A review by katjexia
Stealing Luna by Carla de Guzman

4.0

Stealing Luna checks almost all of my boxes - found family, banter, loving elders, joy and tumble sibling relationships, an intelligent heroine who knows how to kick ass and look amazing doing it, and a hero who is the perfect blend of strong and soft-squishy.

I'd sort of type Stealing Luna as a second-chance story, but happily Cora forgives Luis fairly quickly. Before y'all scream - the man has got a good grovel game going on and he works that sincere apology. And that does it for me a lot - when a person can admit when they're wrong, apologize, and try to atone so we can all move on.

Stealing Luna is a fun, fluffy read whilst being loyal to reality. I loved how Carla wove in details of the past and the dark present while keeping the story at a cheerful tilt.
Cora's very direct about how greed of the elite and corrupt politicians are dragging Cincamarre down (say it louder for the back, sister) and she doesn't hesitate to point out the colonizers and what they've done. I love her for it.
Neither the story nor Cora dwells on these things, but neither does she shy away from it, which I found wonderful.

I also love the little details that bring a world to life - pina cloth (I went and looked it up, it's cloth made from pineapple leaves and it's amazing), turon, and abaniko (language of the folding fan).
I appreciated how these details were woven into the story as a matter of fact, no italics necessary.

This book can be read as a standalone, although The Queen's Game is really good also from what I remember, and it would probably be more fun to read in order because the heroine of that book is good friends with Cora. Complementary, but not necessary.

I can't wait to see what the next book is.

Disclaimer: I reviewed an ARC