Book review : Tears of Pearl by Tasha Alexander | Opulent Harem Intrigues & Vivid Victorian Mystery! 🕌

Tears of Pearl
by Tasha Alexander
Lady Emily Ashton Mysteries book #4

GENRE: #HistoricalCozyMystery #DualTimelineStory #VictorianEra
My rating: ★★★★☆
(Actually3.5 stars, rounded up to4!)

A highly intricate and atmospheric Victorian mystery!

📜 THE PLOT IN SHORT:

Lady Emily and Colin Hargreaves, esteemed diplomats of the British Empire, are finally married. They can't wait to escape the rigid expectations of London and enjoy a relaxing, magnificent honeymoon in an exotic paradise. Their choice falls on the breathtaking, historic city of Constantinople.

Of course, as is often the case with cozy mysteries, plans don't go as expected. On their very first night in the ancient city, a young harem girl is found brutally strangled in the courtyard of the Sultan’s lavish Topkapi Palace.

An English official working at the local embassy happens to be present and recognizes the tragic victim as his long-lost daughter, who was kidnapped twenty-four years earlier. Heartbroken and desperate, he begs Emily and Colin to find her killer. As a woman, Emily gains exclusive access to the strictly forbidden, cloistered world of the harem. However, she soon discovers that behind those mysterious, opulent walls, no one is safe from a ruthless predator.

As the body count rises under the Turkish sun, Emily must rely on her sharpest wits, putting her own life at great risk—with potentially catastrophic consequences.


__________ ****************** ___________

😊 MY OPINION:

| 🕵️‍♀️ THE MYSTERY: A TWISTED WEB OF FALSE LEAD

Tasha Alexander is incredibly skilled at leading the reader down a specific path, making you believe you’ve predicted the outcome, only to completely pull the rug out from under your feet!

With each passing chapter, more characters enter the scene, expanding the web of suspects. Every single hypothesis you formulate as a reader ultimately turns out to be wrong. The author layers the clues so cleverly that you won't fully figure out the culprit or the motive until the final pages.

| 🗺️ VIVID SETTINGS: BEYOND THE SHORES OF ENGLAND

One of the aspects I enjoy most about this series is that Lady Emily's adventures frequently take place outside of Victorian England.
The historical descriptions of exotic locations, magnificent imperial buildings, local customs, and deep-rooted traditions are so vivid and sensory that you feel like you are standing right there beside the characters.

Furthermore, the author does a wonderful job of maintaining a rich, living universe.
In each installment, there are meaningful nods to Emily's past adventures and recurring characters. Whether they are directly involved in the active investigation or simply drop by through a letter or a courtesy call, it makes Emily's life feel authentic, grounded, and incredibly real.

| 👤 CHARACTERS: GRIPPING PORTRAITS AND RECKLESS CHOICES

The characters are exceptionally well-defined, each endowed with distinct, realistic personality traits—both positive flaws and heroic virtues.

While I generally love Lady Emily’s independent and fiercely intelligent character, I must admit she irritated me quite a bit in this book. She rarely listens to Colin’s well-considered advice and frequently acts on impulse.

To make matters more tense, Emily is pregnant in this novel. While she initially struggles with mixed emotions about the pregnancy, she repeatedly and recklessly puts herself in highly dangerous, life-threatening situations, risking the baby's safety. Her stubbornness felt a bit irresponsible this time around!

| 👉 WHY I GAVE IT 3.5 STARS: CIRCULAR NARRATION & REALITY CHECK

Ultimately, this mystery didn't captivate me as deeply as previous books in the series, for two main reasons:

1) Circular Pacing:
While the intricate mystery is highly enthralling at first, the narrative begins to stretch out without any real resolution, which became quite frustrating.

To my taste, the story went round and round in circles, padding the middle section instead of building momentum.
I actually found myself skimming the final chapters quickly, losing that personal"recitative" tone I usually use to fully immerse myself in a novel, simply because I couldn't wait to just reach the conclusion.

2) The Dark Reality of the Harem:
When I was a little girl, my mother used to read me the magical tales of Aladdin's lamp and Ali Baba. I grew up fascinated by beautiful women in colorful veils and sultans with magnificent turbans.
However, the historical reality of the harem is far from a fairytale.

These women were prisoners, stripped of their freedom and torn from their families. Living in constant rivalry for the sultan's favor made genuine friendships nearly impossible.

Facing this bleak reality within the plot stripped away the exotic romance of the setting for me. It left a bittersweet taste, reminding me of why the modern Middle East remains a fascinating place to read about, but one I would be highly reluctant to travel to in real life.

| 🏁 FINAL VERDICT: A MUST-READ FOR COZY MYSTERY LOVERS

Overall, I highly recommend Tears of Pearl to all fans of historical cozy mysteries! 🕌✨

If you are looking for a captivating historical tale with clean language and no graphic or violent crime scenes, this is the perfect addition to your reading shelf.

While it might not be the absolute best book in the series due to its pacing, it is an essential piece of the puzzle for another huge reason: it adds beautiful depth to "Emily and Colin’s married life"! 💍💑

As I mentioned before, every single book in this series works wonderfully as a STANDALONE (I for one have always read them completely out of order!). However, getting to know the background of their private lives and watching their personal evolution makes every subsequent adventure so much more interesting. Trust me, their personal lives are going to evolve in many beautiful ways as the series moves forward!


So, grab your virtual passport and let yourself be swept away by the colors and secrets of Constantinople. It is a journey well worth taking! 🗺️📖💖



👉 Curious about Lady Emily's PREVIOUS ADVENTURES? Read my full reviews here:

🔹 BOOK #2: A Poisoned Season
🔹 BOOK #3: A Fatal Waltz
🔹 BOOK #5: Dangerous to Know
🔹 BOOK #13.5: Upon the Midnight Clear (Christmas Novella)

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Book review : Vienna Dawn by Mary Lancaster | The Imperial Season #3

Vienna Dawn
by Mary Lancaster
The Imperial Season book #3

GENRE : #regency-suspence-romance #Clean-Romance

My rating: ★★★★★

Actually 4.6 rounded up to 5 stars.

Another lovely regency romance by Mary Lancaster!
I adored the "Imperial Season" series ( 3 main works ) set in the capital of Austria during the 1814 Congress of Vienna.
The 3 books are all wonderful and well connected to each other. Each book tells the love story of a specific couple with several important side characters that we meet in all 3 books ( sometimes in the  main roles and sometimes in secondary roles ).

There is also a short story as book 4 in the series ( which I haven't read yet ), but it's very very short and with brand new characters that are not connected to the ones in 3 main books. The only thing in common with the other 3 novels in the series is the setting : 1814, Austria :  Congress of Vienna.  

