Gladly Beyond (Brothers Maledetti #1) by Nichole Van | A Book Review

I read book two of the series first. It was called Love's Shadow. I so love the story. I got this book for free on Kindle. I can't remember how. Maybe, I got an email that this book was on sale or whatever. Long story short, I got this for nada. 

For those who don't know, I am a sucker for stories with history thrown into the mix. That's why I love the books of Clive Cussler, Steve Berry and Dan Brown. I love stories that weave connections between the long dead past and the present. How the timelines or people are interconnected between the vastness of time and how the past has a lot to do with the present. I was just so thrilled to find Nichole Van, a female author who specializes also in this genre. Most of the books I read on the same genre were written by men, so I am just so happy to have found a woman who can just do the same. 

So far, these two stories are set in Europe, specifically Italy. This one--Florence. The D' Angelo brothers which are the brothers referred to in the series title are descendants of an Italian Count who was cursed. So, the term "maledetti" which in Italian means "damned or cursed". The curse actually was asked for by the original D' Angelo. He wished for it from a gypsy woman, which turned out to be too much for him. So the saying, "be careful what you wish for" was probably aimed for the first Conte de Maledetti. This curse gets passed on to all the first born sons, until the present. The only difference now is, there are three of these sons, thus the ability was also fractured into three parts. The brothers Dante, Branwell and Tennyson are triplets who inherited the gift from their father, who got it from his grandfather, which can be traced back up to the first daring D' Angelo. This gift has driven a lot of D' Angelo's to madness and death. Good thing, the triplets had learned more of the ability as it was passed on to them. Now, they are more equipped than their ill-fated ancestors were but still, it doesn't guarantee that they are safe from the consuming madness that came with it or the ever present threat of death.

I realized the order of the books in the series might be based on the order of birth of the brothers. This story is about Dante who's the older twin of Branwell. Ten is the youngest of the three. The second book was about Branwell and the third one is about Chiara their sister and the last book is about Ten. I have book three too. So, I might have to start it soon. 

I have been curious about regression and past lives. Could it be true?  How amazing could it be to be able to know about our past lives and figure out how it's relevant to the current situations. How much of it impacted the you that you are today? Are you living the same life over and over again? Finding the same person over and over, life after life. Making the same mistake across lifetimes like a broken record. That's exactly the theme of this story. The same old song seems to be playing in the present lives of Dante and Claire and it has never changed over the past centuries. Will history repeat itself as it had always done over the past? Is there no escaping the past and how would these two end up?

I feel like I need to go to Italy after reading this book. A lot of beautiful places and tourist spots are mentioned here. I feel like I was there, seeing Claire taking selfies. And yes, gelato. How I would love to eat gelato for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The intrigue and mystery in this story was not lost in all the grandeur and historic places. Who's who and the prominent figures and artists mentioned in the story. Not to mention, again Da Vinci, the favorite subject of controversy among many writers. He's in here to. Who could refuse a heady sprinkling of a  Da Vinci mystery, right? Just what I need.

I am not sure which of the two stories so far I liked more. Van has been so consistent. All the elements that are in this book are also in the second one. A haunting past that has a tight hold on the present. A mix of very interesting and suspicious characters. You wouldn't know who's really the bad one. A leading lady who is just as strong as the main man. And of course, the workings of the supernatural. There was no letting go of this book until I was done. Never have I been happier. I could eat the book if I wanted to. Just glorious.

Stories like these are what made me want to just read without stopping. How my heart beats faster in time with Claire and Dante as they try to outrun and outsmart the unknown enemy. How I was helplessly pulled into the story like these two were helplessly thrown back into the past without warning. And how I too made that same audible sigh of relief with the rest of the D' Angelo's as these two came home alive and unharmed to the manor. Ah, I want more. I feel no discontent but I can't get enough of it.

I give this book 5/5 pictures of Florence, Italy. After reading this story, I feel like I should be cautious in taking selfies because someone from a bygone era might appear in my photos. If it's as handsome and as gentle as Dante or any of the D' Angelo brothers, then no problem. As long as it's not some ghost that is out to haunt me. Nichole Van, no doubt you will end up in my favorite author's list. I can't wait. 

Peace washed through me. An ache for this amazing man who would always be my own personal battering ram. Destroying anything that tried to hurt me, sheltering me.

Just make a little Dante-sized hole in the walls around your heart. You're welcome to seal it right back up once I'm inside. But, please, let it happen.

White tennis shoes on the Americans; brown loafers for the Germans; black dress shoes for the Japanese. I swear you can identify nationality by footwear alone.

