The Night We Became Strangers

This week, Lorena Hughes released her fourth novel, The Night We Became Strangers. Taking inspiration from a disastrous 1949 radio broadcasting in Quito, Ecuador, this novel dives into what caused such a risky broadcast in the first place and looks at the aftermath. Two families torn apart, two kids—now young adults—left with more questions than answers, and a drama that spans the 1920s through 1950s: this is a gripping historical fiction that examines breaks in communication.

What I Liked:

• Exposing the 1949 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds in Ecuador. I’d never heard about this (nor the earlier broadcast in New Jersey and New York, which had similar results)—but this is why I love reading historical fiction. Here, the author comes up with some dramatic reasons for why the broadcast happened, and the lasting repercussions between two families. The real-life tragedy that followed this broadcast is present, even if this novel focuses on the fallout years down the line.
• Family rift vs. young love, Romeo and Juliet style. While the feelings between Valeria and Matías in 1957 don’t play out like a straight-forward romance, there is a strong sense of that Shakespearean play. Their families, once close, have been at war with each other since the broadcast, and Valeria and Matías are forbidden from seeing each other. And yet, the heart wants who it wants.
• Multiple POVs and times. This novel jumps back and forth in time and each chapter follows a different character. Chronologically, we get chapters for Alicia and Marisa in 1929-1935; Matías in 1949 during the broadcast; and Valeria, Matías, and Alicia in 1957. I loved getting to see mid-20th century Quito, a major city but still feeling like a small town. The characters are complicated and not always likable. They make mistakes, but are those mistakes forgivable?

What Didn’t Work for Me:

• The resolution to the mystery feels a bit anti-climatic. This may be because the prologue revealed too much. While there are still some surprises along the way, the family drama is kept on a smaller scale than I’d hoped.

Final Thoughts

The Night We Became Strangers is a fascinating novel of all the ways a communication breakdown can wreak havoc, both on a community and on two specific families years after the event. I enjoyed diving into this piece of radio broadcasting history and getting to know mid-20th century Quito. This is my third time reading Lorena Hughes and I look forward to more from her!

Special thanks to Kensington and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy The Night We Became Strangers here – it’s available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

The Night We Became Strangers by Lorena Hughes
Audience	Adult
Genre	Historical Fiction
Setting	Ecuador
Number of Pages	336
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	September 30, 2025
Publisher	Kensington

Official Summary

An immersive, historical novel based on true events: In 1938, Orson Welles’s legendary radio dramatization of H.G. Wells’s novel The War of the Worlds terrified Americans into believing Martians were invading. Eleven years later, an Ecuadorian radio station adapted the show—with catastrophic consequences. Now, two young journalists are determined to uncover what really happened to their families that night–even as secrets endanger their future.

1957: Aspiring photojournalist Valeria Anzures returns to her hometown of Quito with a secret purpose: to discover the truth about how her parents really died. The disastrous 1949 War of the Worlds show caused a mob to torch her family’s radio station—and the newspaper run by their closest friends, the Monteros. The tragedy shattered the families’ relationship—and left the station on precarious financial ground. Now, expected to save her family’s legacy through an arranged marriage, Valeria will risk everything to find out the truth. Even if it means allying with the man she’s always loved—but who now treats her like a stranger.

For Matías Montero, the scars of that night run deep. He saved his mother but blames himself for not rescuing his father. As a journalist, he views Valeria as a rival. Still, they’re both on the same mission.  Perhaps, together, they can unearth the past their families and friends would rather remain buried.

Valeria and Matías soon find trusting each other is as dangerous as the attraction they can’t resist. Between their families’ mutual hatred, duplicitous witnesses, and insidious lies, and ruthless manipulations, exposing the real story will put their future on the line—and ignite revelations no one saw coming.