You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
it's actually pretty nice if you can get past the incest and weird try hardy English (sorry!) It's just its supposed tot make place in the 19th century but their English just seems so odd and out of place sorry like I. know I can't expect the author to write like how they actually spoke back then but it just gives off the night circus vibes
Joseph Hannigan and his sister, Sophie, have come to Venice to meet the people who can make Joseph a star! He has the talent - his art immediately catches Nicholas Dane's eye - and the siblings are almost immediately swept into the city's thriving art community. But the Hannigans are hiding something, something that caused them to leave New York quite suddenly. Something they don't want their new friends to know.
Nicholas has his own reasons for wanting to keep Joseph close. Nicholas himself was once a talented poet. Alas, all of his ideas have left him. He blames this on Odilé, his one time muse. Odilé serves as muse to many poets, musicians, and artists. It's how she lives. Nicholas knows her secret and knows that Joseph is exactly the kind of man Odilé would choose. And Nicholas wants to make sure that doesn't happen.
Since I had no idea what Inamorata was really about when diving in, I'm going to leave it a surprise for you as well. No spoilers :)
I've read Megan Chance just once before this. Her City of Ash was amazing and was set around early stage life in nineteenth century Seattle. Given how much I'd enjoyed that one, I jumped at the chance to join in on the Inamorata tour.
Chance has an almost hypnotic style. Her prose is the kind that literally drowns out everything around you, wrapping you up in the setting and the characters. In this case it's nineteenth century Venice and the art scene. Whistler makes an appearance. Poets the likes of Byron and Keats are mentioned and even Schumann has a bit of a cameo (in a sense). And the city! I've never been to Venice but here I was imagining I was alongside Sophie and Joseph and Nicholas and Odilé as they told their tales!
Inamorata is a bit odd as well. Joseph and Sophie, for example, - as a reader it's hard not to immediately suspect that there's something off about their relationship. It doesn't escape Nicholas either. Part of the twins' plan involves Sophie gaining Nicholas's attention but she doesn't seem to realize that her connection with her brother also stands in the way. Nor does she realize that he's already obsessed with another woman.
Oh, and once we realize exactly what's going on between Nicholas and Odilé the story takes on a whole new level of wonderful!
Inamorata was darker than I'd imagined. And much more otherworldly as well. It was really fantastic not only to return to an author I've enjoyed but to find that she had so many surprises up her sleeve!
Nicholas has his own reasons for wanting to keep Joseph close. Nicholas himself was once a talented poet. Alas, all of his ideas have left him. He blames this on Odilé, his one time muse. Odilé serves as muse to many poets, musicians, and artists. It's how she lives. Nicholas knows her secret and knows that Joseph is exactly the kind of man Odilé would choose. And Nicholas wants to make sure that doesn't happen.
Since I had no idea what Inamorata was really about when diving in, I'm going to leave it a surprise for you as well. No spoilers :)
I've read Megan Chance just once before this. Her City of Ash was amazing and was set around early stage life in nineteenth century Seattle. Given how much I'd enjoyed that one, I jumped at the chance to join in on the Inamorata tour.
Chance has an almost hypnotic style. Her prose is the kind that literally drowns out everything around you, wrapping you up in the setting and the characters. In this case it's nineteenth century Venice and the art scene. Whistler makes an appearance. Poets the likes of Byron and Keats are mentioned and even Schumann has a bit of a cameo (in a sense). And the city! I've never been to Venice but here I was imagining I was alongside Sophie and Joseph and Nicholas and Odilé as they told their tales!
Inamorata is a bit odd as well. Joseph and Sophie, for example, - as a reader it's hard not to immediately suspect that there's something off about their relationship. It doesn't escape Nicholas either. Part of the twins' plan involves Sophie gaining Nicholas's attention but she doesn't seem to realize that her connection with her brother also stands in the way. Nor does she realize that he's already obsessed with another woman.
Oh, and once we realize exactly what's going on between Nicholas and Odilé the story takes on a whole new level of wonderful!
Inamorata was darker than I'd imagined. And much more otherworldly as well. It was really fantastic not only to return to an author I've enjoyed but to find that she had so many surprises up her sleeve!
I'll admit that I keep meaning to be super snobbish about Amazon's Lake Union imprint, but then I forget -- and good thing, because I keep enjoying the reads I've come across (I Am Livia and now this one).
