I’ve been looking forward to An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana Herrera since I finished the first book in this series (A Caribbean Heiress in Paris) last year. To no one’s surprise, Adriana delivers another stellar historical romance with this book, this time a sapphic love story set in Belle Époque Paris.
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This book is Manuela’s story, who we met in the first Las Léonas book. Manu, who is backed into a corner thanks to a forced engagement and less than stellar family, has a short window of time in which she can be herself in Paris. Immediately I loved her tenacity–Manu is determined to spend her summer doing exactly what she wants. This just so happens to include being thoroughly debauched by a mysterious woman, who turns out to be a force to be reckoned with.
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Speaking of Cora–stubborn, smart, fierce, Cora–I loved her so much. I have a penchant for love interests who get in their own way when it comes to feelings. I love watching a character untangle their own emotional messiness as they fall so deeply in love that they don’t know what to do with themselves. The chemistry between Manuela and Cora sizzles as the tension stretches them thin; it’s a delicious battle of wills that creates that perfect push-pull. What develops between Cora and Manu is so vibrant and sexy and luscious that I often found myself curling my toes and giggling to myself.
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Adriana is so good at crafting page turning conflicts that I almost missed my stop while reading on the train because I was just that engrossed. This is also because of how well Adriana sets the stage. There’s a lot of Latin American history woven into this book, fantastic friendships, and a lot of exploration into how lesbians of the time built very cool lives for themselves. Despite the turmoil that our gals Manuela and Cora face, there’s so much queer love and joy in these pages. It’s a romance that makes you feel hopeful, because the HEA is so well deserved.
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An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana Herrera releases May 30 and should not be missed!! I’m jealous of every person who gets to read this gorgeous, sexy, sapphic histrom for the first time. 

Many thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advanced reader copy!

In six weeks she would have to return to Venezuela to be married.

Second in the Las Léonas series, An Island Princess Starts a Scandal, gives us Manuela’s story. Manuela has traveled to Paris with her friends, telling her parents it’s to compile her trousseau for the marriage she is being forced into; it’s to save her parents from financial and social ruin. Really though, Manuela plans on living her best scandalous life. Happening concurrently with book one (A Caribbean Heiress in Paris) you could start here to get Manuela’s romance but you’d miss out on the emotional connection between the Las Léonas, Manuela, Luz (book 1), and Aurora. Luz is mostly absent in this one while Aurora shows up more and provides the link to that friendship. Their chaperone is mostly absent and while the first had readers traveling, this stays, for the vast majority, in Paris.

“What if I told you that my price isn’t just money?” Manuela heard herself ask. The duchess arched a manicured eyebrow.

Close to her grandmother, Manuela inherited a parcel of land after her death, a parcel that they discussed being used for an art school or collective for women as Manuela is an artist. This parcel turns out to be highly valuable as it’s the missing piece for a railroad company to complete their track. The company is led by Cora Kemp-Bristol, Duchess of Sundridge. Cora has been in Paris for years with her stepson and tía, after leaving London in scandal. Missing her husband, who while not her lover, was her bestfriend, Cora fell prey to a woman using her for her own gain. Determined to never be used again and build an empire that will never have anyone daring to snub her stepson when he returns to London to take his place as Duke, Cora just needs this parcel of land to complete the railroad and show her male business partners that she deserves a seat at the table. When Manuela accepts Cora’s business invitation, they are both shocked to realize they’ve already met. If you’ve read book one, you’ll know all about the Le Bureau (a brothel) and here, readers learn what Manuela got up to there.

That was the precise moment it dawned on Cora with unequivocal certainty that Manuela Caceres Galvan could wreak absolute havoc on her life.

Realizing that Cora has the connections to get into the spaces and introduce her to the women she wants to be around, not to mention the sizzling attraction between them, Manuela makes a deal that Cora must chaperone her on a certain number of outings, along with purchasing the land for a large sum of money. Cora agrees because she needs the land but plans on showing Manuela a boring time as she can’t risk her reputation. What followed was a character driven story that was passionate and sensual, delivered on the historical feel, and delved into the heart of feminism.

