I was not familiar with the story of Malinche, who is here Malinalli. How much you enjoy this will depend on your expectations. It's an interesting look at indigenous Mexican history with a bit of magical realism thrown in. I was intrigued by Malinalli but felt the story around her fell short. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This sent me off to look for more information.

I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this arc. I went into this book with no knowledge of the story of Malinalli. I wanted to read this and then look at what most people say about her. This story was very interesting. The descriptions and scenery details kept me involved in it. THe cover is beautiful and immediately made me want to grab this book.

This novel is a retelling of the story of La Malinche the Nahua interpreter who helped Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés communicate with the native people of Mexico. The original version of La Malinche is much maligned by historians and Mexicans, who deemed her a traitor and helped Cortés eliminate the indigenous tribes in 1500's Mexico.

In this retelling, we follow Malinalli as a little girl, learn her indigenous culture, and the events that shaped her before we read about her "Alliance" with Cortés. She was enslaved by Cortes so alliance is not truly what occurred.. Malinalli comes from Nahua nobility and becomes a priestess warrior with powers. When Indigenous leaders observed her marching into their cities, they believed she was a goddess—blessed with the divine power to interpret the Spaniards’ intentions for their land.

Interestingly, the story is told in first person pov and it worked well. I wouldn't call this a fantasy but historical fiction with mythology and magical realism interwined. The setting detail, the language and atmosphere is well written and cinematic. It is an immersive story that helps place the reader into the mind of Malinalli giving her perspective and motivations.

The author must have done extension research into the indigenous languages and culture of the various groups in Mexico during that time. This attention to details helped me see Malinalli as a full character.
Books 1 and 2 were slow paced but I didn't mind that as it built the story with details important to the other sections. It is an historical saga so that is part of the genre. Content warning: sexual assault.
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this retelling.

Veronica Chapa’s Malinalli is a bold and evocative reimagining of one of history’s most controversial figures, Malinalli—better known as La Malinche. Often portrayed as a traitor or victim, Chapa’s version gives her a voice of her own, weaving history with fantasy to explore her agency, resilience, and the weight of fate.

From the moment Malinalli is stolen from her home and thrust into the turbulent world of Spanish conquest, the novel immerses the reader in a richly textured landscape of political upheaval, spiritual traditions, and the clash of civilizations. The narrative’s strength lies in its intimate portrayal of Malinalli’s struggles—not just as an interpreter between Cortés and the Nahua people but as a woman torn between survival and loyalty to her people.

Chapa introduces a mystical element through Malinalli’s connection to a sisterhood of priestesses, adding layers of magic, prophecy, and divine intervention. This infusion of the supernatural elevates the novel beyond historical fiction, transforming it into a lyrical and deeply emotional exploration of destiny. The prose is vivid, often poetic, capturing the weight of Malinalli’s choices and the sorrow of a collapsing world.

Though the novel is steeped in tragedy, it never reduces Malinalli to a mere pawn of history. Instead, it presents her as a woman navigating impossible circumstances, making choices that reverberate far beyond her time. Readers who appreciate historical fiction with a touch of the fantastical—like Circe by Madeline Miller—will find Malinalli an absorbing and thought-provoking read.

While some may find the blend of history and myth unconventional, Malinalli succeeds in giving a fresh perspective to a figure long overshadowed by simplistic narratives. It is both a haunting and empowering tale—one that lingers long after the final page.

My background is mostly in horror, thriller, medical and retellings. Knowing this I do search for certain vibes and tones in what I read. Malinalli intrigued me for the anticipation of a fierce and dark tale of feminism in a historically patriarchal culture. Sadly, these desires were not met. The tone felt very YA, keep in mind my genera, and the magical components felt forced. There were some references to cultural magic but it felt like a try for appeasing Fourth Wing fans or such.

The character development was choppy and the progressive points again, to me, felt like I was following a YA character in their achievements. There could have been a deeper, more raw essence to these pivotal points.

