The first part of this book seemed really slow and overwrought with minutiae. I don't really care for minutiae, and I found that really, really hard to muscle through, but I'm glad I did because it got much more exciting later on.I think this book is lighter-hearted than it intended to be, and also sweeter. I felt that it was trying to hold an edge that wasn't quite there for me. But that actually worked for me, because I needed some lighter reading and this was enjoyable. :) I honestly don't know why I postponed reading this for months before I picked this up. Maybe because I got wrong impression from a couple of reviews I read. But, I am glad that I finally read this. One thing that I loved the most was the sense of being away from your home. I loved how Jeff decided that he would take the vacation (despite being reluctant) and was able to absorb the beauty of Venice (though he also had help from Cleve). Traveling is one of my passion in life. I wish I could do it more (don't have enough money to do so, unfortunately), especially to different countries where people don't speak my language. So the backdrop of Venice (in details) and later (for the short time) Zagreb was something I truly cherished.While I am not a fan of insta-love -- this story pretty much happened within short couple weeks, where Jeff realized that he was falling in love with mysterious Cleve -- but having these men in far away country, with adventure as well as danger behind them made me able to forget all that. I instantly loved Jeff when he challenged himself to go out of his boring routine life back in Sacramento and learned new things in Venice. Cleve, on the other hand, took awhile for me to warm up to him. Although it was probably the idea in the first place. For us readers to be slightly cautious (because Jeff seemed didn't) and questioning Cleve's intention (I felt protective towards Jeff, darn it).I did have nitpick ... I wonder if Jeff's nightmares (and heartbreaking past) were needed. That part seemed to be adding kind of angst that weren't doing anything for me. The nightmares in fact, always pulled me out of the story. Was it because Cleve had a past, then Jeff had to have his past too? To what, balanced things out? Personally, I thought the story worked fine without it *shrugs*. Overall, an enjoyable contemporary with dash of adventure.PS: Who knew that Kindle could also be used as weapon?!? Amazon should be informed!
What do You think about Venetian Masks (2013)?
I wish more books were set in interesting places outside the US.
—Kam
