Maybe it was the spooky mystery of Halloween in the air or maybe I caught some strange, yet quickly vanishing illness, but whatever the reason, I decided to read these two historical romance novels by Anne Stuart. Typically, I stay away from the whole historical romance genre because, being a woman of a certain era, I find it hard to by into the whole "Me Tarzan, You Jane" attitude that I typically associate with historical romances.
By picking up these two books, my perception was changed. Stuart managed to wow me with characters that were strong willed and witty, as well as rapid moving dialogue and an actual story behind the romance! The first novel, The Demon Count, was about the newly orphaned Charlotte Marrow venturing to Italy to meet her new guardian and have her own grand adventure. However, with the ghoul of Venice and her mysterious Count on the loose, she gets more than she could have bargained for!
The second novel, The Demon Count's Daughter, tells the story of Count Luc del Zaglia's daughter as she makes the same journey her mother embarked upon twenty-five years ago. She is going to visit the homeland of her father while working as an undercover spy trying to free the people of Venice from the overbearing Austrian government once and for all.
As stated above, I really enjoyed these novels, which actually shocked me. Besides the things stated above, I also enjoyed how the second story was completely about the daughter, Luciana and her parents were only mentioned by name until the end of the book when they made a brief appearance. I loved how Stuart allowed Luciana to stand on her own in a world seemingly similar to her parents'. Maybe there is hope for me in this genre after all!
Genre: Historical Romance
Positives: Excellent character development and a rapid moving story with a substantial plot.
Negatives: A few minor things. I felt in the first novel, Stuart tried to convince her readers that Charlotte was independent and strong-willed yet when she went toe to toe with someone, she hardly ever won!
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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