
Malinalli
A Novel
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $20.24
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Cynthia Farrell
-
By:
-
Veronica Chapa
About this listen
An imaginative retelling of the triumphs and sorrows of one of the most controversial and misunderstood women in Mexico’s history and mythology, perfect for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Gods of Jade and Shadow and Zoraida Córdova’s The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina.
A real-life historical figure, the woman known as Malinalli, Malintzin, La Malinche, Doña Marina, and Malinalxochitl was the Nahua interpreter who helped Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés communicate with the native people of Mexico. 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. Later, historians and pop culture would deem her a traitor—the “Indian” girl who helped sell Mexico’s future to an invader.
In this riveting, fantastical retelling, Malinalli is all of those things and more, but at heart, she’s a young girl, kidnapped into slavery by age twelve, and fighting to survive the devastation wrought by both the Spanish and Moctezuma’s greed and cruelty. Blessed with magical powers, and supported by a close-knit circle of priestesses, Mali vows to help defend her people’s legacy.
In vivid, compelling prose, debut author Veronica Chapa spins an epic tale of magic, sisterhood, survival, and Mexican resilience. This is the first novel to reimagine and reinterpret Malinalli’s story with the empathy, humanity, and awe she’s always deserved.
©2025 Veronica Chapa (P)2025 Simon & Schuster AudioPeople who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Winter Goddess
- A Novel
- By: Megan Barnard
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon, Aidan Kelly
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cailleach, goddess of winter, was not born to be a blight on humanity, but she became one. She would say with scorn that it was their own fault: mortals were selfish, thoughtless, and destructive, bringing harm to each other and the earth without cause or qualms. One day, Cailleach goes too far. Thousands die, lost to her brutal winter. In punishment, her mother Danu, queen of the gods, strips the goddess of her powers and sends Cailleach to earth, to live and die as the mortals she so despises, until she understands what it is to be one of them.
-
-
Amazing!
- By Judy Barnard on 04-23-25
By: Megan Barnard
-
Luminous
- By: Silvia Park
- Narrated by: Eric Yang
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a reunified Korea of the near future, the sun beats down on a junkyard filled with abandoned robots, broken down for parts. Eleven-year-old Ruijie sifts through the scraps, searching for a piece that might support her failing body. There among the piles of trash, something catches her eye: a robot boy—so lifelike and strange, unlike anything she’s ever seen before.
-
-
Brilliant writing, mesmerizing story!
- By jc on 03-14-25
By: Silvia Park
-
What Wakes the Bells
- By: Elle Tesch
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Built by long-gone Saints, the city of Vaiwyn lives and breathes and bleeds. As a Keeper, Mina knows better than most what her care of Vaiwyn’s bells means for the sentient city. It’s the Strauss family’s thousand-year legacy—prevent the Vespers from ringing, or they will awake a slumbering evil. One afternoon, to Mina's horror, her bell peals thirteen times, shattering the city’s tenuous peace. With so much of the city's history and lore lost in a long-ago disaster, no one knows the danger that has been unleashed—until the city begins to fight back.
By: Elle Tesch
-
Homegrown Magic
- By: Jamie Pacton, Rebecca Podos
- Narrated by: Jeremy Carlisle Parker, Dani Martineck
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Yael Clauneck is more interested in drinking and flirting than joining their powerful family’s business. They’re on the precipice of a predetermined life when they flee their own graduation party, galloping away in search of . . . well, they’re not sure, but maybe the chance to feel like life can still be a grand adventure. Margot Greenwillow—talented plant witch, tea lover, and greenhouse owner—has never felt further from adventure in her life. She’s been desperately trying to keep what remains of her family’s magic remedies business afloat.
By: Jamie Pacton, and others
-
The Innkeeper's Song
- By: Peter S. Beagle
- Narrated by: Chloe Sommer, Des Yankson
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a night like any other, three mysterious women arrive to an inn separately, one with a fox that is more than it seems. Karsh, the innkeeper, has no choice but to let the tangled drama unfold beneath his roof. His stable boy, Rosseth, is so mesmerized by the three cloaked women, a warrior nun, a fabled adventurer, and a girl who was saved from drowning, that he soon uncovers a deep secret that was better off remaining hidden. And then there is Tikat, overwhelmed by tragedy, who continues his journey to the inn, refusing to let death bring an end his love.
