saga, which could, as some others have commented, be a telenovela (it would make a wonderful movie.). The secrets and lies might not seem as important today as they would have in a small town in Ecuador in the 1960s so keep the time frame and location in mind. Thanks to edelweiss for the ARC. Try this one for something a bit different. There's ups and downs and backs and forths, a touch of romance, a little mystery- all in all a pretty good read.
September 23, 2023
This book was definitely not what I expected.
It starts off giving you a small glimpse into Malenas life. Her father has just committed suicide and she found a note from her mother. She doesn’t have any family, that she knows, left and goes in search of her mother. A mistake in identity has her playing a part of a women who has a pretty scandalous reputation. She learns that there is more than one possibility to her mothers identity. This part I thought was going to have more clues to who it could be but the author throws you off on all counts- her hair, her birthmark, etc. You can make an educated guess but not based off the information provided. I thought it would be a little more focused on slipping in details here and there.
It is written in a dual timeline style and various points of views- which I actually liked. The few things that threw me off were how juvenile Malenas inner dialogue is made out to be and some parts of the story honestly. The middle of the story seemed to fizzle out. It doesn’t hold you as much as the beginning does but trust me- stuck to it.
The last few chapters the author throws every twist and turn you can imagine at you. It seemed a little crazy to have all these twists come out. It wasn’t just who was Malenas mother- it was a whole web of lies and secrets. It felt a little over the top after the slow and steady pace it was at.
And just putting it out there- Enrique was by far my favorite and his character deserved so much more.
It starts off giving you a small glimpse into Malenas life. Her father has just committed suicide and she found a note from her mother. She doesn’t have any family, that she knows, left and goes in search of her mother. A mistake in identity has her playing a part of a women who has a pretty scandalous reputation. She learns that there is more than one possibility to her mothers identity. This part I thought was going to have more clues to who it could be but the author throws you off on all counts- her hair, her birthmark, etc. You can make an educated guess but not based off the information provided. I thought it would be a little more focused on slipping in details here and there.
It is written in a dual timeline style and various points of views- which I actually liked. The few things that threw me off were how juvenile Malenas inner dialogue is made out to be and some parts of the story honestly. The middle of the story seemed to fizzle out. It doesn’t hold you as much as the beginning does but trust me- stuck to it.
The last few chapters the author throws every twist and turn you can imagine at you. It seemed a little crazy to have all these twists come out. It wasn’t just who was Malenas mother- it was a whole web of lies and secrets. It felt a little over the top after the slow and steady pace it was at.
And just putting it out there- Enrique was by far my favorite and his character deserved so much more.
June 20, 2017
A quaint little village in the Andean mountains of Ecuador, a fine organized home where everybody leads traditional lives ruled by moral and religion, and three unfulfilled women condemned to atone forever for past mistakes. Then, in comes the stranger, Malena Sevilla, who pretends to be the daughter of an old acquaintance of the family. The faked identity will help her sleuth around freely. She has come with a mission that will drag skeletons out of closets as the identity of Malena’s biological mother comes to light.
I don’t know what enthralled me most about this book: the four sisters from the title (there is a fourth sister, long dead, but who also plays her part in this story) or the atypical setting. Lorena Hughes has managed to combine taut domestic drama with gothic suspense. She seems quite familiar with the geography and culture she describes. Although splashes of humor pop here and there, this is a moving story that shows us the dangers of growing up female in a patriarchal mid-twentieth century world.
The Sisters of Alameda Street is not your usual romance novel. Don’t search for uplifting sentimentality in it. Although we get to know The Platas Sisters’ romantic secrets— as well as Malena’s growing feelings for her cousin/ sister’s fiancée—the book tells us that love is never easy for women bound by conventions.
I am a character-oriented reader, and this novel did not disappoint me in that aspect. I confess that there were moments when I stopped caring about Malena, so wrapped up was I in the plights of her mother and aunts. I particularly loved Alejandra, the jewel designer, who dresses as a man to forget the burdens her sex has brought upon her, and Amanda, married to the wrong man, who finds in tango- dancing a way to sublimate her passions. I enjoyed this novel tremendously and recommend it wholeheartedly.
I don’t know what enthralled me most about this book: the four sisters from the title (there is a fourth sister, long dead, but who also plays her part in this story) or the atypical setting. Lorena Hughes has managed to combine taut domestic drama with gothic suspense. She seems quite familiar with the geography and culture she describes. Although splashes of humor pop here and there, this is a moving story that shows us the dangers of growing up female in a patriarchal mid-twentieth century world.
The Sisters of Alameda Street is not your usual romance novel. Don’t search for uplifting sentimentality in it. Although we get to know The Platas Sisters’ romantic secrets— as well as Malena’s growing feelings for her cousin/ sister’s fiancée—the book tells us that love is never easy for women bound by conventions.
