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A Caribbean Heiress in Paris

A Historical Romance

#1 in series

ebook
0 of 1 copy available
0 of 1 copy available
"A romp-filled and refreshingly diverse historical romance."—Buzzfeed
Paris, 1889
The Exposition Universelle is underway, drawing merchants from every corner of the globe...including Luz Alana Heith-Benzan, heiress to the Caña Brava rum empire.
Luz Alana set sail from Santo Domingo armed with three hundred casks of rum, her two best friends and one simple rule: under no circumstances is she to fall in love. In the City of Lights, she intends to expand the rum business her family built over three generations, but buyers and shippers alike can't imagine doing business with a woman...never mind a woman of color. This, paired with being denied access to her inheritance unless she marries, leaves the heiress in a very precarious position.
Enter James Evanston Sinclair, Earl of Darnick, who has spent a decade looking for purpose outside of his father's dirty money and dirtier dealings. Ignoring his title, he's built a whisky brand that's his biggest—and only—passion. That is, until he's confronted with a Spanish-speaking force of nature who turns his life upside down.
From their first tempestuous meeting, Luz Alana is conflicted. Why is this titled—and infuriatingly charming—Scottish man so determined to help her?
For Evan, every day with Luz Alana makes him yearn for more than her ardent kisses or the marriage of convenience that might save them both. But Luz Alana sailed for Paris prepared to build her business and her future; what she wasn't prepared for was love finding her.
"Herrera excels at propelling the romance genre and its form forward, and this book is no exception... Herrera is crafting swoony historical romances that aren't afraid to engage with the realities of the 19th-century while still making a bid for hard-earned happily-ever-afters."—Entertainment Weekly
Can't get enough of the Las Leonas?
  • Book 1: A Caribbean Heiress in Paris
  • Book 2: An Island Princess Starts a Scandal
  • Book 3: A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke

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      • Library Journal

        December 1, 2021

        Money-strapped Luz Alana Heith-Benzan Ca�a wants to take her Dominican family's Ca�a Brava rum worldwide, while Scottish whiskey distiller James Evanston Sinclair could care less about his father's fortune but fall hard for headstrong Luz when they meet at the 1889 Exposition Universelle. From USA TODAY best-selling author Herrera, who identifies as a bisexual Afro-Dominica; with a 100,00-copy paperback and a 10,000-copy first printing.

        Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

      • Publisher's Weekly

        February 21, 2022
        Herrera (the Dreamers series) serves up a sizzling hot historical marriage of convenience plot in her first Leonas romance. Rum heiress Luz Alana Heith-Benzan, part of Santo Domingo’s exhibit at Paris’s 1889 Exposition Universelle, needs to break into European liquor markets and regain control over her trust. Meanwhile, fellow exhibitor James “Evan” Sinclair, the Scottish Earl of Darnick, must marry to inherit his mother’s whiskey distillery. Evan thus proposes a mutually beneficial marriage of convenience; he’ll gain control of the distillery and Luz will get access to his business connections. As husband and wife, they fight Luz’s trustee and Evan’s father—and their growing attraction to each other. Though the characters frequently think and act anachronistically in an effort to appeal to modern sensibilities (Luz watches a live sex show at a brothel without disguising herself and without damaging her reputation; Evan and Luz don’t consider divorcing scandalous or even difficult), the cultural diversity represented is historically accurate, beautifully integrated, sensitively explored, and incredibly refreshing. The sex scenes themselves offer a perfect blend of passion and romance, and Luz and Evan’s shared interests in the liquor business believably grounds their partnership. It’s high time romance diversified its tales of dashing dukes; Herrera doesn’t disappoint on that front. Agent: Taylor Haggerty, Root Literary.

      • Booklist

        May 15, 2022
        No one has to tell Luz Alana Heith-Benzan that it is a man's world. Luz has spent years trying to convince men to take her seriously. Luz's latest attempt to successfully market her family's Cana Brava brand of rum involves a trip to Paris for the Exposition Universelle, but even there she consistently encounters testosterone-bias and resistance to businesswomen until she bumps into James Evanston Sinclair, earl of Darnick. In the City of Light to showcase his Scotch whisky, Evan can't help but be impressed by Luz's fierce determination to sell her rum. So, when it turns out that a marriage of convenience would offer them both significant business rewards, a deal is struck. After conquering contemporary romance, Herrera (Just for the Holidays, 2021) launches her late-nineteenth-century-set Las L�onas series with an intensely romantic, scorchingly sensual love story that makes the most of its vividly realized setting and memorable cast of characters and allows her to continue her vivid and effective illumination and celebration of Latinx culture and history.

        COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

      • Kirkus

        Starred review from April 1, 2022
        A rum heiress from Hispaniola meets a Scottish earl at the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris. Luz Alana Heith-Benzan travels to Paris with her younger sister and best friends--Manuela, an artist, and Aurora, a doctor--so she can expand her family's rum business into the European market. She also has business dreams of her own, but an issue with her inheritance is getting in the way. Evan Sinclair, Earl of Darnick, is attending the exposition to sell whisky, but he's also engaging in secret meetings, making plans to take down his father. When Luz first meets Evan, she finds him exasperating, but he's drawn to this fiery woman who stands her ground. As he charms his way into her heart, they open up to each other and discover they would both benefit from a marriage of convenience. While their relationship is meant to be just a business transaction, they would both like to act upon their physical attraction. Soon, emotions and passion blur the line between business and pleasure. Herrera kicks off an enticing historical romance series with this lush, diverse feminist tale. Racism and sexism are tackled head-on in ways that feel both appropriate to the time and relatable to today. Paris and Scotland are vibrant settings, and the large cast is filled with interesting, nuanced characters, from friends to foes. With fascinating historical detail, suspenseful drama, and scorching hot intimate moments, this story hits all the notes of a superb romance, while the setting and characters make it fresh and exciting. In a word, marvelous.

        COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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