Ana María and the Fox Book Review

So excited to review my first historical romance, and a "blind date with a book" pick from a local indie—Ana María and the Fox! Liana De la Rosa's first book in the Luna Sisters series centers the eldest sister, Ana María, as she attempts to do right by her family but falls in love with Gideon Fox, a politician who has spent his career working to end slavery—a love match in the making! While there was a lot that I enjoyed, like the characters and their motivations and how De la Rosa starts to set up the future books within these pages, I ultimately felt that the pacing did not work in the story's favor. 

Liana De la Rosa is a historical romance author who writes diverse characters in the Regency and Victorian periods. Liana has an English degree from the University of Arizona, and in her past life she owned a mystery shopping company and sold pecans for a large farm. When she's not writing, Liana is listening to true crime podcasts and pretending she's a domestic goddess while she wrangles her spirited brood of children with her patient husband in Arizona. You can find her online at LianainBloom.com or on Instagram @LianainBloom. 

Ana María Luna Valdés has strived to be the perfect daughter, the perfect niece, and the perfect representative of the powerful Luna family. So when she is secretly sent to London with her sisters to seek refuge from the French occupation of Mexico, Ana María experiences her first taste of freedom far from the judgmental eyes of her domineering father. If only she could ignore the piercing looks she receives across the ballroom floors from the austere Mr. Fox. Gideon Fox elevated himself from the London gutters by chasing his burning desire for more: more opportunities, more choices. For everyone. Now, as a member of Parliament, Gideon is on the cusp of securing the votes he needs to put forth a measure to abolish the Atlantic slave trade once and for all—a cause that is close to his heart as the grandson of a formerly enslaved woman. The charmingly vexing Ana María is a distraction he must ignore. But when Ana María finds herself in the crosshairs of a nefarious nobleman with his own political agenda, Gideon knows he must offer his hand as protection.... Will this Mexican heiress win his heart as well? 

I love the cast of characters in Ana María and the Fox! I felt that each of the three sisters had such distinct personalities—Ana María, the oldest, the protector; Isabel, the middle daughter, the intellectual; and Gabriela, the youngest, the firecracker. I adored all three of them from the first time we meet them, and love that a huge part of the story is how they're able to defy their father's pitting them against one another and become close friends in a foreign country. They're resilient and each use their own skills to help make a name for themselves in London society. I also loved Gideon and his friends, Captain Dawson, Mr. Stansberry, and Sebastian Brooks, Duke of Whitfield. I loved how each man (except Mr. Stansberry) is set up to be the love interest for one of the other sisters, and how they help him in his journey to court and marry Ana María. It's a lovely cast, and one I can't wait to revisit in the next book in the series, Isabel and the Rogue!   

This is my first historical romance, so I'm not sure if this is the norm of the genre, but I also really loved how De la Rosa incorporated history in the narrative. Gideon is very focused on eradicating slavery, but has to work around the other politicians, and keep an eye on the American narrative, and what's happening at home. On the other hand, Ana María and her sisters receive almost no news about the conflict in Mexico, but have to keep their heads held high and even explain the conflict to some socialites because it's not widely reported. I liked that this historical romance didn't exist in a sort of vacuum of what we expect Victorian society to be like, but that De la Rose grounds Ana María's and Gideon's story in the time and history. While at times I think the romance was put on the back-burner to make that clear, I really appreciated that I got a sense of this world and how the characters were moving through it.

The biggest downfall for me was the pacing. As a marriage of convenience, I was expecting the marriage between Ana María and Gideon to occur much sooner than the final hundred pages. While I loved getting acclimated to London society early on, I felt that those sections dragged, and were sometimes repetitive. I was much more interested in what happened near the end—how would Ana María and her sisters' identities be revealed? how would Gideon save them? and other things that I don't want to spoil—but it was rushed and not a very satisfying ending because of it. I felt like had parts of the beginning been cut, we could have spent more time developing the romance between Ana María and Gideon and escalating the tensions and suspense of what happens near the end. As it stands, I just didn't believe in the romance because it took too long to develop and didn't believe in the ending because it was too rushed. 

I definitely still want to read the rest of the books in this series, because I am so curious about how Isabel and Gabriele end up enamored with Captain Dawson and the Duke of Whitfield, respectively. I just hope that the tropes and pacing deliver a bit more strongly in those books than they did here. Until then! 

*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*