VENETIAN RHAPSODY by Tonya Penrose
Fiction, Romance (with touches of the paranormal), (331 pages)
5+*****
Blurb: In a glancing moment, Eduardo and Sofia experience a chance encounter that alters how they see their world and ignites a grand love. A romance where the barriers of time’s constraints fall away…leaving them with an unfolding mystery around their powerful connection. Two encounters a year apart bring plenty of complications, smiles, and undeniable love.
Thoughts: This is a beautiful love story that caught my interest at the beginning and held onto it through the end. I really didn’t want to put it down at all—but one does have to live life on occasion. Still, I kept picking it back up. It takes place in Venice, Italy. Two people—Sofia Martin and Eduardo Diaz—meet by chance at a friend’s home and there is an instant connection. Usually, I’m not a fan of “instant connect” stories, but in this case, it worked. Mostly because the author couched it in such a way that it’s more believable. There’s a touch of the paranormal here as the two know things about each other that it’s impossible to know, and Sofia keeps seeing them together in a different time and place—timeslips. There are other strange things—messages on cookies, a pigeon who follows them constantly (Mrs. Coo is so cute), and a mysterious woman who tells Sofia about destiny.
For a week—all the time Sofia has left in Italy before returning to Boston to a new job as a museum curator—the two go everywhere and do everything together. And fall in love. Then life intrudes and Sofia returns to Boston and Eduardo to Spain. And we are left thinking that true love cannot exist for them.
But we are wrong. Though it does take some time and a lot of discussions to clear up past issues. And we are finally left with the happily ever after we are looking for.
Recommendation: If you’re looking for a beautiful story with fantastic descriptions and a touch of the paranormal, then it is your destiny to read this book. You will definitely fall in love with it.
Disclaimer: Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”
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