ISBN: 9781492720195
Published: October 2013
Trade paperback, 194 pages
Twenty-year-old Marietta Gatti is banished from her
in-laws’ Verona villa upon the death of her faithless husband. With nowhere
else to go, she decides to return to Venice, hoping to reconcile with her
estranged father. Upon arriving there, Marietta discovers that her father has died in
mysterious circumstances. Determined to
find out what happened to him, she begins her investigations, aided by Nico
Foscari, a rich, handsome Italian playboy, who is also blind. This is the first
blind hero I've encountered, but it somehow works. Marietta
is strong, independent, resilient and very likable And the hero isn't
too bad, either. He develops into an honourable man by the end.
I liked the fact that the story is set in 18th
century Venice during carnival time, with its masked balls, beautiful gowns,
luxurious villas, and historical people like Casanova, the Foscari family and
the artist Tiepolo. I enjoyed learning something
about the early days of Venice as a great trading center for silks, spices, and
exotic goods. I would have enjoyed reading more about the history.
Most everything in the novel is believable. The only
thing that isn't too realistic is Marietta’s nighttime excursions, dressed up
as a man, into the homes of rich Venetians in her attempts to resolve the
mystery of her father’s death. I don’t think it’s something a young woman of
the day would do.
This is a quick, easily read historical fiction that also
contains elements of mystery, revenge, friendship and romance (a couple of
non-explicit sexual scenes.)
I hope the author favors us with more worthy tales.
To follow the tour and read more reviews, please visit Italy Book Tours page for Venice in the Moonlight.
Elizabeth McKenna works as a full-time technical writer/editor for a large software company. Though her love of books reaches back to her childhood, she had never read romance novels until one Christmas when her sister gave her the latest bestseller by Nora Roberts. She was hooked from page one (actually, she admits it was the first love scene). She had always wanted to write fiction, so she combined her love of history, romance and a happy ending to write her debut novel Cera's Place. Her short story, The Gypsy Casts a Spell, is available for free on her website. She hopes you will enjoy her latest novel, Venice in the Moonlight, as much as others have enjoyed her previous works.
Elizabeth lives in Wisconsin with her understanding husband, two beautiful daughters, and a sassy Labrador. When she isn't writing, working, or being a mom, she's sleeping.
Connect with her: Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter
And now for the giveaway!
Reviewed by Sandra
Disclosure: Thanks to Laura Fabiani from Italy Book Tours for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.
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