“You deserve more than what you’ve been told you can have.”

Manuela started off willing to sacrifice for her spendthrift parents, as it was the only kind of life she could imagine but as she spends time in Paris, her world view opens up and with the help of Aurora and then Cora, because she sees a different option, she begins to believe in one and develops the strength to reach for it. I liked how the author showed this evolution of Manuela and had her deliver this: “I don’t need protection from the opinions of morally bankrupt people. Not from the men willing to ravage anything in their path to feed their greed, and not from the women who turn a blind eye to it to protect themselves.” Suddenly everything that had always felt so nebulous for Manuela, about her life, her purpose, seemed to come into perfect clarity. “I was going to be one of those women. My mother has been one for so long she can’t see she’s bartered herself away in the process. But that is not what I want. We don’t have to be pawns in this game anymore, Cora.”.
Cora’s struggle was more about letting go of indoctrinated desires and anger, hurt payback wants. Cora has been punished for who she is and who she wants to love, making her want to succeed in a structure that wants and works to keep her out. I enjoyed Cora’s journey even more as the twisted emotions of wanting to succeed in the world but also doing it on your own terms, had to be battled out by her. Her speech was shorter but just as sweet with delivering this line: “I am done measuring my success with a ruler that was made to strike me down.”

Cora Kemp-Bristol, the unflappable Duchess of Sundridge, the woman who had challenged every convention and won, was coming apart at the seams.

The sensuality between the two was from the beginning and around halfway the bedroom door got opened. The latter second half rushes the timeline a bit with some time jumps, we get our third act break-up moment with Manuela’s parents and fiancé making an appearance, and Cora taking a misstep before taking a stand on what she won’t compromise anymore and will stand for. The hero from book one half-brother, Apollo, shows up and gets some screen time as he looks poised to be paired with our last Léonas, Aurora. While I missed the Las Léonas being together more, Aurora had a sweet friendship moment with Manuela: “This place is for pleasure, that is true, but mostly it’s for women who don’t have a place to be themselves to do so. It’s their haven, their safe place. Above all things, I want the world to be safe for us. These women can nurture a part of you that Luz Alana and I never could, and I am glad that you’ve found a community that can. I want that for you, Leona. A place where you can be your wildest, most Manuela self.”

Dios, but she loved this woman.

The first had more travel and setting up the friend group while this stayed in Paris and focused on the sensuality and emotional toll and gain of what it would mean for Manuela and Cora to be together. The historical contexts and setting additives (Exposition Universelle and, I just knew Flora Tristan was going to get a shout-out in this series!) added to the real struggle of falling in love and what living their lives on their own terms would look like for Manuela and Cora. Sensual, fierce, living life on your terms, An Island Princess Starts a Scandal was a marvelous story.

*Received a copy for review.*
I adored the first book and could not wait to see what was going to happen with Manuela.
Manuela longs for a life she feels she can never have. She is determined to use the short time she does have to live as big as she can.
Cora has been rebuilding her reputation so her stepson can go back to London without scandal.
This book took a bit longer to hook me. The setting was vibrant and fascinating. The attraction was sizzling. The characters intriguing. I am not sure what was missing.
I fell in love with these characters and their determination to live the lives they want.
Now I cannot wait for the final book.

To be honest, this let me down a little bit compared to Herrera's other titles. The story was interesting, but the first third was SO slow and the ending was a bit too fast. The middle chunk was really engaging, though!

I love this series so much and have been waiting for this book since I finished the first book. Manuela went to Paris with her friends knowing that this was going to be her last trip bere she would have to live a lie and marry a man who only want to bank on her influence and her parents who want to use his money to get themselves out of the debt because they mismanaged their money and hers.
Cara is making a name for herself in Paris as a businesswoman - she wants to be better than she was before as well as helping her stepson to build a reputation in London

These two meet because Cara wants something from Manuela and Manuela wants to have the ultimate sapphic experience before she has to lock herself into a marriage

I enjoyed reading these two get to know each other - the attraction was there from the beginning as well as the relationship starting in the background. so more to look forward to

another banger I would say and a beautiful romance that I will be reading again and again

Loved this book. So vivid! A perfect blend of sweet and spicy and adventurous. Highly recommend. This series is fantastic. Already eager for book three.

