Queen of the Valley

De: Lorena Hughes

Narrado por: Frankie Corzo, Johnny Rey Diaz, Gisela Chipe

Against the backdrop of Colombia’s unparalleled beauty despite the devastation of the 1925 Cali earthquake, this riveting novel by the award-winning Ecuadorian American author of The Spanish Daughter plunges three strangers into a perilous search for the missing owner of a legendary hacienda amidst an emerging cholera epidemic.

Driven and recklessly daring, Martin Sabater follows his lifelong dream of owning a cacao plantation in Valle del Cauca. But on the night of a spectacular gala, he disappears—and is never seen again. Now his hacienda is a budding Catholic hospital saving lives during an emerging epidemic. And novice nun “Sor Puri” is there to uncover the truth behind Martin’s disappearance. But her real identity—and her past with the heartbreakingly charismatic Martin—will put far more than her perilous search at risk.

A professional photographer, Lucas Ferreira is Martin’s best friend since boyhood. He has his own reasons for helping the determined, alluring nun. But what this reserved man won’t reveal about his thwarted dreams and unrequited passion could prove key to the past—or a lethal trap.

Martin was head nurse Sor Camila's only love—until an unfortunate mistake changed the course of her life forever. Now, Martin's home is an unexpected chance for her, Lucas, and Puri to set the past right. But with their secrets unearthing explosive memories and wrenching lies, can they survive the truth about Martin—and the consequences that will forever alter their destinies?

©2023 Lorena Hughes (P)2023 Recorded Books

Great story

Keeps the story of Puri going strong and genuinely couldn’t stop listening. Left me shocked!

Love this book

The book didn’t disappoint love Puri and the whole scene. The characters are relatable. Would recommend and read again

A gripping novel of Love found and love lost.

Love the story’s setting a century ago in a beautiful hacienda. Great plot twists reminiscent of an enthralling novela!

Stuck with through chapter 17

Queen of the Valley was a definite disappointment to me. I had hopes for a colorful story taking place in fascinating, fairly unusual settings, with likely interesting characters. I didn’t find that at all, rather a hard-to-follow, jerky mash-up of near misses and coulda-beens that never came together, characters that might have been engaging, appealing or at least interesting, but no, they weren’t. The cover art was beautiful and alluded to what I had hoped — but it was only a mirage! Stopped the frustration after chapter seventeen. Thankfully it was a freebie.

A Little Disappointing

Frankie Corzo performs beautifully in this sequel to The Spanish Daughter. Gisela Chipe does a good job from Camila's perspective. But, Johnny Rey Diaz provides a stiff reading by comparison. He could have provided a stronger performance. What's worse, is that the author didn't resolve the story lines well and the plot was weak. Things turned out differently than the reader expected, and not in a good way. SPOILER ALERT: if Puri did not love Martin enough to marry him, why did she go to Columbia? As she herself said, she could have found another cacao supplier. And, if she didn't go to Columbia, things would have ended better for other characters. It seems there was only reason why the author wanted Puri to go to Columbia and that could have happened without going there and without bringing the other characters into it. The other characters' storylines could have been managed better by writing two different books with stronger plots.