- Nichole Van, Gladly Beyond- 

Other books in the series:

Love's Shadow (Brothers Maledetti #2)

Lightning Struck (Brothers Maledetti #3)

Tumble and Blue by Cassie Beasley | A Book Review

I signed up for this book because the title is so cute. Like always, it's the title that gets us first, right? Then the blurb was interesting enough, so I went ahead and signed up for this on Netgalley.

Tumble and Blue sounded like a cute love story to me. But it's not really a love story. It's more of friendship and finding or forging your own path. Tumble and Blue in this story are teenagers who are both very unfortunate because they are unlucky in some things in life. And it's not just any luck but it's actually a curse handed down from their ancestors.

This story reminded me of the story--Gone South by Robert McCammon which is also set in a bayou or near a swamp. Like McCammon's story, there is also a mysterious aspect in this story and it's a golden alligator. And like the "Bright Girl in Gone South" in McCammon's, the gator has a magical power to change the destiny and life of the person who seek its help. The main characters were also both a boy and a girl, except in McCammon's they were adults and their problems were far darker than Tumble and Blue's were. Also, I think McCammon's was a lot darker and sadder in tone and in the whole aspect of the story. This one is for Young Adults and is light and funny at most.

I was fascinated by the different lucks and curses the members of Blue's family have. It's interesting. Some are really not so extraordinary and some are just so funny. Others were more serious and even life-threatening. Blue's curse, if you look at it, in the whole scheme of things, is actually a bit serious. Imagine never ever going to experience how to win, even in the most mundane of games like Scrabble, though I like Scrabble, it's not nonsense at all. Or ever win in any sport event or any school contest which is part of every student and teenager's life. It's so sad to contemplate and I do feel sorry for Blue, more so, because of his selfish father. Thanks the book Gods, he is so adorable that all this just happens to be so cute and not really to be taken seriously, if I were in the same age bracket. I wouldn't mind him not winning anything, I would gladly be his friend. I would try to win some for him, if that's the case.

Tumble on the other hand is a similar story yet I find her curse not really a curse at all. At her young age, she doesn't need to save the world. And the fact that her heart, just want to rescue and help everyone, is just big enough. I think, she doesn't need to worry about saving anyone at all. Let the adults, the firemen, and all other rescue teams do it. That's why I think, Blue's concern is more serious than hers. And I do understand where she's coming from. I know where she got this notion and strong urge to save the whole world. It's guilt. Accurately, survivor's guilt which is more psychological rather than rooted back to the curse. And it's not her fault if she survived, because knowing her kind heart, I think she would have done the saving if she had a choice in it.

When these two combined forces and ended up finding comfort and genuine friendship in each other, it felt like their concerns about the curses were not that earth-shattering after all. With them together, they didn't need to feel like they were unlucky or lacking. They were enough for each other. And in the best of friendships, you don't need to have magical powers or special abilities to find loyalty, you only need to be honest and genuine. Show your true self, including all the bad, and the scars. If someone's only friends with you because of the benefits, then that's not friendship at all but taking advantage.

I enjoyed this story and it's just right that these two found the strength within to prove to the world that they are not their curses. These two proved that they can change what was supposed to be a destined unfortunate life. They have moved on from what everyone calls their main imperfection and even turned it around. Tumble saved someone which she thought she could never do. She is after all a hero, in her own way. Then Blue won. He was the first to reach the golden gator. He won, even if he was supposedly destined to never win in his whole lifetime. They twisted their fates and made an even better one for themselves.

What I like about the story is the one about Tumble hero-worshipping this celebrity who made people think he is a real-life superhero, when in truth he's not. But I forgive Tumble because what drove her was her desperation and at her young age, she needed someone to look up to. It's just unfortunate because she did not see right through that person. Good thing, she eventually found out that he was not worthy of any praise or emulation or anything at all.

I give the book 4/5 gators. This is a story of the underdogs. The story is a reminder that we can be more than what people expect us to be; that we can prove people wrong; that we are more than what our inheritance, family, and everything else that we are; that we can be different from what people see our family, we can be better, stronger, and kinder. We can be everything we dream of and we should not let the world and people limit us, shape us, or box us, or stop us. This is an inspiring story especially for teenagers who are in the stage of confusion and they feel like they are pulled from all directions. This tells us to just listen to our hearts and let's not conform to what the world forces us to be. Let us be what we dream and not because of what people tell us what we can't be.

Another curiosity of the human imagination--this idea that you can un-break something. Piece the fragments of shell together and put the egg back in its nest if you like. What's inside will never fly.

- Cassie Beasley, Tumble and Blue -

Thank you, Netgalley and Cassie Beasley for the copy.