He wanted to be gone from the dark enclosing room, with its mocking misery, to be gone from this house of nightmares, of shattered dreams, and discovered secrets which could not be put back in the box.
Venice, 1880.
Alexander, Viscount Dundarran, seeks refuge from scandal amidst the fading grandeur of crumbling palazzos during the infamous Carnival in the city. There he encounters the enigmatic Lady Arabella Pembrook—a young, beautiful widow. Both are scarred by their pasts but find solace in each other and a chance at redemption.
But when duty calls Alexander back to England upon his father’s death, a darker journey begins. Travelling to Ravenscourt, the decaying estate once belonging to Arabella’s late husband, Alexander must confront the house’s disturbing legacy which has echoed through the generations. Within its walls lie secrets that refuse to stay buried and will threaten everything he thought he knew. But can Alex uncover the truth in time?
REVIEW
This is an atmospheric gothic romance set in Venice and England in the Victorian era – a period where a scandal could undo someone’s reputation. Lady Arabella Pembrook is an American widow whose reputation has been sullied by the mysterious death of her husband Charles, and her past is an enigma. Our romantic hero Alexander can’t help but be drawn to her, and so the story begins. The settings are carefully drawn, from the rich palazzi of Venice to Ravenscourt itself – unloved, remote, its furniture shrouded in dust-covers, and the wind raging outside. The characters are well-drawn and I particularly enjoyed Alexander’s relationship with his friends – this set him up as a young man with an established network, which as the novel progresses, enhances his sense of gradual isolation from his familiar world. This kind of book relies on the ability of the author to create a creepy atmosphere and sense of foreboding, and this novel has both in spades. This is a book in the best tradition of Victorian Gothic Romance, recommended for those who like romance with added chills.
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