Blog Tour + Review - A Veil of Vines by Tillie Cole














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.


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.

description

**ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review**

"This could never be. We were from two completely different worlds. We weren't written in the stars."

First of all I want to say that I absolutely love the cover and the title of this book. As for the content of the book, I didn't really know what to expect and trusted my gut that Tillie wouldn't disappoint. My book buddies know I am a huge fan of Tillie's books, and that I automatically one-click, and want to own them in paperback. This book had two of my favorite book tropes: arranged marriage and forbidden love. This story could've easily be set a hundred or more years ago, when arranged marriages were essential in keeping peace between two kingdoms, tribes etc. I loved that Tillie came up with this book were the royals still exist unofficially. It had a very fairy tale feel to it. 

"He was a drug I could not forego. I lusted for the hit of his taste, the high from the heat of his body."

I don't have to go into the plot, you can just read the blurb. I loved the main characters, I loved how they first met and how they got to know each other. It was very magical and innocent in a way. Caresa was very sweet and caring, and Achille was very dedicated and unique. Their love was so pure and beautiful, it was a joy for me to read how their relationship grew. There were a couple of twists that I predicted early on, but that didn't take away from how much I enjoyed the story. There were a couple of times my heart broke for Achille, he was such a sweet and beautiful person. He was not an alpha male but I don't think I would've loved him this much if he was. 

"Our situation was complex, yet I knew that falling in love with her would be the simplest thing in the world."

A Veil of Vines is in my opinion another hit for Tillie Cole, she keeps on surprising me with her diverse and unique stories. She can write a dark romance today and switch and write a sweet romance the next time. I really appreciate it when authors write different types of stories, and do it well. They have such creative minds and I can't wait to see what they come up with next. The same goes for Tillie Cole, I am dying to get my hands on her upcoming books. If you love sweet, forbidden love stories than I recommend you to pick this book up. The writing was beautiful, I wouldn't expect anything less from Tillie. The only thing I would've changed was the length. I wish it was longer, especially towards the end. The story would've had more of an impact on me.
 


One winner gets a Signed Copy of A Veil of Vines + Limited-Edition The Future Mrs. Marchesi T-Shirt

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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.








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