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About Napolean (Layers of Veronica, Book 1)
Genre: Women’s Fiction with an Attitude
Author: Emilia Rutigliano
Publisher: Emilia Rutigliano
Pages: 387
Language: English
Format: Kindle
They say that when a student is ready, a teacher appears.
What they don’t say is where to register, and how to matriculate in that teacher’s class.
That is a divine gift.
Veronica had it all: the looks; the brains; the personality; and the wardrobe. Not to mention a perfect husband, a fabulous career and two adorable children, until the perfect husband leaves her for another woman.
Thus begin the daily routines of a typical New York City immigrant with ambition whose teachers keep appearing, and for whom divine interventions keep affording new opportunities.
Though it starts like ordinary connections going through the tried and true, each relationship continues to delve into parts of her own universe that Veronica didn’t know existed. A universe that is suddenly open to her.
This is a different kind of heroine…
Welcome to the New American Dream, Dare to Dream…
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Review
Since I have many layers of thoughts about this book, I'm going to skip the quick summary (the author did an excellent job above), and go straight to my review.
First, Veronica is a complex character with, as the series titles suggests, many layers that unfold throughout the story. She's a well-respected attorney, a woman who appreciates sex, a mom, and a true friend--just to name a few. She's tough and not afraid to fight for what she believes in.
The layer that was missing for me was softness. Nothing about her, including her sex preferences, was anything but intense. I love strong female characters, but I wanted some aspect of her to be soft. Even her kids didn't seem to bring that out in her nor a story twist involving a molested young girl. Everything seemed to showcase strength.
All of that being said, I was intrigued. I never stopped reading because I was hoping for this layer to develop, to put the story and her character over the top--not just interesting, but compelling and captivating.
Every reader takes away something different, and another reader might completely disagree with me. I would definitely give Book 2 a chance and hope for that element, a key one for me, to be revealed.
(Side note: although listed as women's fiction, there was something harder--for lack of a better word--about this to me. Not quite erotica, but even the sex wasn't sweet or romantic. Maybe I'm just a softie.)
Rating: 3 stars
Other Books in the Series
Veronica’s story continues.
Ever wonder why there is so much gore in the storybooks that we read to our children? Is it because it is appropriate preparation for life?
Amidst the balls, and gowns and champagne … there are evil stepmothers and death and disease. There are also valiant princes, and kindly matriarchs and enchanted lands. There is no alternate reality though. It is still modern day New York… and Paris, of course.
Still, Veronica needs to get up and go to work, and take the kids to school, and play nice with the ex’s new wife. But each layer is enchanted with its own romance… and its own lover becomes a benevolent wizard. There’s Ben… and Jeremy… and Edmonde. And then there’s KD. Why choose?
These are the games your mama never taught you. These are men’s games played by a woman. And a woman is only eligible to play when she is taught to see the world differently. It isn’t just a matter of calculations… it is a matter of nobility. What Jeremy taught in NAPOLEON, becomes a world of experience in FAIRTYATLES.
They say you only love once… but that isn’t a fact for Veronica. Each of her bedmates offers her and demands from her something different.
What starts out as a parochial life, with known participants and variables, is unveiled with more and more opportunities. Each comes with a privilege and an obligation – and Veronica has never shirked an obligation. Not even in a fairytale.
It’s all connected… just on a higher layer.
Purchase on Amazon
Veronica’s story continues.
The prettiest of blooms commence with the nurturing of the seed? In PETALS… Veronica’s life goes global, and she unites her family with the aristocracy around her, without self- betrayal.
Physical recovery post trauma is not the difficult part. How do you heal the other parts of you? And what if you were stupid enough to throw out the healer in your life?
Every relationship takes work. Every relationship is a lesson. Each has a depth.
Where NAPOLEON and FAIRYTALES opened a magical kingdom dominated and ruled by men… PETALS reveals the same monarchy ruled by women. There is a new perspective on the same world, and the same characters. Relating to women, and taking your place among the nobility requires a lot… and not at all a marriage or blueblood.
But of course it wouldn’t be Veronica’s life…if there weren’t more lovers, more galas, more jewels and of course… more heartbreak…
It is a fun journey. What it isn’t — is a known destination.
Purchase on Amazon
About the Author
Emilia I. Rutigliano scored fiftieth percentile on her SATs… and on her LSATs… and on her BAR…Sigh…
But she nevertheless survived, and seems to be doing OK. She practices Law read lore) in Brooklyn, New York (read Nu Yawk). She was born in the former Soviet Union, and emigrated in 1979. She is happily married to the same crazy Italian she’s been with since college, who suffers from a severe addition to travel (still in acute form). Together they are doing a somewhat passable job with their three precious darlings (who are now teenagers, thus elaboration is not necessary).
Which is why Emilia writes about Veronica. Veronica, though… is interesting. And Emilia knows interesting.
So she weaved the tale about the interesting characters, places and events from her own life. It is remarkable how if you choose to view a subject objectively, it becomes downright artistically gorgeous. So Emilia views and shows Brooklyn Russians as gorgeous, and the Barese intricacies as gorgeous, and she even tolerates Paris, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia for the reader’s interests.
Thank you, dear reader, for tolerating these scenes….
LAYERS OF VERONICA IS ON FACEBOOK…LIKE US.
Her first book in the Layers of Veronica series is Napoleon.
Visit Emilia Rutigliano’s website at www.layersofveronica.com and connect on Twitter and Facebook.
Please visit other stops on the Layers of Veronica blog tour page.
Thanks to Pump Up Your Book for including me on this blog tour.
Note: I received a complimentary copy from Pump Up Your Book for review purposes. No other compensation was received. A positive review was not guaranteed or requested; the views expressed are my own.
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