Thank you, Lord that I was finally able to upload this. Good golly it has been a struggle to get this thing to cooperate. I finally got it filmed, edited, exported from iMovie, and now uploaded. God is good! And this writing is terrible! Please laugh at my middle school self with me as I dramatically read through Fairy Tale Time, Chapter 1. This first chapter is dull, but things start to pick up in the next one, which I will hopefully post soon! If you would like to purchase a copy of the book (do not feel obligated to do so) you can visit the "My Writing" tab above. Or, if you'd like to read along for free, see the text below the video! Just keep in mind that I have not edited the formatting or grammar since I was in the 8th grade. Make of that what you will. Chapter 1: Jeff and Rosie Every story has its own beginning. This one starts as so: Once upon a time--no wait, those stories usually end up something like: happily ever after. Okay, retake: It was a dark and stormy night-but hey, that’s not accurate, as a matter of fact it was quite the opposite! Here we go again: It was a bright and sunny day… Yeah, that’s it. So now we have the beginning, let’s get this story moving, shall we? It was a bright, crisp, fall day. The leaves were at their best, sweet smelling in an assortment of reds and yellows. Jeff loved it that way. His favorite part of the day was upon him, walking to school. There is nothing like the satisfying, CRUNCH, of leaves beneath your feet. It looks like a Robin Hood kind of day. He thought. You might be like, “A Robin Hood kind of day? What on earth does that mean?!” I’ll tell you what that means. Well one thing you should know about Jeff is that he loves to read. He likes anything with a fairytale kind of view. Knowing this you should also know that Jeff reads on his way to school. So “It looks like a Robin Hood kind of day” means that Jeff is going to read Robin Hood on his way to school. Now you might be wondering, HOW it can look like a Robin Hood kind of day, and though your wonderings are annoying, I will answer this. “It looks like a Robin Hood kind of day” also means that Jeff thinks that the walk to school looks like Sherwood Forest. What’s that? You have another question! What is Sherwood Forest?! Well it is clear that you don’t read many a fairytale! Perhaps you should give this book to a more experienced fairy tale reader--but hey, you got me off point! Sherwood is simply where Robin Hood lives. Now, no more wonderings or questions! I have a story to tell! Where was I? Oh yeah! Jeff pulled a leather bound book out of his back-pack and started to read all about Robin and his merry men. The book was a gift from Jeff’s grandmother. She had known he loved books and gave him one from her vast private library. As Jeff was walking he glanced up from his book and saw a girl walking beside him, leaning over and reading along with him. “Hey! Would you PLEASE stop that?!” Jeff exclaimed. “I beg your pardon?” Oh great, it was that snooping reporter girl. Her and her big glasses and pig tails were always pinning someone down for an interview. She might be the only girl who was liked less than Jeff in their school (Washington Jr. High)! The only difference was that SHE had friends. “Would you stop reading my book?” Jeff answered more calmly. “Sorry, just trying to figure out what it was, the title must have rubbed off or something.” The girl said, “It’s pretty boring whatever it is, a lot of thy and thou in there.” You don’t have to tell me, I was the one reading it. Jeff thought angrily, “Yes, well it IS a very old book.” “So, what story is it?” “Robin Hood.” Jeff mumbled. The girl was silent for a long while and Jeff was grateful for the reading time. Once the pair got to the school the girl ran off and took a picture of some teacher pulling in on a motorcycle. Jeff put his book away and headed for his first class. After school Jeff started home but was stopped by the reporter girl. “Hi, it’s me again.” I can tell. He thought. “I was feeling kind of bad about wrecking your reading time this morning and I thought that I should at least introduce myself. I’m Rosie.” She said, thrusting her hand towards Jeff. He turned it down, seeing ink dripping off of her already messy arm. “Um, I’m Jeffrey, but all of my family calls me Jeff.” “Cool, my name is really Rosetta but all my peeps call me Rosie.” “Peeps?” “Uh, my friends.” Ah friends, Jeff would give anything to have some other boys to hang around with. (I’m glad I’m not that lonely.) “Your friends… oh, I see. You’re on the school paper, right?” Jeff inquired blankly. “Yeah, I’m the