Gabriela and His Grace has a unique setting with a portion of it taking place in Mexico and another part on a ship where the leads have to share a cabin! It’s the third and final book in the Luna Sisters series with enemies to lovers, steamy close proximity, and lots of heart.

The Luna sisters fled Mexico four years ago, during the Franco-Mexican War, and now Gabriela (Gabby) decides it’s a good time to go back and visit her parents. She is a beautiful, wealthy heiress and is having trouble with aggressive fortune hunters. She doesn’t want to end up with a scandal and be forced to marry someone awful so she needs to get away. Her uncle is a Mexican diplomat in London and tells her he thinks it’s safe now for her to return to Mexico.

Sebastian Brooks, the Duke of Whitfield, is on his way to Mexico to visit a silver mine that he and his friend, Fox, (who is married to Gabby’s sister from Ana Maria and the Fox) are investing in. This is a great opportunity for Sebastian as he desperately needs to raise funds for his estate. When Fox asks him to look out for Gabby as they travel on the ship to Mexico, Sebastian is wary because he knows she doesn’t want anything to do with him. Sebastian is handsome and charming but Gabby thinks he’s a scoundrel because of something that happened in their past and she isn’t happy when she sees he is also on the ship.

While on board the ship, she begins to soften her opinion of him. She sees him below deck laughing with his valet and playing dice, then her heart melts when she sees him playing hopscotch with the children. There was a lot of talk about politics at their dinners, which didn’t interest me as much as their romance did.

When they get to Mexico, Gabriela is reunited with her sister, Isabel and Sirius (from Isabel and The Rogue) and Gabriela is impressed when she sees the clinic Isabel has helped to set up. Gabriela dreams of doing something meaningful and is inspired by her sister. While Gabriela is in Mexico, there is a festival in the town square with musicians and delicious sounding foods and there is a romantic scene when she and Sebastian join in the dancing. She starts to get worried when she finds out her father is making plans to marry her off and seeks out Sebastian to ask for his help to get back to London. He’s been falling for her and wants to protect her and so he agrees, but there is only one cabin left, with one bed, and so it gets pretty steamy.

There are several scenes in the story where we see Sebastian admirably stand up for Gabby and when someone sees them together and they are compromised, he offers for her. But they still have some challenges ahead because Sebastian has some secrets he’s been keeping from Gabby, which create a misunderstanding. I didn’t understand why he felt he couldn’t talk to her about his secrets and it felt like unnecessary drama. The pace was a little slow in parts, mainly when they discussed politics, but it was special to be transported to Mexico in the 1860’s.

I enjoyed the sisterhood and how the Luna sisters all supported each other with the setup of their clinics to help women and children. There is a lot packed into the epilogue to wrap up the sisters’ stories. There is also a summary of historic events included in the Author’s Note for this part of Mexican history, which I found helpful.

I was entertained with Gabby and Sebastian’s story, especially during their time in Mexico. Readers interested in a unique setting and a glimpse of Mexican history might enjoy this spicy historical romance.