Happy Monday, readers! Today I'm a stop on the TLC book tour for Megan Chance's latest, The Visitant. Thanks to the publisher I get to offer up a copy of The Visitant today. Be sure to read through to the end to enter.Elena Spira has been tasked with nursing Samuel Farber back to health. An epileptic who recently suffered a brutal attack, Samuel is to be married in just a few short months and his parents want him fit for the wedding. If Elena succeeds, it means a new position for her father and a chance for a Grand Tour. Failure is not an option as it would cost Elena and her family more than she can bear.
When Elena arrives in Venice where Samuel is staying with his friend Nero, she immediately sets about weaning her patient from the laudanum he's been abusing and getting him on a strict diet regimen. Not only does she hope to nurse him back to a full recovery from his attack, but she hopes to get his seizures under control - no one is to know about his affliction, especially his bride to be or her family. But someone or something seems to be working against Elena. An awful chill comes over her when she's in Samuel's room and Samuel himself seems to come under some sort of trance Elena can't associate with the epilepsy. And when Samuel surfaces he speaks of an angel only he seems to have seen.
Set in Venice in the late nineteenth century, The Visitant has all of the hallmarks of a great gothic novel: a crumbling old estate, some less than welcoming locals, a family haunted by its past, and of course rumors of ghosts.
The stories about ghosts don't come out immediately, but there are lots of sideways glances and questions about Samuel's spells leading up to Elena's witness of them. As the escalate, though, Elena, who has trained as a nurse and has worked with epileptics before, realizes there's something strange going on.
Chance's pacing and atmosphere are both quite well executed. I'm not sure that I loved the romance aspect of it - mostly because the love triangle didn't really convince me Samuel himself was doing more than toying with Elena, but that's likely the point as well considering Elena begins to suspect something is driving Samuel's actions other than illness. Overall, though, The Visitant was a fun read and exactly what I was hoping for!
Rating: 4/5
To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.
For more on Megan Chance and her work you can visit her website here. You can also like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.
And now for the giveaway. To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below before Monday, October 12. Open US/Canada only and no PO boxes please.
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5 comments:
Thanks for this intriguing feature and giveaway. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
I read another review of this book recently. It's intriguing to me. Putting it on my list.
Yeah, I'd probably stay in a haunted house. It would have to be for a good reason though. Thanks.
I don't think I would knowingly stay in a haunted house although when I was at the Tower of London at night I was definitely looking for spirits of those whose lives were ended there. I did not see any though.
I think I'd like the slow build up of hints as the ghostly aspect of the story is revealed.
Thanks for being a part of the tour!
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