Accursed Abbey

Tessa
Candle
Genre: 
Historical

GOTHIC/REGENCY:  Miss Elizabeth Whitely has just lost her parents and is now under the guardianship of her Aunt and Uncle in Friuli, known as the wine country. She befriends a young lady also traveling to a new guardianship. They are thrown into a similar situation yet again, when they are left at the coach station waiting to be retrieved. When they are accosted by men leaving the local tavern, they are quickly rescued by Viscount Canterbourne. Like a knight in shining armor he is there to save them. Elizabeth tries to make the best of her situation, but when she becomes acquainted with the vile Lord Orefados things go from bad to worse. All she hopes is for her knight to appear again and for the happiness she has longed for.

Readers will instantly feel a spark of warmth from Elizabeth and an even hotter spark between her and the Viscount. The story starts on a delightful note, however, it continues to get darker and darker while dragging on and on. The Viscount and Elizabeth are truly the magnet that holds everything in place yet, even their magical connection it is not enough to deliver a completely winning story. A few loose ends linger throughout, with the question of Lenore at forefront, leaving one wondering if her contribution is necessary at all. The odious Lord Orefados is simply too odious to handle while his relentlessness is tiresome. Some mystery is thrown in with a small amount of adventure raising the bar a notch, while the delicious love scene delivers the romance at the fore front. 

Maggie Faria