All in all this could easily work for a reader wanting to bridge over, I guess, to historical retellings who has a strong base in YA and fantasy. For readers such as myself, you may become frustrated with the lack of depth and deeper rooted rawness of the history being drawn from.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Malinalli by Veronica Chapa is a first person-POV historical fantasy retelling of Malinche, one of the most famous women in the history of the Americas. Born the eldest twin, Malinalli always assumed she would attend the House of Magical Studies and is furious when her brother is sent instead due to her gender. Foretold to be forced away from her home and doomed to live a miserable life, Malinalli fights to take control of her own narrative every step of the way, but when the Conquistadors come, they will prove to be her most complex challenge.

Like many Americans, I grew up knowing who Malinche was and the view that she is a traitor to the Indigenous people of Mexico. Over the years, I’ve heard more and more viewpoints that she is far more complex and owed nothing to the people who kept her as a slave or the ones who sold her into slavery in the first place. Veronica Chapa shows the complex situation Malinche was in and reimagines some of her early life to include the murder of her twin brother, Eagle, and the tragic death of her father. The narrative definitely portrays Malinche the historical figure and Malinalli the character in a sympathetic light as a young woman who has had her choices taken from her and witnessed bloodshed she cannot make sense of.

Nahuatl, the language spoken by the Aztecs and still spoken by the Nahua people today, is used throughout the text. Veronica Chapa chose each word carefully to add a sense of authenticity and would be fairly seamless for most readers to know what the word is in reference to (such as ‘tomatl’ for ‘tomato’ and ‘chocolatl’ for ‘liquid chocolate’). I love it when authors include endangered languages in authentic ways and include pronunciation guides because it’s a way to preserve language which is so very important because language and culture are married. Malinche/Malinalli is a Nahua woman and her language is part of who she is, even more so given that she is such an infamous interpreter.

The pacing is on the slower end and is meant to put you deep in Malinalli’s head as she learns to hone her magic and meets the challenges life throws at her with dignity. Starting at her birth and not bringing Cortes in until after halfway through the book gives Malinalli’s story the room to breathe and be about more than the most famous and controversial part about her life. It definitely did make me think a bit more about how we talk about Malinche purely in relation to her status as Cortes interpreter instead of all the other things that make her a complex figure even if that doesn’t negate the lasting consequences.

Content warning for depictions of sexism and sexual assault

I would recommend this to fans of retellings looking historical retellings about controversial figures and readers looking for a slower-paced historical fantasy character study

This was a deeply sad fantasy that could only end in sadness considering it's about a real person in history, yet the "quest" at the heart kept me immersed.

I honestly was completely unaware of who Malinalli/La Malinche was, and I do wish that in the Mexican history I learned in Texas public schools, someone had mentioned that Cortés used an indigenous interpreter. Neither of my other Hispanic friends from Texas public schools knew of La Malinche either, so we at minimum know that I didn't just miss something in our textbook 20 years ago. This is the story of a woman who was sold into sex slavery, who then learned multiple languages until she eventually became the translator who helped the Spanish conquer Tenochtitlán and the rest of Mexico. Historically, she is.... not great.

So this book presents a fantasy version of Malinalli, the girl who had the bad luck to be born on an inauspicious day, so she and her twin would be doomed to miserable lives far from home. So her parents named her instead after the goddess Malinalxochitl. Poor kid thinks she's going to grow up to be a mighty sorceress just like the fearsome goddess, and then her life falls apart, everyone dies, she gets sent to be a priestess, and then she indeed ends up very far from home. She decides that actually what she needs to do is kill Monteczuma, so when the rest of her life happens, everything is all about achieving that goal.

Some of the Goodreads reviews are unhappy because they think this is a book about an unlikeable person who girlbossed too far to the sun. I think instead, this is a fantasy about revenge, and it's ok to have a book about someone who kind of sucks as a person? This isn't meant to redeem someone who did terrible things, but perhaps to give them more interesting motives. "I am going to use the Spaniards to exact my revenge on the evil king" is misguided in retrospect, but makes for a very interesting story about a girl who is basically still a teenager.

I enjoyed this! I did not know much about this historical figure, and this novel made me want to learn more about the different indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica, so I consider that a win.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the digital ARC.

