May 1, 2017
In late 1800s Mexico, financially upended Mauro Larrea risks what little he has left on a vineyard in Spain, which he intends to sell until he travels there and meets a widow intent on protecting her heritage. From the New York Times best-selling author of The Time in Between. [Spanish-language edition: La Templanza. ISBN 9781501125195. pap. $16.]
Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
August 15, 2017
When Mauro Larrea is bankrupted by a business deal shattered by the American Civil War, he embarks on a great adventure to build his fortunes anew.From Mexico City to Havana to Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, Duenas' (The Heart Has Its Reasons, 2012, etc.) sweeping tale of fortunes made and lost abounds with dramatic characters and operatic plot twists. Damsels in distress, devious femme fatales, conniving gamblers--all beset Mauro on his quest to make enough money in four months to pay off the uxorious moneylender Tadeo Carrus. Mauro is a self-made man, shaped by working the silver mines of Mexico. Tenacious and shrewd, he swiftly learned how to gamble on shady financing that enabled him to found his own companies. Losing everything doesn't frighten Mauro. Yet at 47, he has more than himself to worry about: his daughter, Mariana, can fend for herself, concealing the bankruptcy from her mother-in-law, the Countess of Colima, until Mauro's fortunes turn again, but his son, Nicolas, has not yet married Teresita, the daughter of Don Gorostiza, and the scandal may ruin his prospects. Mauro's plans to seek a lucrative business deal in Cuba are complicated immediately by the Countess' meddling and by Don Gorostiza's insistence that Mauro deliver a small fortune to his sister, Carola. Carola wants Mauro to secretly invest it for her in an unsavory deal, but Mauro balks. Meanwhile, her husband, Zayas, challenges him to a duel at the billiard table. At stake are access to Carola and the possession of an estate and vineyard in the south of Spain, an estate Zayas inherited from his cousin Luisito, who died abruptly. Soon Mauro owns the estate, which introduces him to not only the bewitching and enigmatic Soledad Montalvo, but also the mysteries of the Montalvo-Gorostiza family saga. Though sometimes buckling under its own weight, this sprawling tale will charm fans of historical romance.
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September 1, 2017
The author of The Heart Has Its Reasons and The Time in Between returns with this sweeping 19th century-set historical. The bold Mauro Larrea has worked his way up from the dire poverty of his early years in Spain by becoming a miner and eventually a mine owner in Mexico. But now he stands to lose his hard-won fortune. Circumstances bring him to a desperate gamble in a wild game of billiards in Havana, Cuba, winning him an abandoned house and vineyard back in Jerez, Spain, where the sherry trade is just starting to thrive. There Mauro meets the beautiful Soledad Montalvo, whose family previously owned the vineyard before misfortune struck. We can see where this story is going, but there are many twists and turns along the way, as well as lots of lively characters, including a few villains, and vivid scenes from Mexico City, Havana, and Jerez. VERDICT This sprawling family saga is filled with romance, intrigue, adventure, and a bit of melodrama. It's a leisurely yet always entertaining read that will appeal to lovers of Isabel Allende's Zorro. [See Prepub Alert, 4/10/17.]--Leslie Patterson, Rehoboth, MA
Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.