REVIEW: On the Hustle by Adriana Herrera

 

OUR REVIEW:

On the Hustle is the 2nd book in the Dating in Dallas series and just like the first book, Here to Stay, I was immediately sucked in and couldn't stop reading. This book follows Julia's best friend, Alba, and her love interest Theo. Theo is Alba's stern, inflexible, frowny boss, at least for the first few chapters. She quits to pursue burgeoning business opportunities in design and it's then that when we discover some hidden truths. Truth #1: Unbeknownst to Alba, Theo has had the hots for since basically day 1. Truth #2: Alba definitely has the hots for him but is in total denial because he was such a dick when he was her boss. Truth #3: He's not really a dick; he just tried to enforce boundaries and be respectful. And Truth 4: Alba has some serious trust and work/life balance issues. One by one these truths are revealed and it all happens in Dallas where Julia and her wonderful and hilarious friends can witness it all go down. 

Alba is fantastically stubborn, which makes watching her resist the Theo so much fun. She really wants to keep him the box that she'd built around him in NYC: a hot, dickish, boring, by the book, by the minute boss. As he charms her and accommodates her and shows her who he really is, she's flummoxed by him and wants to resist him but just can't seem to. It's his move to Dallas to help her (and, honestly, his family's company), his openly friendly demeanor with her friends, his support on their job site and of her passions that are impossible to ignore; and who'd want to?  It's while he's doing everything to show her who he is, and also trying to make a new path for himself that we also get to see how overloaded Alba is. She almost never refuses a job, no matter how busy she is. She rarely sleeps, somehow churns out great work, and is admired by everyone (...except one dickwad--you'll see, and he's such an a-hole). It's in Theo's concern for her running herself ragged that Alba has some very real conversations about privilege and power and why she does and puts up with the things she does. I appreciated Herrera making a point to show those aspects of the hustle life and the choices that Alba made to make her passions her full time job. 

I enjoyed all aspects of this novel: Alba's creative projects, Theo's relationship with his step-mother, Alba's fierceness and ambition, Theo's drive to make the world a better place, every interaction with Julia & Co, the teasing, the hotter than hot sex scenes (so hot!), and I even liked the conflicts and how they were resolved. I am loving this series and hope there are more novels to come. 

BUY IT HERE.

A Caribbean Heiress in Paris by Adriana Herrara

 

OUR REVIEW:

This is only the second Adriana Herrera novel I've read and I AM IN LOVE with her writing. I love her characters and the stories she gives them. In the case of A Caribbean Heiress in Paris I found myself immediately enamored with Luz Alana and her Leona sisters. In this historical romance, they're fantastically independent, fierce, and fiercely protective of each other, which has me inordinately excited for the companion novels that will follow this one. The main story follows the plight of Luz Alana trying hard to succeed and survive in a very male world of The Exposition in Paris. It seems like the men there are barely humoring her, if at all, when she has a heated exchange with Evan Sinclair. Things change quickly after that...it seems like I'm not the only one enamored with Luz Alana. As Luz Alana pivots from the male dominated world of alcohol to networking with strong women like herself, Evan finds himself able to help her network, while also seeing ways she can help him secure something that should be rightfully his. 

Sparks fly. Stubbornness ensues. And yet. And yet, everyone who has eyes can see that there's something there, even if both of them deny it. He proposes a marriage of convenience, she agrees, and of course the sparks between them turn to flames. As it happens in all true romances, there are some oh crap! moments and mishaps and misunderstandings, but thankfully, it all ends happily.  

I can't speak highly enough of this novel and the wonderful escape it provided me this weekend. I never wanted to put it down but when I had to, I found every reason to pick it up as soon as possible. 

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/3tL552Y

BLURB:
Paris, 1889

The Exposition Universelle is underway, drawing merchants from every corner of the globe. Luz Alana Heith-Benzan 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.

The City of Light is where Luz Alana will expand Caña Brava, the rum business her family built over three generations. It’s a mission that’s taken on new urgency after her father’s untimely death and the news that her trust fund won’t be released until she marries. But buyers and shippers alike are rude and dismissive; they can’t imagine doing business with a woman…never mind a woman of color.

From her first tempestuous meeting with James Evanston Sinclair, Earl of Darnick, Luz Alana is conflicted. Why is this man—this titled Scottish man—so determined to help her? And why, honestly, is he so infuriatingly charming?

All Evan Sinclair ever wanted was to find a purpose away from his father’s dirty money and dirtier politics. Ignoring his title, he’s built a whiskey 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.

Evan quickly suspects he’ll want Luz Alana with him forever. Every day with her makes the earl wish for more than her magnificent kisses or the marriage of convenience that might save them both. But Luz Alana sailed for Paris with her eyes on liquor, money and new beginnings. She wasn't prepared for love to find her.

Las Léonas

Book 1: A Caribbean Heiress in Paris

Here To Stay by Adriana Herrera

 

OUR REVIEW:

I came for the romance and I stayed for..so many things, y'all.

First let me say that I am new to Adriana Herrera and thanks to Kennedy Ryan's Instagram live author interview series, I knew I had to read a Adriana Herrera novel. I'm so glad I did. 

In Here to Stay, Julia and Rocco gave me all the feels. I loved their work place romance. I loved the passion that both of them felt for all things NYC. I loved Julia's family and how well that worked with Rocco's story. I loved the wacky sisters and the observations of NYC exiles trying to make new lives in Texas. (As a Louisiana resident, I found their observations entertaining and spot on). Also, before I go much further I should say that the slow burn between these two was *chef's kiss* sooo good and when they finally banged: OMG. So hot. SO HOT. 

So obviously, I'm now a huge fan (as you can see from my abundant use of "love" in the previous paragraph) and I'm here for these characters (and truly hope some of the secondary characters have a novel of their own). I not only enjoyed the humor, love, and exasperation that Julia had with her family, I also really enjoyed learning more about a culture that I feel like I really didn't know as much as I feel like I should. Having scenes with holidays, food, and celebrations and how some things are universal and some things are really unique and special to Julia's family and heritage really gave great reference points and context for new learning (for me). I also really really loved the various things that came up with Julia's job and the perspective she offered. 

All in all, Here to Stay was a great read and has me excited to read whatever else Adriana Herrera has for me to buy. 

BUY IT HERE: https://amzn.to/31ptZIu

SYNOPSIS:

Julia del Mar Ortiz is not having the best year.

She moved to Dallas with her boyfriend, who ended up ditching her and running back to New York after only a few weeks. Left with a massive—by NYC standards, anyway—apartment and a car lease in the scorching Texas heat, Julia is struggling…except that’s not completely true. Running the charitable foundation of one of the most iconic high fashion department stores in the world is serious #lifegoals.

It’s more than enough to make her want to stick it out down South.

The only monkey wrench in Julia’s plans is the blue-eyed, smart-mouthed consultant the store hired to take them public. Fellow New Yorker Rocco Quinn’s first order of business? Putting Julia’s job on the chopping block.

When Julia is tasked with making sure Rocco sees how valuable the programs she runs are, she’s caught between a rock and a very hard set of abs. Because Rocco Quinn is almost impossible to hate—and even harder to resist.