__ PLOT in short __ Autumn 1814, Vanya's family (book 1), mother, 2 sisters and the husband of one of them, are going to Vienna. Following an argument, Dunya, the heroine of this story, runs away but runs into a libertine who tries to take advantage of her.Entering a random room in an inn, she meets the English captain Richard Trelawny, who lost an arm in the war, but has lost no gallantry, no generosity, no courage.
 Together with his faithful servant, he saves the girl and decides to help her in her plan to win back an old boyfriend, thus rediscovering verve and joy of living. Lies, misunderstandings and dishonest people will complicate the whole situation, bringing a whirlwind of negative and positive emotions until the happy ending.

____ WHAT I LIKED IN THE BOOK ___
Speaking of this 3rd installment I loved the main couple: Dunya, a young Russian countess without dowry and sweet and handsome and also penniless Captain Trelawny.

Their falling in love happened slowly and neither of them ever denied it to themselves.

There are only two kisses in the book (while I expected more like in book 2), but the plot, despite being light, completely involved me from the beginning.

---> I liked Dunya's liveliness, resourcefulness and ability to admit that she was wrong about some people.
---> Trelawny made me fall in love right away, not only because he is handsome and doesn't back down when faced with the needs of others, but because despite the horrors of war and the loss of his arm having dulled his desire to heal and live a little, he doesn't wallow in self-pity.
Indeed, he gets involved in the girl's vivacity and without ever having an ulterior motive, he protects her and supports her in his plans so that she can find happiness.
Honor, kindness and honesty are not his only qualities. He's also smart and brave, in fact, the war has taught him to fight and despite not having an arm, he doesn't hold back when it comes to foiling an espionage plan or confronting the arrogant and despicable person with the sword.

---> I loved the fact that the protagonists of the 1st book (Lizzie and Vanya and the children with the dog and other characters) were secondary characters in this 3rd installment and I liked finding again, even if only in small cameos, the protagonist couple of book 2 ( Esther and Zelig).
Finding characters I was already very fond of and seeing them actively participate for most of the narrative allowed me to enjoy the whole story even more.

___ LITTLE THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE so as not to give 5 full stars___
I rated it only 4.6 stars ( rounded to 5 because Goodreads doesn't allow half a star ) and not a full 5 stars, like the 2 previous books, because though the love story is gripping and very sweet to read, there are some open doors ( especially one in the ending ) which not only weren't necessary but they lead the reader to think that some events and adventures will follow ( in this book or in the next one ), but the truth is that the series is closed ( the last book is dated 2017) and the short story written by the author as book 4 is not connected to either the events or to the characters of the previous 3 book.
This means that I finished reading the book with a bit of a frustrating sense of unfinished business.

TO PEOPLE WHO DON'T MIND SPOILERS and also TO THE AUTHOR just in case she reads my opinion, I will explain myself a little better :  
There are 3 things that remain open:

__ 1) the most important at the end :

___WARNING : SPOILER____

our couple is stopped by two highwaymen with rifles, who then change their minds and leave. Dunya asks Richard who the villain was with the gun pointed at them, since it was clear that he recognized Richard and therefore let them go without robbing them. Richard doesn't answer and the novel ends with something unfinished which is decidedly annoying for the reader. This cliffhanger would make sense if the series continued, but it didn't and it made me angry.

___SPOILER END____

__ 2) The second thing is less important, but it seems like the introduction to a new story and instead it leads to nothing:

___WARNING : SPOILER____

in this book we find Misha, Vanya's trusted servant, brother of the novel's heroine. Misha convinces Dunya (the heroine) to take in a maid who was being mistreated and this is because it turns out that he is in love with her.
Maria, the maid and Misha, are mentioned a couple more times and then in the end Dunya and Richard leave on a trip with no definite return, around the world. Dunya says she wants to give Maria time to say goodbye to Misha and hopes that Misha will maybe ask her to marry him, but still he takes the maid with him, separating her from her beloved... BUT WHAT'S THE SENSE? The author could have written that Maria married Misha and they both remained employed by Vanya or another solution for them to be together. What the hell is the point of introducing a newborn love and then separating the characters forever, other than disappointing the reader? Let's remember that these are light romances where there is a happy ending for all the good characters (and here we even had a happy ending for a really bitchy girl, another thing I didn't like)

___SPOILER END____

__3) This third thing is perhaps not so important, but it bothers me that it doesn't make sense:

___WARNING : SPOILER____

at a certain point in the novel, the heroine's mother says a sentence that has nothing to do with the important events and characters at that moment.
He asks her if she treats her daughter-in-law (Lizzie, heroine of the first book and Vanya's wife) badly. Everyone answers yes in unison, then the whirlwind of events continues its normal course.
THAT PARTICULAR QUESTION and THAT ANSWER make the reader assume that there will be a clarification between the two characters and that Vanya's mother-countess will finally begin to treat her daughter-in-law with affection... NONE OF THIS... nothing happens in this book or in the next one because there is no continuation of the events of these characters.
At the end of the book Vanya says that Lizzie will try to talk to the angry countess... but then nothing more is said, no scene between the two women is described and she will no longer know anything about their relationship.
It seems that the writer thought about improving the relationship between the two characters, but then changed her mind (did she forget? Did she no longer want to dwell on the novel? ) well, in this case, before printing the book she should have deleted that question and that answer from the others... IT MAKES NO SENSE

___SPOILER END____

___ __IN CONCLUSION: do I recommend reading the book? Certainly yes and even if readable as a standalone, I recommend reading the series in order or at least the first book, because you will be better able to enjoy the presence of the side characters and their actions.
---> You can enjoy book 3 even without reading the previous two books, but book 2 for me was absolutely the best, so don't miss it!

:-) Apologies for my faulty English, which is not my native language, thank you for reading my review, I hope it can be useful to you in choosing whether or not  to read the book.


READ ALSO "The Imperial Season" BOOK #1 and BOOK #2:
#1

Vienna Waltz (Book Review)

#2

Vienna Woods (Book Review)

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Book review : An Honourable Thief by Douglas Skelton | Humorous and Gritting Historical Action Mystery

An Honourable Thief
by Douglas Skelton
Company of Rogues book #1

My rating: ★★★★☆
GENRE : #HistoricalFiction #ActionMystery #HardBoiledVibes

Actually 3.7 stars rounded up to 4.

It really took me a long time to get into the book and to get fond of the characters but finally, almost halfway through the novel I felt involved in the plot.

The author divided the story into 3 MAIN PARTS.

-----> Part 1:

It starts with a lot of action and humorous lines by the main character, the villains, and the people around him
I generally love action and humorous books. I dare say that action+humour+mystery-or-and-adventure is the perfect mix for me, but I had a great problem with this story.
The humorous lines felt so forced, and the dialogues with jokes so long that they sound ridiculous, It felt like reading an old hard-boiled detective novel starring Sam Spade ( do you know The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett ? ) combined with a femme fatale or some comic book starring Spider-Man or Batman... I expected to read "boom, splash, boing, gulp, crack and so on" at any moment !

