Tag: romace

Posted in BIPOC / Latinx characters, books, favorites, Historical Romance, recipe, recipe and review, reviews

Recipe and a Review: A Caribbean Heiress in Paris

Posted on by ALSanchezBooks

Happy Friday!

It’s time for another #RecipeandaReview with a delicious cocktail I came up with specially for this book. I’m sharing my Luz y Pasión Cocktail recipe and reviewing A Caribbean Heiress in Paris to close up my Hispanic / Latinx Heritage month posts.

“Heat bloomed inside her from the way her looked at her. Hunger, unfiltered, undistilled, burning hunger. As if he intended to swallow her whole. Keep your head Luz Alana, lionesses are not meant to be pray. “I’ll taste yours if you taste mine.”

I try not do the same recipe category consecutively, however, this book is about Luz Alana, a Dominican female Rum distiller and James Evanston (Evan), a Scottish Whiskey distiller, so there was no way I wasn’t getting inspired by this hot and delicious combination.

Luz Alana, is trying to make her own way in the diatilling business by traveling to Paris to promote her unique rum in Exposition Universelle. Meanwhile, Evan Sinclair is trying to finally extricate his Whiskey distillery from his fathers claws. They meet, and of course, sparks fly. When both find themselves in need of temporary spouses to achieve their goals, and it doesn’t hurt that there is definitely chemistry between them.

My thoughts:

– Historical romance is not my go to usually because I get tired of the same stories, but this very diverse and mostly BIPOC cast of characters with more progressive views for the time definitely drew me in. The MC is a afro-caribbean and Scottish who grew up in a Caribbean plantation and has many opinions she freely expresses to Evan. Many conversations against colonialism, slavery, and privilege take place and gove this a very impactful and contemporary feel at times.

– I’m not usually a fan of insta love, but Insta lust I definitely buy and this one had heaps of it, devolving into a marriage of convenience and a slower progression to love was more believable for me.

– The heat and chemistry between the MCs was excellent. I was not expecting it to be this steamy, which was a pleasant surprise. Also I love that we don’t have to wait to the end for these two to get together, right towards the middle so I was not left waiting forever.

– The pacing at times felt a little off, very detailed account for the first few days and then jumping weeks at a time.

– Sigh, some dated language is a bit cringe for me, but that’s just personal taste.

– The friends, Las Leonas, were perfect companions. I can’t wait to read more about them in future books.

– The setting in Paris for the early 1900 was delightful, sad we didn’t get more detailed descriptions of the Scottish part of the trip, but I guess Paris is more dazzling than Edinburgh.

What are your favorite book tropes? For historical fiction, what is your favorite time period?

And for the bonus, the Passion fruit simple syrup. Use this one for cocktails, make Passion fruit soda by addding club soda to it, you can even enjoy this with pancakes or waffles.

Enjoy!

Posted in books, favorites, recipe, recipe and review, reviews, Rom-Com

Recipe and a Review: A Proposal they can’t refuse

Posted on by ALSanchezBooks

Happy Friday!

It’s time for another #RecipeandaReview with a fun twist on a well loved cocktail. I’m sharing my Whiskey Colada recipe and reviewing A Proposal they can’t refuse to kick off my Hispanic / Latinx Heritage month series of book recommendations.

“I named this whiskey Coquí, because, like the goddess to her love, my heart has always called for you.”

It’s hard not to love this Puerto Rican born drink. It immediately makes me recall wonderful days spent catching the sun and listening to the waves of the sea. As I was listening to this book, with all the foodie references from Kamilah’s delicious cooking to Liam’s amazing descriptions of his whiskey, I knew I had to make this drink.

Former BFs Kamilah and Liam find themselves in a trap. Their meddling grandfathers force them to agree to get engaged, or they risk losing everything both of them have worked so hard for. Kamilah, her family’s Boricua restaurant; Liam, his grandfather’s Irish whiskey distillery. Can they stand to be near each other long enough to get what they both want?

My thoughts:

– Give me all the food! Don’t read this book hungry, everything described sounded so delicious.

– Tropes: I’m not a fan of force tropes, but in this one the forced engagement worked so well. I wouldn’t call this Enemies to lovers as in reality the MCC is already in love, but his distance was believable.

– The one bed trope and the steam: one bed trope had a poor excuse and never addressed further, however the steam was just right for me, right towards the middle so I was not left waiting forever. Open door but not too explicit. I felt the development of their relationship was well done. Both characters had good depth and personality growth and the conflict and how it was resolved played well within the story.

– I wished the conflict with the BFF had also had some resolution, but this is a series, so it may be addressed in future books.

– The author delp perfectly with tough topics such as family trauma, the expectations of children of immigrants and the problems that arise with gentrification.

