Review: CURSED... with waiting for the second one!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 4, 2013
(Originally posted on SnarkyMomReads where a copy of this story was provided in exchange for the review.)So we've all seen the Da Vinci picture of the Vitruvian Man (but how many folks could actually NAME the drawing?  Well, now YOU can!) and just the thought that Da Vinci, all those hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years ago had figured out a way to mess with humanity just intrigued me.  Cate Masters has an intriguing thought process regarding Da Vinci; it is that he was actually mad and dabbling in the "dark arts" of magic.  Bruno, who Da Vinci mentored, actually drew the Vitruvian Man, and Da Vinci took it upon himself to try to make a Vitruvian Man.  Unfortunately for Bruno, it resulted in him becoming a chimera - dragon scaled legs and a man/lion upper body.  Due to his physical deformities, he can only go into public during Carnevale in Venice, ten days of everyone in costume.Melina is a genetic scientist on vacation from Pennsylvania; she and Bruno meet and the attraction is strong and instantaneous.  However, there is a sorceress in Bruno's life that wants him for herself, and Melina's boss wants her to return to work from Venice.  The fact that Melina's scientific work parallels the horrors of Da Vinci's "work" should not be lost on the reader.  This is "Book 1″ of The Vitruvian Man series; it can be read as a standalone since there is an "ending" - but the ending is quite unsettling and makes one realize - it really isn't over for Bruno & Melina's story.  Cate Masters does an extraordinary job of creating the scenery of Carnevale and the sumptousness of the life that Bruno lives in his lair.  The point of view changes can be a bit confusing when they happen - they shift between third person & first person for both Bruno & Melina, but that also helps you to get inside of their heads as characters to hear & feel what is happening.Just be aware - if you are looking for a happy happy paranormal story about witches and werewolves, this is NOT it.  These characters mean business - and there is a pervasive darkness throughout the whole story that caused this reader, at the end, to just sit for a while to soak it all in.  Wow.  Great read, but make sure to do it somewhere where you can think about the implications of what you are reading - so not a good soccer practice read - you need to stay alert for those wayward balls!