#adriana reviews

[triviareads]

ARC Review of The Bootlegger's Bounty by Adriana Herrera

Rating: 4/5 Heat Level: 4.5/5 Publication Date: April 16th

Premise:

An MMF poly romance set in the 1920s; when the ship she's hiding in is hijacked by bootleggers, Rosalía is willing to do anything to get in the good graces of bootlegger Cam and gangster Enzo in order to secure her passage to New York City.

My review:

This is a revised, expanded version of the short story Adriana Herrera wrote for the Villain I'd Like to F... anthology in 2022. I had a lot of fun reading this queer, poly romance that not only has racially diverse characters and an interesting setting we rarely see in historicals (the Caribbean), but it was also SUPER hot. There's nine chapters plus and epilogue, and it doesn't take the characters very long to act on their attraction towards one another.

This story was initially a part of an anthology about villains so obviously Cam, our bootlegger and kidnapper, has few qualms about accepting Rosalía's offer to have sex with him in exchange for passage to New York City. And Enzo, my favorite bratty nepo baby gangster and bane of Cam's existence, has only a few more scruples. But Rosalía isn't passive in all this; she isn't afraid to express her wants and desires, and she keeps pushing when she doesn't achieve her ends. I loved the dynamic between the three of them— there's this great mix of dirty moments peppered with sweet. And while the book is relatively light on external plot, it does build up to a quick, final heist before the three of them can settle together once and for all.

The sex:

There are multiple sex scenes, all high heat and on the rougher end. I loved the initial instances of voyeurism (particularly Enzo tragically jerking off when he hears Cam with Rosalía early on lol) and a sex act near the end when they're all together that's relatively rare even in poly romances.

Rosalía is a woman who knows what she wants and I do appreciate when an fmc gives as good as she gets in terms of dirty talk. And the dirty talk is BONKERS HOT all around; the degradation, the praise, plus immaculate use of pet names, from Cam calling Enzo "boy" (derogatory) and "brat" (mostly affectionate) to Enzo's tender use of "belleza" for Rosalía.

Also, I love that Enzo is a *brat* and tbh so does Cam even if he doesn't want to admit he's into it until after multiple up-close-and-personal confrontations. Between Enzo and Rosalía, they keep Cam on his toes, like, the vibe there definitely "I can't leave you two alone, can I?" (He can't, and he shouldn't).

Overall:

I really enjoyed this book! I'd recommend it to any romance reader looking for a a quick, high-heat read that is refreshingly diverse as far as historical romances go.

Thank you to Adriana Herrera and her team for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[romancomicsblog]

Blue Beetle is a triumph for DC, the Latinx Community, and Superhero Movies - SPOILER FREE REVIEW

Ángel Manuel Sotos new DC film Blue Beetle is hitting theaters this week but has had a significantly hard road to get here.

The film was originally sold as a direct to streaming film, then was moved to theatrical release, was caught in the middle of a James Gunn take over, and now a writer's/actor's strike. Couple all that with superhero fatigue, and DC's not so clean track record, the film would have to jump massive hurdles to be successful most movies do not.

Blue Beetle, however, is a magnificent departure from superhero films of late that coast on past projects, name dropping, or cameos. It is a delightful film that centers on family, responsibility, and the many different types of Latinx experiences, all while being extremely funny and full of incredible action.

Director Manuel Soto breathes new life into the DCU in a way few directors have before. instead of opting for uniformity with other superhero projects, the film has a distinct color and design that feels unique and fresh. Excellent design, costuming, and vibrancy make up a beautiful Palmera City.

One of the most notable aspects of the film was the fluid, dynamic fight choreography for Blue Beetle and our main physical antagonist, Carapax. While there are several heroes who have similar powers to Jaime, none quite have used it as interestingly. The shifting of weaponry, flight, and hand to hand combat make for types of fights we don't really see in live action.

This film of course is not just made up of excellent visuals, but a phenomenal supporting cast. It is hard to pick out favorites, as most characters are given an opportunity to shine.

