Gabriela Luna Valdés has long felt the odd one out. Since fleeing France’s occupation of Mexico and making her way to London with her two eldest sisters, Gabi has sought to carve out meaning in her new life. Yet, as her eldest sisters have all married and gone on to contribute politically to Mexico back home and abroad, Gabi cannot help but feel adrift. The only constant in all of this is Gabriela’s years-long enemy, Sebastian Brooks, the Duke of Whitfield. A rake of the highest order, Sebastian charmed Gabi and just as quickly lost all her regard on the night of their meeting. After a scandal leaves her with no choice but to flee London, Gabriela intends to return to Mexico. Who should be called to provide a watchful eye on the ship bearing her home but her nemesis. Avoidance is impossible with the ship forcing them into close quarters, but outside of the expectations of London society Gabriela and Sebastian soon discover how little they actually know each other, and the sizzling chemistry underlying their years of hatred. But with Gabi’s family expecting a politically advantageous marriage, Sebastian is the last person she could ever have, and choosing him means standing in a life of her own design if she can first follow her heart.
Two enemies get the close proximity treatment in Gabriela and His Grace, a historical romance novel concerning misperception, rebellion, and forging your path against all odds. A historical series staking claim on an untapped portion of Mexican history, set within the regency, and centered around resistance and sisterhood, The Luna Sisters is a historical romance trilogy unlike any other. This being my first experience reading Liana De la Rosa, Gabriela and His Grace completely transformed my views on what makes a good historical romance, and how historical periods can best be examined and interrogated. In Gabriela and His Grace, Liana De la Rosa focuses on the end years of the illegal occupation of Mexico by the French as her heroine travels home to a world transformed. Gabriela Luna Valdés meets her match in the dually irritating and intriguing Duke of Whitfield, a man predisposed to push her buttons and enliven her to a plethora of new possibilities. These two battle their beliefs and lay waste to their plans, all while engaging in various arguments, heated dances, and there-was-only-one-room-on-a-ship trope. Gabriela and His Grace is a liberating novel in all regards and Gabriela and Sebastian’s love story is everything you could possibly want from a historical romance.
Gabriela and His Grace was my first escapade into the works of Liana De la Rosa and it was enough to have me clawing at my chest and racing to read her entire backlist. Hate to love, when done well, just reminds me of the power in great love stories and that was absolutely the case with the third Luna Sisters novel. Sebastian and Gabi had swoon worthy levels of chemistry from the start, even as they are sniping at each other, desperate to escape one another’s orbit on a ship where that is impossible. A very niche thing I enjoy in romance novels is scenes where one character sees another unguarded. I love witnessing characters removed from their comforts so much that the facades come down and that is central to Gabi and Sebastian’s romance. The beginning scenes on the ship, with Sebastian boisterously playing dice as Gabi looks on and their hopscotch moments, give way to deeper intimacy and the understanding that they were wrong about each other. Liana De la Rosa really works to make Sebastian and Gabriela see one another, and that in contrast to their upbringings made for some delicious conflict.
Gabriela and Sebastian are a prime example of hate to love done right. These two have particular personalities that lead them to clash and then retreat way back at the beginning of this series. In this novel, De la Rosa unwinds her established dynamic, upstaging these two from their comforts as they confront how little they actually know each other. Liana De la Rosa does not rush a single bit of Gabriela and Sebastian’s romantic arc, leaving the first half of the novel for them to build trust and begin to deconstruct their flawed perceptions. What comes after is really the slowest of slow burns, which is just as I like it—heavy on the longing and comprised of an aching sort of affection. Romance is written into every single interaction no matter how small—with Sebastian vehemently standing up for Gabi when she’s not in the room, his nicknames, and their various shenanigans. These all build to a blazing moment on the ship back to London where De la Rosa excels at a tried and true trope within this genre and gifting us with hot, hot, hot scenes between her two characters. I say I’m above persuasion but it was the quote “grab the headboard, love” that had me first running to request this book. If that isn’t romance marketing at its finest, and representation of just how these two connect on all levels I don’t know what is.
Part of this novel’s excellence lies in its skillful balance between the history rendered and the development of its romance. Since this novel takes place between London and Mexico, there is an added layer to consider in addition to the general intertwining of romance with history that the genre entails. Gabriela and His Grace windows into a part of history long uncovered within this genre, of France’s illegal occupation of Mexico during the late nineteenth century and the lives of those working to call attention and oust the occupying forces. The glimpses into the Luna family, innately embroiled in the resistance against the French were fascinating to read from. Liana De la Rosa entwines this tumultuous time in Mexican history with an exploration into home and how we can stand for our communities and ourselves. At the center of this is Gabriela who endeavors to find a place within a family of considerable personalities. Gabi’s journey to finding her voice and a path separate to that laid down by her domineering father is a powerful one, but held parallel to her relationship with Sebastian, is only that much more so.
Gabriela and His Grace is the kind of historical romance that doesn’t come around often, and one you cannot help but hold close for as long as you can. Liana De la Rosa’s talent has completely floored me and I’m afraid I will be making this the standard for all historical romances to follow—particularly hate to love—so take notes. The final Luna Sisters novel is an informative journey through a turbulent period of Mexico’s history and Liana De la Rosa handles this with such grace and skill. Knowing her intentions with this series just makes these novels all the more sweeping from its grounded history to the overarching romances. Gabi and Sebastian captivated me from the very beginning, embarking on a journey across oceans where avoidance slowly turns into affection and then lasting love. This really was the perfect romance. As an aside I don’t think I will be moving on from the sharing-one-bed-on-a-boat scenes, they were just so so hot (thank you Liana De la Rosa). This was a scrumdiddlyumptious romance, one I won’t be able to stop yelling about in the months to come.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy.
Trigger warnings: colonization, war, abuse (not on page, but mentioned), racism
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