Cigars are everything to the Huerta family. Alejandro emigrated from Cuba to Nicaragua, passing his passion on to his sons, Roberto and Manuel. With Roberto’s unexpected death, his daughter Sofia, who has dedicated her whole life to cigars too, inherits the family business, much to her brother’s chagrin. Roberto Junior, aka RJ, will try everything to gain control of the Huerta cigar empire, including blackmailing an American lawyer (and his daughter) into challenging his father’s will.
I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I hoped I would, in great part because the narration is so uneven. Some moments were great, others were really flat. The other reason is that the story took way too long to start. About a quarter of the book is about setting the scene. I get why it was necessary, but it was still too long for me, especially in a story where men take so much space, which I’m not used to in lesfic.
However, once it really began, I liked it a lot. I’ve learnt a lot more about cigars than I thought I’d be interested in but it was never boring, even though I’m not a smoker. I also enjoyed the way the relationship between Sofia and Laura developed. They’re both strong but kind women, both ready to fight for what they believe is right and for their love. I also wish the ending had been a little less rushed. Especially since the beginning was so slow, I felt the readers deserved a little more time with these two women.
Jude in the Stars 