Through this cast, Manuel Soto shows the many realistic day to day fears and feelings of a Latinx/Hispanic person. Responsibility, family, and becoming who you are supposed to be are all at the heart of the film. As a Latinx man, so many aspects of the film hit home for me, sometimes comedically, sometimes tragically.

The movie also emphasizes different kinds of experiences in our community. Undocumented citizens, first generation, the religious traditional older member of the family, even the slacker uncle. Every member of the family feels different, but they all feel like a family.

For me, I'd say Belissa Escobedo as Milagro Reyes brings excellent sisterly back and forth with our hero and has some very emotional moments in the film. Brother/sister chemistry is sometimes difficult to pull off, but Escobedo makes it look easy. I think she has the making of a comedic star on the rise and is someone to lookout for.

I'd say most members of the family will be someones favorite. George Lopez as Rudy, Jaimes Uncle Rudy, Damián Alcázar as Alberto Reyes, Jaimes Father, and Adriana Barraza as Nana, the matriarchal head of the family all got big laughs and, at times, tears from their performances.

This cast is phenomenal and elevates excellent writing into several iconic scenes. I don't see this film working without the perfect familial blend of actors. And they got it perfectly.

While characters like Elpidia Carrillo as Rocio Reyes or Bruna Marquezine as Jenny Kord do get the short end of the stick in the film, I think they get their moments and will be greater utilized in (hopefully) future installments of the franchise.

What made it most clear that Manuel Soto understands character were the two antagonists of the film.

While they are not nearly as significant as the rest of the family, both Susan Sarandon as Victoria Kord and Raoul Max Trujillo as Conrad Carapax are not reduced to twirling mustache villains. They both have realistic and at times tragic stories that explain (but does not justify) their actions.

While both give solid performances and are a step above your average Marvel/DC villains, I think the film could've benefitted from more of them.

But the real highlight of the film, to no ones surprise, was Xolo Maridueña as Jaime Reyes.

Maridueña as Blue Beetle feels like one of those castings that seem impossible to be topped. He brings excellent comedy, pain, and honor to Jaime in a way that feels natural. He is Blue Beetle.

In the film, Maridueña displays a wide range of emotions while he goes through an incredibly grueling 2-3 days. There is comedy, awkwardness, strength, anger, and pain, and Maridueña nails every moment of it.

I expect you will see a lot more Xolo in the future even if we don't see more Blue Beetle. But I hope he does return.

I think this movie has the potential to connect with audiences in a way we just haven't seen in a long time from a Superhero film. It is original, fun, and shows us a side of DCU we've never seen before, without endless cameos and reminders of past projects.

I hope other studios take away that audiences want more representation via original content from creative visionaries. But Hollywood often takes away the wrong lesson.

All in all, Blue Beetle is an incredible film that balances comedy, drama, and action in a way superhero movies rarely do. If you get the chance to, I highly recommend you go out and give it a watch. Films as good as this deserve support.

Blue Beetle is out in theaters this Friday August 18th.

Thank you for reading! If you'd like to support me, you can find all my socials here!

[inabooknook]

The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri

Such a stunning, sad, touching, and beautiful story. This book follows a narrative tale taking place within the Lebensborn program, where women were housed in particular "homes" and carried "Aryan" children for the Nazi officers. It was extremely well-researched and the characters were so wonderfully complex. I would definitely point out there is a sexual assault trigger in here. I greatly enjoyed learning about something that I did not have much of a knowledge of prior, and knowing there was a great deal of research done for this really showed. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fantastic, authentic, historical fiction novel.

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

There are many factors to consider when judging a film’s merit. An important but often overlooked factor is the film’s ambition. How many chances does it take and how far does it push the envelope? Under that criteria, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs couldn’t possibly score higher. If there was a full-length animated film released in American cinemas before this one, it's been forgotten to time and it certainly didn't leave the same mark as this one. Now approaching 100 years old, there's no other movie quite like Snow White. You watch it as a child and enjoy the familiar story. You appreciate it for wholly different reasons as an adult.