girl who writes all the front page stuff!” She said smugly. Jeff nodded and continued to walk towards his home. Rosie followed. “If you want to read again I can leave you alone.” Rosie asked awkwardly. Jeff was going to yell out, “leave me alone!” But he remembered that this strange reporter was the only kid in the school who had even bothered to talk to him. “That’s okay; it’s nice that someone isn’t worried about being seen hanging out with me.” Rosie looked questioningly at him. “What do you mean?” “Well most kids just don’t want to talk to me, maybe because I read so much or something of the sort.” Rosie looked sympathetic. “That’s too bad. I think you’re nice.” The girl said with a sheepish grin. When Jeff got home he opened the gate to his front yard and looked around. Good, no sign of King. King was Jeff’s dog. He was a Great Dane and loved to jump all over Jeff and slobber on him, Jeff wasn’t as joyful to see the dog, mostly because King loved to knock him to the ground. Rosie looked around, “What are we looking for?” “I want to make sure my dog doesn’t tackle me.” “So why are you whispering?” Rosie whispered. “I don’t want King to hear me.” “You mean the dog, right?” Jeff didn’t answer because he saw King running out of the house! “Duck!” Jeff called. The kids ducked as King landed on top of Jeff. “Oof!” The boy groaned under the weight of the hundred pound dog. King licked Jeff and sniffed Rosie. Rosie was giggling the whole time. “So, you want to get a snack from my mom? She has a policy that whoever King tackles gets a snack.” Jeff laughed. The twosome went into the old Victorian styled home and walked towards the kitchen, with Jeff leading the way. In the large, warm kitchen a woman stood making cookies by the oven. “Hi honey, how did school go?’” she said turning to see them, “Oh, you brought a friend! How nice, what is your name dear?” Jeff’s mom probed. “I’m Rosie.” “Finally, Jeff has a friend! He always seems so lonely with nothing but books.” The plump mother cooed. The kind woman sat them down at the table and gave them each a chocolate-chip cookie and a glass of milk. They thanked her and she went back to her baking. After they devoured the cookies they went into the living room and turned on the TV. “There are never any good shows on around this time.” Jeff said glumly. Rosie nodded. “There is never anything to do after school.” Since they had nothing else to do Rosie suggested that the two question each other about themselves. They started with questions such as, “What is your favorite ice cream flavor?” and important things like that and then they got silly and asked foolish questions like, “What is your favorite hobby?”, and “What do you think of this sports team?” The two found themselves in giggles and then laughter. One time they even cackled. All and all they had a great time questioning each other. (Not the funniest activity if you ask me, but they didn’t ask me so I have no say in the matter.) They had such a great time that when Rosie’s dad called her cellphone to tell her to come home, they even seemed disappointed. Rosie asked if he wanted to come over to her place the next day so he could meet her dad. Jeff said sure and that they should walk home together again, unless, of course, something or someone totally destroyed their friendship in twenty-four hours or less. So Rosie went home and Jeff ate dinner. What a fine dinner it was, pizza from Fast Delivery Frank, with lots of extra meat. What a great day, or so Jeff thought, because really Rosie was a vampire trying to drink Jeff’s blood, oh how good that would taste! She concealed herself in the house, ready for Jeff’s demise, hoping for a taste of--oops, wrong story; it was actually a great day for Jeff. Don’t worry, this is not a horror story, nothing too bad happens to anybody. The next day Rosie and Jeff walked to school and talked about the story of Robin Hood. “Who is your favorite character?” Rosie asked Jeff. “Hmmm… I think Robin Hood himself, but then and again I really like Little John, how about you?” “I don’t know, I never really read the book, I just saw the movie.” Rosie said with a shrug. “Ha! The movie isn’t anything like the book! Not at all I tell you! I’ll lend my book to you sometime.” As they continued to walk to school Rosie looked uncomfortable. “Hey Jeff, what would you do if I, um, put everything I asked you about yesterday in the paper?” Jeff’s face was a mix of bewilderment and anger. I can’t say that I blame him. “You put that stuff in the school newspaper! How could you?! I didn’t think that you would, I mean, why?!” “Because my editor