By: Peter S. Beagle
-
The Undead Mr. Tenpenny
- The Cassie Black Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Tammie Painter
- Narrated by: Samantha Desz
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cassie Black works at a funeral home. She's used to all manner of dead bodies. What she's not used to is them waking up. Which they seem to be doing on a disturbingly regular basis lately. Just when Cassie believes she has the problem under control, the recently-deceased Busby Tenpenny insists he's been murdered and claims Cassie might be responsible thanks to a wicked brand of magic she's been exposed to. The only way for Cassie to get her life back to normal is to tame her magic and uncover Mr. Tenpenny's true killer.
By: Tammie Painter
-
The Winter Goddess
- A Novel
- By: Megan Barnard
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon, Aidan Kelly
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cailleach, goddess of winter, was not born to be a blight on humanity, but she became one. She would say with scorn that it was their own fault: mortals were selfish, thoughtless, and destructive, bringing harm to each other and the earth without cause or qualms. One day, Cailleach goes too far. Thousands die, lost to her brutal winter. In punishment, her mother Danu, queen of the gods, strips the goddess of her powers and sends Cailleach to earth, to live and die as the mortals she so despises, until she understands what it is to be one of them.
-
-
Amazing!
- By Judy Barnard on 04-23-25
By: Megan Barnard
-
Luminous
- By: Silvia Park
- Narrated by: Eric Yang
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a reunified Korea of the near future, the sun beats down on a junkyard filled with abandoned robots, broken down for parts. Eleven-year-old Ruijie sifts through the scraps, searching for a piece that might support her failing body. There among the piles of trash, something catches her eye: a robot boy—so lifelike and strange, unlike anything she’s ever seen before.
-
-
Brilliant writing, mesmerizing story!
- By jc on 03-14-25
By: Silvia Park
-
What Wakes the Bells
- By: Elle Tesch
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Built by long-gone Saints, the city of Vaiwyn lives and breathes and bleeds. As a Keeper, Mina knows better than most what her care of Vaiwyn’s bells means for the sentient city. It’s the Strauss family’s thousand-year legacy—prevent the Vespers from ringing, or they will awake a slumbering evil. One afternoon, to Mina's horror, her bell peals thirteen times, shattering the city’s tenuous peace. With so much of the city's history and lore lost in a long-ago disaster, no one knows the danger that has been unleashed—until the city begins to fight back.
By: Elle Tesch
-
Homegrown Magic
- By: Jamie Pacton, Rebecca Podos
- Narrated by: Jeremy Carlisle Parker, Dani Martineck
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Yael Clauneck is more interested in drinking and flirting than joining their powerful family’s business. They’re on the precipice of a predetermined life when they flee their own graduation party, galloping away in search of . . . well, they’re not sure, but maybe the chance to feel like life can still be a grand adventure. Margot Greenwillow—talented plant witch, tea lover, and greenhouse owner—has never felt further from adventure in her life. She’s been desperately trying to keep what remains of her family’s magic remedies business afloat.
By: Jamie Pacton, and others
-
The Innkeeper's Song
- By: Peter S. Beagle
- Narrated by: Chloe Sommer, Des Yankson
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a night like any other, three mysterious women arrive to an inn separately, one with a fox that is more than it seems. Karsh, the innkeeper, has no choice but to let the tangled drama unfold beneath his roof. His stable boy, Rosseth, is so mesmerized by the three cloaked women, a warrior nun, a fabled adventurer, and a girl who was saved from drowning, that he soon uncovers a deep secret that was better off remaining hidden. And then there is Tikat, overwhelmed by tragedy, who continues his journey to the inn, refusing to let death bring an end his love.
