Adrienne Monson's "Eyes Of Persuasion"...A Book Review

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I met Adrienne a few years ago at a Comic Con. I remembered her because she sported two temporary tattoos on her neck that resembled puncture marks. Adrienne writes about vampires. So when I downloaded her Eyes of Persuasion a month or two ago, I thought, "it's a vampire book." I even thought one of the characters was a vampire by the description of him.

"His face was pale and free of age lines, and his gray eyes looked bored as he led her to the ballroom. He also appeared to be in decent shape as he held himself erect, his feet deft on the dance floor."

A-ha! We've got ourselves a vampire!

Nope...just a regular guy who had a pale face free of lines.

But the story doesn't need vampires. I didn't read anything before I began the story so I didn't know what to expect. This is a tale of an abused woman Isabeau who, because of her parent's death, is beholden to an uncle. The evil man forces her to work in order to cover her gambling debt. He thinks Isabeau is engaged in earning money "the old fashioned way," but Isabeau earns money another way--by dressing as a boy to gather information to paying interests.

You see, Isabeau has a secret. She can, with her eyes, manipulate people into doing things they might otherwise do, like giving up information and changing minds. Promised to another man, Isabeau finds herself plunged into a world of deceit and murder. She must rely on her trusted maid and a new man, Everett to get her through the trials that could lead her to ruin or could possibly end her life.

I don't know much about the genre. I imagine this would be considered a Regency romance, but with a twist. There's a dash of magic added to the mix. If you're interested in this type of book, it's a fast read with well-developed characters and a story that is engaging. This is the first book I've read from the writer who once sported puncture mark tattoos. It's a good one.

* Photo used without permission from: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22905566-eyes-of-persuasion?from_new_nav=true&ac=1&from_search=true