An enjoyable start to an exciting new series and a new direction for historical romance.
A politician’s daughter finds love across the ocean.
It’s 1863, and the Luna sisters are on the run. Mexico is under attack by Napoleon III, and their prominent political family has sent them to England for safety. Though their father expects all three to be discreet while there, their uncle asks them instead to be visible and charming, hoping that enjoying the company of three “goodwill ambassadors” at ball after ball will inspire the queen’s government, presently neutral, to take Mexico's side against the French. This soon brings oldest sister Ana María into contact with an unusual Member of Parliament: Mr. Gideon Fox. The grandson of a woman who'd been enslaved in South Carolina before escaping to England on a packet ship, Gideon is focused on outlawing all remaining loopholes that allow British subjects to profit from the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Though they are immediately drawn to each other, the obeisant Ana María is already promised to one of her father’s political allies, so they try to maintain a professional distance. But as the season brings them together again and again, they finally give in to their attraction just before sudden danger necessitates what seems like a marriage of convenience (that both are secretly pleased to enter), though their well-planned futures may be overturned as a result. De la Rosa launches a thrillingly different series based on the historical fact that a number of Mexicans immigrated to England in the middle of the 19th century, centering two unusual perspectives on the overwhelmingly White world of Victorian London society. Because Ana María and Gideon have had to be more mature than most socialites, their emotional explorations are careful even when things get spicy. As a result, the story's conflict primarily derives from external events, but the couple's chemistry is undeniable—and makes for compelling reading. The other triumph of the story is the development of the sisterly love among the Luna women, who in the first chapter are at odds but by the last are very close to one another; readers will look forward to the next installments, focusing on Isabel and Gabriela.
An enjoyable start to an exciting new series and a new direction for historical romance.Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9780593440889
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.
A vampire and an Alpha werewolf enter into a marriage of convenience in order to ease tensions between their species.
As the only daughter of a prominent Vampyre councilman, Misery Lark has grown accustomed to playing the role that’s demanded of her—and now, her father is ordering her to be part of yet another truce agreement. In an effort to maintain goodwill between the Vampyres and their longtime nemeses the Weres, Misery must wed their Alpha, Lowe Moreland. But it turns out that Misery has her own motivations for agreeing to this political marriage, including finding answers about what happened to her best friend, who went missing after setting up a meeting in Were territory. Isolated from her kind and surrounded on all sides by the enemy after the wedding, Misery refuses to let herself forget about her real mission. It doesn’t matter that Lowe is one of the most confounding and intense people she’s ever met, or that the connection building between them doesn’t feel like one born entirely of convenience. There’s also the possibility that Lowe may already have a Were mate of his own, but in spite of their biological differences, they may turn out to be the missing piece in each other’s lives. While this is Hazelwood’s first paranormal romance, and the book does lean on some hallmark tropes of the genre, the contemporary setting lends itself to the author’s trademark humor and makes the political plot more easily digestible. Misery and Lowe’s slow-burn romance is appealing enough that readers will readily devour every moment between them and hunger to return to them whenever the story diverts from their scenes together.
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9780593550403
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
