NOW LIVE!
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU
Kobo | iBooks | Paperback
Find A Veil of Vines on Goodreads
Blurb
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.
Review
4 “Soulmate” stars!
This is a story about what happens when two souls merge – two souls that should never have ever met.
Tillie Cole is an incredible writer. She pushes the boundaries and is able to write stories that touch you and make you feel so much emotion. Though A Veil of Vines is different than her other books, it still offers a wonderful escape. It is a very sweet fairytale romance that put a huge smile on my face. I loved that it was lighthearted and easy to read; it was just what I was in the mood for.
At one point or another every little girl imagines her dream wedding, just as Caresa did when she was young.
I closed my eyes and I pictured the wedding dress I wouls one day wear. I pictured the cathedral, the flowers, the veil of vines…
…and my dark-haired, handsome prince by my side.
The one I loved with my whole heart. The one I who loved me with his whole heart in return.
My Happily ever after.
Set in modern day Italy, Italian royalty is no longer acknowledged by the Italian government but it is still very much alive. When Caresa is grown, she finds herself on her way to meet her prince, but her reality does not look much like her dream. She finds herself in an arranged marriage to Prince Zeno, the son of her father’s business partner. He is set to take over the family winery and Caresa is the perfect person to better his image and help the business thrive.
Arriving in Italy, everything is different than she expected. As Prince Zeno travels around Italy tending to the business, Caresa is left alone on the estate instead of getting to know her future husband. She is lonely and her belief in true love diminishes as her wedding day approaches. Then one day while exploring the property she meets Achille in the picturesque vineyard. He is quiet and shy, and she can’t quite get a handle on him. He intrigues her from the moment she sets eyes on him and her interest only grows when she learns that he is the winemaker of her favorite wine, the famous Bella Collina Reserve.
Achille is hardworking and loves what he does. He also feels a pull towards Caresa even though he knows he can’t act on it. As days pass and they spend more time together, they discover they have a lot in common. Even though they come from different worlds, they share a passion for the wine, the process, and beauty of the earth. Watching them explore their common interests was gorgeous. The development of their friendship was beautiful and as feelings stirred, so did the butterflies in my stomach. The slow buildup made the wait worth it and OMG my heart raced and my breath hitched at the seductive writing.
The chemistry is intense, every look is heated, and when they are together it is beautiful. But they can’t be together. Caresa is promised to a prince. The one she has a duty to marry.
“That night, I knew that would be all we ever had. Even before you spoke those words and they met my ears, I knew.” He dropped his eyes, and the defeat in his beautiful body broke my heart. “We are made of the same soul but not of the same life. I knew that we were one of the lost causes mu father told me about. Not the all-consuming, not those who find their forever peace in the other, but those whose circumstances don’t align. The unfortunates that in an alternate universe would be the happiest of hearts but are forever broken and lost in this.”
As stated above, sometimes I am in the mood for a sweet, swoony, and low angst story and this was just what I needed. A Veil of Vines definitely has insta-love and even though I’m not always a huge fan of it, did I mind it in this book? Not at all. I loved it and felt it was done well. I felt that though they were quick to fall, they got to know each other through spending time together and enjoying their common interests. Loneliness has a part to play also and it was beautiful when they found a loving peace in each other. They were similar in many ways, especially when wanting to find their true love even if it wasn’t in the cards for her.
Caresa was brave, smart, and had a huge heart. She was a great friend and an overall good person. I loved that she was accepting and supported Achille whole heartedly. She was torn between duty and her heart but I could see the love she harbored through her emotions. I loved that she wanted to be with Achille even if it was bound to change her life completely.
I loved Achille. His passion, work ethic and determination was remarkable. He led a simple life but loved it anyway. My heart broke for him and the way he grew up with the challenges he faced. I wanted to help boost his confidence like Caresa fought to do but I also loved him as he was. His sweet nature and sweet words made me soon. I loved how much he cared about Caresa and wanted what was best for her.
I felt their connection and loved the intensity of their love. I felt their pain when they couldn’t be together. I wanted to cry with them but I understood why they made the choices they did.
