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Venetian Masquerade
Signet Regency paperback, April 1987.
222 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 7, 1987
12 people want to read
About the author
Ellen Fitzgerald
27 books6 followersPseudonyms: Zandra Colt, Lucia Curzon, Ellen Fitzgerald, Pamela Frazier and Florence Stevenson
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 25, 2026
Read: 2/26/26
Setting: Regency England and Italy
Trope: spy
1.5 stars
I waited too late to write my review for this book, and now I've forgotten most of plot. In my defense, this book was so bad, I was avoided thinking of it.
plot: The h meets the H while working undercover as a governess for her mother's new book. They fall for each other, but a misunderstanding separates them. Now, her mother has declared they are going to Venice with a tour guide. The man is acting very suspicious and so is her mother. Something is not what it seems. Then she sees her mother holding the H's hand. What's he doing in Switzerland with her mother?
Well, they are spys. It was obvious from the beginning. Her sh***y mother doesn't even tell her grown a** children what's going on and seems to have no problem putting them in danger. She also forces the the MC apart. I thought it was because she didn't want her children to leave her, but her reasons were more asinine than that. I absolutely HATED her character. It's rare a book is ruined by a side character and not the MC, but this narcissistic woman takes the cake! I was hoping her children would leave her at the end, but she gets a HEA too. 😡
Conclusion: I haven't read a book this bad in awhile
Setting: Regency England and Italy
Trope: spy
1.5 stars
I waited too late to write my review for this book, and now I've forgotten most of plot. In my defense, this book was so bad, I was avoided thinking of it.
plot: The h meets the H while working undercover as a governess for her mother's new book. They fall for each other, but a misunderstanding separates them. Now, her mother has declared they are going to Venice with a tour guide. The man is acting very suspicious and so is her mother. Something is not what it seems. Then she sees her mother holding the H's hand. What's he doing in Switzerland with her mother?
Well, they are spys. It was obvious from the beginning. Her sh***y mother doesn't even tell her grown a** children what's going on and seems to have no problem putting them in danger. She also forces the the MC apart. I thought it was because she didn't want her children to leave her, but her reasons were more asinine than that. I absolutely HATED her character. It's rare a book is ruined by a side character and not the MC, but this narcissistic woman takes the cake! I was hoping her children would leave her at the end, but she gets a HEA too. 😡
Conclusion: I haven't read a book this bad in awhile
February 16, 2013
An entertaining book and good writing. The story unfolds well and action moves quickly with an espionage plotline. At some points, it sounds a little bit like a soapbox about the Austrian occupation of Italy, but it forms a vital aspect of the plot so I didn't mind.
The heroine is sometimes a little dense and impetuous, but other times she is incredibly brave and even lies brilliantly when the soldiers suspect her of spying. At one point, the hero reacts a little stupidly when the heroine makes a mistaken conclusion, especially since the situation she witnessed made her conclusion rather inevitable.
For most of the story, the characters are entertaining but the little things about the heroine and hero (detailed above) were the reason I give this 4 stars. The ending is very satisfactory.
The heroine is sometimes a little dense and impetuous, but other times she is incredibly brave and even lies brilliantly when the soldiers suspect her of spying. At one point, the hero reacts a little stupidly when the heroine makes a mistaken conclusion, especially since the situation she witnessed made her conclusion rather inevitable.
For most of the story, the characters are entertaining but the little things about the heroine and hero (detailed above) were the reason I give this 4 stars. The ending is very satisfactory.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews