Spotlight & Giveaway: Ana María and The Fox by Liana De la Rosa

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Liana De la Rosa to HJ!

Hi Liana and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Ana María and The Fox!

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Ana María Luna and her two younger sisters have fled their home in French occupied Mexico to seek refuge with their uncle in London. Once there, her uncle asks the young women to serve as symbols of the occupation to court support for the Mexican people’s fight against the French. They’re eager to help, and even more so to sample a bit of freedom away from their domineering father’s watchful eye. But sparks fly when Ana María meets Gideon Fox, a rising star in Parliament, who is staunchly dedicated to eradicating the Atlantic slave trade as the grandson of a formerly enslaved woman. Neither Ana María nor Gideon can afford to indulge their attraction…but when French sympathizers threaten her and her sisters, Gideon is willing offer Ana María his hand for she has already stolen his heart.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

Ana María watched him with her arms wrapped tightly about herself, bitterness curling about her and stinging her eyes. She knew this interlude could not last. Although her heart lurched at the thought of never feeling his lips on hers again, never tasting his smooth skin, never hearing his gravelly voice say her name as if she were the most precious, beautiful thing in the world, Ana María blinked back her tears and raised her chin. For heartache had become her old friend.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• Some of the flowers on the (gorgeous!) cover of Ana María and The Fox are dahlias, which are the national flower of Mexico and native to the country. Ana María and her sisters are very proud of their homeland, so I loved that the artist included this link to Mexico.
• Also, Ana María is wearing a magenta gown on the cover. The dye for the color was chemically created in 1856, and was originally called mauveine. It was changed to magenta to celebrate the Italian-French victory at the Battle of Magenta a few years later. It became very popular color in art, and later in fashion, and Ana María wears a magenta gown at her first London ball. It was a bright and daring choice, and ultimately snags the attention of a certain reserved MP…

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Gideon first notices Ana María because of her beauty. She’s a red rose in a sea of white roses, but it’s her wit, her intelligence that keeps him ensnared. For a man who’s devoted to his career in Parliament, he can’t afford to be distracted, but Ana María’s guileless charm makes it impossible for him to ignore her. For Ana María, she is very much attracted to Gideon’s inner passion, the intense emotions she senses lurks under his reserved exterior. More importantly, Gideon treats her as an equal, a show of respect she’s never experienced before.
 

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

Any scene I wrote that included Ana María with her two sisters, Isabel and Gabby, made me laugh and feel emotional all at the same time! Of all the scenes I wrote with them together, the scene after Ana María argued with Gideon during a waltz stands out because it’s the first time the sisters realize how much each of them has conformed to meet their strict father’s edicts. For their whole lives, they have been taught to view each other as adversaries, but their time in London has chipped away at these walls. They’re beginning to discover their true selves, and in turn, the love they have for each other.
 

Readers should read this book….

Ana María and The Fox offers a unique perspective on the ballroom historical. Ana María brings an outsider mentality to the London season as a young woman recently arrived from French occupied Mexico. Her life experiences, her culture and heritage, introduces readers to a part of history they may not be familiar with. And Gideon, the stoic, duty-bound hero, has worked for everything he has, and his ambition has not lessened his quest for social justice for those who’ve come before. Together, Ana María and Gideon present the familiarities of Victorian England to readers through a different lens.
 

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I recently turned in the second book in the Luna Sisters series, Isabel and The Rogue, to my editor and have started outlining the third book, which won’t be out until 2025. *cue sad trombone*
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: 1 Finished copy of Ana María and The Fox (U.S. only, 18+)

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What do you enjoy most about historical romances? The escapism? The bits of history that are shared? The description of the beautiful gowns, and sights and settings?

 
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Book Info:

A forbidden love between a Mexican heiress and a shrewd British politician makes for a tantalizing Victorian season.

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 Ana María is secretly sent to London with her sisters to seek refuge from the French occupation of Mexico, she 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 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 . . . but will this Mexican heiress win his heart as well?
Book Links: Amazon | B&N |
 
 

Meet the Author:

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.

buy links: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/704155/ana-maria-and-the-fox-by-liana-de-la-rosa/
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