Set over a month in Venice in 1879, the novel follows four individuals: Odilé Leon, an immortal courtesan who feeds on genius to survive, gifting the artist in question with immortal fame; Nicholas Dane, a failed poet who never made a bargain with Odilé and is determined to destroy her; Joseph Hannigan, a deeply gifted artist with a disturbingly dark past and an impossible-to-ignore sexuality; and his twin sister, Sophie, who provides sensuous inspiration to her brother.
Odilé is on the hunt for a great genius to gift her curse to, and her sights land on Joseph. But Nicholas is determined to protect him -- and finds himself half obsessed with the artist and his alluring sister. Joseph and Sophie are on the hunt for the perfect patron -- someone to keep them fiscally comfortable so they can avoid the penniless pain of their childhood.
The plot of this novel is straight up melodrama -- in the best way. The Hannigan twins have a back story to make V.C. Andrews proud, and the supernatural elements harken to Anne Rice, Alma Katsu, and Lauren Owen. The setting -- 19th century Venice -- enhances the decadent, decaying allure of our courtesan and the give-and-take between the rich expats and the artists vying for their attention.
While the premise of the novel is fabulously over-the-top, it's the four main characters that make the story grounded and real. In Chance's hands, they are all mufti-faceted and intriguing -- even our "villainess", the succubus Odilé, is sympathetic (in fact, she was my favorite part of the story).
The narrative was a tiny bit too long-winded for my tastes: I felt like the set up for the denouement was perfectly established well before Chance did, and as a result, the conclusion felt a bit rushed for me. Still, there was a deliciously bittersweet ending that caught me up despite myself and made for a satisfying finish.
A delightful escape for summer, or, something for October's R.I.P. challenge, Inamorata has all the right elements for a juicy, slightly titillating supernatural read.
Set over a month in Venice in 1879, the novel follows four individuals: Odilé Leon, an immortal courtesan who feeds on genius to survive, gifting the artist in question with immortal fame; Nicholas Dane, a failed poet who never made a bargain with Odilé and is determined to destroy her; Joseph Hannigan, a deeply gifted artist with a disturbingly dark past and an impossible-to-ignore sexuality; and his twin sister, Sophie, who provides sensuous inspiration to her brother.
Odilé is on the hunt for a great genius to gift her curse to, and her sights land on Joseph. But Nicholas is determined to protect him -- and finds himself half obsessed with the artist and his alluring sister. Joseph and Sophie are on the hunt for the perfect patron -- someone to keep them fiscally comfortable so they can avoid the penniless pain of their childhood.
The plot of this novel is straight up melodrama -- in the best way. The Hannigan twins have a back story to make V.C. Andrews proud, and the supernatural elements harken to Anne Rice, Alma Katsu, and Lauren Owen. The setting -- 19th century Venice -- enhances the decadent, decaying allure of our courtesan and the give-and-take between the rich expats and the artists vying for their attention.
While the premise of the novel is fabulously over-the-top, it's the four main characters that make the story grounded and real. In Chance's hands, they are all mufti-faceted and intriguing -- even our "villainess", the succubus Odilé, is sympathetic (in fact, she was my favorite part of the story).
The narrative was a tiny bit too long-winded for my tastes: I felt like the set up for the denouement was perfectly established well before Chance did, and as a result, the conclusion felt a bit rushed for me. Still, there was a deliciously bittersweet ending that caught me up despite myself and made for a satisfying finish.
A delightful escape for summer, or, something for October's R.I.P. challenge, Inamorata has all the right elements for a juicy, slightly titillating supernatural read.
This book was insufferably boring, even with the salacious, VC Andrews-inspired plot line. The characters were dull and I couldn’t sense any real chemistry between them. Meh.
Inamorata by Megan Chance is a 2014 Lake Union Publishing release.
A succubus is a female demon or supernatural entity in folklore (traced back to medieval legend) that appears in dreams and takes the form of a woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual activity. The male counterpart is the incubus. Religious traditions hold that repeated sexual activity with a succubus may result in the deterioration of health or even death.
I chose this book as part of the kindle first reads program. It was vague on the genre classifications so if you see the historical fiction category listed, be aware this is a paranormal fantasy set in a historical era in time and set in Italy. Purist of historical fiction could get the wrong idea based on Amazon's listings.
So, now that I've cleared that up...
