Last Kiss in Venice by Martin Chu Shui

Beside a bridge over a canal in Venice, Charlie is spellbound not only by Caitlin’s absolute beauty but also by what seems like a mythical bond between them. The more he knows about her, the more mysterious she becomes. As they finally admit their love to each other in Paris, then move to settle down in Australia together, it looks like the start of Happily Ever After. But neither of them realizes that this is just the start of a heart-wrenching journey.

After a lifetime of searching, Caitlin finally finds her true love, settles down in the beautiful rolling countryside of outback Australia, and starts to raise a family, but her enemy is never far away. She loves Charlie deeply and is certain he is her soul mate, but she knows she can never reveal her secret; he must never know who she really is, and that is her downfall. Information in the hands of her enemy brings her life crashing down around her. To save all she has worked for, she must fight for her love and the right to survive.

“Last Kiss in Venice” is a reinterpretation of one of China’s most famous love stories, ‘Legend of the White Snake’. It is a supernatural love epic that encompasses both eastern and western culture to tell a story of love and hate, loyalty and betrayal, revenge and justice. This cocktail of oriental magic, vampires, and sword fights is a legend not easily forgotten.

This is a fun, quirky retelling of a traditional Chinese tale that is a nice choice for fantasy and romance lovers alike.

The plot is really captivating. I wasn’t too familiar with the Chinese story before beginning this book, but there is a wonderful sense of mystery in these pages which invokes that oriental magic I’d imagined in their stories. The characters are well done and amusing, with Alice being the one I enjoyed most. There was a strength to her personality that I think would have worked well for the protagonist. In this case the heroine, Caitlin, is a bit too passive for my taste. She is not really the take-action kind of girl, which, for me, makes her a little less interesting.

The way the story was told, through different points of view, was quite effective and nicely handled. There was no confusion as to who was speaking at any given moment, which can sometimes be tricky. There were a few grammatical issues, but overall it’s in good shape.

If you enjoy reading books that are a bit out of the ordinary, a bit different, then this one could be for you.