Abuelita's Magical Molcajete

by Molé Mama, Molé Mama, Diana Silva

Abuelita's Magical Molcajete is a fun, magical, heartwarming romance, filled with delicious Mexican food and hope! The characters beam with sass, imperfection, wisdom, and love and will have you longing to connect with family and friends. It may also drive you to launch new cooking clubs where you'll spend countless hours making family recipes with multi-generational, cross-cultural friends and family, eat countless pink conchas and fluffy flour tortillas, host a tamalada, and purchase a molcajete. Marisol, our protagonist's twin sister, summarizes the story in the following paragraphs.




A magical molcajete, nine meddling ghosts, a grieving spinster, and fluffy flour tortillas in sunny San Diego are the main ingredients in this mostly true story of how my twin sister found true love after I, well, I died.




Dr. Maria Ybarra, my beautiful, 42 year old brilliant twin sister, was a hot mess after my fatal accident. She could barely teach her university classes, spoke to her dancing dogs non-stop, and saw no one socially but our big brother. He's also a brainiac plastic surgeon who stepped up to help her, but this job was even too big for him.




Maria needed heavenly intervention, and thankfully, my Abuelita and Tias took on her case. They have some impressive connections here in the afterlife and got clearance and approvals in record time. My Abuelita and Tias are sassy, tech savvy, sometimes ill-tempered, tequila drinking, cigar-smoking cooking divas, and they're unstoppable. 




Okay, pour yourself a margarita, grab a pink concha or two, and put on salsa music. You might also need a few tissues, and Maria will take over from here and give you every juicy detail of her story.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

283 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 2, 2023

About the author

Also known as Molé Mama, Diana Silva

Reviews

[Tex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet romance with some magical dead relatives and a bunch of Mexican food. Oh, if it was only possible to get those lost recipes this way…

[Melinda Godfrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook- Family drama,ghost, romance , work environment and good recipes that makes your mouth water just hearing about it. 💃❤️🌮

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an emotional read! I was sobbing by chapter two. As a Latina woman in my forties that lost my mom when I was only 33 years old, I wish my ancestors could come back and teach me how to cook all the delicious food. I learned a few things before my mom passed, but not everything. I could feel the love and culture embedded in this book and I couldn’t put it down. The themes of love, family, food, and forgiveness were woven beautifully throughout the book. I liked seeing the questions at the end if this is read as part of a book club, which it should be! Thank you, for sharing this story that spoke to my soul.

[Citlaly Gonzalez]

This… was painful to get through.

Not my cup of tea at all
1. I’m not really into fantasy but was trying to be open ended

2. I’m not into over the top cheesy romances

3. Audible had an author that couldn’t pronounce Spanish words…

4. Several of the recipes were not really Mexican.. like, I had never in my life seen my mom or abuelitas make a burrito… or things like when a character nonchalantly mentioned eating 6 conchas or several margaritas with 5 shots each… but the author is a chef sooo… I mean, the recipes are probably good but there were pieces that just didn’t make a lot of sense?

5. So many of the characters were one dimensional. The author’s sister is dead but she barely pays attention to the dead nieces who died in the same accident and the BIL Isnt mentioned until the last few minutes or the book???
6. The religious themes idk.. bothered me.. like when the Guadalupana comes to judge a cooking contest but there’s never any prayer???

Idk, it got rave reviews everywhere I looked so I think it’s maybe a sweet read for someone else and maybe just not for me.

[Wendy Schultz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abuelita’s Magical Molcajete is a captivating story full of color and hope. It’s a story of connection, community, tradition, grief and love. And cooking.

Dr. Maria Ybarra is 42 and lost in a fog of grief over the death of her twin sister and her sister’s family. As she sinks deeper and deeper into her grief, she has a visitation from her abuelita and her eight tias who tell her that she needs to make tortillas. The fact that her nine visitors are ghosts sends Maria to a psychiatrist, convinced that she is having hallucinations.

