darlenes 's review for:

My Name Is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende

3.5

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Published on Peeking Between the Pages (https://peekingbetweenthepages.com/2025/05/my-name-is-emilia-del-valle-by-isabel-allende-audiobook.html)

Somehow this is my first novel from Isabel Allende. To say the least I’m surprised as I’ve read quite a bit of historical fiction in my time. I will definitely be catching up on her books as I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Emilia del Valle is born in 1866 to an Irish nun who was led astray by a Chilean aristocrat. She fell in love and became pregnant while he skipped town as fast as he could. Needless to say that instead of continuing in the church, she became a mother. Thankfully Emilia ends up having a loving stepfather who brings her up to be smart and independent. She is confidant enough that she goes after a career in journalism at a time when that wouldn’t have been a popular choice for women. She is eventually hired by The Daily Examiner and is paired up with Eric, another reporter. The Civil War attracts both of them and they journey to where the action is. It is also the time when Emilia finally meets her birth father. As she continues to report on the war she learns more about her own roots and finds she is on her own journey of self-discovery.

I enjoyed the audio which is read by Coral Pena and Johnathan McClain although I did find that I had to speed it up more than I typically would as the narration was a bit slow for me. I enjoyed learning about a time in history I knew nothing about. Recommended for those with a love for historical fiction.