200 years after the infamous Borgia pope, and this book transports with the same sense of treachery and social duplicity as that time of history so often the subject of period dramas and cleverly written television. The Contessa, Carlotta Mancini, is looking back on her life, and explaining the genesis of the Vendetta that has so ruled her life and occupies a palpable feel of a character throughout the book.

Through the veil of memory, we are transported back nearly 20 years to a young Carlotta, rich, titled and parentless, as she meets the man who will be the genesis of the vendetta. From one moment to the next, her retelling is detailed, her strength and determination in surviving and moving forward while maintaining the anger needed to fuel the vendetta is admirable, even if you can’t agree with her reasoning.

Through a series of twists and roadblocks, her plot is foiled, questioned, and detailed with meticulous care all fitting to the 17th century Venice. The Contessa, despite being a character fueled by anger and vengeance is actually one that you can’t help but appreciate and empathize with, the characters who are truly evil in this book ooze slime and actually created a visceral reaction of disgust as I read.

With a couple of small pacing issues that arose in her repetition about the need for vengeance, the positives in the book: the writing, the detailed characters and the ability to describe a scene that transported me to Venice in the 1600’s those little repetitions were easily ignored. Paltzer has recreated a wonderful dark story full of emotion and description that will transport and enchant.

I received an eBook copy from the author for purpose of honest review in the Indie Authors Rock promotions at I am, Indeed. I was not compensated for this review, and all conclusions are my own responsibility.
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Patzer is a talented author, and she excels at the language and details of historical fiction. She is able to fully immerse me in the world her characters live in.

That being said, this story was not a favorite for me. It had a powerful start, pulling me right into the Contessa's world. But, as she became more involved with and consumed by her vendetta, I just couldn't make sense of some of her decisions. I don't like to give spoilers, but this is a small one: The biggest problem for me was the disparity between her intense love for her daughter, and her decision to leave her behind in favor of revenge. Revenge can be had in many ways, without hurting innocent people. This woman became so consumed with her specific plan that it didn't matter to her who got hurt along the way. I guess, by midway through the story, I simply did not like the Contessa. Since she is the main character, and the book is written in first person, I found it hard to like the story when I didn't like her.

The other problem I had was the situation stretched the imagination a bit far. Simply having your hair turn white and hiding your eyes would not, in my opinion, be enough to conceal your identity from family and close friends. That part of the story requires a leap into fantasy, and since this isn't fantasy, I found myself constantly questioning the ignorance of the people around the contessa. ( )