Unmask My Heart
by Arianna Giorgi
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BLURB:
When Rome ’s loveliest rose and Venice
Survived
a pirate attack on the Isle of Lina, Venice’s sturdiest outpost, Roman Princess
Isabella Pamphili and Venetian war hero Brando Loredan escape from the island
and arrive in Venice.
Isabella
discovers her fiancé is a cheat, her bride dream a lie. Her future husband, the
man she loves with all her heart is flirting in… Brando’s fiancée’s arms!
Shock.
Disappointment. Anguish. Fear for her future. The rascal deserves a lesson he
will not forget, because a princess of Rome
Unmask
My Heart is a story of love and sweet revenge set in sparkling, sumptuous
Casanova’s Venice where everything is possible and sins are concealed behind a
mask.
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EXCERPTS:
Everything happened at once. Giulia lost her balance, arched
backward, and fell into the canal.
The gondola capsized and Isabella fell in as well. She
gasped trying to keep afloat but her heavy dress dragged her down. She
floundered about in order to reach the surface.
There was no way to get out of her dress and her lungs burned from a
lack of air. She looked up at the surface where indefinite, dark shapes moved
against the light. She could no longer hold her breath. This was it. She closed
her eyes and gave up her will to fight death.
Isabella felt herself being grabbed by the waist and hauled
to the surface. A violent coughing fit shook her and her lungs burned with the
sudden influx of air.
Hands. On her arms, chest, neck, face. Isabella opened her
eyes and met Brando’s anxious gaze. His drenched locks dripped water onto her
breast. He smiled at her. She was safe and sound.
“You scared me, lady. Are you alright?” Brando caressed her
face and wiped away wet tendrils from her cheeks.
Isabella nodded.
Brando helped her to sit. It was in that moment that she saw
her husband-to-be sitting on the dock on the opposite side of the canal. He was
next to Giulia. Both were wet. Leonardo had rushed to the alley cat’s side and
left Isabella to die.
Isabella suddenly felt old and tired. She took Brando’s hand
in hers. “Thank you…Lion.”
He kissed her hand and hugged her. “No need to thank me.”
“I’m really sorry you had to witness such a scene,” Isabella
said in a whisper.
Brando looked at her open-mouthed. “I am the one who hoped
to spare you this humiliation.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Famous Venetian Mask..............
Thank you very much for hosting me in your amazing blog.
Libri Amori Miei, it’s an Italian name, awesome!
As an Italian, a Venice fan, and the author of a romance set
in this amazing city, I would love to talk about masks.
Today I would like to tell you about a famous Venetian mask,
the Bautta or Bauta. The first reference dates back to the 13th century, but the
origins of the mask remain a mystery.
The etymology of the name itself is
uncertain. It may have the same root as
the German verb “behuten”, which means “to protect”. The bautta did, in
fact, protect and conceal the identity of the men and women who wore it. The
mask consisted of a hood covering the head down to the shoulders. The hood
usually made of the finest silk and adorned with a beautiful lace hanging from
the shoulders down to the waist.
The lace let the ladies’ powdered cleavages show through,
while the hood concealed their head. The face was concealed behind the Volto,
the mask itself.
The peculiar shape of this mask let the man or woman eat and
drink without taking it off.
The Volto and the Bautta were held together by a hat,
usually a tricorn.
When in the street, whoever wore the bautta was addressed as
“Signora Maschera” (Lady Mask), no matter whether it was a man or a woman
wearing it. This peculiar disguise was so common as to be considered a standard
dress. It soon became the noble people’s standard uniform.
Also common people adopted the bautta–albeit in a cheaper
version–to mix with the noble ones and join the many receptions.
Later on, regular people and noble people started wearing
just the mask as a habit.
I’m waiting for you on my Facebook author page to chat about
Venice and Unmask My Heart, for news, contests, giveaways and Italian recipes!
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Arianna Giorgi is
a historical romance author and a journalist, a college graduate and an avid
reader. She makes her home halfway between the Vatican City and the picturesque
old quarter of Trastevere at the heart of the city of Rome in Italy, where
Julius Caesar kept an apartment as a young man about town and from where a long
list of artists gave the world some of its greatest masterpieces.
She has an
intrinsic appreciation of beauty and everything eccentrically romantic,
including a strong affiliation to the city of Venice
Independent and
curious, Arianna has travelled extensively around the globe, from America to Africa and back to Europe .
Frankly, she never misses a chance to pack her bags and jump on a plane. Driven
by a passion for European history and art, she wanders and investigates every
hidden corner of the Old Continent, armed with a camera and a notebook, and
looking for intriguing stories and settings for her books.
She loves
history, astrology, gourmet cooking, and cats. She lives with her husband, her
beautiful daughters and her red cat, surrounded by her own cultivated flowers
and the magical grandeur of the Eternal
City
Giveaway
Ariana will be awarding an original handmade Venetian mask from Venice to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour
Thanks for hosting!
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