In a faraway land lives the beautiful and kind Princess Snow White (voiced by Adriana Caselotti), the envy of her wicked and vain stepmother (Lucille La Verne). When the Queen’s magic mirror reveals that Snow White has become more beautiful than she, the Queen sends the young princess to the woods to be murdered. Following her escape, Snow White stumbles upon a small cottage and is taken in by the seven little men who live there.

Traditionally animated films age incredibly gracefully. Whereas you can see the limitations Toy Story and its early descendants had to struggle with, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs looks as sharp as the day it was released. Snow White is not like the rubber-limbed Olive Oil from Popeye’s cartoons or any character from the many Disney animated shorts that preceded her. The fact that she can move alongside the decidedly anthropomorphized woodland creatures she befriends and the seven dwarves - all of which have cartoonish faces to match their outlandish personalities - is impressive.

Also helping the film remain timeless are the story and writing. There are no pop culture references, no fourth wall breaks, no ironic twists or subversions of the source material. There doesn’t need to be. Snow White simply is. Similarly, the songs are not the kind you’d hear playing on the top charts. They weren't made to sell records. They were made for the story. They’re used to develop the characters and move the plot forward. That doesn't mean they're not catchy. I think anyone who’s seen the film will be tempted to play Whistle While You Work whenever they begin cleaning and once you hear the dwarves’ Heigh Ho!, it becomes a part of your vocabulary. Nothing in Snow White feels like it was made to be more than part of the movie. There are no characters made to be turned into toys, for example. In that way, it feels more earnest than any other Disney film.

That's nice, but what really matters is how entertaining the film is. While this is a straightforward telling of a well-known, story (assuming you don't call the musical numbers "twists"), “Snow White” finds plenty of ways to make you care about its animated characters. There are many laughs throughout, courtesy of the seven dwarves. Her animal friends also provide memorable chuckles as they figure out inventive ways to help despite their limited sizes or limbs. My favorite has to be the deer who uses his antlers as a way to transport dirty laundry.

There's also drama and romance, courtesy of Snow White herself. Our heroine is so sweet and innocent your heart just can’t resist. When she talks about the handsome prince she dreams of meeting once again, it’s hard not to get as swept up in the emotions of the scene. There’s also a little bit of horror thrown in too - though only small children would be actually frightened. It makes the scenes when Snow White makes her escape in the dark woods and later, when the wicked Queen comes looking for her particularly memorable. On top of the emotions are the outstanding visuals. Even if you don't "know", I think a part of you knows or can tell everything you see was hand-painted and painstakingly put together. If there’s one criticism I can throw towards the movie, it’s that the ending feels abrupt. It still fits within the fairytale motif, but I wouldn’t mind if it was even 30 seconds longer.

There is so much to say about Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The visuals, the characters, the direction, the story, the songs… every aspect of the filmmaking could be the subject of a thesis. It's a film that was destined for immortality and I think people knew it as soon as it was released. Even today, it still stands triumphant as one of the greatest films - animated or otherwise- ever made for its place in history, but also for the way it brings a particular kind of story to life. (November 12, 2022)

[twenty-words-or-less]

Blue Beetle

Summary: Law graduate Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) returns home from university only to find his family facing eviction. He comes into possession of an artifact known only as the Scarab. Things only get better from here.

Very fun and engaging start to DCU with joyful Maridueña in title role. Appreciate subtitled Spanish, too.

Rating: 4.25/5

Photo credit: Tech Advisor

[banksreads]

why did this author go ahead and put exact scenes where woman swoon over men doing such things from real life?

she went "oh women love this? lemme put it in my book"

there are a few more but im in no mood to go back for them or even think back to what they were.

