Liana De la Rosa’s ‘Gabriela And His Grace’ is the final installment of her Luna Sisters series.

MESA, Ariz. — Valley bestselling author Liana De la Rosa is closing the final chapter in her ‘Luna Sisters’ series as the third book hits shelves.

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De la Rosa, a USA Today bestselling author of multiple historical romance titles, celebrated the publication of ‘Gabriela And His Grace’ with fellow romance author and New York Times #1 bestseller Ali Hazelwood at the Mesa Arts Center in front of a sold-out crowd. 

Before the book hit shelves, De la Rosa sat down with 12News to discuss her new book, how she feels about the finale of her Luna Sisters series, and what’s next for her. 


The final Luna sister

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, De la Rosa was trying to decide what to write next.

She had written a few Regency romances and some novellas, but she wanted to try something new. She started brainstorming, and while working on research for another project, she came across immigration records of people moving from Latin America to Europe.

The records were documenting those who fled Mexico during the Second French Intervention, when France occupied Mexico and attempted to colonize the country in the late 1800s.

“All of a sudden, I had this nugget of an idea of what I could do, where I could have three… sisters flee the conflict in Mexico to London for their safety, and then they get into a whole bunch of hijinks and shenanigans,” De la Rosa said. “I had the beginning of the Luna Sister series all mapped out, probably within 10 days.”

The Luna sisters series follows Ana María, Isabel, and Gabriela, who had been pitted against each other all throughout childhood to compete for their father’s attention. The trio leaves their homeland and goes to London for their own safety, and with hopes of turning the tide of the occupation by acting as ambassadors to Mexico. 

The first book in the Luna Sisters series—’Ana María and the Fox’—follows the oldest sister, Ana María, and the second book—’Isabel and The Rogue’—tells the story of the middle sister, Isabel. Each sister works to find her place in the new reality she inhabits, finding solace in her sibling relationships and falling in love along the way.

While Ana María often plays the role of caretaker and Isabel is perceived as a wallflower, De la Rosa said, the version of the youngest Luna sister readers have gotten to know on the pages of her sisters’ stories may not be the same character readers see in ‘Gabriela And His Grace.’ 

“When I was preparing to write Gabby’s book, I had these ideas in my mind because I had written her in these other two books,” De la Rosa said. “What I was not prepared for was how vulnerable she is and how sensitive she is, because all that fire, all that sass, really masks her own insecurities, and her own fears of only being seen for her beauty, only being seen for what she can bring to a marriage… and how she is longing to stand out in some way and to contribute the way her sisters have.”

And of course, in Gabby’s story, readers get to know her love interest, Sebastian the Duke of Whitfield, in a new light. 

“In this book, he has responsibilities. He has people who are depending upon him, and rather than shirking that responsibility, he rises to the occasion,” De la Rosa said. “That goodness was always there. He just didn’t have a reason to showcase it.”


Writing diverse historical romance

The Luna Sisters series is a Regency-era story, but unlike many popular titles, it does not have a Eurocentric storyline. De la Rosa said there is often a misconception that historical titles centering stories of people of color have to focus on struggle or overcoming adversity. But De la Rosa said while she includes the racism, colorism, xenophobia, and many other challenges facing the sisters, that’s not the heart of her books.

“Those are things that happen, but that’s not the entirety of their experience. There is so much joy and love that happens, not just within those three books, but just throughout history,” De la Rosa said. “And if you’re only focusing, you’re only expecting struggle, and you’re only expecting people of color… the stories they tell to only be about overcoming, then you’re missing out on all the other beautiful experiences that have occurred throughout history, because there’s so much joy. 

There’s so much joy, and there are so many things outside of those challenges.”

One of the characters who has faced many challenges and who has loomed large in the Luna Sisters series is the patriarch, the sisters’ father, Elias Luna. While Elias Luna is often seen through his daughters’ lenses, Gabby’s book is the first time readers meet him on the page.

“It was kind of exciting, while also challenging, for me to actually write him because obviously he’s been in the back of my mind, I’ve thought about how he’s affected all of the sisters throughout the series,” De la Rosa said. “To actually write him and describe him and to write dialogue with him… it was interesting.”

Elias Luna is an Indigenous man who worked very hard to be in the place of power he inhabits in the books, De la Rosa said, and his great failing in life was not having any sons to pass on his hard-fought political power. But as she was writing his character, De la Rosa said she grew to understand his perspective in a new way.

“When I was thinking about writing him, it was hard because in many ways, I’m sympathetic towards him because I understand where he came from, the sort of challenges he’s had to overcome, the sort of stigmas he’s encountered to get where he’s at—those are all understandable,” De la Rosa said. “But I’m writing about three sisters and the mark that he’s left on their lives, and I think that actually putting him on the page and showing readers a glimpse of how he’s treated them… now they get to read it, and that was very different.”

It’s this nuanced perspective that De la Rosa said she hopes readers take away from ‘Gabriela And His Grace.’

“I hope that readers get a greater appreciation for the various kinds of history that is out there,” De la Rosa said. “There is a vast, beautiful number of perspectives and historical moments out there, and…I hope readers leave the series excited to learn more.”

De la Rosa said one of the biggest compliments she can receive is when she gets emails from readers letting her know that they decided to research the moment in history she wrote about in her books.

“That’s incredibly encouraging,” De la Rosa said. “…I hope that the readers are keen to explore different perspectives and celebrate how diverse history really is.”


What’s next

While De la Rosa said she will continue writing historical romance and will self-publish some stories in the future, her traditional publishing projects will take a different direction: her next book will be a contemporary romance set in Phoenix. 

Going from historical to contemporary was a big shift, De la Rosa said, and one of the largest changes was going from writing multiple points of view in one book to writing from just one.

“It took a good long while to feel comfortable with it, and I’m so used to exploring the male main character or both characters equally, and this book is told just through the female main character’s perspective,” De la Rosa said. “I’ve found myself missing the male main character’s point of view, like, what is he thinking? What’s going on in his head? What does he want?”

Her new project is called ‘Mutual Discord’ and follows a Latina influencer who highlights the theft of women’s scientific and historical contributions, and finds her heart stolen by the one man she can never have.

According to the Deal Report on Publisher’s Marketplace, the book is “feminist, forbidden love contemporary romance.”

“My heart will always belong to historical romance,” De la Rosa said. “My excitement’s a little bittersweet because I know that this kind of chapter is closing, but I’m trying to focus on what’s next and what’s ahead.”

To learn more and keep up with De la Rosa’s latest, you can follow her on social media and sign up for her newsletter on her website.

De la Rosa will be heading on tour for ‘Gabriela and His Grace,’ which you can find out more about on her social media profiles.

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