I assume the author wrote PART 1 as a sort of introduction to the hero and his lifestyle... but there were too many chapters full of action and jokes with no real substance... it felt more like a competition between the hero and his adversaries to prove who was the coolest.

___ THE PLOT begins in earnest with Jonas Flint, the hero, who—despite having been a thief and a scoundrel—works as a sort of secret agent for an important figure who, in turn, works for the monarchy. The action I was talking about takes place during a mission where the character shows off all his James Bond skills, using guns, swords, and daggers, all while cracking jokes non-stop during the fighting. We are in 1715 London, and the main mission of the book is to recover a document written by the dying queen, which could compromise the future of the throne and the stability of England at a time when Jacobite uprisings are already causing unrest and death.

Part 1 also introduces the historical setting of the novel.
When a sovereign has no direct heirs there's always great tension and a high risk of riots, revolts, and wars to gain power...

-----> Part 2:

It was a little more serious and far better than the first.
It takes the reader into the hero's past and deeper into the patriotic feelings of the people, especially the Scots towards the English monarchy, in the daily difficulties of common people and in the callousness that, at that time, saw slavery as normal.
The intelligence, sensitivity, and goodness of heart of a few people were unfortunately suppressed by the arrogance of the wealthy and those of aristocratic rank.

In this second part there is no shortage of moments of lightness or witty jokes, but here I was able to appreciate them because they were well-dosed (not too many or forced) and skillfully mixed with deep feelings and emotions.
In this second part I began to grow fond of the characters and suffered with them in their difficult moments.

Although Jonas' mission was always his primary goal, the second part explores the introspective side of the main character and his family/friends more thoroughly.

Talking about characters, the main ones are fictional, but they are well-blended with real historical figures, and you'll find many clarifications on the matter in the author's final notes.

-----> Part 3:

It is also interesting and engaging.
Even if it's more focused on the main mission (to recover the important and dangerous document), all the events of the second part come to a head.
There are a couple of very important twists, and while one is a little bit predictable (I saw that one coming!), the other is truly surprising—and I have to warn you: it's a little sad and bitter.

👉Overall, I'm happy to say that I liked the book, and I'm thinking of reading the next one in the series too.
The series is named "Company of Rogues" and it consists of three books total.
Each book works as a standalone, but I think that reading all three in a row gives the reader a more complete understanding of Jonas Flint’s soul. This is very important because Jonas isn't a flawless hero; I must admit that at the beginning, I wasn't happy to have a protagonist who killed people left and right, even if they were villains. But his past helps the reader to accept him, and in this first book, we eventually see the good sides of his soul and the shame he feels for having led a certain kind of life.

WARNING : Some crude and bloody scenes are present in the book, and the language used by certain characters is quite vulgar.

I hope my opinion and impressions have been useful in helping you decide whether or not to read this historical fiction.

Thank you all for stopping by and reading my thoughts.

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Book review : The Jewel Thief by Jeannie Mobley | Sun King Court Intrigue & Flat Pacing! 💎👑

The Jewel Thief
by Jeannie Mobley

GENRE: #HistoricalFiction #YoungAdult #RoyalCourtIntrigue
📍 Setting: France | ⏳ Era: 17th century ( King Louis XIV monarchy )

My rating: ★★★★☆
(Actually a solid 3.7 out of 5 stars, rounded up!)

The glamorous French court of the Sun King, a legendary 115-carat blue diamond, and a forbidden love story...

I have an absolute weakness for fiction inspired by true historical events. If you mix in a dash of romance and an unusual setting—like the gritty world of 17th-century diamond cutters—you get the perfect recipe for my reading tastes.

While the premise of this book is undeniably fascinating, and I enjoyed the overarching plot, the author’s narrative style unfortunately kept me from truly connecting with the characters or feeling the emotional highs of the story. Written from the perspective of the heroine delivering a formal statement from a prison cell, the delivery felt a bit too detached.

📜 THE PLOT IN BRIEF:

Juliette Pitau, the sixteen-year-old daughter of King Louis XIV's former royal jeweler, finds herself trapped in a damp cell inside the notorious Bastille.

She stands accused of stealing the "Tavernier Violet"—a massive, deep blue diamond that her father was tasked with cutting to make it shine as bright as the sun itself. Turning such a dark gem into a brilliant masterpiece is a near-impossible feat, one that only a master artisan could perform with absolute precision.

To save her struggling father, Juliette devised a high-stakes, highly illegal plan. Now, she faces charges not just of theft, but of treason and conspiring against France alongside a family of exiled Jews. Providing a testimony that proves her good intentions to the Sun King is her only ticket to avoiding a death sentence.

Regrettably, her well-meaning lies and the cruelty of greedy officials have painted her guilty even in the eyes of René—the young scribe tasked with recording her confession, who also happens to hold her heart.

😊 MY THOUGHTS:

| 💎 HISTORICAL HOOK: A GORGEOUS WORLD OF ROYAL GEMS

The most mesmerizing aspect of this novel is how it effortlessly transports the reader into a world shrouded in lore: the meticulous craft of precious gem cutting, the evolution of diamond facets to maximize brilliance, and the legends surrounding the French Crown Jewels.

All image rights are reserved to their rightful owners. Image found on: Cursed Jewels: The Hope Diamond
You will also find the detailed history of the diamond.

All image rights are reserved to their rightful owners. Image found on: researchgate.net, article "THE FRENCH BLUE AND THE HOPE" by Francois Farges

All image rights are reserved to their rightful owners. Image found on: Blu Brunswick

The historical background is incredibly rich. While the author provides EXHAUSTIVE HISTORICAL NOTES at the very end, anyone who has researched the "Tavernier Violet" online knows its fascinating journey.
It was eventually recut into the "French Blue", vanished for decades during the chaos of the French Revolution, and later resurfaced in a brand-new shape as the infamous, cursed "Hope Diamond". Experiencing this transformation through fiction was a true delight!


For further information, you can also visit the original source here: This is Versailles: Bleu de France.

| ⏳ PACING PROBLEMS: DETACHED NARRATION & FLAT SUSPENSE

What ultimately kept me from fully savoring this adventure was the narrative framework chosen by the author. Because the entire story is told as a retrospective deposition from a prison cell, it reads more like a dry "news report" than a living, breathing mystery.

Even though the protagonist recalls past dialogues from time to time, it isn’t enough to inject true momentum or emphasis into the plot. For a story about treason and execution, the pacing felt surprisingly flat and lacking in genuine suspense.