thought my stories should be so students can relate to it better. I thought it would be good to do an interview with a kid and see how the people who read it would react. So I walked home with you and interviewed you secretly. I’m sorry, but I thought you might like it because it might make you more popular.” “And how would this make me more popular?!” Jeff griped. “Um, well I thought people would like you if they got to know you better.” Rosie said meekly. Jeff stomped off and went to class. In class James, the jock, was showing off again. He was sitting on Jeff’s desk showing his muscles to everybody. As usual at least two girls had swooned and landed on the floor. Why don’t people ever catch those cheerleaders? Jeff pondered, stepping over them. “Um James, you’re sitting on my desk again.” Jeff said, groaning just a tad. “Yeah, I know. It has the best light.” “Come on, class is about to start!” James hopped down and shoved Jeff. “Well sorry buddy but I like it here.” “I need my desk back, James.” Jeff said, his temper rising. James laughed jollily. “I was just messing with you, here you go, one well-lit desk.” Jeff sat down and pulled out his book. What could go wrong while he was in Robin Hood’s world? If only he could visit more often. Little did he know that his wishes were to be granted, soon. Later, in the hallway, Jeff picked up a newspaper and read: JEFF ROBERTS, ONE SPECIAL STUDENT. BY ROSETTA STONE SOME OF YOU MAY NEVER HAVE HEARD OF JEFF ROBERTS BUT AFTER YOU READ THIS YOU’RE GOING TO WISH YOU HAD. JEFF IS A GREAT DUDE, REMARKABLE IF YOU ASK ME. JEFF KNOWS A LOT ABOUT FAIRYTALES AND NEAT FACTS THAT I BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW… There was more but Jeff didn’t bother to read it, he had to go find Rosie and apologize for blowing up at her earlier. The newspaper hadn’t said what he thought it would say. Jeff thought Rosie had just wanted to be his friend for the interview and then forget about him. He thought that she was going to put the embarrassing stuff that he had told her about; like that he had a stuffed bear. If I were the reporter I would totally put that juicy information in the paper, but alas, I am not a school newspaper reporter. When Jeff found Rosie she was in the classroom that the school used for the newspaper editing room. She was in there working over a computer, a click here a letter there. Jeff went in and a girl looked up. “Excuse me; do you work with the press? I didn’t think so. Now you leave, good-bye!” She said quickly while waving good-bye. Then Rosie looked up. “Hey Abby, let him come in, he’s the one I interviewed.” The girl named Abby flicked her blond hair angrily, but let Jeff pass. “Hi, um, I wanted to apologize for getting mad at you earlier, I should have read the paper before I assumed that you had written awful stuff about me, I’m really sorry.” Jeff mumbled. Rosie smiled. “And I’m sorry too. I should have told you that I was putting you in the paper. It was wrong of me to assume.” The two laughed at each other. After school, Rosie led Jeff to her apartment building and inside he met Mr. Stone, a great whale of a man, and always a jolly fellow. They had potato chips and pop and watched Rosie’s favorite TV show, the five o’clock news. Later Rosie showed Jeff her harmless pet snake, Charlie. Well I think it was harmless, no one got hurt anyway. All in all they had a nice and lovely time. Oh, that’s redundant you say? Here, I’ll revise: All in all they had a pleasant time. There. Now you might be starting to think that this is a darling little story where two children go on cute adventures together, grow up, and get married. It’s not. I don’t know if they get married, perhaps so but if you want to find that out you’re going to need a crystal ball and fortune teller because I simply don’t know. You might be getting the notion that I don’t like you because I keep talking to you so harshly. It’s not you, it’s just these ideas you have need to be corrected so that you don’t get the wrong idea. Another thing that you got wrong is that there are two children. That is positively incorrect. There is more than two, you just wait and see.
