Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - An Island Princess Starts a Scandal

Wish we got more of the 'dates'/ nightlife experiences on page (as opposed to just being told about them) as that was the basis for Cora and Manuela's meeting.

🌶️4/5

Content Warnings

emfass's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This one did not capture me as much as A Caribbean Heiress in Paris for whatever reason, but YES PLEASE to Adriana Herrera writing historicals and just anything, really. LOVED reading about a sapphic historical romance!

Content Warnings

bookishmillennial's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny informative reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews because I don’t like leaving them. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not, regardless of the lack of stars. Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial

I adored Manuela and Cora's love story and this is considered a historical romance classic in my eyes!

Adriana Herrera gave us a delectable story of:
-age gap
-workplace romance
-forced proximity
-sapphic sexual awakening
-so much steam! I would say 3.75/5 for how much steam there is!
-"it's just sex" (while they fall HARD)
-"fight for me/us/yourself!"
-existential crises and being forced to examine what they really want out of life, and what truly gives them purpose and joy

This takes place in Paris in June 1889, as Manuela has traveled there with her best friends, Las Leonas: Luz Alana (launching her rum Cana Brava into European markets) and Aurora (endeavoring to forge some connections with other lady physicians). Manuela is eager to live her best life in Paris and fully embrace her sapphic desires before she is married off to a man from Venezuela who promised to prevent a scandal that involved her family. Manuela recognizes the sacrifice she is making for her family, but she is resigned to her reality, so long as she can have fun in Paris before she has to leave this fantasy.

She clandestinely meets Cora (Chilean) one night, and then realizes Cora is a businesswoman who is hoping to buy Manuela's land from her in order to move up in the business world (Can you tell I'm not really a business honey? LOL I'm so cringe, I know). Manuela agrees to sell the land to Cora, under one very specific condition: that Cora takes Manuela around Paris to indulge her sapphic adventures! Cora is extremely hesitant at first, because she was involved in a bit of a scandal after her late husband passed, and Cora is hoping to re-introduce her stepson back into society smoothly. She doesn't need a scandal like this, though she eventually agrees and introduces Manuela to the rest of her queer community in Paris!

Their banter is delicious, the tension is OFF THE CHARTS, and the way they both deny how deep their feelings become is so fun to watch it unravel! I admired how Herrera presented the themes of sexism in business, how Cora was trying to play by the rules of the patriarchy and how it was not serving her, and how Manuela felt like an object to be traded, not a full person with autonomy and hopes and dreams of her own! Though this takes place in 1889, I felt the relationship dynamics could still translate well into today's society: how Manuela asked Cora to examine how the business she ran truly made her feel, and how that affected her holistically is a conversation I see so many couples having, especially millennials.

Anyway, I will continue to read anything Adriana writes, and this series is just such a delight overall!

This excerpt provides Manuela's family backstory of why they left Santo Domingo and went to Venezuela:

"Baluarte was a piece of land in Puerto Cabello, on the western coast of Venezuela, that Manuela’s grandfather had purchased shortly after arriving in the country seeking exile. Twenty-five years earlier—when Manuela had only been three years old—her family had been forced to leave their native Dominican Republic for opposing the ruling government’s plan to annex the country back to Spain."

Quotations that stood out to me (possibly minor spoilers so look at your own risk):
Everything about this place was a fantasy, including the women etched in the paper: she knew this. But for a moment she allowed herself the luxury of wondering what it would be like to have that. A lover who would lay her on the grass for lazy, toe-curling kisses. A life and love that could live and breathe in the sun.

This was not a place for girls too scared to be on their own. This was a place for women who knew what they wanted and were taking bold steps to obtain it.

What kind of person, what kind of woman, was free enough to display her preferences so brazenly? “One who probably knows all the secret places I am desperate to discover.”

It seemed to her the scope of a man’s gaze when it came to femininity was limited to that of the mother or the vixen.

A woman could only be truly good if she was devoid of any sensuality, and if it was present in her, then it had to be taken—and afterward, succinctly punished.

This woman truly was every one of Manuela’s fantasies come to life. “You find art with women making love intriguing, then.” That raspy, alluring voice was like a siren song to Manuela. There was heat in those lavender eyes, and Manuela ached to be scorched. Be bold, Leona, she told herself, smiling at the nickname she and her friends had given themselves in finishing school. “It’s intriguing, but I think arousing is a better word.”

This shyness was irritating. She was never like this. She strove to always be the boldest person in a room. But she was usually in rooms where people were shocked easily. There was no precedent for this place or this woman.

This artist understands that women are only mysterious to those who don’t deserve their naked honesty.”

When the three of them were together, adventure always ensued.

She knew her friends didn’t understand her, but they wanted to see her happy regardless. That was their friendship in a nutshell: unconditional.

Manuela didn’t have that kind of fortitude. She’d thought she did when she’d dreamed of the art school with her grandmother. But all those years when their family had to beg and borrow, the humiliations they had all endured to keep up appearances, had broken something in her. She didn’t have the strength to give everything up for her convictions. To turn her back on position and a life of comfort to pursue a passion that even her parents dismissed as unimportant. She painted because it was like air to her, but was merely breathing truly living?

“When a man is exacting, he’s called a fearless leader, fit to be a general. When a woman does the same, she is a harpy.” She was being overly sensitive, but her nerves where on a razor’s edge today.

Content Warnings

hailstorm3812's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-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

4.75

This was delightful. This is the kind of romance novel where it borders on litfic because it is so much about learning from each other and growing into who you need to be in addition to the fun tropey romance aspects. I love both the protagonists and so many of the side characters. I really had fun with this.

Content Warnings

sydapel's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional inspiring slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Though I struggled with the pacing in this (it's somehow both sluggish and haphazard), it's really such a well constructed characterization of Manuela and Cora. In particular, I love Manuela's growth from materialistic and sheltered to boldly choosing herself and her art over comforts. Herrera does such an amazing job of weaving in the lesser known history of Paris at this time, which imbue her characters with so much more depth. I really love this series and can't wait for Aurora's book!

Content Warnings

this_momma_is_booked's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Historical romance is really tricky for me and the first half of this book was definitely a struggle. I'm glad I kept going because I was rooting for Manuela and Cora by the end of it! I loved how they both gave as good as they got and never let the others just rest on their laurels. They pushed each other and expected the best in each other, a true partnership from the start.

I absolutely LOVED that Manuela didn't immediately go to Cora at the end of the book after Cora paid off her debt to Manuela's parents. I was so surprised because it undid the historical romance trope a bit, but I'm glad Manuela realized that Cora was essentially buying her just as Felix had.

Another win by Adriana Herrara!

Content Warnings

sdupont's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional medium-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’m not much of a historical romance girlie (I usually find them clunky and hard to dive into) but I do enjoy Adriana Herrera’s Las Leonas series. I feel like this series could make for a cool adaptation. I liked Manuela and Cora, while very different they both were women you rooted for. You wanted them to find themselves and choose the life that actually would make them happy (as individuals and together!). Honorable mention to the fun interesting historical tidbits like the labor organizing of artists! I think this book is a solid romance and would recommend it for those wanting to branch out into historical romances. I am excited for book 3 because we love a historical enemies to lovers vibe!

Content Warnings

unsuccessfulbookclub's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional inspiring slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

More...