A review by onthesamepage
Ana María and the Fox by Liana De la Rosa

Did not finish book. Stopped at 41%.
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am bitterly disappointment that I am DNFing this. I absolutely adore the cover, and historical romances with non-white main characters are still so rare that I was excited to pick this up. However, the writing style really doesn't work for me, and the pacing is slow enough that it failed to grab my interest.

This feels very overwritten. The author has the tendency to use multiple adjectives, when one would have sufficed. Here's a short example to give you an idea of what I mean:

Dove’s incessant yapping pulled her from the disappointed memories to the noisy present. A present that included Isabel’s glower of discontent and Gabby’s lighthearted laughs while she greeted new acquaintances as they rumbled past.

The other thing I kept noticing was how unnatural the character interactions were. Two people would be conversing, one would make a mildly amusing remark, and the other would burst out laughing like this was the best joke ever told.

“Poultry-inspired wallpaper. I never would have imagined such a thing existed.” Isabel snorted. “How very  .  .  . unique.”
“And a bit bizarre,” Ana María whispered, leaning close to study the pattern.
“I suppose if you have a great affinity for birds, it makes sense.”
“Or eggs.”
A bubble of laughter burst from Isabel, and she clamped a hand over her mouth, her shoulders shaking with suppressed giggles and tears pooling in her eyes.

I take it back, it's not even mildly amusing.

I did check out a few reviews, and have decided to stop here and cut my losses. 
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