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Personal Rating: 4 Stars Goodreads rating at time of review: 4.1 Stars Content Rating: R (for sexual scenes and language) Trigger Warnings: Dead parent, mentions of murder, brief mentions of child abuse, emotionally manipulative ex-boyfriend. Florence Day is the ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry, and she has a problem—after a terrible breakup, she no longer believes in love. It’s as good as dead. When her new editor, a too-handsome mountain of a man, won’t give her an extension on her book deadline, Florence prepares to kiss her career goodbye. But then she gets a phone call she never wanted to receive, and she must return home for the first time in a decade to help her family bury her beloved father. For ten years, she’s run from the town that never understood her, and even though she misses the sound of a warm Southern night and her eccentric, loving family and their funeral parlor, she can’t bring herself to stay. Even with her father gone, it feels like nothing in this town has changed. And she hates it. Until she finds a ghost standing at the funeral parlor’s front door, just as broad and infuriatingly handsome as ever, and he’s just as confused about why he’s there as she is. Romance is most certainly dead... but so is her new editor, and his unfinished business will have her second-guessing everything she’s ever known about love stories. (goodreads.com) I was astounded to find that I’ve actually read a book by this author before! Ashley Poston also wrote Geekerella, which is a fun, nerdy YA book that I wholeheartedly enjoyed back in 2018. I didn’t find this out until after I read this book, which was kind of nice because that means the book is good even without predetermined positive feelings for the author! Before we get into the review, let’s get this out of the way: Yes, this book had sexual scenes and sexual jokes. The jokes were sprinkled throughout, but not alarmingly abundant (just enough to let you know that this book is for grown ups). I was actually pleasantly surprised that the actual *spicy* scenes in the book were not as numerous as I thought they’d be. There were really only two major ones that I can recall and one of them was sort of fade-to-black. There was no important information in these scenes so they could just be skimmed through. Okay, that aside, I really did enjoy this novel! It went much deeper into exploring grief than I was expecting from a fluffy romance. It talked about family struggles, healing, honoring those who have passed, and enjoying life. Way more than I signed up for when I was told this was a fun romance about a ghost and an author, but I was okay with that. Speaking of ghosts… you may be wondering how this book can possibly have a happy ending if one of the main characters is dead. Well, I’m certainly not going to tell you. That would be a big ole spoiler. Just take my word for it, things work out. As far as the characters go, I liked ‘em all. Well, except for the ones the reader isn’t supposed to like. Florence, the MC, is a bit jaded, but still knows how to joke around. Her family is fun and felt realistic to me. The only character that I didn’t find particularly believable was Ben, the male lead. Don’t get me wrong, he was a likable character and I enjoyed reading about him. But something about him just did not feel realistic. He was honestly too good to be true. I’m not complaining about it, since this is a romance novel and I guess that’s kind of the point (I haven’t read enough adult romance novels to know if other male love interests are as “perfect” as Ben, and in all the YA romance novels I generally hate the boy characters). Like I said, I thought his character was great, just maybe a smidge too perfect. He almost didn’t feel human. But I guess he was a ghost, so that works out. The setting of a small town was lovely. The story takes place in spring, but since I’m more than ready for autumn, I imagined it to be during the fall, which was kind of fun. All together very cozy regardless of what season you read it in. Florence’s interactions with the ghosts of the town were generally sweet, or at least interesting. I almost wish the book had covered more of her being able to speak to ghosts. However, it was also really cool because it kept mentioning how Florence, with the help of a ghost, had solved a murder when she was a kid. It almost felt like this story was showing you what happens to the protagonist of a YA paranormal murder mystery book after she grows up. I don’t know that I’d recommend this book to everyone (particularly if you’re already struggling with grief or if you don’t like romance), but I read it very quickly and enjoyed it quite a bit more than I was expecting. Thanks for reading, I’m off to wander through a graveyard (for real, does anyone want to go walking through a cemetery with me?). Until next time! Cover image source: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/58885776-the-dead-romantics Personal Rating: 3 Stars Goodreads rating at time of