Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Gladly Beyond (A Brothers Maledetti Romance) by Nichole Van {Review}

Gladly Beyond by Nichole Van
Kindle Edition, 400 pages
Published April 5th 2016 by Fiorenza Publishing 
 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29848011-gladly-beyond
 
Claire Raythorn arrives in Florence, Italy, shattered, alone, and anxious to rebuild her life--preferably one without men. But she soon finds herself hunted and haunted-- literally--when a mysterious stalker dressed like Mr. Darcy from BBC central casting appears in her photos. And only her photos. Who is this man? And what does his ghostly presence mean?

Dante D'Angelo simply wants to safeguard his brothers, despite the family curse that hounds his vision. But then Claire Raythorn walks into his life, untouched somehow by his curse. Soon, everything Dante thought he knew about himself starts to unravel, dragging Claire down with him.

Set against the lush backdrop of Florence, Italy--both past and present--Claire and Dante fight for a future together. But, first, they must uncover their shared past . . .
 
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My Review: 4 Stars
 
It's hard to resist a story with a little touch of paranormal--especially when the "ghost" appears in the form of Mr. Darcy. There is an element of time travel and reincarnation, but it's done in a way of flashbacks, instead of the characters actively engaging in those components. 
 
Claire goes to Italy to find herself after the death of her grandmother and a horrific break-up. She's in the running for her dream job and finds herself up against her ex-boyfriend and an intriguing man, Dante. I really loved Dante--a lot. He's had time to figure out a little of what's going on, with his family's curse, and uses that to his advance in many aspects of his life. I liked Claire. She has a lot of class, especially given the situation she found herself in that resulted in a viral video. She's very mature in the way she handles herself. Dante and Claire have a very sweet relationship, although she is very hesitant to trust and has thick walls up. I love watching a couple work through their issues and work together to not only come together, but to solve issues in the story. 

This book has a lot of fascinating history, but I have to say that some of the events that occur, while interesting, are a little strange. It was really hard to wrap my head around some things, yet I couldn't stop reading, because I really wanted to know what was going on and how things were going to end up.
 
Overall, this is a great story for those who enjoy a contemporary, romantic suspense, with fantasy elements. I'm looking forward to reading more about this family, especially Dante's brothers.
 
Content: mild expletives (moderately used); mild romance (kissing, implied affair, some innuendo). Clean for a more mature reader.
 
*I received a copy from eBooks for review in exchange for an honest review*
 
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Buy Links:
 
http://amzn.to/29eMztr
 http://www.barnesandnoble.com/reviews/gladly-beyond-nichole-van/1123655002?ean=9780996893602

About the Author:

Nichole Van
An Amazon bestselling author, Nichole Van is an artist who feels life is too short to only have one obsession. In former lives, she has been a contemporary dancer, pianist, art historian, choreographer, culinary artist and English professor.

Most notably, however, Nichole is an acclaimed photographer, winning over thirty international accolades for her work, including Portrait of the Year from WPPI in 2007. (Think Oscars for wedding and portrait photographers.) Her unique photography style has been featured in many magazines, including Rangefinder and Professional Photographer. She is also the creative mind behind the popular website Flourish Emporium which provides resources for photographers.

All that said, Nichole has always been a writer at heart. With an MA in English, she taught technical writing at Brigham Young University for ten years and has written more technical manuals than she can quickly count. She decided in late 2013 to start writing fiction and has since become an Amazon bestselling author.

Nichole currently lives in Utah with her husband and three crazy children. Though continuing in her career as a photographer, Nichole is also now writing romance novels on the side. She is known as NicholeVan all over the web: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. Visit http://www.NicholeVan.com to sign up for her author newsletter and be notified of new book releases. Additionally, you can see her photographic work at http://photography.nicholeV.com and http://www.nicholeV.com

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