Very beautiful cover, wich drew me in. The story was sad, romantic, and more. I enjoyed following the main characters, but it was a bit draw back that the chapters jumped so much back and forth in time.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
This was a beautiful love story with themes of war, deceit, and family woven throughout. It was very happy and very sad, surprising and comforting. It touched on every emotion and feeling possible. This story depicts a couple that fight for each other after years of separation, showing the reader what true love is. The main critique I have falls into one category - the story didn’t always seem believable. Sometimes the writing style was what put me off and sometimes it was an outlandish plot twist. Nevertheless, I still really enjoyed this novel. If you choose to pick it up, be sure to have a tissue box ready.

Did the cover of this book make me want to read it- you betcha! I love the simplicity and beauty of the gold mask design and the gorgeous cheekbones.

Venice was a slow build kinda book featuring star-crossed lovers Venice and Etienne, who were separated by war, plague, pride, and sheer stubbornness. The forbidden love of the high society gal with the local village boy was iconic. I enjoyed the unraveling of the story through Venice's eyes as I felt all her bitter resentment and pain but thought Etienne's perspective would have enhanced the story.

Another aspect of Venice that I enjoyed was the dual timelines, Venice and Etienne are such a complex couple and the juggling of the timelines gives the reader an accurate representation of their struggles both independently and as a couple. Their journeys were beautifully detailed by the author and really tugged at your heartstrings.

While the plotline was nothing new (rich girl meets poor boy and defies parents), I think the aspects of high society and the pressures of being born into privilege definitely set this novel apart. The intensity of the lies and deception were so intricately woven from the very beginning that at the end I was amazed at the lengths some people will go through to see their own agenda.

While I enjoyed most of it, there were some frustrations as I wanted them to communicate more. This is a shortfall on my part because it's not like if they could pick up their cellphone and send a message. Venice was an extremely hard lesson in the struggles of the limited communication methods of that era.

This is a must-read for all the historical romance lovers out there who enjoy love stories about stubborn-headed star crossed lovers who

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this book.

3.5⭐️
A debut novel by Jaye Burke. I love this cover, isn’t it beautiful? A historical romance with hate, love and lies. I loved Venice and Ettiene. They were precious.
The story was told with duel timelines and somewhere around 70% I wanted to throw this across the room. Man!!! I was so mad. Things just weren’t working out and the stubbornness going on!
I love a good romance but with the war and plague took this to another level and had me biting my nails.

Some of the story felt underdeveloped. Maybe a little rushed. I can’t really explain it. But having said that, I will definitely read another by this author.


Thank you NETGALLEY and the publisher for this ARC, in exchange for my honest review. ♥️

Venice, in this case not the city but a character in a book. A daughter of high society in New Orleans, who we meet during WWI This book has everything you want for an entertaining read....a demanding, social climbing mother, the daughter that disobeys and a great plot. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

#netgalley #venice
VENICE is a wonderful read, it has a beautifully poignant plot and characters that go on an amazing adventure. Definitely worth checking out.

I have not gotten very far in the book, but I have noticed a major issue with the story line. This is the story of Allie and Noah from The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. At first I thought okay, maybe there’s only one or two things in common but anyone who has read or watched The Notebook could easily identify this.
Rich girl meets blue collar boy while she is on vacation at her summer home. They start spending a lot of time together and her parents find out, so they separate them. Girl returns home to an unwanted engagement to a well-to-do gentleman and she attends an all female, prestigious university. Boy can’t get her off his mind and confides this to his widower father. Then boy decides to try an find her. That is the plot in the beginning of Allie and Noah’s story.

Another issue I had with the novel is the fact that Ettiene’s father speaks in a thick Cajun dialect, but his son has proper English without any hint of his heritage minus his name. To make it more believable he should be using some Cajun words, phrases, etc.

I’m sorry, but I won’t be finishing this novel, and I wouldn’t recommend it to a friend. I think the author needs to rethink the beginning of this novel.