Really did enjoy this one. The plot seemed a little underdeveloped and the third act was a little weak to me. But, I do love how Herrera writes these friendship and found families. They're just perfect.

Oh my goodness this was a delight. I found both Manuela and Cora to be such dynamic characters and I adored watching their relationship unfold. Cora was a force to be reckoned with to be sure but I loved that she had such a weakness for Manuela. And Manuela had such a fun, determined spirit - she was going to get what (who) she wanted and that was that. I found myself completely charmed by their banter and also really enjoyed all the strong friendships in their lives. Every woman should be so lucky. I will note I found myself a little underwhelmed with the third act antics but overall this was a fun time.

This book was absolutely everything I needed it to be. Manu and Cora are one of the rare lead couples where I did not doubt for a second why or how much they were interested in/attracted to each other. Their dynamic feels unique and fun from the beginning and was a joy to read.

An Island Princess Starts a Scandal is a gripping historical romance novel by Adriana Herrera. Set in 1889, the story follows Manuela del Carmen Caceres Galvan, an artist trapped in a loveless marriage, who takes the opportunity to show her paintings at the Exposition Universelle in Paris with her two best friends. The chance meeting with Cora Kempf Bristol, the Duchess of Sundridge, turns Manuela's life upside down.

Cora is a shrewd businesswoman who sees an opportunity to secure her position among her rivals by acquiring a parcel of land from Manuela. However, Manuela is reluctant to sell, but proposes a trade instead: her land for a summer with the duchess in Paris. As the two women embark on a passionate affair, they realize that their happiness comes with a price - the scandal that could ensue if their relationship became public.

The novel is an excellent blend of romance, intrigue, and historical fiction. Herrera has a talent for painting vivid descriptions of the characters and the setting, taking readers on a journey through the streets of Paris in the late 1800s. The author's writing style is captivating and evocative, making it easy for readers to get lost in the story.

The characters are well-developed, complex, and flawed, making them feel real and relatable. The romance between Manuela and Cora is beautifully written, and their chemistry is palpable. The story's pacing is excellent, with enough twists and turns to keep readers engaged from start to finish.

Overall, An Island Princess Starts a Scandal is a must-read for fans of historical romance. It is a fascinating story of love, passion, and sacrifice that will leave readers spellbound until the very end. Adriana Herrera has once again proven herself to be a master storyteller, and this novel is undoubtedly one of her best works yet.

An Island Princess Starts a Scandal (Las Léonas #2) , (PUB 05.30) Adriana Herrera’s 2nd full length historical romance is a fiesty, fiery, feminist delight. Thank you @htpbooks for the early copy.

Manuela is showing her paintings in Paris at the 1889 Exposition Universelle and wants a summer of debauchery before she marries. Cora is a powerhouse businesswoman who refuses to lose. Each has something the other one wants and they strike a deal. Together their chemistry is sizzling. Scorching.

The author did copious research on Latin America, female artists, Paris's queer community, unions and more. These elements lived side-by-side with the lighter swoony elements of romance and made it such an enjoyable reading experience.

Plus, the pack of fierce, loyal friends, Las Léonas were fabulous. All the applause for a historical romance centered around women of color. Plus the refreshing representation of queer, Latinx, Black, and body/sex positive was refreshing.

Let me tell you why authors make me mad. They really will sit here and write a book that gives you the most unrealistic standards and expect you to do what - go on Bumble??? Absolutely not.

This. Freaking. Book.

I finished this last week and it has been my entire personality since, I am so serious.

I’m unwell. I’m hot. My heart is going to burst out of my chest.

