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A review by bookishmillennial
An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana Herrera
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:
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
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Hate crime and Violence