review: 3.53 Stars Content Rating: R (mostly for violence and language, but some non-graphic sexual content is present as well) Trigger Warnings: Violence, lots of blood, assault, manipulation. There’s only one way out Belle Morte. One of five houses where vampires reside as celebrities and humans are paid to be their living donors. While others came here seeking fortune, I came in search of my sister who walked into Belle Morte five months ago . . . and never walked back out. Now that I’m here, the secrets about this world have proven to be much bigger than I ever anticipated. And lurking around every corner are shocking insinuations of what happened to my sister. There’s only one person who might have the answers I need, and the undeniable pull I feel toward him is terrifying: Edmond Dantès―a vampire, and my mortal enemy. The harder I try to resist him, the further I fall under his spell. And in one instant my life is irrevocably changed. My past becomes prologue and my fate becomes sealed behind these doors. Belle Morte has spoken. And it may never let me go. (goodreads.com) As always, a moment of appreciation for a pretty cover. I’m not quite sure how it relates to the story, other than the general elegant vampire vibes, but it’s a lovely cover nonetheless. When I first heard of this book, I was excited about it. I’m always hopeful for new vampire books. I never really got into the Twilight/Vampire Diaries/Vampire Academy type books, but I love the idea of vampires and the different plots that can come from immortal, super-powered individuals who struggle with morals. So, I get excited when I see new YA vampire fiction. Then I saw that this was a Wattpad book… and my excitement dimmed. Unfair though it may be, I am generally apprehensive about books written on Wattpad. If you don’t know, that particular free writing website has spawned works such as The Kissing Booth by Beth Reekles and After by Anna Todd. And no hate to anyone who enjoys those books, but let’s be honest… well, I can’t be honest without making a generalized assumption. Let’s just say that they are not my cup of tea. Neither are many of the stories that can be found on Wattpad, though the genres cover everything you could possibly want. Still, I thought I’d give it a go, because, well, vampires. The first few chapters irritated me because I felt like I’d literally just opened Wattpad in my browser and had clicked on the first vampire story I saw. Of course, the grammar and formatting were miles better and by probably the third chapter I was sucked into the story. Because that’s what Wattpad stories are good at, they might be the most ludicrous, poorly written thing you’ve ever read, but something about them does a great job of keeping the reader entertained. Or, at least, this reader. Okay, I’ll stop talking about how Wattpad-ish it is now. It’s published by them, we get it. Moving on. The actual story itself was pretty interesting for the first half of the book. The main character, Renie, is searching for her sister and the vampires seem to know where she’s gone, but no one is giving any information up. There are spooky clues that Renie keeps finding and dubious alliances that she’s forming. Things are mysterious and the reader is hoping along with Renie that her sister is okay. It’s a complete mystery as to what happened to her sister for the first half of the book. Then we find out what happened to her and the mystery element goes away. I won’t tell you what happened to the sister, but I will say that the revelation comes much earlier in the book than I was expecting and from there onward the book loses some of its appeal. There are still mysteries to be solved, but no one puts much effort into figuring things out until it is revealed to them. Plotwise, this book is kind of meh. I wish it had been more difficult for Renie to find her sister, June. It didn’t particularly feel earned when she figured it out and since that was the main plotline, it kind of just dropped from there. But, I suppose, people don’t read books like this for the plot. And that’s totally fine. After all, I read it and even with the flat plot, I still found it entertaining. This book is not a mystery with a supernatural element, it is a vampire romance with a dash of mystery. And it does a pretty good job at being that. Personally, I didn’t really care for the romance of Belle Morte. It was very insta-lovey and not in a way that was explained. It’s one thing if the two leads see each other, feel irrationally drawn to each other and then it turns out, gee whiz! There was some sort of soulmate magic all along. But