Isabel and The Rogue (The Luna Sisters Book 2)
Readers will do well to read the author’s Ana María and the Fox first, for that scene when Sirius Dawson finds Isabel Luna crouched under a desk in a study she’s not supposed to be in. In this book, both characters find their initial impressions of the other were wide of the mark.
Isabel’s parents send her and her sisters to London to be safely away from Mexico while their father supports President Juarez’s rebellion against the Emperor Maximilian, who was installed by France. Isabel hopes to aid the independence effort by unearthing blackmail material that might induce British aristocrats to support Juarez. When Sirius, earl’s son, war hero, and spy, keeps running across Isabel in his work for the Home Office, he offers to aid her mission. What he really wants is an excuse to be close to her, and as golden-haired Sirius works his charm, Isabel flowers from the shy, overlooked Luna sister she’s always thought herself to be.
Isabel is the hand-wringing, tearful sort of heroine, so it’s sweet to see how gentle and supportive Sirius is of her. One wonders why the leads feel responsible for conflicts they couldn’t possibly control, but the spy work serves to bring them together. It’s amusing to see Isabel lecturing others on moral behavior while she picks locks on desks of homes she’s a guest in and reads private mail. It’s all to save democracy in Mexico, of course, the land that holds Isabel’s heart—unless Sirius can steal it away. It’s high time Victorian historical romance became aware of the world outside of Britain, and Mexico, the focal point for three different empires at this time—France, Austria, and the United States—certainly deserves the attention. An enjoyable read.