[pridepages]

e-ARC Review: An Island Princess Starts a Scandal

A HUGE thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:  Manuela del Carmen Caceres Galvan is soon to be trapped in a loveless marriage. Invited to show her paintings at the 1889 Exposition Universelle came at the perfect time, Manuela has given herself one last summer of freedom in Paris.  Cora Kempf Bristol, Duchess of Sundridge, is known for her ruthlessness in business. She chases power to secure her position among her rivals. There is an opportunity to secure it with the purchase of land for a railway. How difficult could it be to convince the mercurial Miss Caceres Galvan to part with land she’s sworn never to sell? Tempted by Cora’s offer, Manuela proposes a trade: her beloved land for a summer with the duchess in her corner of Paris. A taste of the wild, carefree world that will soon be out of her reach. What follows thrills and terrifies Cora, igniting desires the duchess long thought dead. As they fill their days indulging in a shared passion for the arts and their nights with dark and delicious deeds, the happiness that seemed impossible moves within reach…though claiming it would cause the greatest scandal Paris has seen in decades.

RELEASE DATE: May 30, 2023

See my full review under the cut!

What better way to close Lesbian Visibility Week than with a review of a steamy sapphic romance you won’t want to miss?

An Island Princess Starts a Scandal is actually a second book in a series. Adriana Herrera first introduced readers to most of the cast in book one of Las Leonas: A Caribbean Heiress in Paris. While you don’t need to read the first installment to understand or enjoy the second, I do caution readers who are afraid of spoilers to start from the beginning. There is an overlapping timeline which naturally leads to minor spoilers for the first installment.

That said, let’s get right to the good stuff.

I adored this book! Manuela and Cora are clearly founded in some time-honored romcom tropes (example: sunshine one loves grumpy one). But they bring fully realized backstories and personalities that prevent them from feeling like placeholders. Neither woman is perfect. Each has her flaws that get in her way. Manuela is simultaneously impulsive and flighty but still terrified to free herself from her controlling, homophobic family. Cora is generous and courageous, but she can also be highhanded and controlling. Each has to work on herself in order to make their love successful, and Herrera gives them both the necessary scope to do so.

I also enjoyed the way that Herrera clearly used research into the era to ground her story in actual history. Though I complain frequently about the fact that it’s hard to find happy sapphics and electricity in the same story, I do have to admit that it was a joy to see Herrera make use of a real, thriving, and loving queer community for her fiction. Not all of history is about pain and homophobia. We’ve always been here, and we’ve always found ways to bring our light to the world.

Finally, I salute the way that Herrera writes the actual acts of women loving women. Cora and Manuela are described in real ways. They are bodies that one can actually picture instead of imagining some idealized barbie doll forms. And Cora and Manuela describe each other’s realistic bodies with genuine desire. Their sexual encounters feel grounded in a genuinely sapphic perspective. This isn’t meant to titillate pruriently curious straight people. These are two women who adore every inch of each other and do so fearlessly. The reader can feel their love--and attraction--in every description.

So, if you’re looking for a steamy, tender romance full of love and joy? I can’t recommend this book strongly enough. It’s the perfect way to kickstart Pride for women who love women.

[bettslovesromance]

Book Review 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Well, this was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it didn't disappoint, I absolutely loved it!

I'm so happy to read some of my favorite authors together, all of them having some of the hottest novellas I've read by them. Also, I enjoyed a lot the fact that each author chose a different Era, that made the anthology to be fun and interesting to read.

I really hope they come up with a new anthology next year. 😈😈😈

Lady Viper and the Bastard by Eva Leigh

MF + Georgian Era England + Both MC are villains 😈 + Role play

Seven Sinful Nights by Nicola Davidson

MF + Regency Era England + Villain game hell owner and "naive" Dowager Duchess + Age Gap + S*ex toys

The Gangster’s Prize by Joanna Shupe

MF + Gilded Age NYC + He's a gangster and she's the mayor's daughter + Sexy carriage😉😈

The Bootlegger’s Bounty by Adriana Herrera.

MMF + 1920's Caribbean + Pirates + Latinx rep + I'm sure to say this is the hottest story I've read by Adriana.

