Title: Venus and Lysander
Author: Yoshiyuki Ly
Genre: Historical Romance / Fantasy
Age Group: Adult
Rating: 4 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Review copy provided by Enchanted Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.
Living as a nobleman and as a woman, Valerie of Lysander is sick of waiting for the world to change. The discrimination she suffers as an outcast builds into resentment. Once Val takes matters into her own hands, the whole Empire of Tynan feels her brand of justice. The Emperor’s adviser, Lucrezia of Azrith, wants more of Val’s ruthlessness—for revenge against the unjust, and for her own desires. Venus and Lysander is an intricate romance set in the fictional Victorian city of Eden, 250 years after the events in The Scorpion’s Empress.
Lucrezia is Lady Chancellor for the Emperor and a sorceress-in-hiding. She is forced to conceal her identity from the religious public for fear of death. As she learns to trust in Val’s chivalry and affections for her, they both fall for the softer sides behind their similar bulletproof personas. Lucrezia receives a mysterious warning about a sadistic enemy threatening the Azrith and Lysander families. Once they discover their nemesis’ true motive, Val and Lucrezia’s tyrannous devotion for one another is all they can count on to survive.
In Venus and Lysander, readers get to explore the Victorian city of Eden, along with the two main characters: Valerie and Lucrezia. Both characters have strong personalities. Valerie is sick of waiting for the world to change, and the discrimination she suffers builds into resentment. Valerie decides to take matters into her own hands, with disastrous concequences.
Lucrezia is Lady Chancellor for the Emperor. She’s also a sorceress, but is forced to conceal that part of her identity for fear of death. Two strong personalities are doomed to clash, but luckily both Val and Lucrezia manage to look beyond that, and see each other’s softer sides.
The book has a lot of action, and a lot of world-building. The romance almost seems secondary, even though it’s still an important part of the book. One can’t help but root for both Lucrezie and Val, despite their shortcomings.
A strong fantasy romance novel featuring two strong heroines and an intriguing setting. a Rafflecopter giveaway
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