Sophie and Joseph are twins bonded very strongly together, all alone in the world with a small inheritance which is dangerously running low. Joseph is a talented artist but for the fame he so longs for he needs a sponsor. He and Sophie work on those with deep pockets by having Sophie flirt and seduce the men who could help Joseph achieve notoriety. After a horrible scandal in New York the siblings travel to enchanting Venice and insert themselves among the bohemian types and immediately meet a man named Nicholas Dane.
Nicholas was once an aspiring poet but an all consuming relationship with a woman calling herself Odile Leon, he lost all his talent. He soon realizes Odile has done this to many men over hundreds of years. A muse in the beginning, but she soon drains the men of their talent. She even admits to being the muse of John Keats and inspired the poem “Lamia”.
"Lamia" is a narrative poem written by English poet John Keats in 1820.[1]
The poem was written in 1819, and comes within Keats' most brilliant period - it was written soon after "La belle dame sans merci" and his odes on Melancholy, on Indolence, to a Grecian Urn and to a Nightingale and just before "Ode to Autumn". The poem tells how the god Hermes hears of a nymph who is more beautiful than all. Hermes, searching for the nymph, instead comes across a Lamia, trapped in the form of a serpent. She reveals the previously invisible nymph to him and in return he restores her human form. She goes to seek a youth of Corinth, Lycius, while Hermes and his nymph depart together into the woods. The relationship between Lycius and Lamia, however, is destroyed when the sage Apollonius reveals Lamia's true identity at their wedding feast, whereupon she seemingly disappears and Lycius dies of grief.
Nicholas is consumed with anger and bitterness and becomes obsessed with finding Odile once again and preventing her from feeding , killing and draining others of their talent. So, it is he finds himself involved with Joseph and Sophie in Venice. However, he could never imagine the fate that awaited him.
I must admit the book got off to a very slow start for me. It was not until the half way mark I began to really piece together where we were going and the suspense began to build. I have not read a book quite like this one. The Venice backdrop is so romantic which makes a stark contrast to the evil that Odile represents. The all consuming desire for fame and recognition will cause many to make a misstep, making the proverbial deal with the devil to achieve their goal. In this case Odile has gotten to the point of desperation as Nicholas has made good on his promise to keep her in check. But when Nicholas and Sophie began to fall in love, Nicholas loses his focus leaving the door wide open for Odile to do her worst and of course Joseph is the one she wants above all others- THE one she has waited for. However, Joseph is not like all the others. There is a strength he has that prevents him from truly bonding with the succubus- his bond with Sophie. Now, some might not like this bond so well as it has an implied unnaturalness to it. The siblings grew up in an abusive situation and have leaned on each other heavily making their relationship stronger than is normal. This could be very off putting to some readers.
True love which triumphs over evil, love that makes the ultimate sacrifice makes this story special. A tip of the hat to the author for weaving such a deep story which really did remind me of Anne Rice's vampire saga, just because of the style of writing and the type of historical backdrop that gave the story a lushness and made it very atmospheric. However, it may have been too ambitions of an undertaking. It was absorbing once the story really to moving and is certainly outside the box! I would recommend this novel to those who like a dark fantasy with paranormal elements in a historical setting. 3.5 rounded to 4
A succubus is a female demon or supernatural entity in folklore (traced back to medieval legend) that appears in dreams and takes the form of a woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual activity. The male counterpart is the incubus. Religious traditions hold that repeated sexual activity with a succubus may result in the deterioration of health or even death.
I chose this book as part of the kindle first reads program. It was vague on the genre classifications so if you see the historical fiction category listed, be aware this is a paranormal fantasy set in a historical era in time and set in Italy. Purist of historical fiction could get the wrong idea based on Amazon's listings.
So, now that I've cleared that up...
Sophie and Joseph are twins bonded very strongly together, all alone in the world with a small inheritance which is dangerously running low. Joseph is a talented artist but for the fame he so longs for he needs a sponsor. He and Sophie work on those with deep pockets by having Sophie flirt and seduce the men who could help Joseph achieve notoriety. After a horrible scandal in New York the siblings travel to enchanting Venice and insert themselves among the bohemian types and immediately meet a man named Nicholas Dane.
Nicholas was once an aspiring poet but an all consuming relationship with a woman calling herself Odile Leon, he lost all his talent. He soon realizes Odile has done this to many men over hundreds of years. A muse in the beginning, but she soon drains the men of their talent. She even admits to being the muse of John Keats and inspired the poem “Lamia”.
