Set in the Caribbean around 1900, Lydia San Andres’ Compromised into a Scandalous Marriage represents the wider range of stories, times, and places that I want Harlequin Historicals to be open to. Unfortunately, while I’ve read and even DIK’d San Andres before, this particular book isn’t up to the standard of her earlier self-pubs.

When her brother Antonio throws her out of their house during a storm, Paulina Despradel flees to the home of her neighbor, Sebastian Linares. The next morning, Antonio arrives with guards and pretends shock that Sebastian has kidnapped and despoiled his sister. Paulina doesn’t refute him (not that the corrupt guards would have listened) and Sebastian and Paulina are forced to marry. Despite this unpromising beginning, they begin to grow closer – just in time for their lives to be threatened.

Paulina is not particularly ‘there’ as a heroine. She reminds me a lot of the heroines of old Garwoods and Putneys whose dominant trait is ‘goodness’. Because I didn’t connect with her as a person, I didn’t understand Sebastian falling for her. Her character is also underdeveloped as a victim of her brother’s abuse. Sometimes she is cowed by him and unable or unwilling to stick up for herself and Sebastian, as during the morning when they are discovered. Other times she is confident and confrontational. My concern here isn’t that she is inconsistent (I can see that as a reasonable part of her journey); it’s that miraculously, she only fails to stand up for herself when it serves the plot. Antonio is also such a one-dimensional villain that we never get the push-pull that is a core strategy of abusers.

Paulina isn’t the only source of convenient contrivance here. Antonio, as said, gets Sebastian arrested for kidnapping. This would very easily be overturned by a reasonable legal system, so the author has Antonio have the guards and the magistrate in his pocket. Under these circumstances, Sebastian should easily be able to obtain an annulment or divorce, so the author makes Antonio have a hold over EVERY SINGLE LAWYER on the island. Oh, and the governor. This is the same Antonio who is so poor that he’s sold off almost his entire house of furnishings (which is not a secret; he’s had entertainments at the denuded property). It’s not plausible that an entire island is in thrall to this paper tiger – I mean, how is he even paying his bribes? Meanwhile, Sebastian is shown as having humble origins but is massively rich and beloved by his workers. It doesn’t add up.

The different historical setting – a turn of the century fictional Caribbean island – is the highlight here. The food sounds delicious. One of the heroine’s activities is taking on decorating Sebastian’s home, and it’s fun to watch her shop in a provincial store and set up a dining area outdoors. They debate replacing gas lines with electricity. The sugar mill and Sebastian’s insistence on running it ethically, with fairly paid workers, is an interesting and unusual occupation for a hero. I always love a historical that doesn’t rely on aristocrats.

I’ve read and really enjoyed this author’s work before, so I don’t know what went wrong here. But I’ve seen very good authors go very wrong writing for Harlequin before, so maybe it’s their formula or their editing? Lydia San Andres remains someone I consider worth reading, but definitely try a different book.

Heat Factor: They keep holding themselves back…until they don’t.

Character Chemistry: Sebastian is too darn noble for his own good, which means there’s a lot of pining.

Plot: Paulina’s Evil Older Brother puts her in a compromising position with Sebastian, and then catches them there, and then throws Sebastian in jail until he agrees to marry Paulina…but what’s his long game???

Overall: A perfectly delicious category romance.

This book has everything I want in a good category romance: a ridiculous set up, lots of emotional turmoil, a severe lack of communication, an evocative setting, and more drama than you can shake a stick at. The main characters were largely delightful and the intrigue wasn’t predictable.

It’s 1905 in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic. Sebastian owns a sugar mill and is working night and day to ensure that it succeeds—the livelihood of so many people depends on him! When in town, he runs into Paulina, the daughter of a wealthy family. She seems attractive and delicate and her brother is an absolute bully, so he accepts her invitation to attend her birthday party. There’s some light flirting. At the end of the night, Paulina’s brother throws her out of the house, so she makes her way to Sebastian, as he is their closest neighbor. Plus he has white knight syndrome, so of course he’d help a woman in need. And…COMPROMISED!

