September 15th marks the historical start of the Mexican War of Independence.
Throughout the month, many Latin American countries will celebrate their independence days – their freedom from colonial rule. During this time, we also commemorate the history, culture, and contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans.
Like Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month wasn’t always a month; it started as a week in 1968 and then was extended to October 15th in 1988 to give more time to the integral accomplishments of Hispanic and Latino communities in the United States.
But what do these terms – Hispanic and Latino – mean?
Hispanic is used to signify a connection to Spain or the Spanish language while Latino encompasses more varied identities:
The National Museum of the American Latino uses the term ‘Latino’ to describe the diverse residents of the United States with cultural or ancestral ties to Latin America or the Caribbean. For many, the term ‘Latino’ also creates room for acknowledging Black, Indigenous, Asian, and other heritages on equal terms with European ancestry.
You might have also heard the term Latinx which has been used to offer more gender inclusivity.
This Hispanic Heritage Month, we want to acknowledge the talents of Hispanic and Latino authors and narrators with this curated selection of audiobooks, all fantastic additions to any TBR now and beyond.
ADULT
Mango, Mambo, and Murder
Written by Raquel V. Reyes, narrated by Frankie Corzo
A Cuban-American cooking-show star becomes a seasoned sleuth in the first of the Caribbean Kitchen Mystery series.
Food anthropologist Miriam Quiñones-Smith moves to Coral Shores, Miami, putting her academic career on hold to stay at home with her young son. Gracias to her best friend, Alma, she gets a short-term job as a Caribbean cooking expert on a Spanish-language TV show. But when Miriam attends a Women’s Club luncheon, a socialite at her table dies with a second to follow soon after.
Detective Pullman enlists Miriam to be the eyes and ears for the Spanish-speaking community and the Coral Shores social scene (places he can’t access) as suspicions mount around a controversial Cuban herbalist, Dr. Fuentes. But her snooping may turn out to be a recipe for her own murder.
Reyes, a Cuban-American author, set the series in Miami (where she lives) because of its diverse culture and cuisine, as well as being “the gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America”.
One Tough Cookie
Written by Delise Torres, narrated by Stacy Gonzalez
Fans of Fleabag and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend will love this humorous and heartfelt contemporary romance.
Karina Cortés, a twenty-seven-year-old woman, believes in a simple life with no attachments. She’s able to secure a well-paying job at Singular Cookies, Inc., a small family-owned cookie manufacturing plant in Fort Pierce, Florida. Although the founders treat her like family, Karina insists she doesn’t need or want one and she couldn’t be happier with her single life.
When she meets the company’s new mechanic, Ian Feliciano, she struggles to balance work and play. Karina knows she shouldn’t date him; he stirs up feelings she tends to avoid.
As a plant inspection approaches, she’ll have to decide whether to continue holding on to deeply ingrained beliefs that keep everyone at bay or learn that love isn’t as dangerous as she fears.
Puerto Rican author Delise Torres said she loves “characters who push the boundaries of what is acceptable, who make me think differently.”
I’ve always tried to fit in… it was liberating to dig into Karina’s psyche as I wrote, to have her say and do things that I would’ve never dared to. I hope Karina can join the ranks of other unlikeable female protagonists. Karina herself would probably love this label.
Want to know what Singular Cookies personality you are? Take Torres’ quiz here.
Right Girl, Wrong Side
Written by Ginny Baird, narrated by Karla Serrato
A forced proximity multicultural story from a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author about two disputing families and the messiness that can come with love.
Evita Machado, a busy flower shop manager, can’t wait to visit Nantucket for a vacation with her family after a bad breakup. But when they arrive at the quaint rose-covered cottage, another group is already there: the Hatfields.
Ryan Hatfield was Evita’s former crush from high school, but their business rival moms refused to let them date. Now history professor Ryan is here with his parents, who won the oceanfront rental in a society silent auction. The property has been double-booked, but when Ryan and Evita’s moms won’t back down, both sides tepidly agree to share the luxury accommodations.
