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fionamclary's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Ultimately a bit of a let-down due to how effusively I'd heard it recommended, but okay enough for me to want to see it through. I think it just wasn't the book for me.
Things I didn't like:
-The pacing. It was horribly uneven, with the first third of the book dragging and several aspects/scenes happening off-page. This includes Cora's character growth at the end, making the reunion somewhat dubious, and all but the first of Manuela and Cora's outings, which could have given us a chance to see their relationship developing more deeply beyond their attraction to each other.
-The instalove/instalust. It's something I often struggle with as a demisexual, but I know some of that is down to personal preference.
-Typos, errors, and fragments galore. Very frustrating.
-Verbiage in sex scenes that personally icks me out or makes me eyeroll. Examples include "seam," "furrow," "secret place"/"sacred place," "treasure," and demonstratives for days. As a lesbian I think I'm extra picky about the language in f/f sex scenes, so it might not be as bothersome to non-wlw readers.
-Basically the entirety of chapter 3 being a business meeting.
-The strong girlboss vibes of most of the book up until like the 80% mark.
-Zero acknowledgement of racial divisions and racism within the queer community.
-The focus on and sexualisation of Manuela's breasts. Listen, I love boobs as much as the next queer woman, but this made me uncomfortable. Maybe it's just because I too am a larger-chested lady and it's something I very much do not like about my body.
Things I liked:
-Manuela coming to understand fully how her parents had emotionally abused her (even though that language isn't directly used) and eventually freeing herself from their control, with the time and effort that it takes for her to reach that understanding feeling realistic.
-The eventual repudiation of girlboss feminism.
-Adriana Herrera's lack of fear of the word "clitoris" (huzzah!)
-Centering the importance of platonic love, both in Manuela's friendships with her Leonas and Cora's late husband having been her best friend.
-Latina lesbians getting to be happy and fully themselves.
-Middle-aged lesbian couples vibing and doing cool leftist shenanigans in the background.
Things I didn't like:
-The pacing. It was horribly uneven, with the first third of the book dragging and several aspects/scenes happening off-page. This includes Cora's character growth at the end, making the reunion somewhat dubious, and all but the first of Manuela and Cora's outings, which could have given us a chance to see their relationship developing more deeply beyond their attraction to each other.
-The instalove/instalust. It's something I often struggle with as a demisexual, but I know some of that is down to personal preference.
-Typos, errors, and fragments galore. Very frustrating.
-Verbiage in sex scenes that personally icks me out or makes me eyeroll. Examples include "seam," "furrow," "secret place"/"sacred place," "treasure," and demonstratives for days. As a lesbian I think I'm extra picky about the language in f/f sex scenes, so it might not be as bothersome to non-wlw readers.
-Basically the entirety of chapter 3 being a business meeting.
-The strong girlboss vibes of most of the book up until like the 80% mark.
-Zero acknowledgement of racial divisions and racism within the queer community.
-The focus on and sexualisation of Manuela's breasts. Listen, I love boobs as much as the next queer woman, but this made me uncomfortable. Maybe it's just because I too am a larger-chested lady and it's something I very much do not like about my body.
Things I liked:
-Manuela coming to understand fully how her parents had emotionally abused her (even though that language isn't directly used) and eventually freeing herself from their control, with the time and effort that it takes for her to reach that understanding feeling realistic.
-The eventual repudiation of girlboss feminism.
-Adriana Herrera's lack of fear of the word "clitoris" (huzzah!)
-Centering the importance of platonic love, both in Manuela's friendships with her Leonas and Cora's late husband having been her best friend.
-Latina lesbians getting to be happy and fully themselves.
-Middle-aged lesbian couples vibing and doing cool leftist shenanigans in the background.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, and Grief
tostita's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
There were so many things I loved about this book, but there were also aspects that repeatedly pulled me out of the text. I’m not convinced that the details of the business dealings regarding Manuela’s land and Cora’s railroad entirely made sense. I also had trouble understanding Cora’s decisions, particularly in the third act. However, I loved Manuela’s journey toward seizing her independence and autonomy. Seeing her growing understanding and awe upon meeting Cora’s circle of self-supporting lesbian artist friends was probably the most moving scene in the book for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, and Lesbophobia
e_riahh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Grief, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, and Classism
apple_atcha_reading's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
peachani's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, and Classism
Minor: Death, Infidelity, Violence, Lesbophobia, and Colonisation
overthinkereading's review against another edition
4.0
Adriana Herrera does it again! Well-researched historical romance, beautifully complex Latinidad representation, perfect dialogue, and steam that is sexy as hell (4/5 on the 🌶️ scale), all rolled into a great love story.