it irritates the heck (pardon my language) out of me when both characters feel a magnetic pull toward one another and even though they barely know each other they fall desperately in love and then there is no explanation why they felt so drawn to each other. Apart from that, the story went out of its way on multiple occasions to point out how old Edmond is compared to Renie and how he’s lived through wars and trauma and heartbreak and how she’s… gone to highschool. Which, to be fair, happens in almost all vampire books. But this one kept pointing it out and Renie had a moment where she was completely freaked out and somewhat disgusted by their age difference. Then she got over it after a nap because Edmond was just so darn pretty. I’ve read and enjoyed other books where one of the characters is immortal and the other is not and it hasn’t bothered me, but Edmond seemed like such a grandpa. He was bad at technology and kept talking about how cushy things are in the present. It had a very “when I was your age we had to walk uphill both ways” feel to it. One thing I did enjoy was the amount of extravagant parties the character attended. Completely unhelpful to the plot, totally unnecessary, but really fun to read about. I just enjoy the dancing and the many irrelevant details about what dresses and tuxes everyone wore in the book. That’s one thing I love about some YA books is the amount of fancy dresses. It’s probably because I grew up on a healthy diet of Barbie movies. Overall, I liked this book and I will read the next one when it comes out, but it was a bit disappointing. Oh well, I’ll keep looking for a vampire book that I enjoy and if I can’t find one then I might just write one. We’ll see how things shake out. Thanks for reading! I’m off to raid the wardrobes of Belle Morte and throw a fancy ball of my own. Until next time! Cover image: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/57917080-belle-morte I've been having difficulties making the videos that I want to make, which is super frustrating, but in the meantime, please enjoy a quick look at some of the antique books I've been collecting over the years! I think they're really nice to look at, but it's also so interesting to look at notes written inside of them or papers tucked between the pages, or even a name scrawled in the cover and think about the people who might have owned these books so long ago. Personal Rating: 3 Stars Goodreads rating at time of review: Content Rating: R (for violence and suggestive scenes) Trigger Warnings: Murder, assault, an almost rape/murder, funeral for a teenager, kidnapping, prostitution. Cassandra Caravello is one of Renaissance Venice’s lucky elite: with elegant gowns, sparkling jewels, her own lady’s maid, and a wealthy fiancé, she has everything a girl could desire. Yet ever since her parents’ death, Cassandra has felt trapped, alone in a city of water, where the dark and labyrinthine canals whisper of escape. When Cass stumbles upon a murdered woman—practically in her own backyard—she’s drawn into a dangerous world of courtesans, killers, and secret societies. Soon, she finds herself falling for Falco, a mysterious artist with a mischievous grin... and a spectacular skill for trouble. Can Cassandra find the murderer, before he finds her? And will she stay true to her fiancé, or succumb to her uncontrollable feelings for Falco? (goodreads.com) A book about Venice? In the Renaissance? With a spooky murder mystery? Don’t mind if I do, hand it over! Originally, I thought this book was going to have fantasy elements to it, because it was shelved in the young adult fantasy section of the library. However, after reading the first book in this series, I can find no blatant use of magic. There may have been something vaguely alluded to because it seemed like the main character had “premonitions” of some sort, but none of those came true so I’m not sure what exactly was going on there. I’d say that this first book is mainly mystery/romance. My favorite thing about this book was the immersion into Venice. C’mon, you know me. You knew that was going to be what I liked best. When I was reading it, I felt like I was there, like I could run away to Italy in a book. After I finished reading, I almost didn’t want to pick up another book because I knew it wouldn’t be set in Venice and I wouldn’t be learning more clues to solve the mystery. My least favorite thing was, unsurprisingly, how much sexual stuff was going on. C’mon, you know me. You knew that was going to be what I liked least. It just felt like an unnecessary amount of talking about prostitution, affairs, secret