The Conquering of Tate the Pious by Sierra Simone

FF + Medieval + an Abbess and a Viking + Opposites attract

[labyrinths-library]

Book 98 of 2024

Haunting the Deep by Adriana Mather

★★★★★

Find the author here. Find the book here.

Pages: 343

Genre: YA Fantasy

Review:

So this book is book two of a two book series written by Adriana Mather. Mather is a descendent of the Mather family that dates all the way back to Cotton Mather of the Salem Witch Trials. Her family history influenced this book and book two in a delightful way.

I picked this book, as well as book one, up at a local township book sale. I immediately honed in on it because the Titanic is one of my favorite topics to read books on/about/based around, and then I realized it was book two in a series and backtracked to find book one.

Book two of the series has Samantha Mather getting settled in Salem with her newly returned father. She is trying to deal with the loss of Elijah and her sorta feelings for her neighbor. The Descendants have started to befriend her, which causes tension between her and her dad because her dad isn't big on Sam learning magic or practicing magic and is willing to move her back to NYC if he thinks Salem is bad for her. The school decides to have a Titanic themed dance (giving the same vibes as that Adele Titanic pic from a few years back) and in typical Salem high fashion, they rearrange the entire curriculum to cover the Titanic. While learning about the Titanic, Sam starts to have fainting spells where she wakes up as a passenger on the Titanic and starts to have a double life in this dream realm. With the help of her friends, she has to figure out how to make it all stop as it is slowly starting to take over her life.

Again, I could not put this one down. It was a fast-paced, delicious mystery. Broome is so cute. I have many questions about the ending, specifically I need a follow up something about whether our favorite neighborhood ghost ever gets to come back to life. Also, again, this is literally Phantom Heart coded, but executed WAY better.

[bob-the-movie-man-film-reviews]

Emilia Pérez (15): A Bizarre But Entertaining Mexican Comedy / Musical / Cartel Thriller!

One Mann's Movies Film Review of "Emilia Pérez". A fascinating mash-up of different movie genres that mostly works well. Very interesting and unusual. 3.5/5.

A One Mann’s Movies review of “Emilia Pérez” (2024) (From the 2024 London Film Festival). “Emilia Perez’ is an interesting cross-genre busting film. I knew nothing about the film going in. And there is a really amazing reveal about the ‘request’ that the cartel boss makes in the first 10 minutes or so that came as a bombshell to me. I see that this plot-point is all over the IMDB description and…

[rissyrosie]

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The Serpent and the wings of night by Carissa Broadent

Book Rating: 3.5 or 4 stars⭐️

Who I pictured Raihn and Oraya

Oraya: Adriana Lima

Raihn: Harry Styles

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[jeevesreads]

15 Childhood Crush to Lovers Romance Books

Whether the crush is still alive and well or was left behind years ago, childhood or teenage crushes can add a delicious sort of tension to any romance novel. It’s a very versatile trope that can be utilized in a variety of ways, from a brother’s best friend scenario to rivals to lovers and more. I’d say that I’m not the biggest fan of this trope because of the messy histories that are sometimes…

[flaviathebibliophile]

An Ordinary Violence by Adriana Chartrand (ARC Review)

Title: An Ordinary Violence Author: Adriana Chartrand Type: Fiction Genre: Adult, Horror, CanLit Publisher: House of Anansi Press Published: October 31, 2023 A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by House of Anansi Press in exchange for an honest review. Dawn hasn’t spoken to her brother, Cody, since he was sent to prison for a violent crime seven years ago. Now living in…

[sandythereadingcafe]

REVIEW TOUR:

THIS MUCH IS TRUE (Marshall Family 2) by Adriana Locke at The Reading Cafe:

'This Much is True is a sweet, rekindling love story'

[twenty-words-or-less]

Drag Me To Hell

Summary: Loan officer Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is cursed by a woman (Lorna Raver) after denying her an extension on her mortgage, and must find a way to lift the curse before time runs out.

Riotous B-movie that doesn’t get as much attention as it should, given how incredibly campy and fucking funny it is.

Rating: 3.75/5

Photo credit: Fanpop