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A phone call from an old friend sets Dr. Giovanni Vecchio back on the path
of a mysterious manuscript he's hunted for over five hundred years. He never
expected a young student librarian could be the key to unlock its secrets, nor
could he have predicted the danger she would attract.
Now he and Beatrice De Novo follow a twisted maze that leads from the archives of a university library, though the fires of Renaissance Florence, and toward a confrontation hundreds of years in the making.
Now he and Beatrice De Novo follow a twisted maze that leads from the archives of a university library, though the fires of Renaissance Florence, and toward a confrontation hundreds of years in the making.
Genre: paranormal romance
Publishing date: July 2012 (October 2011 for the Kindle Edition)
Offensive content: some violence, but not excessively graphic
Offensive content: some violence, but not excessively graphic
Review:
This is one of my favorite books to date, even though the main topic is not something that usually attracts me. Actually, the whole vampires-among-us mania of a few years back never attracted me and I've never been able to stomach the Twilight saga and all similar books around.
But this one? I could not put it down, and I've re-read it countless times ever since. Actually, by the time I first discovered Giovanni Vecchio was a vampire I was so engrossed in the story I had no finish reading it no matter what. And then I bought the other three books in the Elemental Mysteries series.
I loved Beatrice from the beginning. And Giovanni? Well, I wish I could have one Giovanni delivered to my front door as easily as I download the Kindle books. I could even ignore the too-well-developed canines and his somber moods.
And the rest of the characters? I loved them all, especially Carwyn, the welsh catholic priest with the Hawaiian shirts, the flower digging dog and the love for WWE wrestling (and who's also a vampire - the priest, not the dog) and Casper, Giovanni's secretary-friend, with his implacable clothes and English butler manners.
The story has hilarious moments, some serious vampire fighting and the beginning of Giovanni and Beatrice's love story. It does not have a happy ending, though, so be warned. You'll have to read the other books to get to that. And yes, they are all as good as the first one (I'll post full reviews one of these days), though I confess A Hidden Fire holds a special place in my heart.
Enjoy your readings,
I'm with you - not much of a fan of this genre, but I can see myself getting into this one, especially if, like you, I was already involved with the characters before realizing he was a vampire. Thanks for sharing this at Booknificent Thursday!
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Thank you for stopping by Tina!
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