Author #Jaye Burke has a new novel ‘#Venice’ out that is a story of love, the brutality of The Great War, extreme greed and deception. How Venice and Arial Will again believe in the power of forgiveness. Born into wealth and privilege, Venice Arial is a product of the elite society in New Orleans. Her life is arranged for her by her hateful mother Lorraine. Arial Mansion, is a palatial prison, and her only escape is the family’s summer home, Belle-Haven. Drama will follow......
Thank you,
#Netgalley, #Jaye Burke and #Vintage South Books

The first thing that caught my attention was the beautiful golden cover. This book was beautifully written with wonderful characters, excluding the mother acourse. Great character development, and the author makes a huge impact. You feel all of their emotions with your own heart. The couple goes through a journey of love, and heartbreak. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Jaye Burke, IBPA, and Netgalley for the ARC of VENICE.
This is an amazing read, the story nothing as I imagined it to be. When Venice falls for Etienne at a holiday house away from her home in New Orleans, her spiteful, social climbing mother does everything she can to prevent Venice from marrying him. With her friend, Amy's encouragement she disobeys her mother and returns to Belle-Haven, on Lake Pontchartrain to find him, only to discover he has gone to New Orleans to tell her how he feels about her. They find each other by chance and marry. By the time Etienne is drafted into the army to fight in France, Venice is pregnant.. She writes to him constantly, but never receives a reply. Her letters cease and he wonders why she has stopped writing, but there is a devil at work here, one who is determined that VENICE should remain in the social privileged class she was born into. A fabulous story, set in two time frames which is well done.

I was drawn to this book by the lovely cover, but it wasn’t exactly what I thought it was going to be. This is the story of Venice Arial, daughter of high society of New Orleans, whose life has been decided for her in the late 1910’s. Her controlling mother has arranged a marriage for her, but allows her to visit their summer home, Belle-Haven, on Lake Pontchartrain where she meets Etienne Armand, a local boy with few opportunities. They fall deeply in love, but her mother rips them apart and drags Venice back to New Orleans. Venice finds her voice and refuses to accept the marriage her mother has arranged. Etienne has followed her and after a few miscommunications, they meet up again and are eventually married. Unfortunately, he is drafted into the army and sent to Europe. From here things go seriously wrong.

Venice is pregnant when Etienne leaves and waits eagerly for word from him. Etienne waits for word from Venice. Talk about star-crossed lovers. Modern people just cannot understand the difficulties that were had without phones, email, texts, etc. Imagine waiting weeks, months or even years for a message to reach your loved one - it is unimaginable.

Due to miscommunication and male pride the lovers are separated for an exceedingly long time. The story is told by Venice in her later years with much love and bittersweet emotions. I enjoyed this book although I felt frustrated at times with the characters. I gave this book 3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Venice by Jayne Burke is a story of star-crossed lovers. Both Venice and Etienne have a love that surpasses all time. Through many ups and downs of life, they stay true to each other. There are many obstacles placed in the path of their relationship but through it all they manage to find each other and sustain their love. The villains in this story get what they deserve but do somewhat repent in the end. The chapters about Etienne’s war adventures are exciting reading and give some insight into the horrors of war. It also explores how lack of faith in one’s love, depression and self-loathing can lead to mistakes. The love of a parent for a child and a child for a parent is threaded throughout this book. It is a book of adventure, hardships, disappointments, and misunderstandings but also love, family, forgiveness, and cherished memories. It is also a book of understanding of ourselves and others and second chances. I would recommend this book.

VENICE is a beautiful novel, it has a wonderfully vivid and engaging plot, and characters that go on a tremendous journey. Well worth a read.

What a fabulous debut novel! The writing was a little rough around the edges, but the story itself was beautiful. It’s filled with love, heartbreak and tragedy. I was constantly wondering what was going to happen to our beloved characters next. This story spans an entire lifetime and just when you think things will never be right, you’ll find yourself pleasantly surprised.

I really loved this book – it’s an enthralling story, haunting in its every detail, so beautifully written. The character development is quite exceptional – and the whole book had an unforgettable impact. Highly, highly recommended.'