trysts, etc. There was only one scene that described anything happening in detail and it wasn’t terribly graphic (and it was easily skimmed through) and it was really not needed for the plot of the story or for the development of the main character. Or if it was, I’m sure it could have just been mentioned briefly, rather than described at all. To my great irritation, books about Venice are like books about vampires. Both are intriguing topics that I find fun to read about, but both are always swamped in steamy, sensual writing that I don’t care for. Maybe there just needs to be more children’s books about Venice. And vampires, come to think of it. Maybe even both together, but not like that Doctor Who episode (fun fact, I’ve only seen three or four episodes of Doctor Who, picked out for me by my friends and they decided that one of those episodes should be “Blink” because I guess they wanted me to have nightmares or something *glares good naturedly at friends* but one friend also showed me “The Vampires of Venice” which was great, but not exactly what I have in mind for more stories about vampires and Venice). Enough of my rambling about what I want for the future of Venetian and Vampirian (is that a word?) literature. Moving on with the review! Let’s talk about characters, shall we?
Cassandra is the main character and she is a pretty standard 2012 YA book heroine in some ways but also different in other ways. For one thing, she seems to have quite a strong “not like other girls” streak and one character literally tells her that she is not like other girls. I’m sure that line killed back in good ole twenty-twelve, but it’s been a decade since then and the phrase induces more cringe than anything. Regardless, Cass was also different from standard 2012 heroines because, despite being “not like other girls”, she also had a couple of awesome gal-pals who she could confide in and she wasn’t a complete snob or running around wearing trousers because she’s just “too tough for dresses”. Not that there is anything wrong with wearing pants, sometimes pants just don’t make sense in the context of Renaissance Venice for a young noblewoman. Anyway, Cass isn’t the worst MC that I’ve ever read, but she definitely had her annoying moments. Then we have Falco. The artistic bad boy who worships science instead of God. Wowza, what a rebel (although, honestly, at that time in history being an atheist out loud was pretty darn dangerous). He’s also the main love interest for the book, even though Cass is betrothed to another guy named Luca. I won’t say too much about Luca for fear of spoilers, but I will say that I got kind of an icky vibe from Falco for the whole book. Something about him just seems wack, even though I’m pretty sure he’s supposed to be a good guy. I wasn’t a fan of him and his constant peer pressure of Cass. And the two of them rarely have a conversation that isn’t an argument. If they aren’t arguing then they are smooching. How they had time to decide that they loved each other, we will never know. One character that I really liked but who wasn’t in the book very much was Sienna, the lady’s maid to Cass. Sienna started off somewhat distant from the main characters and I didn’t think she’d be involved in the whole murder mystery at all. Again, I don't want to say too much, but she does become a bigger part of the story later on and her arc is continued in what I’ve read of the sequel, though Cass is still the MC. There were plenty of other interesting side characters as well, but there were almost too many and I sort of lost track of them. I would suggest keeping somewhat of a list of names mentioned. It might make the big “who-dun-did-it” reveal at the end more satisfying. Just because of the setting, I want to finish this book series, but the end of the first book doesn’t leave all of the ends tied up, so the suspense will also keep me reading until the end of the trilogy. I’d recommend this book to anyone who loves mysteries, Venice, or the Italian Renaissance, but doesn’t mind some violence and spice (although most regular spice readers wouldn’t even consider it spice, they’d probably think of it more as just a tad zesty, but it was spicy for me). It really is a read that sucks you in and keeps your attention, so if you do check it out, I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reading, I’d better be finding a gondola to take me to a masquerade ball. Alla prossima! Image sources: Cover: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9999795-venom Gifs from giphy.com |
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