Things take a juicy twist when Paulina’s brother throws Sebastian in jail until he agrees (it seems like this guy has dirt on everyone in town, so they all do his bidding). Of course Sebastian is furious—and assumed Paulina was in on it. Hence the emotional turmoil. Sebastian is angry at Paulina for tricking him and lying to him; he’s very attracted to her but determined to keep his hands to himself so they can get the marriage annulled; he’s worried about all the people he supports. As for Paulina, she’s upset and betrayed that her brother would do her dirty like that; she’s indignant that Sebastian won’t believe her when she says none of this was her idea; she’s irritated and sad that Sebastian keeps pushing her away when she desperately wants to make the marriage work.

I’ve talked a bit about Sebastian and his savior complex. So let’s talk Paulina for a moment. When we first meet her she’s wearing miles and miles of ruffles, and Sebastian takes her for a pampered rich girl. But the ruffles are a façade—the family is actually broke—and she’s actually tough and hard-working. She’s intensely lonely and isolated and really wants to live her dreams. The way the two of them play off each other is lovely. Of course they are terrible at communicating (ok, maybe Sebastian is terrible at listening), but San Andres doesn’t keep them on the same fight the whole book, but allows it to morph as their relationship changes—while still keeping the characters true to their core identities. I never felt the need to throw my Kindle because they were being frustrating idiots, is what I’m saying.

Overall, this was a lovely, entertaining read. When a Harlequin historical hits its mark, it hits the spot.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report

I don't usually read historical romance because the books pushed the most in this category are often white and romanticizer colonizers. With race-bent Bridgerton being so popular right now it's nice to see some genuine diversity appear more in mainstream historical romance. The Spanish Caribbean is the backdrop for this romance stemmed from a forced marriage.

Paulina may live in a once lavish house but she's far from the wealthy society girl she appears to be. Her abusive brother Antonio controls every aspect of her life right down to how she dresses. And while he's a penny pincher when it comes to spending on her he has no problem blowing money on gambling debts. In an attempt to exort their neighbor Sebastation in to giving him money. Using the power he has over the magistrate and local guardsmen he forces Sebastian and Paulina into marriage.

Sebastian and Paulina settle into a routine with Sebastian spending much of his time a the sugar mill he owns and Paulina helping make his house feel like a home. But Antonio's threats are still looming and the couple must keep their guards up as they fight their attraction to each other.

I really did enjoy reading this book. I thought it was very well developed and I had a great sense of how they lived in the country vs the contrast of how life was in town. Sebastian has a good relationship with the mill workers as well as his housekeeper. And you can really tell he cares so much for his community.

Paulina and Sebastian had great chemistry that made their slow-burn romance worth the journey.

Content Notes: [violence; attempted murder; death; controlling/emotionally abusive brother (hide spoiler)]

This hits a lot of classic Harlequin tropes — forced marriage of convenience, childhood friends, rich girl/former poor boy — in a Caribbean island in the early 1900s. I don't know what it says about me, but I am weak for "hero is furious/indifferent to heroine when he mistakenly thinks that she trapped him into marriage.” A classic! This misunderstanding only lasts a short time before he wises up, but the angst is delicious.

I am even weaker for “hero spoils heroine with luxuries that she lacked from her evil family.” I am a simple woman. 😅 On a more serious note, I was touched when Sebastian saw that Paulina had been deprived of agency over "simple" decisions like choosing her own clothes, recognizing that the lack wasn't unimportant/frivolous. Tears were shed during a certain shopping scene.

Regarding the sugar mill: I really appreciated the explicit reassurance that its history did not include enslaved labor. The author didn't gloss over unfair/difficult conditions for laborers, making the worldbuilding feel thoughtful and fully-realized. In other words: the opposite of a wallpaper historical.

Overall impressions: an enjoyable, tropey Harlequin Historical with some dark elements (see content notes). Fingers crossed for a sequel about Dilia.

***

Note about Spanish language italics: I'm not blaming the author because this decision was likely a Harlequin in-house editorial standard. But it is absolutely ridiculous that every single Spanish word in the text is italicized. In a scene where the MCs eat empanadas, it's ludicrous to see that term italicized ten times over two pages. This editorial standard didn't affect my rating but it annoyed me enough to complain in my review.

Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.