A review by briarsreviews
The Gaucho's Lady by Genevieve Turner

5.0

The Guacho's Lady was the cutest, sweetest, most adorable historical romance I've read this year!

I won't lie, when I first started this book I was a little wary. Historical romances have been hit or miss for me, but somehow Genevieve Turner craved a beautifully written tale that really had me hooked. Seriously, I couldn't put the book down. I had to for about twenty minutes to drive home and it was absolute torture! I managed to find time to binge the rest of this super cute book so I didn't have to wait to know how my new fave characters ended up.

So, onto the good part!

This is a historical romance following Eliana and Juan. Juan is a Gaucho, who Eliana enlists to help "kidnap" her and whisk her away from a potentially horrible marriage. As she runs away from her Father and this wicked husband-to-be, the pair begin to grow on each other. Juan has his own difficult past, with a deceased wife and child that are haunting his thoughts. The pure, innocent Eliana has her eyes open to a new world with Juan! And, of course, there's a little bit of an adventure along the way!

I would highly recommend this book if you love romance books that aren't just purely romance (but are mostly romance). The world building and little side adventures that happen along the way were a nice touch! Juan and Eliana's romantic story is a little typical (fearless hero with a tragic back story and a pure, innocent lady who needs to be shown the world) but it worked so well! Seeing both characters change and grow within the story made that trope turn into a fabulous plot point instead of a 'con'.

Another nice point about this book is that it talks about Argentina. I don't know about other readers, but that's not a setting I read about very often! While it's a small little thing to notice about a book, I like it when books open up new worlds and introduce us to other cultures. I don't know if the book is wildly accurate, but it may open some readers up to learning more!

To sum of some of the 'touchy' points for some readers, here's an attempted spoiler free list:
1. Marriage of convenience
2. Death of wife/unborn child (don't worry, it's not graphic or described - it's just in passing, but it's still sad)
3. Super, sheltered, innocent virgin

To me, those points weren't necessarily a bad part - but I've seen many readers out there who despise those tropes. So, if you're one of those readers, you've been warned!

If I had to list the best parts of this book, it would be as followed:
1. A man who knows consent! OMG Juan cares about his lady and wants to only have sexy time when they both want it AND wants to consider her feelings. Do you know how nice that is to see in literature?! 10 stars for that alone!
2. Headstrong, 'feminist' woman. She knows what she wants and doesn't necessarily want to be submissive. I like that she had her own mind and was willing to learn, change and adapt.

My two cons are as followed:
1. The word "mound". Yes, an entire word is one of my two cons. That's my version of "moist". Is it a con for the story? No. But I just don't like the sound of it. What can I say? I'm picky.
2. Juan teaching Eliana the ways of 'sexy time' was a little cheesey. I understand why it happened and it was cute and silly, but I found it to be just past the amount of cheese I wanted. It also didn't take away from the story, but for me...well, I don't know what would have been better.

My overall opinion on this book is that it's amazing! It was fun, cute and absolutely lovely! I love a good romance story that whisks me away to another world and has a lovely, fulfilled ending. If I get the chance, I absolutely am picking up more stories by Genevieve Turner.

I 100% recommend this book to those who love romance, historical romances, light-hearted and fun stories (even though there is some "darker" content suggested), and who want a bingable story.

Five out of five stars!!

I do owe a GIANT thank you to the author Emma Barry who recommended this book to me and gave me the opportunity to read it. Without her, I wouldn't have realized how amazing this book was!