I am a character-oriented reader, and this novel did not disappoint me in that aspect. I confess that there were moments when I stopped caring about Malena, so wrapped up was I in the plights of her mother and aunts. I particularly loved Alejandra, the jewel designer, who dresses as a man to forget the burdens her sex has brought upon her, and Amanda, married to the wrong man, who finds in tango- dancing a way to sublimate her passions. I enjoyed this novel tremendously and recommend it wholeheartedly.
January 15, 2022
This book was a little difficult to follow for the first half. Malena's father has passed away and she has recently discovered that her mother, who she believed was dead, is actually alive. She only has a letter to go by but she knows where she might live and that her mother's name starts with an A. When Malena gets to the house where her mother might live, she is welcomed in because they think she is someone else. Malena discovers that there are 4 sisters and all of them have a name that starts with A.
What made this confusing was that the story went from present to the past as we found out the background on each of the 4 sisters. There were just so many people and so many names. The book was not engaging enough in the first half for me to keep everyone straight. However as the book went on I definitely wanted to know who the mother was. I thought the ending was very good.
What made this confusing was that the story went from present to the past as we found out the background on each of the 4 sisters. There were just so many people and so many names. The book was not engaging enough in the first half for me to keep everyone straight. However as the book went on I definitely wanted to know who the mother was. I thought the ending was very good.
November 18, 2018
3.5 historical fiction fans will like this one. For me it was ok. I had a hard time emotionally connecting to the main characters. I started to skim a little because I definitely wanted to know the outcome. The last 10 or 20 percent was very good and I finally felt a bit invested in the characters. I’m hit or miss with historical fiction so don’t let me 3.5 rating give you pause if this book interests you. I think most will like it.
April 28, 2019
It is not often that I can not finish a book but after reading 30% of this one I finally gave up. This book seemed to be a YA book. I thought the premise was great but the story unfolded as being unbelievable and the further I read the less believable it became. I also found the writing to be a bit juvenile and stilted. Really wish I could have like this.
June 24, 2019
I liked the twists and turns, the clues that pointed in too many directions as Malena tries to figure out who her birth mother is and the history of her father.
I didn’t the rough sexual encounters and there were too many times she could have confessed who she was and didn’t it was getting tedious.
I didn’t the rough sexual encounters and there were too many times she could have confessed who she was and didn’t it was getting tedious.
March 30, 2018
Compelling book, with a rich, authentic feel and tone. Great world-building on the author's part as I felt I was right there in the thick of the story. Reading this book took me away to another culture and time, and I learned a good deal as I read. I enjoyed reading it with its sharply drawn characters and well-crafted sentences.
The story starts off with a simple enough concept. Malena, a young woman in Ecuador in 1962, sets out to find her biological mother--a woman she had believed long dead until she found a hidden letter in her late father's things. Malena has an address from the letter, but the only identifying information on her biological mother is that her name started with the letter A. But when she arrives at the address, she finds three sisters living there and all of their names start with A. Any one of them could be her mother. Soon Malena learns there was a 4th sister, also with a name beginning with A, but she has died--though the circumstances are hidden from the reader and from Malena at first.
Soon after arriving, Malena takes advantage of a mistaken identity to move into the house with the three surviving sisters, and other family members. Soon she is sharing a room with a young woman who could be her half-sister, or a first cousin. Malena bonds quickly with the matriarch of the family, an older woman Malena accepts as being her biological grandmother. And from there, the book evolves into rich, multi-layered stories of the women and their men.
Though it starts with a simple concept, "The Sisters of Alameda Street" is a complex story, but author Lorena Hughes composes it all with amazing smoothness. The story-telling in this book is very skilled and flows with a natural pacing, even as the plot lines become more and more complicated and interwoven.
All in all, it's a delightful story. Though not a genre who-done-it mystery, it contains an element of suspense and an aura of mystery. The sisters are amazingly well-drawn characters, each quite different and each capable of supporting a story. Malena is equally intriguing as a character, and her sliding into a fake identity is written with enough skill to avoid any sense of the contrived. Hughes pulls it all off with grace--and a definite, though sly and often subtle, sense of humor.
Lorena Hughes is talented, and I'll be on the look out for her next book.
The story starts off with a simple enough concept. Malena, a young woman in Ecuador in 1962, sets out to find her biological mother--a woman she had believed long dead until she found a hidden letter in her late father's things. Malena has an address from the letter, but the only identifying information on her biological mother is that her name started with the letter A. But when she arrives at the address, she finds three sisters living there and all of their names start with A. Any one of them could be her mother. Soon Malena learns there was a 4th sister, also with a name beginning with A, but she has died--though the circumstances are hidden from the reader and from Malena at first.