While this is at its heart a Las Léonas story (and Manuela’s character arc is full of growth and self-realization), I absolutely love that we see the same level of growth for love interest Cora. To show that love takes self-work, and personal sacrifice sometimes, is an especially poignant message.
The other powerful messages in this story include anti-colonialism, feminism, and queer joy, which Herrera executes seamlessly within the framework of the place and time (1899 Paris).
While this is at its heart a Las Léonas story (and Manuela’s character arc is full of growth and self-realization), I absolutely love that we see the same level of growth for love interest Cora. To show that love takes self-work, and personal sacrifice sometimes, is an especially poignant message.
The other powerful messages in this story include anti-colonialism, feminism, and queer joy, which Herrera executes seamlessly within the framework of the place and time (1899 Paris).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Misogyny and Colonisation
crystalisreading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Infidelity and Grief
Minor: Death and Death of parent
Mention of death by aneurysmthereadinghammock's review against another edition
I just didn't find myself caring about Cora or Manuela enough to want to finish it. Their relationship is so hot and cold, and I know it has a HEA so my brain already knows she'll leave the fiancé in Venezuela for Cora and they'll live on Sapphic bliss in Paris or something.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Misogyny, Lesbophobia, and Colonisation
fromjuliereads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! There were so many fantastic elements and I really love these characters. Las Leonas are so badass and amazing! You just want to be friends with all of them - and I'm jealous of this amazing friendship that they have together. They are so supportive of each other!
I loved this book about Manuela and figuring out what she wants for herself and her life. This is such a fantastic sapphic romance, and on top of that, this idea of subverting the social rules/ expectations is so prevalent in these books. I adore it. Seeing these strong women take hold of their lives, thwarting what is expected of them to find true happiness. Knowing that this was not an option for so many people in reality, but that there were some who lived their lives similar to these stories.
I highly recommend for a diverse sapphic romance!
I loved this book about Manuela and figuring out what she wants for herself and her life. This is such a fantastic sapphic romance, and on top of that, this idea of subverting the social rules/ expectations is so prevalent in these books. I adore it. Seeing these strong women take hold of their lives, thwarting what is expected of them to find true happiness. Knowing that this was not an option for so many people in reality, but that there were some who lived their lives similar to these stories.
I highly recommend for a diverse sapphic romance!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Grief, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent
Death of parent - brief mention, parent dies off pagekaitrates's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Aurora saved lives and Manuela made art and Luz Alana made rum, but each of them found joy and passion in their work. They' been reared to be ladies, but they found purpose beyond society's expectations. Manuela could no longer let her life be dictated by others. Not even by th ewoman who owned her heart.
Y'all I FINISHED A BOOK! MY FIRST BOOK IN NEARLY A MONTH! HUZZAH!
Ok this was my third time trying to read this. The beginning didn't hook me this time either; however, I was ✨determined✨ to finish b/c: I want out of this slump so badly!
I'm so glad I did because this one did grow on me eventually and left me very satisfied in the end. Manuela is my girl and I simply adore her and her effervescence and her determination to slut it up for a summer.
I really struggled to like Cora, sadly. I understood her motivations and why she made the decisions she did but I didn't agree with them and hated how she hardened herself. I was so glad that her aunt, stepson, and, eventually, Manu, reallllly let her have it straight (even though yes I felt ad that they kicked her while she was down).
Regardless, this is how you do a character arc! Both Manu and Cora's arcs were incredible and I loved watching them step into their own power and identify what and whose opinion really mattered to them.
This was a sensual feast, from the art descriptions to the parties to the sex scenes (in true Herrera fashion). I was disappointed we didn't get a "teach me" type moment from Cora—like I fully expected her high handedness to spill over into the bedroom—even though it did make sense for Manuela to dive right in. Pun intended.
Other things I loved: Tia Osiris (I legit want a generational saga with her story), Alfie (can we please get him his HEA?!), and seeing more of Apollo and Aurora who I just know are gonna wreck me when their book comes out next year. High key cannot wait to see them get wrecked for one another. 🤭
All in all, I'm so glad I read this one and that Herrera is writing historicals!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Sexual content