Book Review: Venice in the Moonlight by Elizabeth McKenna

BOOK INFORMATION

Book Title: Venice in the Moonlight by Elizabeth McKenna

Category: Adult fiction, 194 pages

Genre: Historical Romance Fiction

Publisher: Elizabeth McKenna

Published: October 2013 

Available in: Print and ebook formats (mobi for Kindle, ePub, PDF)

Content Rating: R

SYNOPSIS

A Story of Vengeance, Forgiveness, and Love

After her husband's untimely demise, Marietta Gatti is banished from the family's villa by her spiteful mother-in-law. She returns to her hometown of Venice and her only kin-a father she hasn't spoken to since her forced marriage. Her hope of making amends is crushed when she learns she is too late, for he recently has died under suspicious circumstances. Grief-stricken, Marietta retraces her father's last night only to discover someone may have wanted him dead-and she may be next. When the prime suspect turns out to be the father of the man she is falling in love with, Marietta risks her future happiness and her life to avenge the death of a man she once hated.

GoodReads * Amazon

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REVIEW

The last artistic experience I had with the activities of Carnival was the 1990 film "Henry and June".  I found this Italian version of Carnival even more engaging and memorable.

Marietta was married at her father's insistence, to Dario Gatti, from a wealthy family and with an unfortunate (at best) predilection towards mass quantities of wine and young women.  Their marriage has been five years of torture and loneliness because her mother-in-law does not care for Marietta and her father-in-law doesn't wear the pants in that family.

The opening chapter of the book starts with a supper in which the lamb is badly cooked and Dario is flirting mercilessly with the young maid who serves at the table.  Before the chapter is over (and several weeks later), Dario is at death's door.  Unfortunately, once Dario goes through that particular door, 'La Signora Gatti' kicks Marietta out.  

But Marietta's troubles are not over.  She returns to Venice, to find her father dead, and it doesn't look like natural causes.  (I think I watch too many police procedural shows.)

Even when describing the smallest of acts, such as Marietta squashing peas on her supper plate to mark the number of her husband's infidelities, Ms. McKenna's language is a model for descriptive prose.  It reminds me of an old fairy tale:  some books have too much description and it drowns the story; some books have too little description and are, as a result, dry - kind of like eating a sleeve of dry saltines with nothing to wash them down.  However, in Venice in the Moonlight, Ms. McKenna gets it 'just right'.  

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AUTHOR INFORMATION

Elizabeth McKenna works as a full-time technical writer/editor for a large software company. Though her love of books reaches back to her childhood, she had never read romance novels until one Christmas when her sister gave her the latest bestseller by Nora Roberts. She was hooked from page one (actually, she admits it was the first love scene). She had always wanted to write fiction, so she combined her love of history, romance and a happy ending to write her debut novel Cera's Place. Her short story, The Gypsy Casts a Spell, is available for free on her website. She hopes you will enjoy her latest novel, Venice in the Moonlight, as much as others have enjoyed her previous works.

Elizabeth lives in Wisconsin with her understanding husband, two beautiful daughters, and a sassy Labrador. When she isn't writing, working, or being a mom, she's sleeping.

Connect with her: Website  ~  Facebook  ~  Twitter

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Please click the logo button of Italy Book Tours to see the rest of the tour stops, which include more reviews, as well as interviews and giveaways!  

(Disclosure:  I received a print copy of this book from the author and publisher via Italy Books Tours in exchange for my unbiased opinion.)

My Most Booknificent Thursday

Ok. So I borrowed the link-up title for the title of my post.  You'll see why in a minute.  (And hopefully Tina will forgive me!) :O)  Click on the button right up there to go see more Booknificent Thursdays!

I GOT THREE BOOKS TODAY!

The first one was at the post office for pickup (I guess our mailbox wasn't big enough):

(Click the cover to see the GoodReads page)

Shana has always had a blind spot for boys. Can she trust the one who's right in front of her?


Sixteen-year-old Shana Wilde is officially on a Boy Moratorium. After a devastating breakup, she decides it's time to end the plague of Mr. Wrong, Wrong, and More Wrong.

Enter Quattro, the undeniably cute lacrosse player who slams into Shana one morning in Seattle. Sparks don't just fly; they ignite. And so does Shana's interest. Right as she's about to rethink her ban on boys, she receives crushing news: Her dad is going blind. Quattro is quickly forgotten, and Shana and her parents vow to make the most of the time her father has left to see. So they travel to Machu Picchu, and as they begin their trek, they run into none other than Quattro himself. But even as the trip unites them, Quattro pulls away mysteriously... Love and loss, humor and heartbreak collide in this new novel from acclaimed author Justina Chen.

(Disclosure:  I received a print copy of this book from booksparks Fall Reading Challenge 2014 - FRC2014, in exchange for my unbiased review.)

FYI - I will also review this book here on the blog, but due to a delivery bobble, the date is a little up in the air - probably the next week or so.

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The second one came in the regular mail:

After her husband’s untimely demise, Marietta Gatti is banished from the family’s villa by her spiteful mother-in-law. She returns to her hometown of Venice and her only kin—a father she hasn’t spoken to since her forced marriage. Her hope of making amends is crushed when she learns she is too late, for he recently has died under suspicious circumstances. Grief-stricken, Marietta retraces her father’s last night only to discover someone may have wanted him dead—and she may be next. When the prime suspect turns out to be the father of the man she is falling in love with, Marietta risks her future happiness and her life to avenge the death of a man she once hated.

Elizabeth McKenna’s latest novel takes you back to the days of eighteenth century Carnival, where lovers meet discreetly, and masks make everyone equal.

(Disclosure:  I received a print copy of this book from Italy Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.)

FYI - I will review this title on this blog on Monday, November 3, 2014

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The third book came via UPS:

Le Chambon-sur-Lignon is a small village of scattered houses high in the mountains of the Ardèche. Surrounded by pastures and thick forests of oak and pine, the plateau Vivarais lies in one of the most remote and inaccessible parts of Eastern France, cut off for long stretches of the winter by snow.

During the Second World War, the inhabitants of the area saved thousands wanted by the Gestapo: resisters, freemasons, communists, downed Allied airmen and above all Jews. Many of these were children and babies, whose parents had been deported to the death camps in Poland. After the war, Le Chambon became the only village to be listed in its entirety in Yad Vashem's Dictionary of the Just.

Just why and how Le Chambon and its outlying parishes came to save so many people has never been fully told. Acclaimed biographer and historian Caroline Moorehead brings to life a story of outstanding courage and determination, and of what could be done when even a small group of people came together to oppose German rule. It is an extraordinary tale of silence and complicity. In a country infamous throughout the four years of occupation for the number of denunciations to the Gestapo of Jews, resisters and escaping prisoners of war, not one single inhabitant of Le Chambon ever broke silence. The story of Le Chambon is one of a village, bound together by a code of honour, born of centuries of religious oppression. And, though it took a conspiracy of silence by the entire population, it happened because of a small number of heroic individuals, many of them women, for whom saving those hunted by the Nazis became more important than their own lives.

(Disclosure:  I received a print copy of this book from TLC Book Tours in exchange for my unbiased review.)

FYI - I will review Village of Secrets on this blog on Friday, October 17th, 2014.