– Last but not least, the meddling grandfathers. I absolutely loved Papo and Killian. So much so that I named my cocktail for them. These 2 where a hoot and I really enjoyed their shenanigans.

This rom-com was definitely a breath of fresh air and I loved it.

Have you tried a Piña Colada? Do you like them? Have you read this book? What did you think?

And for the bonus, my Homemade Pineapple soda. This is delicious and refreshing. Very easy to make. You can control the amount of sugar you add by adding more or less simple syrup and club soda to the mix.

Enjoy!

Posted in books, favorites, recipe, recipe and review, reviews, Rom-Com

Recipe and a Review: The Beach Trap

Posted on by ALSanchezBooks

Happy Saturday!

It’s time for another #RecipeandaReview this time with Lemon Rosemary Chicken and The Beach Trap.

“Something smells good,” I say, giving my mom a kiss on the cheek. “It’s rosemary lemon chicken,” she says, and waves of love and loss swell inside me. “Dad’s favorite,” I say. She turns and gives me a shaky smile, and I realize beneath her smiling exterior, my mom is still grieving.

This was fun and perfect for the summer debut. I was inspired to make this dish after it is mentioned that it was made by the MCs dad and it’s a favorite for them.
It’s a great savory choice for a summer get together meal. We had it with a side of green beans and it was delicious.

“Your father left half of the house to you, and the other half” – he pauses -“to your half sister.” My stomach twists in a giant knot at his words. Blake may be my father’s daughter, but she’s not my sister – half or otherwise.

After finding out they inherited a run down beach house, Kat and Blake decide that the best way to never see each other again is to fix it up and for Blake to sell her half to Kat. After all, the half sisters have a lot of baggage after years of being appart they rather not deal with.

My thoughts:

This was a heart warming story. There is a lot of miscommunication between the sisters that at some points get to be tiresome, but it goes with the plot of the suspicion and mistrust between them. I loved how they work it out as the story progresses, as they come to terms with the mistakes their father made, and ultimately lead to them forming a stronger bond.

I wouldn’t call this a romance per se, but both MCs have their side romances. I felt that Henry and Kat get a little less page time than Noah and Blake. But both have some good open door but not explicit steam. And as a side note, I ❤️ Noah 😍

The house transformation, the small town beach setting, the lovable dog all round up the story for a feel good summer read to take and enjoy on your beach vacation.

The audiobook narration was great. I always enjoy having two narrators do each of the characters POV.

Have you read this one?
What did you think?

Posted in books, favorites, recipe, recipe and review, reviews, Rom-Com

Recipe and a Review: Something Wilder

Posted on by ALSanchezBooks

Happy Friday!

It’s time for another #RecipeandaReview this time with a camping ready casserole and Something Wilder.

“The first time I had sex with someone after you,” he said breezily, interrupting her, “I asked her to call me ‘cowboy.’ ” In spite of the situation, she burst out laughing. “I’m sorry, what?” Behind her, he nodded. “We were… you know, and it wasn’t working for me for obvious reasons.” “Which were?” A cord of jealousy threaded through her rib cage. “She wasn’t you?” he said, a grin in his voice. “I felt guilty and awful and sad, and I just blurted it out. ‘Call me cowboy!’ ” Lily bent forward, cackling, surprising herself. “I never even called you cowboy.”

The “Call me cowboy” line in this book was just so hilarious for me, I decided I must have something cowboy as my recipe partner for this book.

“When a husky laugh echoed behind her, Lily’s stomach absolutely fell to her feet. She knew how a rattlesnake sounded in the brittlebush on the ranch and the raspy croak of a passing raven. She knew the trickling of water in a spring and the impatient huff of Bonnie when she was done for the day. And Lily knew—even after all this time—the deep, vibrating sound of Leo Grady’s voice in the morning, the way it warmed up slowly, from rocks to gravel to a smooth, polished stone.”

This Casserole is great to make ahead and heat up by a cozy fire during an adventure trip. It’s also just a delicious neal on its own, even if you don’t go on said trip.

If you like cornbread, but aren’t too keen on the filling, go ahead and use this recipe to make it plain, it’s absolutely delicious and easy to make.

My thoughts:

Something Wilder was such a fun ride of a book. As someone who enjoys camping and hiking trails, the parks in Utah, specially around the Moab region are top in my bucket list.

I loved the setting, I really imagined myself there, by the fire and under the starry sky. I loved the second chance romance between Leo and Lilly. How the misunderstanding trope was resolved early and we get to see them come together and work together through the rest of the book.

What got me the most was the twists the story takes, there were completely unexpected. The puzzles and treasure hunt were a fun addition, as was the unexpected action parts of the book. It was just a really fun book.

The audiobook narration was absolutely fantastic. I love having 2 narrators do each of the characters POV.

Have you read this one?
What did you think?