Inamorata Paperback – August 1, 2014

I have to admit, the cover was what really hooked me on giving this book a chance. I don’t usually read historical fiction, but it looked too beautiful for me to pass up. My goodness, am I ever happy that I did choose it! This was such a great, surprising book! I must say, however, I think their decision to classify it as “Historical Fiction” does it a great disservice. I think a good deal of negative reviews are from readers that went into the book expecting it to be historical fiction, and finding that it’s actually more geared towards the supernatural genre, disappointed them. I think if this were listed as supernatural/paranormal fiction, the right audience would be reached and the reviews would be amazing.Inamorata takes place in Venice in 1879 and revolves around the flourishing arts scene Featuring four main characters and corresponding viewpoint chapters, the novel investigates just how much an artist is willing to give for greatness, and whether the price is justified. Odilé is the sympathetic villainess. She is gorgeous and irresistible and she knows it too well. She raised herself up from the daughter of a common whore, to a famed courtesan surrounded by riches. That was near three hundred years ago. You see, as a woman who made her living through her looks, she began to desperately fear aging and even more so, being forgotten. It was in this state of desperation that she met the woman who would grant Odilé her wish and change her life forever. Odilé is offered eternal life and youth, and the possibility of enduring fame through art, but here is one small catch – she would become an artist’s greatest muse, but would also become a succubus, feeding off of their creativity until they are mere husks of their former selves. Odilé readily accepts.Nicholas is a surviving victim of Odilé, and once he has discovered what she truly was, has made it his life’s mission to not only destroy her, but to also warn off all other potential victims. You see, being with Odilé will inspire you to create the greatest piece of art or writing that you are capable of, but once she leaves you, so does your talent. Nicholas, a once promising poet, is now living with his inability to write, and blames Odilé for this tragic occurrence. So he hunts her throughout Europe, hoping to hinder her feeding process to the point of starvation and death.Twins Joseph and Sophie are Americans who have left New York City, arrive in Venice looking to find a patron in hopes of securing a comfortable future. Joseph is a painter, Sophie is his muse. They unknowingly become pawns in the tug-of-war struggle between Nicholas and Odilé.The first half of the book is interesting, but slow paced as it introduces the reader to the world of 19th Century Venice. The description is fantastic and thorough. The build-up is slow, but necessary to the plot. Once you start the second half of the book, the action is nonstop and I found myself unable to put the book down, but also unable to keep reading for fear of what would happen. The climax was amazing and the ending truly justified and well done. This is definitely a book I can recommend to others, and will be ordering a physical copy for my own personal library.

