by Ciji Ware
First published 2015
Serena Antonelli boards a flight to Venice carrying the weight of her family's costume business, devastated by Hurricane Katrina and teetering on bankruptcy. She meets Jack Durand, a Pulitzer Prize winner covering the Global Rising Waters Conference as an environmental journalist. Both carry wounds from the tragedy that reshaped New Orleans. Venice greets them with acqua alta flooding that threatens both Jack's conference and Serena's last chance to save her company through carnival costume orders. Four hundred guests expect to attend Il Ballo di Carnevale at a palazzo already taking on water. As storms surge from the Adriatic, Serena and Jack find themselves drawn together by more than chance. Their magical night at the carnival ball reveals connections neither anticipated. History and romance intertwine as they navigate corruption and personal trauma that stretches back to their shared home city. Their passionate bond faces tests that could destroy what they've built together.
Genres: romance, historical-fiction, suspense, contemporary-romance
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, second-chance
Setting: New Orleans, Venice
Period: 21st-century
440 pages · Paperback · Lion's Paw Publishing