Even the high-stakes dynamic between Juliette and her interrogator/lover—who initially views her as a greedy criminal before slowly realizing the immense suffering behind her desperate choices—failed to make my heart race.

| 🤫 STEAM LEVEL: SWEET BAND CUTS BUT NO BUTTERFLIES

The book features several kisses—some tender, some passionate—and a single intimate scene written without explicit descriptions. However, in my honest opinion, these moments felt highly unrealistic given they took place inside a heavily guarded prison cell where guards could look in at any second!


Furthermore, the romantic descriptions failed to stir those familiar "butterflies in my stomach" that I often get from cleaner romances, where authors manage to create breathtaking tension through simple stolen glances and brief kisses.

| 👤 CHARACTER ARCHETYPES: GOOD POTENTIAL, LACKING DEPTH

The characters themselves make perfect sense within the plot, but they severely lacked deep exploration.

I appreciated the emotional fragility of the two main protagonists, both trapped in the painful uncertainty of wondering whether they are loved for who they truly are or merely for outward appearances.
On the other hand, I found myself deeply frustrated by Juliette’s father—a cowardly, alcoholic man who does nothing but cry over his misfortune while his teenage daughter literally tries to move mountains to save his life.

The secondary cast is well-placed, from the tyrannical, greedy leaders of the jewelers' guild to the egoistic, self-centered Sun King himself.
They all fit the puzzle perfectly, but the monotonous narrative voice prevented me from fully enjoying their personalities.

| 🏁 CONCLUSION: A WORTHWHILE YA HISTORICAL TALE

If the author had chosen to tell this story in real time rather than through a retrospective prison diary, the dialogues and character arcs would have had the space to truly grip my soul.

Unsurprisingly, my favorite part of the book was the ending, where the action finally breaks free from that dark, damp cell, and you can finally feel the palpable pathos of what could be.

Of course it's a matter of personal taste and while it didn't completely win me over and I won't be continuing the series or re-reading it, it remains a well-crafted, fascinating story.

It is a perfect fit for Young Adult readers, who will likely find a much stronger emotional connection to Juliette's journey than I did.


Thank you so much for stopping by and reading my opinion !😊

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Book review : Vienna Woods by Mary Lancaster | The Imperial Season #2

Vienna Woods
The Imperial Season Book 2
by Mary Lancaster

GENRE : #RegencySpyRomance #clean-romance

My rating: ★★★★★ + 1⭐ Special Golden Star

Beyond the 5 Stars: A Special Golden Star added!

Wowwwwwwww!!
This was a fabulous read!!

Not only do I give 5 full stars, but I've decided to introduce a 6th GOLDEN STAR for those rare books that I'd start re-reading the moment I finish them! !!

The genre of this novel is: clean romance.

----> The recipe includes :
the right dose of joy and lightness, a nice handful of adventure and a hint of espionage suspense and a few splashes of drama and tension, just to make our hearts beat faster!
Oh I forgot: fantastic HERO and HEROINE, very different from each other (she is brighter, he is more introverted and mysterious), but they're perfect together.

Before I delve into my opinion, let me introduce you to

THE PLOT:

__1814, Congress of Vienna.
Esther Lisle, is the daughter of an English general, now a diplomat in a small European kingdom and unofficially engaged to the heir of the aforementioned kingdom, a man whose bad reputation, meanness and arrogance are known to many.
__ One day Esther wakes up in the woods of Vienna, with an agent of the tough and feared Austrian secret police in front of her, who asks her questions about her relationship with Prince Otto, whose corpse is just a few steps away.
__ Secret Agent Zelig, also called Agent Z, has the task of maintaining security in Vienna and above all foiling any conspiracy and devious plan that could ruin the important congress and peace negotiations that will be discussed by the heads of government of the whole Europe.
__The death of the prince has a heavier weight than it may seem and although Esther and Agent Z don't know if they can trust each other they will try to collaborate to get to the truth.

In a world where you have to pay attention to every word said, because everything can be conspiracy and betrayal, it will not be an easy task.
Between masquerade balls, tournaments and all the "bon ton" prejudices of the time, reality and truth will be even more confused and elusive. To increase the tension and emotions there is a pleasant physical attraction, not foreseen by both, but which, little by little, will transform into a strong feeling and bond.

__________

MY OPINION

________

I REALLY LOVED THE CAST OF CHARACTERS:

1) the HERO of the story is not the usual consummate libertine (as is present in almost all romances) and who when he meets true love magically redeems himself (it's an overused cliché).
He is a very good young man of few words, very mysterious also because of his job, who despite a past of poverty, does not feel sorry for himself and does not resort to alcohol when he is desperate.
He earns his living with his work, which he is really good at and does not solve problems with the bottle, but by throwing himself headlong into his duty.
Put like this, he may seem like a boring boy, but he is not at all devoid of passion.
His icy gaze in contrast with his kind and polite ways, his tender gestures towards Esther and some street kids, whom he takes care of, fascinated me. I loved his hidden and barely visible smiles
And the way he kisses Esther...I wanted to be Esther! 😜😁

2) I also loved the HEROINE of the novel: yes, a beautiful girl, but above all with charisma. A young girl, but with a good head on her shoulders and who knows how to respond with intelligent and playful jokes, even if she is taken by surprise.
Esther is courageous and generous (but without being too saccharine or far-fetched) and the thing I like most about her is that she doesn't classify people based on social rank, but knows how to make friends with every good person.

3) among the complementary characters that I adored, there are the two main characters of book #1, plus 3 street thieves who help Agent Z in some unorthodox missions.
They are just over fifteen years old and like all young people they exude energy, liveliness and spontaneity from every pore.

This is the second book in a series of 4, all romances and with a hint of adventure/mystery.
I really liked installation #1 and rated it 5 stars, but this #2 is absolutely superior to the first.

I LIKED THIS SECOND NOVEL MUCH MORE THAN THE FIRST because the whole story mixes romance, mystery and espionage well, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat, constantly wondering 'what happens next?', so much so that it made me turn the pages one after the other with voracity.

Compared to the first novel we have more romantic moments in which the emotion of the couple's attraction and falling in love are truly palpable...indeed, despite being a slow-burn romance, the heartbeat and courtship begin immediately.
The kisses are clean, but described so well that it's like watching a movie.

The romance is clean and sweet, with no explicit scenes—making it perfect for readers of all ages.

---> I want to remember one thing though: the books are born as romances and even if there's a little mystery adventure, they are not comparable to real "mystery crime or spy stories", if you're looking for that genre , this is not for you).