"Lamia" is a narrative poem written by English poet John Keats in 1820.[1]
The poem was written in 1819, and comes within Keats' most brilliant period - it was written soon after "La belle dame sans merci" and his odes on Melancholy, on Indolence, to a Grecian Urn and to a Nightingale and just before "Ode to Autumn". The poem tells how the god Hermes hears of a nymph who is more beautiful than all. Hermes, searching for the nymph, instead comes across a Lamia, trapped in the form of a serpent. She reveals the previously invisible nymph to him and in return he restores her human form. She goes to seek a youth of Corinth, Lycius, while Hermes and his nymph depart together into the woods. The relationship between Lycius and Lamia, however, is destroyed when the sage Apollonius reveals Lamia's true identity at their wedding feast, whereupon she seemingly disappears and Lycius dies of grief.
Nicholas is consumed with anger and bitterness and becomes obsessed with finding Odile once again and preventing her from feeding , killing and draining others of their talent. So, it is he finds himself involved with Joseph and Sophie in Venice. However, he could never imagine the fate that awaited him.
I must admit the book got off to a very slow start for me. It was not until the half way mark I began to really piece together where we were going and the suspense began to build. I have not read a book quite like this one. The Venice backdrop is so romantic which makes a stark contrast to the evil that Odile represents. The all consuming desire for fame and recognition will cause many to make a misstep, making the proverbial deal with the devil to achieve their goal. In this case Odile has gotten to the point of desperation as Nicholas has made good on his promise to keep her in check. But when Nicholas and Sophie began to fall in love, Nicholas loses his focus leaving the door wide open for Odile to do her worst and of course Joseph is the one she wants above all others- THE one she has waited for. However, Joseph is not like all the others. There is a strength he has that prevents him from truly bonding with the succubus- his bond with Sophie. Now, some might not like this bond so well as it has an implied unnaturalness to it. The siblings grew up in an abusive situation and have leaned on each other heavily making their relationship stronger than is normal. This could be very off putting to some readers.
True love which triumphs over evil, love that makes the ultimate sacrifice makes this story special. A tip of the hat to the author for weaving such a deep story which really did remind me of Anne Rice's vampire saga, just because of the style of writing and the type of historical backdrop that gave the story a lushness and made it very atmospheric. However, it may have been too ambitions of an undertaking. It was absorbing once the story really to moving and is certainly outside the box! I would recommend this novel to those who like a dark fantasy with paranormal elements in a historical setting. 3.5 rounded to 4
I read this because it seemed like my kind of thing and it was free from Amazon. I quite enjoyed it for most of it, the author did a very good job of continuing suspense and mystery about what was going on for the first half. Each chapter only gave a little more information about the various POV characters and the greater plot, while introducing more mysteries. But once it was obvious what was going on, things got less interesting. I was fairly disappointed by the ending, because I felt like it wasn't the clever surprise I was expecting.
Although this book was well written, it simply was not my cup of tea. It had a n interesting concept as far as there being a succubus or muse. A little scary, as a matter of fact, that one person could hold so much power over another. Hard to imagine that someone could be so inspiring to another that they create an unbelievable work of art that can never be matched. Everything else seems to fail in comparison. What, at first, seems to be something victims can't live without, is somethng that will actually cause them mental anguish and despair.
This was a blind purchase and I'm glad that I bought it. Inamorata is a book that I honestly thought was going to be a typical story of temptation and breathless, bodice ripping descriptions of Venice. I was expecting the usual love story of forbidden love and a vampire that breaks its heart over mortals.
Nope. Not what I got and I am glad for it. I loved the literary and artistic allusions and the nature of desire and creativity and talent. Keats and Byron get name-dropped into the story of a set of twins who are running from scandal and their pasts and land in Venice.
They meet Odile Leon, who is obviously mysterious and the key to the rest of the plot and her nemesis, Nicholas Dane. These two are great antagonists to each other and the plot moves along well and smoothly, even with the changing points of view.
Well done and I enjoyed how it lulls you into thinking you know the story when you don't.
Nope. Not what I got and I am glad for it. I loved the literary and artistic allusions and the nature of desire and creativity and talent. Keats and Byron get name-dropped into the story of a set of twins who are running from scandal and their pasts and land in Venice.
They meet Odile Leon, who is obviously mysterious and the key to the rest of the plot and her nemesis, Nicholas Dane. These two are great antagonists to each other and the plot moves along well and smoothly, even with the changing points of view.
Well done and I enjoyed how it lulls you into thinking you know the story when you don't.