The tension. The banter. The spice. The ANGST. 😭

I love this. Adriana, you deserve all of the things. All of them.

If you are reading this and feel a kinship in Cora, my DMs are open tysm.

Just when I thought nothing could top Luz Alana’s story… my queen Adriana writes this masterpiece!!!!

I am so deeply obsessed with the female friendships in this book and how incredible all these women are. Getting more on Aurora and Manuela was so special, and then I also really enjoyed the new people we met during this story.

And then Cora!!! CORA!! This love story between her and Manuela had me blushing nonstop.

Even though the earc had a lot of formatting issues, I could not put it down.

I am so looking forward to the next book, loved all the set up we got for it.

A few chapters in, it became clear that nothing else would do for our September 2023 A Bookish Affair book club pick! I was blown away by the romance, the setting, the feminism, the art, and most of all the characters' growth. I can't wait to share this with the club!

Many, many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

In this sweepingly romantic (and horny) book, two women learn to shift their priorities after falling in love with one another. Manuela has always cared most for comforts and luxuries. That’s why she’s agreed to marry a man she doesn’t love (and also to please and help out her parents). Her fiancé has agreed to grant her a few weeks in Paris before the wedding. While there, Manuela meets Cora, a scandalous duchess with a head for business. Cora has been hurt by a lover before, so her heart is very guarded.

Both Manuela and Cora are deeply affected by the patriarchy and choose to embrace or resist this in different ways. At the start of the novel, Manuela is fine with being the pretty thing on someone’s arm if it means she is safe and comfortable. It doesn’t matter that she’ll have to give up being her true self - a brilliant artist and a lesbian. Cora, on the other hand, is determined to, as Manuela puts it at one point in the novel, measure herself for success using the same ruler society beats her with. But being together means abandoning these priorities and embracing a different perspective.

What I loved most about this book was Manuela’s growing strength. Cora becomes more vulnerable as the book progresses, but I very much feel if she hadn’t, Manuela would have had a happily ever after that just didn’t involve romance. She really came into herself, while Cora came back to herself.

Ooo, this was deliciously dramatic! I was looking forward to this queer historical romance. I will say that, for me, it started out a wee bit slow and it took a little to get into the story, but it certainly picked up in the second half! I loved getting to see Manuela come into her own at the end and for Cora to see her worth outside of the male-dominated business world.

I loved this quote: “I am done measuring my success with a ruler that was made to strike me down.”

I also enjoyed some of the history lessons folded into the story.

Thank you to the author for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review!

Incredible sapphic historical romance alert! An Island Princess Starts and Scandal is the second books in Adriana Herrera's Las Léonas series set in Paris during the 1889 World's Fair. I have always enjoyed Adriana's contemporary romance, where she writes joyful queer stories with the happiest of happy endings, but it's possible I love her historicals even more. These stories are so incredibly well researched, full of Latin American history and rich detail that you can smell and taste and see and feel. AIPSAS is a steamy drama with a grumpy sunshine pairing, sapphics making art in Paris, a wager that gives everyone a run for their money, joyful female friendships, and two leads who are complicated and messy and brave and fierce.

Manuela is in Paris for a final summer of freedom and a chance to fulfill her desires of living as her most authentic self before she must travel home to an arranged marriage that will benefit her family financially but will trap her into a loveless future. Her grandmother left her a parcel of land to ensure she had something just for her that her money hungry parents couldn't take. Cora is a duchess and a ruthless business woman intent on taking up space in all the places men typically dominate. She needs Manuela's land to complete a railroad project and secure the respect of her rivals.

Used to making complicated business deals, Cora thinks convincing Manuela to sell will be a walk in the park and heads into the meeting not realizing Manuela is the woman she had a passionate encounter with the night before. Manuela, realizing how valuable her land is and hungry for more time with Cora, agrees to sell it to her for a whole lot of money and the promise of 8 outings together where Cora must give her a taste of the life she's about to give up forever. Cora agrees to the deal, and deviously plans to spend the summer taking Manuela to queer poetry meetings and dinners with her octogenarian lesbian couple friends. Not one to be made a fool of, Manuela realizes what's happening and takes matters into her own hands.