Tillie Cole’s writing is beautiful and her description of the landscape transported me straight to Italy. The backdrop of this story was great and I loved the fairytale idea.
Something had happened in the universe the day we had met. There was a cosmic shift, some destined alteration to the very fabric of who we were. The sun and the moon had aligned and cast us into one another’s hearts, never to be torn apart.
*ARC generously provided by the author and Ardent Prose PR in exchange for an honest review*
Excerpt
Caresa
As my papa’s G5 began its descent, I looked out of the window beside me and waited for the plane to break through the clouds. I held my breath, body tense, then suddenly the burnt-orange remnants of daylight flooded the plane, bathing the interior with a soft, golden glow. I inhaled deeply. Italia.
Fields and fields of green and yellow created a patchwork quilt below, rolling hills and crystal-blue lakes stretching as far the eye could see. I smiled as a sense of warmth ran through me.
It was the most beautiful place on earth.
Sitting back in my wide cream leather chair, I closed my eyes and tried to prepare myself for what was coming. I was flying to Florence airport, from where I would be swiftly taken to the Palazzo Savona estate just outside of the city.
I would meet Prince Zeno.
I had met him twice before—once when I was four, of which I had no memory, and again when I was ten. The interaction we’d had as children had been brief. If I was being honest, I had found Zeno to be arrogant and rude. He had been thirteen at the time and not at all interested in meeting a ten-year-old girl from America.
Neither of us had known at the time that that our betrothal had been agreed upon two years prior. It turned out that the trip my papa had taken to Umbria when I was eight was to secure a forever-bond between the Savonas and the Acardis. King Santo and my father had planned for their only children to marry. They were already joined in business; Zeno’s arranged marriage to me would also strengthen both families’ place in society.
I thought back on my New York farewell of nine hours ago and sighed. My parents had driven me to the private hangar and said their goodbyes. My mama cried—her only child was leaving her for a new life. My papa, although sad to see me go, beamed at me with the utmost pride. He had held me close and whispered, “I have never been more proud of you than I am right now, Caresa. Savona Wines’ stock has plummeted since Santo’s death. This union will reassure all the shareholders that our business is still strong. That we are still a stable company with Zeno at the helm.”
I had given him a tight smile and boarded the plane with a promise that they would see me before the wedding. And that had been that.
I was to marry Zeno, and I hadn’t protested even once. I imagined to most modern-day women living in New York, the process of arranged marriages sounded positively medieval, even barbaric. For a blue blood, it was simply a part of life.
King Santo Savona died two months ago. The shareholders of his many Italian vineyards, the stakeholders in Savona Wines, had expected his son, Zeno, to immediately step up and take charge. Instead, Zeno had plunged himself into the party scene even harder than before—and that was quite a feat. Within weeks my papa had flown out to Umbria to see what could be done.
The answer: our imminent union.
Giveaway
Signed Copy of A Veil of Vines + Limited-Edition The Future Mrs. Marchesi T-Shirt
ENTER GIVEAWAY
The Escapist Book Blog is not responsible for this giveaway.
About the Author
Tillie Cole hails from a small town in the North-East of England. She grew up on a farm with her English mother, Scottish father and older sister and a multitude of rescue animals. As soon as she could, Tillie left her rural roots for the bright lights of the big city.
After graduating from Newcastle University with a BA Hons in Religious Studies, Tillie followed her Professional Rugby player husband around the world for a decade, becoming a teacher in between and thoroughly enjoyed teaching High School students Social Studies before putting pen to paper, and finishing her first novel.
Tillie has now settled in Austin, Texas, where she is finally able to sit down and write, throwing herself into fantasy worlds and the fabulous minds of her characters.
Tillie is both an independent and traditionally published author, and writes many genres including: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, Young Adult and New Adult novels.
When she is not writing, Tillie enjoys nothing more than curling up on her couch watching movies, drinking far too much coffee, while convincing herself that she really doesn’t need that extra square of chocolate.
WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS | AMAZON