Each book develops around a different couple, so you can easily choose one as a standalone, but my advice is to read them all in a row, because the main characters of one book become secondary ones in subsequent ones and the stories, in one way or another, are intertwined.
In fact the protagonist of this book, Garin/Agent Zelig, was not a simple extra in installment #1.
He had a small active role, so when I started reading this story I felt already a little fond of the character
As a counterpart, the main characters of book one ( Lizzie, Vanja and family ) have an important role in this adventure

---> UNLIKE THE FIRST NOVEL, here the historical figures of the time are only named and have no active role. However, the plot was so intriguing and engaging that I didn't miss it.
The description of the balls and the display of opulence, the subterfuge, the lust for power, the corridors of the Hofburg and the rides in the Viennese woods, make us imagine the setting and the political context.
Furthermore, if like me, while reading, you listen to the notes of the waltz in the background (you can find hundreds of wonderful playlists on Youtube) then you will feel directly catapulted into 1814 in the glittering Austrian capital!

I will definitely also read books 3 and 4 in the series, but first I need to take a break with a mystery where romance takes a backseat, because I was so involved in this one that if I read another one I wouldn't be able to fully appreciate it... I must first recover from this wonderful book hangover.

Thanks everybody for reading my review and please excuse any mistakes as English is my second language.
I hope my opinions have been helpful to you and if you read it I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.


READ ALSO "The Imperial Season" BOOK #1 and BOOK #3:
BOOK #1

Vienna Waltz by Mary Lancaster (Book Review)

BOOK #3

Vienna Dawn by Mary Lancaster (Book Review)

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Giveaway : March 2024 Free Printable Calendar

March 2024 free printable calendar

Hello everybody,
the month of spring is about to arrive!

Like every month, I have prepared a colorful and lively planner, which you can freely download and print.

I use to do it for myself, printing it in original size to keep on my desk, but sometimes I like to print it in a postacard format ( you have only to reduce the size with a free app ) and then I use it as a bookmark or I put it in my bag, just to have a mini-calendar to consult on the fly.

To download, simply click on the preview image and save it on your device.

@TizianaFragnerGraphic
March 2024 Calendar
Size 1634 x 1264

Please forgive any errors in my text, since English is not my native tongue :-)

Enjoy my monthly planning and have a happy March ! See you soon :-)

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Book review : Vienna Waltz by Mary Lancaster | Clean Regency Romance

Vienna Waltz
The Imperial Season Book 1
by Mary Lancaster

GENRE : #regency-spy-romance #clean-romance

My rating: ★★★★★

5 FULL STARS !! :-D

This is a lovely clean romance, with a hint of espionage that will delight every regency light romance fan.

Set during the famous Congress of Vienna in 1814, it brings us not only among the sparkling ballrooms of high society but also among intrigues, lies, dangerous papers and secrets concerning the politics of that time.

The novel, basically, follows the love story that slowly arises between the two main characters: Lizzie, the daughter of a recently deceased English baron, and the ambiguous thief Johnny, whose acquaintance began thanks to a big misunderstanding.

__THE PLOT IN SHORT__ 1814 Vienna. All the nobility of Europe and the biggest names in politics participate in the event and in the most sumptuous parties and masquerade balls.
---> Lizzie, daughter of an English baron, and her siblings have recently lost their father and with him the inheritance of the house which went to a mysterious and hateful Russian cousin, with English origins.
Having been welcomed by their uncles, they now all find themselves in the glittering Central European capital, on the occasion of the great peace congress.
While aristocrats and diplomats delight in courtship, dancing, gambling and espionage, Lizzie only thinks about how to get the money to find a new home for her sisters and step brother, herself and the lively and unpredictable big dog.
She therefore devises a very unorthodox plan, involving a brazen yet charming thief, thus getting herself into one mess after another.
---> The heartbeat, however, does not only come from the dangers, but also from a charming and fiery young Cossack colonel, met at a masquerade ball, who will help her not only solve her problems, but also those of her cousins and uncles.

___MY OPINION__ I loved it simply because it had everything that can put a romantic and bored (and perhaps lately a little depressed) female reader in a good mood:

1) a handsome and gallant hero, cheeky enough to please all women, but with a good heart, who cannot say no to the request for help of an impoverished young woman and her lively and friendly siblings.

2) an enterprising heroine. Inexperienced enough to still be innocent and without malice in contact with men, but also courageous enough to throw herself headlong into desperate undertakings for the good of her sisters and illegitimate brother, who are still children and at the mercy of an unjust fate.

3) funny situations created by misunderstandings and small romantic skirmishes.
THE LOVE STORY in fact grows little by little, but you don't have to be half through the book to enjoy sweet emotions and romantic sparks... OUR HEROES MAKE US DREAM DURING THE WHOLE STORY.

4) Pleasant supporting characters, who make the atmosphere light and cozy:
- smart children and the troublemaking dog.
- the beautiful and rich countess who gives great emotional and material support to Lizzie.
- a secret agent, gruff and lethal, but ultimately good (and protagonist of the next book in the series)
- Lizzie's uncles and 2 cousins, a little naive but good people.
- our hero's good friends, a bad guy to kick, a slimy guy to kick too, a hateful mother and all the real prominent characters of the time (starting from the Tsar of Russia up to the most courted noblewomen of 'Europe, such as the Princess Bagration and the Duchess of Sagan and her sister Dorothéé de Talleyrand).

_WHAT IS MISSING IN THIS CLEAN HISTORICAL ROMANCE? __
I could say that, with the exception of the historical characters, cleverly inserted among the fictional ones, there's no historical analysis of an event so important as to change the fate of the whole of Europe, nor some descriptions of the city of the time.
The author limits herself to indicating important names and a delicate political situation.
----> Since this is a light, entertaining read, the lack of historical depth didn't bother me and I didn't miss it.
While reading I was able to fully enjoy all the lightness and joy of a clean love story that the novel offers, so much so that I have already started reading the second book in the series. After all, why leave this bubble of well-being?

AS ALWAYS I ADD: forgive my English, it's not my native language, but I still hope that my review can be useful to you in some way.

READ ALSO "The Imperial Season" BOOK #2 and BOOK #3:
#2

Vienna Woods by Mary Lancaster (Book Review)

#3

Vienna Dawn by Mary Lancaster (Book Review)

---

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Book review : The Marigold Chain by Stella Riley

The Marigold Chain by Stella Riley

My rating: ★★★★☆
Actually 3.5 rounded to 4 stars as historical fiction.
Only 3 stars ( or 2.5 rounded to 3 ) as romance.

__THE PLOT__ England 1666.
-->Chloe is a girl of about 20 who lives with her stepbrother, an aristocrat who spends all his money on gambling, alcohol and women.
One evening, having run out of money, he gambles his stepsister: if he loses, she will become the property of his opponent.
-->Alex, 30, was a Royalist soldier in the English Civil War.
He is very handsome and always ready with a joke and has friends who really care of him, but he has a bad temper and a disappointment in love leads him to alcohol and senseless actions.
--> One morning Alex wakes up after an incredible hangover and discovers that he is married to an innocent 20-year-old girl, Chloe.
They immediately decide to proceed with the request for annulment, meanwhile England goes to war with Holland...

