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shadowmaster13's review
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Sexism
Minor: Forced institutionalization
overflowingshelf's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
CW: physical abuse; emotional abuse; racism; misogyny; sexism; references to slavery
This book made me thirsty in more ways than one! All I wanted to do was pour a glass of whisky and find myself a hunky Scotsman after reading this. With a diverse cast of characters, a fantastic romance, and a compelling plot, A Caribbean Heiress in Paris was an engaging, fun read.
Luz Alana Heith-Benzan arrives in Paris for the Exposition Universelle in hopes of expanding Caña Brava, her family’s rum business. After her father’s untimely death and the inability of Luz to access her inheritance until she marries, the trip takes on new urgency. However, buyers and shippers dismiss Luz as they cannot imagine doing business with a woman, let alone a woman of color. When she runs into James Evanston Sinclair, the Earl of Darnick, she initially sees a rival. But as she keeps running into him, she sees him as a potential business partner, even while fighting a growing attraction to him.
Meanwhile, for Evan, all he wants to do is continue to grow his whisky brand and get what is rightfully his, even if he has to take down his father in the process. A marriage of convenience may prove to be the perfect solution to both of their problems. But the more time they spend together, the less their marriage feels like a business arrangement and begins to feel like something real.
Marriage of convenience stories can be very hit or miss for me, but this one was a hit. I loved that they both got something out of the relationship of equal value – they approached it as a business deal, which works so well for Luz and Evan. These two were also clearly infatuated with each other very early on, so it was fun to watch them navigate their feelings. I was living for the scene with Evan and Luz together, as their banter and chemistry were sizzling hot. The romance was also relatively low-angst, even if there are a few incidents of Evan lying by omission. But this book was smoking hot when it came to the sexy times.
Evan’s got a wicked mouth on him, and I loved that. Plus, he’s a fan of the “good girl,” which I love. He’s incredibly opened minded compared to many of the other men in this book, and I liked that he doesn’t judge people based on their sex or race. At the start, he has a single-minded focus on making Braeburn his and getting vengeance on his father. But when Luz enters his life, that complicates things, especially as this man is so far gone for her. I loved that he also didn’t try to change her but respected her for who she was and actually admired her business skills. Plus, who doesn’t love a big, charming Scotsman?
I also love female business owners, so of course, I was going to love Luz. She is a flask and pistol-carrying woman – you don’t want to mess with her. Luz is determined to make a name for herself and her rum, even if she does put a lot of pressure on herself to succeed. I loved how she wanted to celebrate and build on the generation of women in her family before her. And despite the face she puts on when dealing with business, she also has a lot of emotional depth. I also loved that she was the one to initiate and ask for a sexual relationship in her marriage of convenience and didn’t shy away from those intimate moments.
Outside of Luz and Evan, I loved the secondary characters in this. Luz’s friends, Las Léonas, and Evan’s sisters were some of my favorites. Las Léonas are the type of girls you’d want to have in your corner as they genuinely care about their friends and will fight for you. Evan’s sisters were similar, as they also gave Evan and Luz a push in the right direction.
Despite really enjoying this book, I found it a little slow initially. It took a little time for the story to gain momentum, and things picked up for me as Luz and Evan spent more time together. I really enjoyed the ending – the plot went in a totally different direction than I thought, and the stakes were way higher than I anticipated!
Reading this book was so much fun, and this book was way hotter than I expected! I hope we’re getting more books in the series as I could see some of the couples potentially being set up. I’d love to see more of Las Léonas getting their happily ever after.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Racism
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse
Minor: Slavery
100_pages_hr's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Sexism, and Sexual content
astropova's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I feel like I enjoyed everything else in this book more than the romance. Maybe I just didn't like the main dude that much. I felt like the romance aspect was less developed than the rest of the plot. It kinda felt like there was no build up, they just met and then were suddenly in a marriage-with-benefits.
I feel like the fact that they were already attracted to each other and making out and stuff kind of undercuts the marriage of convenience idea. Like "we're attracted to each other but no we're definitely not in love, what are you talking about, this is purely a business arrangement" was a bit odd.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Racism and Colonisation
Minor: Abandonment and Fire/Fire injury
Abandonment - references to character's past. Fire - off-screen arson/fires set on buildingsbookgurl488's review
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Racism, and Grief
Moderate: Gaslighting, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Misogyny
Minor: Slavery and Genocide
aqtbenz's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, and Sexism
toffishay's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Such a fun read and I am so looking forward to other installments in the Leonas series. Evan is so sexy and the chemistry with him and Luz is off the charts. The sex scenes are awesome and it takes a little while to get there. Their relationship has an interesting slow build feel despite the fact that they get together very quickly. It also does something that I love in Beverly Jenkins and other diverse historical romance that it recenters non-white narratives of the past. Luz's Dominican identity is central to who she is and she is not watered down for the sake of her Scottish love interest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Xenophobia, Alcohol, Misogyny, Sexism, and Racism
Minor: Colonisation, Death of parent, Mental illness, Confinement, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Violence, and Classism
cerilouisereads's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Kidnapping and Mental illness
amberinpieces's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Classism
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
Minor: Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Cultural appropriation
sdupont's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
While I don’t tend to read many historical romances I did enjoy A Caribbean Heiress in Paris. This book was a slow start for the first few chapters but was really engaging once the scene was set and the pace picked up. It’s a fun spicy read that I would recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Sexism
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Emotional abuse and Abandonment