Soon after arriving, Malena takes advantage of a mistaken identity to move into the house with the three surviving sisters, and other family members. Soon she is sharing a room with a young woman who could be her half-sister, or a first cousin. Malena bonds quickly with the matriarch of the family, an older woman Malena accepts as being her biological grandmother. And from there, the book evolves into rich, multi-layered stories of the women and their men.
Though it starts with a simple concept, "The Sisters of Alameda Street" is a complex story, but author Lorena Hughes composes it all with amazing smoothness. The story-telling in this book is very skilled and flows with a natural pacing, even as the plot lines become more and more complicated and interwoven.
All in all, it's a delightful story. Though not a genre who-done-it mystery, it contains an element of suspense and an aura of mystery. The sisters are amazingly well-drawn characters, each quite different and each capable of supporting a story. Malena is equally intriguing as a character, and her sliding into a fake identity is written with enough skill to avoid any sense of the contrived. Hughes pulls it all off with grace--and a definite, though sly and often subtle, sense of humor.
Lorena Hughes is talented, and I'll be on the look out for her next book.
April 3, 2018
The sisters of Alameda street tells the story of Malena, a young woman who finds a letter after her father’s death that changes everything she thought she knew about her mother. All of her life Malena thought her mother had died in a car accident and so she was raised by her father and grandmother. The letter, though, shows that this wasn’t the case and her mother may, in fact, still be alive. Finding the letter sends Malena on a journey not only to a new city but to a series of events that will test what she thought she knew about her family. This journey leads her to a family with 4 sisters, all with the same initials, all of whom could be her mother.
The relationships in this book are complex and human. This is a family that houses a lot of secrets and as the outsider Malena is in a unique position to view them as both individuals and a unit. As she begins to understand them she begins to learn why her mother might have given her up and why her father and grandmother lied to her about it for her whole life.
The one thing Malena does know: Mama Bianca is her grandmother, and she embraces her as such from the moment of meeting her. She also has cousins in Claudia and Javier, but could they actually be her siblings? The mystery might be simpler if Malena just asks the sisters outright, but she quickly realizes that this could very easily cause more problems that it would solve.
I greatly enjoyed Hughe’s writing style and story. I especially liked the historical fiction aspect of it. I have never been to Ecuador, so I loved reading about the country and the culture and the customs. The book takes place both in the 60s and the 30s-40s, so I got to see a different culture through the lens of different eras.
This is a book about family, about relationships, and about a young woman figuring out who she is, both within the context of family and as an individual. I love the writing, I loved the story, and I loved going on the journey with Malena to figure out the answers to her questions.
The relationships in this book are complex and human. This is a family that houses a lot of secrets and as the outsider Malena is in a unique position to view them as both individuals and a unit. As she begins to understand them she begins to learn why her mother might have given her up and why her father and grandmother lied to her about it for her whole life.
The one thing Malena does know: Mama Bianca is her grandmother, and she embraces her as such from the moment of meeting her. She also has cousins in Claudia and Javier, but could they actually be her siblings? The mystery might be simpler if Malena just asks the sisters outright, but she quickly realizes that this could very easily cause more problems that it would solve.
I greatly enjoyed Hughe’s writing style and story. I especially liked the historical fiction aspect of it. I have never been to Ecuador, so I loved reading about the country and the culture and the customs. The book takes place both in the 60s and the 30s-40s, so I got to see a different culture through the lens of different eras.
This is a book about family, about relationships, and about a young woman figuring out who she is, both within the context of family and as an individual. I love the writing, I loved the story, and I loved going on the journey with Malena to figure out the answers to her questions.
November 2, 2017
When I started this book and saw it was based in Ecuador, I assumed it would be a translation, which can be a hit or miss. This book, if it was translated, was done excellently.
The story is smooth, the characters well thought out and their backstories intriguing. The main character knows one of the sisters is her mother, but the author keeps the story spinning so that the reader believes they know who it is, just to have another chapter hint that it might not be who you thought!
The story is smooth, the characters well thought out and their backstories intriguing. The main character knows one of the sisters is her mother, but the author keeps the story spinning so that the reader believes they know who it is, just to have another chapter hint that it might not be who you thought!
August 14, 2018
The Alameda Street Sisters kept many secrets. As with most hushed-up affairs, it all comes back decades later. Strong characters and big families can sometimes conceal many unwelcome truths. Dig in to this rewarding tale of strong women.
June 28, 2022
A great read although it gets a bit slow in the middle when you wonder when will she ever tell, but the ending is full of twists and surprises.
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