The Curse of the Flores Women

A Novel

By: Angélica Lopes, Zoë Perry - translator

Narrated by: Dominique Franceschi

In this haunting novel about the enduring bonds of womanhood, a young girl weaves together the truth behind her family history and the secrets that resonate through generations.

Eighteen-year-old Alice Ribeiro is constantly fighting—against the status quo, female oppression in Brazil, and even her own mother. But when a family veil is passed down to her, Alice is compelled to fight for the rights of all womankind while also uncovering the hidden history of the women in her family.

Seven generations ago, the small town of Bom Retiro shunned the Flores women because of a “curse” that rendered them unlucky in love. With no men on the horizon to take care of them, the women learned the art of lacemaking to build lives of their own. But their peace was soon threatened by forces beyond any woman’s control.

As Alice begins piecing together the tapestry that is her history, she discovers revelations about the past, connections to the present, and a resilience in her blood that will carry her toward the future her ancestors strove for.

©2022, 2024 by Angélica Lopes. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Translation © 2024 by Zoë Perry.

Critic reviews

“With each page, Alice’s role as the guardian of an important piece of Brazilian folk art, itself a feminist symbol, becomes more clear. Lopes…makes it clear that sisterhood is integral to survival.”—Booklist

“A work of fiction with echoes of realism that lifts it to an impressive level of literary excellence…”—Midwest Book Review

“Angélica Lopes’ dialogue and writing style keep our attention, and the book is full of charming details…[T]his highly recommended novel would prompt lively discussion.”—Historical Novels Review, Editors’ Choice

Fast paced historical fiction

The Curse of The Flores Women by Angelica Lopes

The Curse of the Flores Women is a multiple timeline and multiple perspective novel, switching back and forth between the past and the present. This isn’t a romance, but more of a journey of a group of women, fighting against the rules of that time period. The book occurs during a time, when women were nothing more than property . They had little to no rights, and could own very little, often not having a say in who they married. Upon marriage, all of their holdings became the property of their husband. The women made lace objects, and as the husbands considered this a hobby, they were able to have money that the men weren’t aware of, except of course for the Flores Women, who had no men due to their curse. Most of the book occurs in a small town called Bom Retiro. In Bom Retiri is the Flores women, who are rumored to be cursed, cursed to lose love and the men they care about. In the present, Alice Ribeiro, the youngest living Flores woman, has been given the family veil, skipping her mother as she is not the youngest. the veil is the key to discovering her family’s history and secrets. The lace hides a secret language, and as she discovers these secrets, she wants to learn more about her ancestors, something until then has not been important to her. This book is a fascinating mix of modern contemporary fiction and historical fiction.

I loved the way the lace makers created a secret language, giving them a means of communication others overlooked. It makes me think of the code breakers from World War One and World War Two. I enjoyed the characters, coming to really enjoy the way they cared for each other. This was a fast, enjoyable story. If you like historical fiction, then you will like this beautiful story.
This book will quickly immerse you in it, making you need to discover what will happen next. The Curse of the Flores women is a great fictional story that is definitely worth reading. I look forward to more books by this author.

Powerful story, powerful narration

I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of the two timeliness, wished there was a bit more exploration on the modern times, but really loved how the history correlated with the present. I really liked how the narrator brought the characters to life. They did a good job differentiating the tones in the two time periods. The younger sisters voice was so sweet!

A story about lace that is about so much more than just lace.

Story very good

Firstly I’m Brazilian and the reader not sure what she thought on pronouncing Brazilian words. Tia which is pronounced like it looks was chia. Read book don’t listen if you’re Portuguese. I did like the story just not the reader the reader’s pronouncing Brazilian words.

Fantastic narrator in Dominique Franceschi!

This is a meaningful, powerful story of women and family and supporting one another despite oppression, through to finding our voices for change, be that via spoken words or words created in lace. I love the historical cultural background from Brazil. The narrator was wonderful bringing the Portuguese pronunciations to the English translation, and unique beauty to each character! I’ll be seeking out more books read by Dominique Franceschi! 🤩💖