By: Peter S. Beagle
-
The Undead Mr. Tenpenny
- The Cassie Black Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Tammie Painter
- Narrated by: Samantha Desz
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cassie Black works at a funeral home. She's used to all manner of dead bodies. What she's not used to is them waking up. Which they seem to be doing on a disturbingly regular basis lately. Just when Cassie believes she has the problem under control, the recently-deceased Busby Tenpenny insists he's been murdered and claims Cassie might be responsible thanks to a wicked brand of magic she's been exposed to. The only way for Cassie to get her life back to normal is to tame her magic and uncover Mr. Tenpenny's true killer.
By: Tammie Painter
-
The Witches of El Paso
- A Novel
- By: Luis Jaramillo
- Narrated by: Raquel Beattie
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the present day, Nena’s grandniece, Marta, balances a struggling legal aid practice with motherhood and the care of the now ninety-three-year-old Nena. When Marta agrees to help search for a daughter Nena left in the past, the two forge a fierce connection. Marta’s own supernatural powers emerge, awakening her to new possibilities that threaten the life she has constructed.
-
-
The beautiful woman of this world never cece to amaze me!
- By Anonymous User on 04-03-25
By: Luis Jaramillo
-
Goddess Complex
- A Novel
- By: Sanjena Sathian
- Narrated by: Rukhmani K. Desai
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sanjana Satyananda is trying to recover her life. It’s been a year since she walked out on her husband, a struggling actor named Killian, at a commune in India, after a disagreement about whether to have children. Now, Sanjana is struggling to resurrect her busted anthropology dissertation and crashing at her annoyingly perfect sister’s while her well-adjusted peers obsess over marriages, mortgages, and motherhood. Sanjana needs to move forward—and finalize her divorce, ASAP.
-
-
Interesting way to talk about an important topic.
- By Leslie A. M. Smith on 03-31-25
By: Sanjena Sathian
-
Bochica
- A Novel
- By: Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro
- Narrated by: Frankie Corzo, Cynthia Farrell
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1923 Soacha, Colombia, La Casona—an opulent mansion perched above the legendary Salto del Tequendama waterfall—was once home to Antonia and her family, who settle in despite their constant nightmares and the house’s malevolent spirit. But tragedy strikes when Antonia’s mother takes a fatal fall into El Salto and her father, consumed by grief, attempts to burn the house down with Antonia still inside. Three years later, haunted by disturbing dreams and cryptic journal entries from her late mother, Antonia is drawn back to her childhood home when it is converted into a luxurious hotel.
-
The Usual Family Mayhem
- A Novel
- By: HelenKay Dimon
- Narrated by: Mia Barron
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kasey Nottingham needs a splashy idea at her company where they find and develop the next big thing for investors—her job depends on it. Impulsively, she pitches Mags’ Desserts, a beloved small-town business run by her grandma Mags and live-in “best friend” Celia, two women who overcame deadbeat husbands and financial ruin to build a word-of-mouth clientele. Kasey expects her boss to say no. Instead, he sends her home to North Carolina to land the deal…and now she has a problem.
By: HelenKay Dimon
-
The Filling Station
- A Novel
- By: Vanessa Miller
- Narrated by: Angel Pean
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sisters Margaret and Evelyn Justice have grown up in the prosperous Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma--also known as Black Wall Street. In Greenwood, the Justice sisters had it all--movie theaters and entertainment venues, beauty shops and clothing stores, high-profile businesses like law offices, medical clinics, and banks. While Evelyn aspires to head off to the East Coast to study fashion design, recent college grad Margaret plans to settle in Greenwood, teaching at the local high school and eventually raising a family.
-
-
Filling Station - Resilience and determination to rebuild what was destroyed
- By Anonymous User on 04-30-25
By: Vanessa Miller
-
My Mother Cursed My Name
- A Novel
- By: Anamely Salgado Reyes
- Narrated by: Yareli Arizmendi, Marisa Blake, Karla Serrato
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For generations, the Olivares women have sought to control their daughters’ destinies, starting with their names. In life, Olvido constantly clashed with her carefree daughter. Then teenage Angustias discovered she was pregnant and left her mother’s home in search of her own. Ten years later, Felicitas finally meets her estranged grandmother and is terribly disappointed when Olvido is nothing like a grandmother should be. She is strict, cold, and…dead. Now, Olvido is convinced the only way her spirit will cross over is if she resolves her unfinished business.
