Waiting on & Wish list | The Secret of the Glass & The Courtier’s Secret by Donna Russo Morin
Title: The Secret of the Glass
Author: Donna Russo Morin
Release date: February ’10
At the dawn of the 17th Century, the glassmakers of Murano are revered as master artisans, enjoying privileges far beyond their station, but they are forced to live in virtual imprisonment, contained by the greedy Venetian government who fears other countries will learn the intricacies of the craft…and reap the rewards.
Sophia Fiolario, the comely daughter of a glass making maestro, has no desire for marriage, finding her serenity in the love of her family and the beauty of the glass. She learns of its secrets at her father’s side, where a woman is forbidden to be. The life Sophia loves is threatened by the poor health of her father and the determined attentions of a nobleman who could and would never love her but seeks to possess her wealth and the privilege it affords. Thrust into the opulent world of the Venetian court, Sophia becomes embroiled in the scheming machinations of the courtiers’ lives. The beauty of Venice, the magnificence of the Doge’s Palace, are rivaled only by the intrigue and danger that festers behind their splendid facades. As she searches for an escape, she finds the arms of another, a man whose own desperate situation is yet another obstacle in their path.
Amidst political and religious intrigue, the scientific furor ignited by Galileo, and even murder, Sophia must do anything to protect herself, her family…and the secret of the glass.
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Title: The Courtier’s Secret
Author: Donna Russo Morin
Release date: February ’09 (WL)
In this historical adventure novel set in the fascinating, sexy, excessive, and dangerous world of Louis XIV’s court of Versailles, Jeanne du Bois, the daughter of a cruel and controlling comte, fights against an arranged marriage to a weak, ineffectual, effeminate man of her father’s choosing; she fights with a small, dedicated group of Musketeers to save the life of the Queen of France; and she fights for the true love of her life.
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