Lucia Trevisan was only eleven years old when she lost her parents in a tragic accident in Venice, and she suffered further trauma when her photograph was splashed over all the Italian newspapers. Ever since then, she has been known at l’Orfana. Twenty years later, Lucia has a tight-knit community of people around her, but she has never found romantic love. She is too guarded – and too busy trying to save the Italian language school that her parents founded from being partly owned by an arch-enemy of the family.
But then Lucia agrees to attend a masquerade ball, and she has the best kiss of her life from an unknown masked man. Her life is turned upside down as she attempts to uncover his identity, she dodges paparazzi obsessed with the twentieth anniversary of her parents' death, she still has her school to save, and she is now dealing with an infuriating but handsome neighbour. Her life is about to change in ways she never would have imagined!
There is a lot to enjoy in this escapist read. The alleyways and canals of Venice are an atmospheric backdrop to the unfolding action, and the story has just the right blend of intrigue, romance and drama. Lucia Trevisan is a strong but complex character, and the other characters are also well-drawn and nuanced. The author lives in Melbourne but is passionate about Italian language education. She has nearly sixty publications to her name and is a known authority on all things Italian, which adds authenticity to this appealing holiday read. Eccellente!
Reviewer: Karen McMillan
Pan Macmillan