***
The book is divided into 3 parts, of which I really liked the first part, cheerful and lively, it made imagine a romance full of funny scenes.


The second part, the central and broader one, was to me very disappointing.
Any romance there, no connection between Alex and Chloe, the 2 main characters of the story.
They are married but he continues his life as if she didn't exist and she goes about her life thinking about him from time to time.
When the author finally gives us a beautiful escape scene together, with a bit of action, a kiss happens.
It's half way through the book and it's easy to think that a little chills and emotion will finally arrive...Instead: nothing romantic again, at least until the 3rd phase (which begins more or less 75% of the way through the novel).
The historical part is well developed but didn't involve me.
There is a betrayal situation that the protagonists are supposed to discover, but I didn't find it so intriguing.
BUT THE MAIN PROBLEM TO ME WAS :

___THE HERO ___ So handsome, but an ass !
I only fell in love with the male protagonist at the end, in the last 25% of the book while in the entire previous 75% I couldn't stand him!
He was beautiful and charming in his laughter and ironic jokes, but very irascible and deeply selfish because he only thought about his disappointments and dissatisfaction and vented his bad mood in the bottle and on his friends, while they, his friends, always tried to get him out of trouble and acted always very careful to avoid to provoke him, so as not to make him angry.
HOW CAN YOU LIKE A MAN LIKE THAT?
...Of course we stupid women always love those wild and dangerous (and this makes me angry!) while the sensitive and polite men are trampled upon (but usually those ones are ugly... instead here in the fiction the good, sensitive man in love was also a beautiful one...but unfortunately the scoundrel always wins)

My dislike for this character, who should have been the hero of the story, not only didn't allow me to enjoy reading the book, but it ultimately left me with a sense of hunger for something that only began at the end of the book.
Yes, the real romance only started at the end of the book... and so I feel dissatisfied.
In the third part the character suddenly loses his bad ways and like a true hero works for the good of the city that is going up in flames.
We are in the middle of the second major fire in London (September 1666) and this time all the scenes described by the author fully involved me, making me feel as if I was really on the scene, there in that city, in that historical moment.
In the third part Alex feelings for Chloe change too...few chapters..the happy ending..but I feel dissatisfied..I want more!... but unfortunately I was at the END OF THE NOVEL!
I don't know if I explained myself well: imagine eating a cake and you feel that it's not as good as you would like, finally you start to like the last slice... but it's the last slice and you're left with that unsatisfied craving which is irritating!

_ CONCLUDING __ I've only read one other novel by Stella Riley ( A Splendid Defiance) and I was thrilled with it .
It doesn't matter if the love story burns slowly, that's fine too, but in this novel the hero was difficult to love from the beginning and above all there was too little of the two main characters together.
It would have been nice to have more emotions throughout the story: more intense looks, a shiver on the skin during a casual touch... more interest on Alex's part towards Chloe, not just at the end, instead the whole love story was flat and one-way for too long.

Even though it wasn't what I expected, this doesn't discourage me and I will definitely read more of Stella Riley's novels, because I think she's really good and I appreciate her writing style.
My review shouldn't discourage you either, because I gave my opinion based on my personal taste.
Remember though: very slow-burn romance and pages dedicated to history, therefore not suitable for those looking for hot scenes and only frivolous novels.

NOTE: I'm from Italy and so English is not my native language. Please, forgive any errors you may find in my text.




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Book review : Scherzo by Jim Williams

Scherzo
Murder and Mystery in 18th Century Venice
by Jim Williams
GENRE: #Historical-mystery

My rating: ★★★★☆
Actually 3,8 stars rounded up to 4.

HAPPY MARDI GRAS EVERYBODY !!!

A week ago I was looking for a Carnival-themed mystery or at least in which Venetian masks had an important role, given that in Italy we are celebrating Carnival ( started on January 28th and ending today February 13th, which is Mardi Gras).

I chose this book and perhaps it's the strangest mystery I've ever read and if there hadn't been some bad scenes and a couple of chapters, I could have given it 5 stars.

___THE PLOT ___
Ludovico the German, a young 21-year-old eunuch, actor and singer in 18th century Venice, is hired by a Venetian nobleman, Signor Morosini ( Mr. Morosini) as a singing teacher for his daughter and as an entertainer in evenings with guests.
One evening, after a dinner attended by several aristocratic people, he and Monsieur Arouet, a French philosopher, heading home, discover a corpse with a mask and cloak, hanged from a bridge.
It soon turns out that the dead man was a nobleman, a friend of Mr. Morosini and part of an important political body, the Council of Ten, which had an important role in the management of the Republic of Venice.
Among the alleys and canals of Venice, among the gambling houses and other vices and the political and religious intrigues, in pursuit of enemies or chased by enemies, the French philosopher and his new friend Ludovico will try to unravel the mystery and bring the truth to light.

The eighteenth-century setting fascinated me and I liked the fact that an actor-singer was narrating the story even more.
The inclusion of other historical characters increased my enthusiasm for reading as I proceeded with the story told. However, as I already mentioned, I would have shortened some chapters or even avoided them altogether and I would have avoided some crude scenes in the final part.

___ WHAT I LIKED __
__LUDOVICO, THE MAIN CHARACTER__ I really liked the main character, who tells firsthand most of the events that led to the discovery of the body, its investigation and the solution.
Ludovico is a boy of only 21 years old, with a lot of life experience on his shoulders.
The fact of being a eunuch ( in those days young singers were emasculated before puberty, in order to maintain a high-pitched voice in adulthood), having had a hard life and having suffered abuse and being despised by society as a person, because neither man nor woman, did not undermine his good heart and soul.
In a story where the Venetian society of the time is portrayed at its worst, Ludovico and his humor and self-irony always managed to put me in a good mood.

___HISTORICAL FIGURES ___ The nice surprise was the participation in the story of 3 very famous historical figures, but since the whole plot takes place in the balance between truth and illusion (as is also the function of the masks), the author does not reveal the 3 official names to us well known throughout the world, but the real names of the 3 men. So if it had not been for my passion to check everything on Wikipedia, I would not have known about these 3 historical figures until the end, when the author reveals it.

- The first historical figure of the three I mentioned, leads the investigation and makes Ludovico his assistant.
I'm speaking of Monsieur Arouet, a French philosopher , better known to the world as VOLTAIRE. In this book you will be able to read some of his real letters.