Such an interesting story but the pacing really made it a struggle at times
This was so fascinating to me as someone who's not very familiar with this lore. Would love to read more

Part mythology part historical retelling of Malinalxochitl- went by many names and lived many lives- sorceress, slave, concubine, warrior, avenger.

This was a slow paced story rich with color and vibrant storytelling. Malinali was an interesting character that in her complexity she was kind of annoying lol but it was an interesting book.

Thanks to netgalley and atria books for an eARC

I really enjoyed this retelling! I’ll definitely be looking out for more books by this author. At times the writing was a little slow and found myself struggling a bit until it picked back up. Otherwise, it’s a fantastic book!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for a copy of this ARC!

Wow, this was my first book by this author and I would for sure read more. This one was a little different for me at first, but I was able to stretch myself and find a large interest and I learned a lot along the way.

La Malinche, Malinalli, Marina, Doña Marina, etc. All names that are iconic to the complex, yet controversial figure in Mexican history. Known as the Mother of the Mestizos, Malinalli is widely known for being a traitor to her people, becoming the translator for Hernan Cortés after being sold as a slave to him. However, what most people don't know is that it was her mother that sold her into slavery from the beginning. While there is still much that scholars do not know, but can infer based on historical context, like her eventual marriage to Don Juan Jaramillo, she remains an enigma.
Veronica Chapa has gone on to write one of the first fictional accounts of the controversial Malinalli, named for the incredible Nahua goddess, Malinalxochitl, the goddess of serpents. Malinalli means Wild Grass. When she is born, she is given the name due to a prognosticator telling her parents she will be living a hard life away from home, as will her twin brother Eagle. Both children are born with mystic powers, but Malinalli's heart darkens when she finds out her brother was sent to the House of Magical Studies in the infamous city of Tenochtitlan.
Malinalli goes on to harbor resentment in her heart, marking this as one of the points where she begins to grow in her power. Catastrophe strikes, and Malinalli is sent to the temple to learn to further harness her power. As her life changes and unravels, Chapa follows the heartrending story of Malinalli, through all the known and important phases of her life, where she comes of age, and finds her chosen family.
By the end, we meet a Malinalli similar to the one infamous in post colonial lore.
Chapa wrote a beautiful novel following all the phases of the life of Malinalli. My favorite part was the magical realism that was incorporated, and the action that came with it, as mysticism was a piece that was culturally relevant to the Toltecs. In her novel, Chapa also strives to create a character that we can understand in the same cultural light, as well as shed insight onto the reasons for her motives to eventually aid Cortés. Despite all this, I came to love and root for Malinalli, as she rose above her circumstances. Not only that, but many of the instances were historically accurate, and she did an incredible job of researching prior to writing this work.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you to Netgalley, Veronica Chapa and Primero Sueño Press for this ebook in exchange for an honest review!

I like what the author tried to follow here. Reclaiming a space in history for a woman who has more oftentimes not been maligned for the part she played in the downfall of Tenochtitlan. The story started out strong and i liked the back story i was getting, but somewhere between her being at the temple and then coming face to face with Cortes and his agenda, I lost my interest.

great feminist retelling with some awesome style s, although the pacing of the story is a bit weird at a lot of points (which makes sense there's a lot to get thru, but still a bit off). 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

This upcoming book by Veronica Chapa is perfect for the fans of the writing style of Madeline Miller’s Circe, Song of Achilles, and Emily Wilson’s Inanna. It fits perfectly in that realm of historical fiction with just the smidgen of fantasy elements dashed in.

This is my first introduction to Malinalli, so I can’t confirm any historical accuracy or if the account stays true to the tale as historians know it, but it’s entertaining. I love that publishers are expanded into Mesoamerican history and myths lately, my history nerd heart is so happy about that.

Positives aside, one thing I’ve noticed for me and historical fiction is they can come across as dry, and very telling versus showing and making us feel apart of the story with the characters. It seems to be a me thing as others have had no issues with the stories listed above and Malinalli fits in perfectly with them.