*SPOILER ALERT* I would like to begin this review by saying that for $1.99, I am more than thrilled with this purchase. This book is simply a gorgeous package from start to finish. I get so annoyed paying major publishing house prices ($9.99-12.99) only to realize I'm not getting cover art, let alone frontispiece art, chapter art, etc. A book purchase for me of any kind has always been a big deal and a lot goes into my selection process. It's an event, so when I pay a $1.99 and get delivered the kind of quality I got with this one, I am a happy girl before I even start reading. Publishers need to realize that just because we are buying Kindle versions doesn't mean we want cheap versions. The cover, frontispiece and chapter heading illustrations for "Inamorata" are simply gorgeous. So thank you for that.Another thing I routinely do before buying is read some reviews. A few 5-stars, a range of 3-stars and almost all of the 1- and 2-star reviews. I feel like this gives me an overview of what readers are generally thinking and how closely it aligns with my own personal tastes. Usually, it's the 1- or 2 star-reviews that have me clicking "Buy Now" because a lot of times those are written by moralistically conservative or even religiously uptight people who want what they openly refer to as "good, clean books." Umm, yeah, great.Now, let's look at the cover and title for this book. Does this book look like it's something your Sunday school class will want to read? If we read some of the descriptive text, we discover it's set in Venice in the late nineteenth century and deals primarily with artists. Artists are not exactly known for celibacy. So, I haven't even started this book and I'm prepared for some possibly outre stuff.Now that we have all that out of the way, let's deal with the story of "Inamorata".I LOVED this book. I am not a girl who gets to travel much and I would very dearly love to go to Venice. A few reviewers mention the plodding descriptives of the city. Personally, I think Megan Chance did a GREAT job describing Venice to a girl who lives on a Walmart budget. I loved reading about the play of light in the early morning, the colors of the sunrises and sunsets, the reflective ripples of water across ceilings. Remember, we're dealing with painters and poets and these things are very important to them, and to me as well. I love reading about the sounds of the Venetian canals - the water lapping on stairways and against the gondolas. The cries of the people in the streets and the echoing songs of the gondoliers. The sounds of the birds. The night fog and a sense of possible danger pressing close. It's as close as I will probably ever get and I do not feel my time was "wasted" in any way with these passages.Then some of the reviews mention disliking demons, ghosts, whatever. I guess some people would need to categorize this book as a "paranormal romance". To me, it read more like historical fiction with the possibility of paranormal elements thrown in. Turns out we're dealing with a succubus. A demonic presence. In an old European city known for decadence. Huh - go figure. You chose this book again - why??However, what most people seem to be most disturbed by is the "incestuous" relationship between the twins, Joseph and Sophie Hannigan. I would like to point out that at no point does Megan Chance ever say they are having sex during the time frame of this story. What she does mention is two siblings, orphaned young and left in the care of an absentee relative. The absentee relative puts them in a house in the middle of nowhere with a predatory pedophilic governess. The preternatural relationship between twins has been part of many a storyline and that is the case here. These children are abused from a very young age and then are left to their own devices. Not being socialized with others of their own age when puberty hits, they still have natural curiosities. So, yes, early on there is some incest. But nowhere else does Megan Chance ever say they are still having sex.Then again, too, you have to consider that during this time period, people didn't live in sprawling ranch houses in the suburbs where everyone gets their own bedroom. Poorer families often lived all together in just a room or two. Do you really think nobody had sex? Or that everyone else left the house and never heard anything?Then we have Joseph's amazing artistic ability coupled with the fact that he is extremely close to his very beautiful sister, Sophie. Yes, she becomes his muse, and yes, he paints her naked. Yes, there is a scandal in New York, but read those passages closely. There is a third party involved. Things are offered by the third party but not done.I think this is a story of Passion, not kinky sex. Joseph and Sophie are passionate people. They've lived their entire lives together and have a strongly co-dependent relationship. The author states clearly about Joseph "going out" and coming back relaxed. Sophie wants a man who sees her as Joseph sees her but for her own self, outside the reach of his talent. So while we have the twin closeness, we also have some very normal sibling rivalry and jealousy. At no point other than during the discourse about the governess is it ever truly implied sexual relations are involved. The rest is gossip and hearsay from outsiders who are WONDERING. Is it possible? Sure. Could they be indulging? Maybe, maybe not. The point is, Megan Chance has taken a delicate subject and pretty much leaves it open for debate. That's a hallmark of some very fine writing. And again, I paid $1.99.As for Odile Leon and her being a succubus. Well, she is. Not long ago, I finished a series of books about a modern-day succubus (Georgina Kincaid by Richelle Mead). They were fun, light-hearted sometimes slightly raunchy books. They averaged out at about 3-star reads for me. They don't stand out in terms of the rest of the things I read on a daily basis. I would argue that "Inamorata" does. Odile Leon is supposed to be the villain-ness - and yet, like the artists she must prey on to survive, she herself is very passionate and possessed of a soul. She doesn't hate - she's not evil. She has feelings she would rather not have. There's not really a sense of right or wrong to be had here, simply a case of what is in this story.To me, this book has meat and bones and substance. Very well written and edited. Story well-executed and thoughtfully, intelligently told. It brought something new and fresh to an old, old tale. I actually hoped it would end a little differently and I was excited towards the end that this was going to be the case when there was talk about freckle constellations and Joseph and Sophie being serpent-bearers, but it didn't go that way in the end. Had it, it would've ranked a 6-star. Nonetheless, this book possessed an end, complete in itself, without relying on a continuation of a series. I like that - I don't have to make a long-term commitment. That's why it will stand out in my memory for a long time to come and why also I would not hesitate to read more of Megan Chance's work.

In this story the characters do come to life in a meaningful way. Each chapter written from the POV for three important characters is done very well and easy to follow due to the narrator’s talented range voicing each character. He even pulls off the feminine fairly well. Brother and sister are “running away” from a very troubled past and end up in Venice, the romantic, art infused city of canals. They endeavor urgently to meet various other artists at “salons” that might benefit the brother, a painter, by introductions to important persons, collectors and the wealthy. And those they meet along the way have their own demons, which as we muddle through the story, prove to be linked through tangled webs. The fantasy is fresh (as it is disturbing) and one vacillates between liking and hating the paranormal being in the story. This isn’t a teen angst, please bite me vampire story. No, it is much more and is not a YA book.My ambivalence centers on very disturbing scenes between the brother and sister and their dark past. IMHO there were many hard to believe encounters, situations that “normal” folks may fortunately never experience. It is difficult to listen to the detailed and sensitive underbelly of abusive relationships. The current day events paint a garish portrait of the struggles they must continually face during their efforts just to get by. I wanted to give Inamorata a 2-star rating. But the story is eloquent; it flows and pulls the reader/listener into the fantasy to cheer for our “heroes” in anticipation of what I felt was a satisfactory, if not slightly predictable end.So I give this story a 3-star rating because the author made me care enough to be disgusted, hopeful and angry and feel agitation and discomfort about some pretty screwed up people’s lives.

I really enjoyed this book. The plot line was very unique and written really well. I was totally engaged from very early on, found the intertwined storylines and characters really interesting and thought the mysterious, sexy atmosphere if Venice was captured perfectly and created a perfect backdrop for this novel

Great twist at the end. Writing was very crisp and the changing of the points of view didn't make the book suffer at all. I loved how we got different perspectives that were true to the three main viewpoints. Venice descriptions were balanced enough and the romance was well-paced. I didn't expect the end and I'm glad that it wasn't a cookie-cutter one either. Loved it.

The amosphere and the mystery develop gradually in a very interesting way that envelopes the reader. It is not really a Historical fiction because there is too few detail of the ways of living, apart from a few descriptions here and there of habits in use in Venice. 3 characters out of the 4 main ones take turns in narrating their feelings and actions.It lacks a few developments here and there. It's altogether a good read. If possible I would have given a 3 and a half star.

No No No

"Inamorata" makes compelling reading. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys "otherworldly" stories . It is very hard to put down!