But, her visitors are no hallucination and they are insistent that Maria learn to cook.

Through her connection with friends and family, both living and deceased, Maria begins a journey toward self-acceptance, emotional well-being and healing. If you have ever lost a loved one, you’ll understand this story; if you have ever felt rootless and unconnected to family, you need this story; and if you love to cook, you’ll have fun with this story.

[Katheen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love, Food and Family, what more do you need? This story reminds me of 1980s-1990s Spanish romantic comedies. A bit of the absurd added to real life makes this story charming, and fun. The characters are interesting and the food is so well described, it made me want to find the recipes! If you are looking for a story that makes you smile, this is it. You really can't stop the good mood you get from reading it. I was torn between not wanting to put it down, and wanting to savor it.

And you can find the recipes at the author's food blog, molemama.com!

[Jacqueline Puerta · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favorite books! I cried and laughed and fell in love with Maria and her meddling, sassy family ghosts. And on more than one occasion, I swore I smelled Mexican food simmering in my kitchen while I read this book! This is a must-read for anyone looking for a book that will make your heart smile and fill you with hope! And how do I get Abuelita and the Tias to visit me next? I can’t wait for their next adventure!

[Silvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed, I cried, and I longed for familial moments like these. Made me miss grandmother bonds and sisterly love. Such a great story. A bit predictable but heartening nonetheless.

[Holly Morey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maria is extremely depressed after losing her twin Marisol and her family in a car accident. She blames herself for her sister's accident. Her brother, Julian, is worried about her and sends her to a counselor. Maria is then visited by her grandmother and all of her aunts, who are ghosts. The beginning of the book was entertaining, and the ghosts were charming, but the story got boring halfway through and there were about 10 pages too many of "queridas". It was a book club read, which was a good easy story for Christmastime, but I won't read anymore of her books

[Victoria Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is as magical as its title implies. It’s a beautifully crafted emotional journey of love, loss, laughter, triumph, and closure all set in the picturesque backdrop of San Diego County. The enchanting characters will vividly capture your imagination and leave you crying and laughing along the way. I loved the “visits” and felt like I had a front row seat in the kitchen watching Maria with her Tías and Abuelita. Hopefully Molé Mama will bring us more magic and write a sequel!

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have recently lost my mother , and the premise of this book peaked my curiosity as it deals with loss and grief. Read it while on my vacation and it was quick cute read. I can however say the relationship development between the main character and their love interest seemed a bit rushed as to how it was described. If you're looking for a cute quick read def recommend this book. But if you want something more in depth etc. this might not be the book for you.

[Tamar Vazquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abuelitas magical molcajete was a such a cute read! I read this book for my November book club and I didn’t know what to expect but this book was such an easy read and was so cute and fun! I love the message of your ancestors always being with you after death and the importance of family and family traditions. I didn’t really like how fast Maria started dating Enrique but other than that it was a great read! Definitely recommend!

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Y'all know by now how I feel about Spanish word pronunciations, right?
And y'all know how much it irks me when people narrating Spanish words don't pronounce them properly, or as a native speaker should, right?
Como que si, pero al mismo tiempo, como que no.
M'kay. Let's just leave it as that.
Otherwise, pretty ok story.

[Rosa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly don’t know how this book has almost 5 stars. I loved the way it started but as soon as Enrique asked her to be his girlfriend with a ring after their FIRST date?! All believability was gone

[Lupe Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a sweet book.
The traditions and love from one generation to another.

[Megan Hobbs-Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a sweet book about how family bonds over traditions, love, and food. Easy read and even brought a tear to my eye.

[Janet Hanewinkel · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating book! Unique story and I was starving the entire time I read it! I feel privileged that I was included in a different culture.

[Grecia Rodas · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a wholesome read 🥰

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love of Latino culture and family: five stars
Predictability of the plot: three stars
Quality of basic copy editing: three stars
Sloppy spelling / accents / details of Spanish words: three stars

Having a good Latine editor polish this book would have improved it a lot