To most people, princes, princesses, counts and dukes are found only in the pages of the most famous of fairytales. Crowns, priceless jewels and gilded thrones belong only in childhood dreams.
But for some, these frivolous fancies are truth.
For some, they are real life.
On Manhattan’s Upper East Side, people have always treated me as someone special. All because of my ancestral name and legacy. All because of a connection I share to our home country’s most important family of all.
I am Caresa Acardi, the Duchessa di Parma. A blue blood of Italy. I was born to marry well. And now the marriage date is set.
I am to marry into House Savona. The family that would have been the royals had Italy not abolished the monarchy in 1946. But to the aristocrats of my home, the abolition means nothing at all. The Savonas still hold power where it counts most. In our tight-knit world of money, status and masked balls, they are everything and more.  And I am soon to become one of them.  I am soon to become Prince Zeno Savona’s wife… or at least I was, until I met Achille.
And everything changed.

Sometimes you just know that a book you’re reading is going to be freaking amazing. I knew @ around 7%. The writing had pulled me in and I knew I was going to be held hostage by every word until the last page. I have read and loved every thing TC has written, but it wasn’t until I was reading this book that I realized just how versatile and talented she is. This. Book. The setting stood out and was such an integral part of the story. The setting was definitely one of the main characters, and it worked so well. The plot was like a modern day fairytale and the romance was palpable. Gah! Talk about romantic, this was a swoon fest am I’m glad I had tickets!!!!  The characters were so developed and authentic. Achille broke my heart, then healed it while  Caressa was so loving I had no choice but to love her. Their love jumped off the pages and became a real living thing. It was a beautiful journey. Tillie Cole is beyond…

5 stars

Natasha

Tillie Cole is a master manipulator of emotions. She has made us cry, laugh, and fall in love over and over and with very different men for very different reasons. Her ability to write such developed characters over such a broad spectrum of plots and emotions astonishes me. It’s hard to believe that the same woman wrote all of these amazing stories. Achille and Caresa’s story was a modern day fairytale. Their love for each other was apparent immediately, yet never felt cheesy, forced, or rushed. It is so easy for an instalove story to be cliche’ and unbelievable. Not only was their love believable, but there was an amazing, historical tie in. I was actually a philosophy major in college, so the connection to Plato was one I appreciated. Another amazing story from TC.

5 stars

Jasmine