Title: Venetian Masks
Author: Kim Fielding
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: Novel (216 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (February 11th, 2013)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4-4.5Hearts
Blurb: Jeff Dawkins’s last partner left him with a mortgage he can’t afford and nonrefundable tickets for a month’s vacation in Europe. Despite a reluctance to travel, Jeff decides to go on the trip anyway. After all, he’s already paid for it. He packs a Kindle loaded with gay romance novels and arrives in Venice full of trepidation. There he meets the handsome and charming expat Cleve Prieto, who offers to serve as his tour guide. Jeff has serious misgivings—he wasn’t born yesterday, and something about Cleve doesn’t sit right—but anything is better than wandering the canals alone. With Cleve’s help, Jeff falls in love with Venice and begins to reconcile with his past. For the first time, Jeff finds himself developing strong feelings for someone else. But he can’t be sure who that person is because Cleve’s background remains a mystery embroidered with lies.
Then a dark figure from Cleve’s past appears, and Jeff must choose whether to let Cleve flee alone or to join him on a desperate run through central Europe. Maybe Jeff will finally be able to see behind Cleve’s masks—if he survives the journey.(less)
Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3568
Reviewer: Showme
Review: This was a very good book that I read in one sitting which is very rare for me. Kim Fielding’s writing has a way of pulling me into her stories that’s lets me escape my reality and sink into one of hers stories. It starts a little slow and rich in details, but soon I fell into the groove that transports me to the streets of Venice.
Jeff’s life has been turned upside down. He’s not exactly heartbroken about being dumped by his boyfriend of six years, but had become comfortable with his life and the change wasn’t welcomed. His mother insists on him taking the vacation his ex had planned for them as the plane tickets were non-refundable. His first two days in Venice are pleasant, but he quickly gets lonely. He’s approached by the handsome tattooed man he was caught ogling the day before to have dinner with him. Jeff thinks his vacation is looking up, but he’s disappointed to find Cleve only wants be his tour guide for cash and meals while he’s in Venice. He had been hoping that Cleve wanted him on a more personal level and not just his money, but he’s enjoyed the time they’ve spent together. Problem is he’s caught Cleve lying a couple of times, so he’s a little weary of the man. Jeff hires him on a trial basis. Cleve is fun and beautiful, but he knows you aren’t supposed to trust a drifter. Especially one so aloof about his past. Jeff can’t help his attraction to Cleve, who seems to want him too, but is he just doing it for the money? Cleve does have a rather sordid past that Jeff slowly discovers through sheer need to know about the man who has captured his attention so thoroughly. The details aren’t pretty, but Jeff realizes he doesn’t care. He wants him. Someone needs to help Cleve and he’s willing to fight for the man he loves.
This book was funny, romantic and suspenseful. The attraction between the characters is there from the beginning, but Jeff, and the reader, don’t really trust Cleve so it leaves you conflicted about him. Kim Fielding is officially an auto buy for me. Once again I don’t know if I can do her book justice in a review because she can weave subtle storylines and make them special and real. I highly recommend picking this one up.