-
-
The family dynamic between 3 generations of women/females.
- By Melissa on 04-06-25
-
The Sea Eternal
- By: Emery Robin
- Narrated by: Kim Reed, Ella Lynch
- Length: 19 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Matheus Ceirran, commander of half the known world, is dead. For the past year, his loyal captain Anita has hunted down his assassins—that is, when she can pull herself from the bed of Altagracia Caviro Patramata, queen and oracle of the client planet of Szayet. But when Anita’s quest for revenge takes her across the borders of an enigmatic neighboring empire, she uncovers a dangerous secret that could upend the fragile balance of the galaxy. Meanwhile, Ceirran’s heir apparent Otávio Julhan grows more and more powerful in the capital that Anita has left behind.
By: Emery Robin
-
The Anatomy of Magic
- By: J.C. Cervantes
- Narrated by: Diana Bustelo
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lilian Estrada seemingly has it all: an ob-gyn star on the rise, a master at balancing work with whirlwind romances and part of a family of fiercely loyal and exceptional women, all bound together by an extraordinary secret. The Estrada women each possess a unique power, and Lily shines with the rare gift to manipulate memories. Yet not even her mystical abilities can shield her from a harrowing event at the hospital, one that sends her powers—and her confidence—spiraling out of control.
By: J.C. Cervantes
-
Helliconia Spring
- The Helliconia Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Brian W. Aldiss
- Narrated by: Keval Shah
- Length: 19 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Helliconia follows an eccentric orbit around a double-star system with a twenty-six-hundred-year cycle of very long seasons. As spring slowly breaks the brutally long winter, humans emerge from hiding and a long sequence of civilization and growth begins to repeat again, unbeknownst to the participants but watched by an orbiting satellite station, Avernus, created by Earth some centuries ago. Humans free themselves from slavery to the aboriginal Phagors, and religion and science flower and expand.
By: Brian W. Aldiss
-
Blood Beneath the Snow
- By: Alexandra Kennington
- Narrated by: Ellie Gossage
- Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Revna is no stranger to struggle. As the only member of the royal family without a magical ability, she is seen as an embarrassing mistake by her kingdom and a blight on her bloodline. Luckily, Revna has found family in other outcasts in her kingdom. But when her two closest friends’ lives are put in danger, she is determined to save them by any means necessary, no matter the cost. The Bloodshed Trials—a competition where the last sibling in the royal family standing takes the throne—might just be the ultimate price.
-
-
Great listen for romantasy lovers!
- By Katie on 03-22-25
-
Witches, Boys, and Other Monsters
- By: Gail Blue
- Narrated by: James D. Sasser
- Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eliza Scaggs (not Scraggsies, thank you very much) is tired of all the rumors about her. Sure, she’s looking a bit haggard as of late, but she’s been working herself to the bone on a secret government project to prove that she, the only woman in the wizard’s guild, belongs there. So, maybe she’s got some gray in her hair, but she’s not old, not old-old— and the only thing she’s made a pact with is her purveyor of rot brew tea. Okay, the pet monster thing is true, but Throat Ripper hasn’t caught anyone, not yet.
-
-
mix of fantasy and real world problems
- By Kindle Customer on 05-01-25
By: Gail Blue
-
Love and Other Paradoxes
- A Novel
- By: Catriona Silvey
- Narrated by: Nicholas Ralph
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cambridge University, 2005: Student Joe Greene scribbles verses in the margins of his notebook, dreaming of a future where his words will echo through the ages, all while doubting it could ever happen. Then, the future quite literally finds him—in the form of Esi. She’s part of a time-traveling tour, a trip for people in the future to witness history’s greatest moments firsthand. The star of this tour? Joe Greene. In Esi’s era, Joe is as renowned as Shakespeare. And he’s about to meet Diana, a fellow student and aspiring actress, who will become his muse and the subject of his famous poems.
By: Catriona Silvey
What listeners say about Malinalli
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 04-28-25
#GirlBoss
When I picked this up I thought it was going to have a decolonial or post-colonial lens. I found out pretty quickly it didn’t. I felt it went the colonial #GirlBoss approach. I wanted to like this book so much and I just didn’t
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!