This book is delicious. It's horny and passionate as hell. The dynamic Adriana created between these two is perfection and I could not get enough of it. I had no idea how everything was going to shake out and was so very pleased with the ending. I typically don't love third act break ups but this really was the most fitting scenario for these characters to take some time apart and come back together the stronger and better for it.

An Island Princess Starts a Scandal isn't out yet, so you still have time to read the first book in the series. Trust me, you do not want to these. Thanks so much to Adriana Herrera for the chance to review an early copy. I cannot wait to add this one to my shelves when it comes out in May!

This is a really beautiful and steamy love story. Cora is a duchess who is a powerful businesswoman in Paris. She was burned previously when she mixed business with love. She is determined not to make that same mistake with Manuela. All she wants is Manuela's ancestral land in order to finish her rail system, What Manuela wants is a Sapphic escapade in Paris before she marries a man she is not interested in at all. Both women really want to do what they this is most dutiful and right, but of course, they can't help themselves when they meet each other.

I love the lush descriptions of art and food in Paris. I love imagining this world of Sapphic parties and safe spaces for women artists and scientists. Herrera does such an incredible job of world-building. She also builds quite a bit of tension between these two strong-headed women until you are as desperate for them to get together as they are for each other.

I also really love the friendships in this book. It's the second in the series after A Caribbean Heiress in Paris. It's wonderful to see how these women stand up for themselves and each other as they write their own love stories. I highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book.

3.75/5 stars! This is the second installment of the Las Leonas series by author Adriana Herrera. This is the queer historical romance that I didn't know I needed in my life. I don't think I've read many well-written queer romances that add diverse characters, a unique setting, and a historical angle to the mix. I really appreciated the autonomy that Manuela is seeking in this story and I was rooting for Cora and Manuela so d*mn hard.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

✨Like we were in Paris✨

I’m so happy that we returned to La Belle Époque Paris, especially with a sapphic historical romance between two Latin American heroines!!! I requested the eARC so fast. I enjoyed A Caribbean Heiress in Paris and Herrera’s Parisian novella, The Duke Makes Me Feel, and An Island Princess Starts a Scandal was no different.

The book was vibrant and lush and HOT. It took a bit to actually get into the main “pleasure guide” plot, but once that got rolling I was hooked. Both main characters, Manuela and Cora, had such depth and their motivations were incredibly compelling.

*minor spoilery things below*

Surprisingly, I enjoyed Manuela’s growth regarding her parents and her guilt/duty. I don’t generally like characters who die on the blade of self sacrifice, but it was framed a bit differently here. Manuela also liked shiny things and living well, so she did originally think she could marry Felix and be okay. I appreciated her realness because same lol. As for the fate of her parents, I still think she was too kind to them at the end. She’s a better person than I am because they wouldn’t get a CENT from me.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the third act (or at least parts of it) but sweet Jesus did I respect Cora for just absolutely bodying Felix. God is a woman and her name is Cora Kemp Bristol. (She also SHOT the man she was nearly forced to marry when she was younger.) She was giving Rebecca from Ted Lasso. There were other parts of the third act that I greatly enjoyed; sometimes we all just need a good sob and dramatic entrance. And I felt that.

Overall, the romance felt like it was written in <I>swooping, sloping, cursive letters.</I> Every time I read “her lover,” “her lady,” or “princess/princesa” I sighed a wistful sigh. Cora and Manuela went through a lot to get there (and it lost me a bit in the middle), but by the end they fought so passionately for their love. Their happily ever after was so well earned. Plus, I’m so excited for book three I can’t stop thinking about the promised dynamic 🤤

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️*/5

*We were teased with face sitting and beep beep beep 911 I’d like to report a CRIME. There were a lot of sex scenes but some were pretty short or hinted at other acts but jumped to the aftermath.