With the boisterous Machados livening things up and the strait-laced Hatfields tamping them down, can Evita and Ryan keep the peace between the warring factions while fostering a growing chemistry between the two of them?
Baird says about her book:
My late mom was Puerto Rican, so this is a story very close to my heart… It’s funny, and touching, and romantic, and proves yet again that – even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds – love can conquer all.
So Far From God
Written by Ana Castillo, narrated by Frankie Corzo
Over two decades in Tome, New Mexico, Sofia tries to hold things together for her four daughters following the disappearance of her husband, Domingo. The story navigates the lives of Sofia, Esperanza, Caridad, Fe, and La Loca as they rebel against the stereotypical roles they find themselves in. The story explores themes of religion, spirituality, culture, gender, and sexuality.
So Far From God is a feminist classic from Chicana novelist Ana Castillo, known for her experimental style and intervention in Chicana feminism known as Xicanisma.
Chicana is defined as “an ethnic identity for Mexican Americans who have a non-Anglo self-image, embracing their Mexican Native ancestry.” Castillo proposed Xicanisma to modernize Chicana feminism; specifically, to reclaim indigenous roots and spirituality, embrace “feminine principles of nurturing and community”, and challenge the patriarchal bias of the Spanish language.
When Trying to Return Home
Written Jennifer Maritza McCauley, narrated by Psalm Morant and Andréa Agosto
This debut collection of short stories “crackles with moments of honesty, upheaval, and longing among families” (Publishers Weekly) and spans a century of Black American and Afro-Latino life in Puerto Rico, Pittsburgh, Louisiana, Miami, and beyond.
Profoundly moving and powerful, the stories in this collection dig deeply into the question of belonging. A young woman is torn between overwhelming love for her mother and the need to break free from her damaging influence during a desperate and disastrous attempt to rescue her brother from foster care. A man, his wife, and his mistress each confront the borders separating love and hate, obligation and longing, on the eve of a flight to San Juan. A college student grapples with the space between chivalry and machismo in a tense encounter involving a nun. And in 1930s Louisiana, a woman attempting to find a place to call her own chances upon an old friend at a bar and must reckon with her troubled past.
Forming a web of desires and consequences that span generations, McCauley’s Black American and Afro–Puerto Rican characters remind us that these voices have always been here, occupying the very center of American life—even if we haven’t always been willing to listen.
McCauley describes herself as the daughter of a Black American father and Puerto Rican mother whose creative and scholarly work focuses individuality, identity, Afro-Latinidad, cultural clashes, and belonging.
MIDDLE GRADE
The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto
Written by Adrianna Cuevas, narrated by Anthony Rey Perez
After getting caught stealing a school slushie machine, Rafa, a Cuban American boy, is sent to work on a ranch in New Mexico. There he meets a new friend, Jennie, and the two decide to uncover the mystery behind the strange events happening at Rancho Espanto.
Cuevas is a first-generation Cuban-American dedicated to preserving her family history through writing.
KIDS
Leila, The Perfect Witch
Written by Flavia Z. Drago, narrated by Marisa Blake
In this charming tale from the award-winning author of Gustavo, The Shy Ghost, a witch who is spellbindingly good at everything discovers that baking is no piece of cake.
Leila Wayward, a talented witch who excels at everything she does, dreams of winning the Magnificent Witchy Cake-off. Leila wants her entry to be perfect, but realizes she’s a disaster in the kitchen no matter the recipe. Luckily, Leila’s three magical sisters are happy to share their culinary secrets with her. What’s more, Leila discovers that baking with them is fun! Win or lose, she has already tasted the sweetest thing of all: acceptance.
Set in Mexico where Drago grew up, this story celebrates sisterhood, the joy of sharing food, and savoring the process instead of fixating on the outcome.