3.5 stars

“Malinalli” was the gorgeously told story of the woman who, with her seemingly magical gift for languages, paved the way for Cortes to conquer South America. Based on a real historical figure and suffused with magic, this book elevates Malinalli as a legend. Born as a child with inauspicious stars, her parents change her name in hope of improving her fortunes in life. After the death of her father and brother she becomes a sorceress, a slave, and finally the translator of the invading army. I found Malinalli herself to be a fascinating character, and her relationship with her own rage and desire for revenge was interesting to follow through the story. The writing itself was fabulous, almost poetic, and captured so much nuance in the characters and their actions.
I did feel this book was missing some sense of place, as I found it hard to visualize exactly what was happening and where. I also felt that so much attention to detail and depth was given to the first half of the book that it almost seemed the author had exhausted her powers by the time things got really good - very little time was spent dissecting Malinalli’s dynamic with Cortes and I definitely wanted it to be fleshed out more. Some of the minor characters also could have used a little more page time. Overall an excellent read that I would recommend, I just thought the emphasis should be redistributed somewhat.

This was a very interesting read! This is a retelling about Malinalli, one of the most controversial women in Mexico’s history and mythology. Known by many names Malinalli was the Nahua interpreter who helped Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés. She is a misunderstood figure in history and this book reimagines and reinterprets her story.

With fantasy aspects added to this book I felt like the story had a deeper impact. It really adds to the mythology and lore and helps to shape Malinalli’s story from a young age. Her journey is based on revenge but as she grows older it slowly transforms into something else. Malinalli goes through so much from a young age and as someone unfamiliar with her story outside of brief mentions from history I loved seeing her development.

At times this book felt a little slow but overall I really enjoyed it! The characters and history were very interesting and I liked the use of magic that added to the story. I recently started reading more historical fantasy books and I am loving this sub-genre! I hope to see more from Veronica Chapa as I really enjoyed the writing style!

Thank you to Veronica Chapa and Atria Books for an eARC!

+ I loved this *+ fantastical retelling + of La Malinche. The story and writing makes Malinalli seem like she's literally just a girl going through it. I loved how the author made her seem like a true person not like the legends or retellings we see on tv that made her seem different. The descriptive writing made me feel like I was Malinalli going through everything.
I also love love love the history and Nahuatl language that was incorporated into the story. I learned so much and that made me so happy "
Fun fact: Whenever I would go to Puebla my cousins would always show me La Malinche, the inactive volcano between Tlaxcala and Puebla. They would tell me her story and I was always so fascinated

The novel was very informative and interesting. I love using historical fiction/fantasy to learn more about histories and mythology. The beginning of the novel was my favorite. The description of things and her time in the temple were so interesting. The middle kind of slowed down and the ending did not have that same lush descriptions in my opinion. Still a very good read.

3 stars to Malinalli, an exciting retelling of the life of Cortez's famed interpreter, La Malinche. In this story, Malinalli is born to a noble family and raised alongside her twin brother, Eagle. As the firstborn of the twins, it is Malinalli's destiny to one day enter the school of magic, alongside the firstborns of other noble families. But tragedy strikes and Malinalli's fate rises before her, to be a reed ever blown in the wind.

What I liked:
- an entertaining story capturing the character of a greatly misunderstood historical figure.
-the Temple of the Eighteen Moons was a brilliant addition to Malinalli's life. So little is known of her life before Cortes. It was nice for her to be given a family and an education before she was misplaced and set adrift. The more magical, mythical twist to her tale is an equally brilliant addition by Chapa.

What I didn't like:
- The beginning was slow and hard to get into. It read like a journal or diary: "I woke up and had breakfast." That sort of thing. It finally picked up about 1/3 of the way through.
- Malinalli is given a "love interest" in the form of a Maya Warrior (presumably a grown-butt man) when she is about 13-14. This romance may have been intended to be joyful or innocent, compared to the abuse as an enslaved concubine and by the hand of Cortes later in her life. Though this would have been acceptable at the time and within the culture, her age and the circumstances around the romance made it feel forced and unnecessary.

Overall, an entertaining historical fiction that beautifully ties in the history of La Malinche with the history, mythology, and culture of the indigenous people of Mexico.