- Many films have been made about this historical side character. In this novel he is a good friend of Ludovico and his adventures are intertwined with some characters indirectly and directly involved in the crime.
I'm speaking of Jaque De Seingalt, a great Italian seducer and libertine, very well known to the world as CASANOVA.
In his memoirs, written in French as was the fashion of the time, they report his full name: Jacques Casanova de Seingalt.
We find some extracts right here in the story

- The third historical figure I was referring to it's someone that seems to help the investigation with his knowledge, but actually he adds even more fog and illusion to a plot that is deliberately complicated and misleading for the reader.
He has a smaller role than the others, but I liked the inclusion because in real life, he was imprisoned and died in a stronghold which is located a few kilometers from where I live and I have visited it many times. So I know this character since I was child.
I'm speaking of Signor Giuseppe Balsamo, an Italian occultist, alchemist ( and many other things, including to be a charlatan), known in the world with the name of COUNT OF CAGLIOSTRO.

__ THE INTERTWINING OF THE MYSTERY __
Although at the beginning the book started with several chapters that seemed unrelated to each other and it took me at least 15% of the novel to be able to orient myself and fully get into the story, I must admit that the mystery plot was well thought out and the author managed to connect all the threads of the canvas in a skillful way.

I happened to read some whodunits with a complicated plot, where the author himself got lost, failing in the end to give a probable solution.
This is not the case: here everything adds up and the air of confusion that reigns is only a trick of false truths and illusions that the author wants to insert into his story.

___ WHAT I DIDN'T LIKED __
-- The main narrator of the whole story is the young Ludovico, but his narrations are alternated with letters from Mr. Arouet to his nephew, from Signor Feltrinelli to his sister, from an elderly countess to an old lover of hers and extracts from Monsieur Jacque De Seingalt's memoirs.
Letters and memoirs were a little too long and a bit boring to me.

-- I knew that this wasn't a cozy mystery and therefore I could expect something more raw... but there are some scenes in one of the final chapters of the book, which are truly disgusting ( they represented imaginary scenes from Hell... and that is not my cup of tea !!!).
I read them quickly, but if they hadn't been there at all I would have preferred it and also it wouldn't have damaged the intrigue and mystery.

-- The depravity of Venice at the time told in a non-vulgar but quite clear way, in long sex-scenes that I would have preferred to be shorter... it was boring

-- You will have noticed that in my review I use the words Signor and Monsieur... this is because the author himself, in his book written in English, inserts not only these two words in Italian and French, but really MANY Italian words, typical of the place and time, but also not typical (and which he could therefore translate into English), many references written in French and also in Latin.
---> I am from Italy and of course I had no problems with Italian words.I also speak French and had no problem with that either.
Luckily Latin had the translation in a note, BUT THERE WERE NO NOTES WITH TRANSLATION for the dozens and dozens of Italian words inserted... how can an English-speaking reader read a book with foreign words inserted almost on every page and of which he doesn't know the meaning?
I have read books with medieval and Victorian settings that contained a small vocabulary for the words used at that time, so that the reader could fully understand everything.
In my opinion the publisher and the writer were negligent in this case.

__ IN CONCLUSION __
If I had read a review like mine before choosing the book... I WOULDN'T HAVE READ IT, because of the things mentioned among those I didn't like... also I really hate long length books.
But I have to admit that now that I've read it, overall I liked it.
--> So before marking it on your WTR shelf or discarding it, think carefully.

NOTE : English is not my native language, I hope I was still able to explain everything in an understandable way.


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Book review : Death in Delft by Graham Brack

Death in Delft
Master Mercurius Mysteries Book 1
by Graham Brack
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This book was proposed and voted on in my reading group of English authors, but it was already included in my wish-list for 2 reasons:

___ 1) I love historical settings in countries on the European continent different from the usual England (which I adore, but whose I read in most books).

__2) because I really like mysteries that include historical figures in the investigations, especially if they are people with particular talents (artistic, literary, musical, etc..., in this case also scientific).
I find that the book is written in a fluent manner, above all thanks to the irony and self-irony in the language of the main character, Master Mercurius, who is the one who tells us the story in the first person.

Before telling you my opinion (according to my personal tastes of course ), here is a short PLOT:
Master Mercurius is a young Catholic priest who lives in the guise of a Protestant priest, with the approval of his archbishop, in order to take advantage of a university scholarship.
Being recognized as an exceptional student of great intelligence, he is sent to Delft, at the request of the city mayor, to direct the investigation into the disappearance of 3 children, one of whom has already been found dead.
In this mystery the young Mercurius will be joined by 2 very talented people, both of whom really lived in reality and remained in history, one for his artistic talent and the other for his scientific discoveries and for the invention of the microscope, I'm talking about : Johannes Vermeer, famous painter and Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Dutch optician and naturalist considered the father of microbiology.

__ WHAT I LIKED IN THE BOOK___

-- The MAIN CHARACTER Master Mercurius :
The young priest, despite having taken orders twice, and despite having great faith and goodness of soul, is very far from the figure of the Church that we can imagine.
He is friendly, sociable, ironic and funny in his way of thinking and talking to himself and far from being a dull-witted bigot as often happened in past eras.

Mercurius also makes no secret of the temptations that touch his thoughts and how every now and then he would prefer to avoid the long and repetitive moments of prayer that are part of a priest's routine. Even confession is not one of his favorite tasks and it is fun to see how he approaches these "annoying" situations and duties.

The author so makes a three-dimensional and really enjoyable character, which we can also identify with.

-- The 2 MAIN SIDE CHARACTERS, i.e. Vermeeer and Van Leeuwenhoek.
The author included 2 historical figures that I, as a "non-Dutch", didn't know much about.

I knew what more or less everyone knows about Vermeeer: born in Delft in the 17th century, his paintings have great value today and one of the most famous is "The Girl with a Pearl Earring".

As for Van Leeuwenhoek I have to admit that I didn't even know his name from "hearsay".

Graham Brack told us some real notions about their life (which I then expanded with Wikipedia), but above all he gave us something that no Wikipedia or biography could give us: the warmth that is released within the walls of the house with the children running and they play, the wife and mother-in-law chat, the food on the table and the festive air you breathe sharing moments of affection all together.

The writer also gives us the humanity of a father who has lost his children and suffers from missing them, holding on tightly to what remains of his family.
We are given the enthusiasm of discoveries, that enthusiasm that humanity has when it discovers a part of creation that is mostly unknown to the multitude and also the enthusiasm that people have in feeling useful for a common goal.

I know it's a fictionalized reality, but that's the beauty of fiction!

__ WHAT I DIDN'T LIKED IN THE BOOK___

-- Of course I liked also the HISTORICAL PART concerning Holland in 1600 and the entire historical descriptive part of the society of the time, the way of life and the ideologies that defined the different communities of that time, but there was to much talk above all the problems and things related to religion.
Too many quotes in Latin (which in any case were then translated into English), too much digression on the settings of the religious things such as monastery life, the funeral and so on... all of this became boring in the long run.

