My rating: 5 stars / It was amazing
Synopsis
Florence, Italy. Summer, 1982.
Judith
Campbell prides herself on her level head. She’s a scientist with a
ten-year plan, a well-managed bank account, and clear understanding of
what she wants out of life. Currently, that means a summer of fun
touring Europe with her friends. She intends to see some amazing
scenery, flirt with a cute guy or two, and return home ready to settle
down for good.
Falling madly in love with an Italian playboy is definitely not on her life goals to-do list.
But then her eyes meet those of Cesare D’Angelo across a crowded piazza.
Cesare
is everything Judith never knew she wanted. Handsome and charismatic,
he challenges her assumptions and forces her rethink her logical
approach to everything. Case in point—Judith finds herself falling for
him, hard and fast. Definitely not her most carefully thought-out
decision.
But Cesare keeps devastating secrets that will challenge
Judith’s very understanding of reality. And soon Judith finds herself
facing the most difficult decision of all—
Would you still chose to
love someone even if your time together would be brief? Would you accept
a relationship, knowing that only heartbreak and grief awaited you in
the end?
Lovers and Madmen is a prequel novella for the Brothers
Maledetti series. Lose yourself in Judith and Cesare’s story and
understand where it all began.
My Review
This is an amazing prequel novella!!! I love that it gives us special insight into the personalities of the parents of the D'Angelo siblings since they aren't delved into in the books, but are becoming increasingly significant as the series progresses. The third book especially explored Chiara's relationship with her father and the trauma she suffers from his death. This novella brought Cesare to life and made me ache for him and his family, knowing what is in store for them. I loved that Judith is introduced as so practical and unromantic, yet she is swept away almost against her will by her feelings for Cesare. The romantic tension is drawn out as she extends her stay in Italy and spends more time with Cesare, and the conflicts that hold them back make it that much more poignant when Judith makes her decision. The details about the landscape and historical sites made the setting roll like a movie in my head, and I can't wait to visit there myself someday!
(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)
Check out the books in the Brothers Maledetti series . . .
Book One
Synopsis
An ancient curse, fractured at the birth of three brothers.
Two strangers helplessly drawn to each other.
A love story two hundred years in the making.
Claire
Raythorn arrives in Florence, Italy, shattered, alone, and anxious to
rebuild her life--preferably one without men. But she soon finds herself
hunted and haunted-- literally--when a mysterious stalker dressed like
Mr. Darcy from BBC central casting appears in her photos. And only her photos. Who is this man? And what does his ghostly presence mean?
Dante
D'Angelo simply wants to safeguard his brothers, despite the family
curse that hounds his vision. But then Claire Raythorn walks into his
life, untouched somehow by his curse. Soon, everything Dante thought he
knew about himself starts to unravel, dragging Claire down with him.
Set
against the lush backdrop of Florence, Italy--both past and
present--Claire and Dante fight for a future together. But, first, they
must uncover their shared past . . .
Book Two
Synopsis
Branwell D'Angelo . . .
Six
years ago, I fell in love with Lucy--my brother's girlfriend. Stupid of
me, I know, but sometimes the heart doesn't listen to reason.
Six years, I've lived on the sidelines. Seeing him love her, be with her, bask in her sunshine . . .
I watched her break his heart and then cleaned up the shattered pieces of him she left behind.
She's the one woman I can't have but still the only one my soul wants.
Now she's back in our lives and needs the unique help only us D'Angelos can give.
He's not emotionally strong enough to face her. So he's sending me instead . . .
For
her part, when tragedy strikes Lucy Snow on a visit to Italy, she can't
bring herself to call any of the D'Angelo brothers for help. There are
consequences for falling in love with your ex-boyfriend's brother. But
Lucy desperately needs Branwell's paranormal skills and his gift of
Sight. And if seeing him will negate at least three years of therapy?
Well, it's a price she is willing to pay.
Thrown together in a
desperate bid to save an innocent life, Branwell and Lucy struggle
against their shared past, only to realize that something even more
dangerous is reaching through the weight of time to stalk their every
move . . .
Synopsis
Chiara doesn’t like Jack. Jack doesn’t like Chiara.
The story should end there.
Except
. . . maybe Chiara finds herself daydreaming far too often about Jack.
And maybe Jack finds Chiara aggravating in an adorable sorta way.
Maybe Jack and Chiara find themselves falling in love.
The problem, of course, remains.
Jack is a ghost.
And Chiara is not.
Jack
Knight-Snow has had a bad year for losing things. So far he has lost a
ship full of ancient treasure, his family, his friends, his title, his
lands and money, his fiancé, the century into which he was born . . .
oh, and his physical body. Worse, feisty Chiara D’Angelo might just
finish the job and make him lose his mind.
For her part, Chiara
simply wants to help Jack get his body back and move on with his life.
She doesn’t want to like his snarky humor or his gorgeous eyes or the
way he accepts her exactly as she is. She’s a hot mess when it comes to
romantic relationships. Case in point . . . she’s developing feelings
for a ghost.
But tackling the problem of Jack’s ghostliness is
not straightforward. Soon, Jack and Chiara find themselves embroiled in a
mystery which creates more questions about the D’Angelo brothers’ gifts
of Second Sight. Set against the backdrop of Tuscany, Italy, Jack and
Chiara race to uncover answers about the past before becoming history
themselves.
Book Four
Releases April 19, 2018!
Available for pre-order at Amazon
Tennyson D'Angelo . . .
Darkness lives within each of us.
Shadows. We are each capable of great goodness and unbelievable evil. It
is the duality of being human.
I want to live in the light. I don't
enjoy the shadows. But I'm not sure I've been given a choice in the
matter.The shadows own me. They dance at my edges and tangle in my
light. They torment my days and make my nights an anguished hell.
I simply want to be free. One way . . . or another.
They call him the Prophet.
Tennyson
D'Angelo, the man who can foretell the future. A modern-day oracle. And
Olivia Hawking desperately needs his help. She tracks him down in
Italy, begging for his assistance. She has a life-or-death problem that
only a bonafide psychic can solve. But Tennyson is slowly fracturing
from within, the weight of the D'Angelo curse destroying him.
Olivia
and Tennyson join forces, each searching for answers. But their
understanding of the D'Angelo curse keeps changing, and Time is not on
their side. Even as they fall in love, Tennyson and Olivia realize they
are in a race against the clock. Will they find answers in time to save
themselves?
