Review: An Emotional Coming of Age Romance!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 17, 2014
Find this review and more at Lusty Penguin Reviews!An Aria in Venice is an emotional coming of age romance by KaSonndra Leigh. Once again, Leigh uses alternating first-person voice, telling this story through the eyes of Adriana Dostovsky, Luca Martuccio and Nikolai Belikov, characters that were introduced in the first book in the Musical Intrude series, The Prelude.At twenty-one, Adriana is at a crossroads in her life. While she is trying to become a lead ballerina, Adriana’s love life is going nowhere. Adriana has had eyes for Nikolai ever since he saved her while her family was escaping from her father and Russia years ago. She tries everything to get Nikolai to see her as a woman and not as a little girl any more. Thanks to the alternating viewpoints, the reader knows that Nikolai very much want to be with Adriana in just he way she wants, but he fears that she cannot handle his darker passions. Doing what he thinks is best, Nikolai pushes Adriana away, realizing too late that he will really lose her. Adriana, to her credit, moves on and turns her attention to Luca, the other man who has caught her eye. Luca is completely enraptured by Adriana and sees her as his next conquest. Because Adriana hopes to lose her virginity with Luca, she agrees to go on a five-day trip to Venice with Luca and his family. During this trip, Adriana and Luca’s heartfelt conversations about their past hurts bring them closer together and quickly change their relationship; they are falling in love. While in Venice, Adriana gets to know Simona, Luca’s mother, and experiences firsthand what a mother-daughter relationship should be like. Especially since her own mother, Katerina, is a controlling and vindictive character that you just love to hate. Unfortunately secrets, lies, and intimidation threaten to break up this young couple. During their separation, Nikolai hopes that Adriana will return to him, but Luca is really her true love. The beauty in this story comes from Adriana and Luca learning to forgive, trust, and truly love one another. Furthermore, they realize that together they can do anything, which makes them a couple to cheer for. Leigh does a masterful job of showing how all of these characters grow throughout the story. Adriana’s growth is the most stunning, as she absolutely sheds the scared little girl to become a strong-minded woman.Passionate, memorable characters who experience intense emotional development make An Aria in Venice hard to put down.I received an eBook copy of the book for the purpose of an honest review. I was not compensated for this review, and all conclusions are my own responsibility.