-- The mystery itself was not engaging for me and although Mercurius' investigations are full of interrogations and testimonies, the plot did not provide twists that stunned me... there was a lack of tension.
Furthermore, perhaps I was expecting some action scenes, even small ones, but which would give a little more movement to the story...it was all too flat to me.

---- one thing then really made me angry: the ending.
WARNING SPOILER ___ MAKE SURE YOU WANT TO READ IT !___ I understand that a priest may not approve of the death penalty, but the fact that Mercurius lets the guilty person escape is just not acceptable!
The man had kidnapped 3 little girls, one was his daughter, taken from him unjustly, but he stole 2 other little girls from their parents, drugged them and one died!

That is justified by the fact that the little girl suffered from epilepsy... perhaps she would have died anyway, but perhaps not! Her parents suffered and she died far from them.
A CULPRIT DESERVES AT LEAST PRISON !!!
Drugging two innocent little girls and keeping them kidnapped because he had to find his daughter is not a justification.
______ SPOILER END___

Honestly I wonder what the hell the author was thinking when writing the end of this book...
I would have given it only one star rating, just because of this unacceptable end of the mystery.

Thanks for reading my review, of course every taste is personal, but I hope that it could still be useful for you to understand whether to choose to read this book or not.

Last note that I always insert: English is not my native language, forgive me for the errors that you surely found in my text!


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Book review : The Figaro Murders by Laura Lebow | The Accused Librettist: A Lorenzo Da Ponte Mystery

The Figaro Murders
by Laura Lebow
Lorenzo Da Ponte Mysteries Book #1

GENRE : #HistoricalFiction #CozyMystery #MusicalWhodunit
My rating: ★★★★★

I liked everything about this mystery and I'd be ready to start reading it again right away!
_ 5 FULL STARS WELL DESERVED

__THE PLOT__

"Vienna, 1786. Lorenzo Da Ponte has one week to finish the libretto for The Marriage of Figaro for his friend Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
But his life takes a dangerous turn when a simple act of kindness, trying to help his barber, leads him straight into a murder scene at a nobleman's house.

Accused of being a spy and a killer, Da Ponte is given a brutal choice: go undercover to find the real murderer or face the gallows.
Between high-society intrigues and the pressure of the Imperial Court, the poet must find the truth before the final curtain falls on his own life."

___________

MY OPINION

___AN IMMERSIVE HISTORICAL MYSTERY:

This is a must-read for true historical mystery lovers.
Unlike books that only focus on the surface—wigs and silver buckles, this novel captures the soul of 1780s Vienna.
As I turned the pages, I could see the magnificent palaces,the hidden courtyards, churches, and cathedrals, streets and squares that still stand today and that I know so well.

Having been born in Vienna, walking through these places with Da Ponte felt like a magical homecoming. I felt completely transported back to 1786.

___THE HISTORICAL BACKDROP:

The author masterfully weaves real historical figures into the plot.
Lorenzo Da Ponte, our "reluctant sleuth," was indeed the real-life librettist for Mozart.
Da Ponte was working alongside Mozart and the actual actor-singers who performed in the first shows. He also rubbed shoulders, and sometimes sparred, with real folks like Salieri, Casti, and the theater director Rosenberg ( real historical figures too ).

I loved being "behind the scenes" at the Opera, watching him work with Mozart on The Marriage of Figaro while dealing with the pressure of the Imperial Court.
Whether you are an opera fan or not, seeing him work on The Marriage of Figaro while dodging a murder charge is captivating.
There wasn’t a single dull moment for me. I enjoyed every bit and now I’m itching to dive into a biography of Joseph II and binge-watch operas by Mozart and other composers, starting with some YouTube videos right away.

___THE MYSTERY:

The intrigue is cleverly constructed , there are at least seven suspects, each with solid reasons to be the villain, so you won’t figure out who did it before the grand finale.

___THE MAIN CHARACTER ___

Da Ponte is a wonderful protagonist: a romantic, handsome man "in love with love," struggling to make ends meet in an expensive city.
In the book he’s around 37 years old and is a romantic man in love with love. He feels the pain of being exiled from his hometown and makes his living working for the Vienna court as a poet and opera librettist.
Even though he has a pretty fancy job, he doesn’t make much money and often struggles with the high cost of living in the city.
His rivals like to poke fun at him, but he’s humble and grounded while still confident in his artistic talents, enough to believe he can come out on top.

He isn't interested in being a detective; he’s an artist caught in a mess he’d rather avoid. Yet, he is man enough to keep his word and protect his friends, even at his own risk.

His unfortunate condition and his resilience inevitably lead us to love him.

He tells us the whole story in the first person, and he does it in such a gripping, natural way that I often found myself completely caught up in what he was feeling.
Of course, this is fiction, so we should keep that in mind. But I really appreciated the author’s historical notes explaining that the character’s personality is true to what can be gathered from Da Ponte’s memoirs. The same goes for some of the events and other characters in the story—they’re based on real history.

___THE SCENT OF OLD VIENNA ___

While reading, you can almost smell the damp ink and fresh parchment in Da Ponte's study, the heavy powdered wigs in the salons, and the invigorating aroma of hot chocolate and coffee from the elegant Viennese cafés.

___A PERFECT COZY COMPANION __

The writing is incredibly fluent; I finished it in just two days.
I read it while recovering from the flu, and along with my three beloved cats, it was the best company I could have asked for.

There’s a second book in the "Lorenzo Da Ponte" series that’s just as gripping.
But I was really bummed to find out that the author hasn’t written anything else ( except another 2 books series set in Paris, and featuring another protagonist) and seems to have vanished, no news, no recent books, and even the author’s website is gone.

If you’re curious about Lorenzo Da Ponte’s next sleuthing adventure, you can check out my review of book #2 here::

#BOOK 2 : SENT TO THE DEVIL "Lorenzo Da Ponte Series" by Laura Lebow book review

Thanks for reading my review. Writing in English, which is only my second language, is a personal challenge for me, so I hope you’ll be kind with any mistakes.

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Giveaway : February 2024 Free Printable Calendar

February 2024 free printable calendar

Hello dear friends !

The shortest month of the year has begun, but the celebrations didn't end with Christmas.

This month we have Carnival's celebration (at least as far as Italy is concerned), that started last January 28th and lasts until Mardi Gras on February 13th.

February 14th, however, is the day of all couple in love and all lovers in general and it is precisely to them that I dedicate February planning.

You can download it for free and use it as a PC desktop wallpaper or you can print it, in its original size or postcard format and use it as you prefer.

To download, simply click on the preview image and save it on your device.

@TizianaFragnerGraphic
February 2024 Calendar
Size 1634 x 1264

As for Carnival, I hope to find time to make a couple of bookmarks to download and print. I will post in the next few days.

Please forgive any errors in my text, since English is not my native tongue :-)

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