Title: The Prisoner of Paradise: A Dual-Timeline Thriller Set in Venice (Painted Souls Book 1)
Author: Rob Samborn
Release Date: November 30th 2022
Genre: Historical, Thriller
A trip of a lifetime.
A 433-year-old murder.
An ancient order that will kill to silence the truth.
AMERICAN WRITING AWARDS FINALIST (THRILLERS/ADVENTURES)
Nick and Julia O’Connor’s dream trip to Venice collapses when a haunting voice reaches out to Nick from Tintoretto’s Paradise, the world’s largest oil painting.
Though Julia worries her husband suffers from a delusion, Nick is adamant the voice belongs to a woman from the 16th century—his soul mate from a previous life. He discovers a religious order that has developed a method of extracting people’s souls, which they imprison in Paradise. Over the centuries, they’ve judged thousands of souls and sentenced them to eternal purgatory.
As infatuation with the past clouds his commitment to his present-day wife, Nick must right an age-old wrong—destroy the painting and liberate his soul mate. But freeing her would allow all the souls to be reborn.
The order will never let that happen.
A riveting thriller ignites with a time-spanning love story. Perfect for fans of Dan Brown, Diana Gabaldon, Neil Gaiman or David Mitchell.
This book was quite the adventure! Secret society and the past and future colliding makes for an interesting read. The beginning was a little slow for me. I struggled a bit to keep reading. I knew characters and plot were being set up so I kept going. I did find the switching of views between the characters a bit confusing at times. I wasn’t sure who’s point of view I was reading because it had switched. I found myself enjoying the chapters that featured the past. From the way they spoke to the events, I found those chapters most enjoyable. I didn’t connect with any of the characters. They all seemed like pretty awful people but I feel it was intentional. None of these issues affected the story for me too much. I kept reading and found myself immersed in a different world. There are twists and turns and I had to know what would happen next!
All that being said, this was a good read. I definitely stepped out of my comfort zone with this book and I’m so glad I did. If you’re a fan of historical time travel thrillers, this book is right up your alley! I give this 3 stars.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion*
The Literary Vixen 