Masque of the Swan

by Rebecca Ashe

When Caralisa dances into the arms of a masked stranger, her life changes forever. Rumored to be a devil, the seductive Count of Samothrace is the most dangerous man Caralisa has ever met. With a handsome nobleman also vying for her hand, Caralisa must make a decision that will affect not only her own life, but the future of her own country.

Will Caralisa become the light of a young man's heart, or the object of a driven man's obsession? Torn between love and fear, she risks everything to find her heart's reward.

Genres: Historical, Romance, Historical Romance

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~* · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 Stars

This book was quite a mixed bag of themes, which made it all the more enjoyable.
While not your typical historical romance, it had a theme of Beauty and the Beast, Phantom of the Opera, a touch of fantasy "other world" mystery, passion, secrets..ect. One would think that sounds like a train wreck of a story, but somehow it worked. I brought it down half a star because the heroine Clarrisa and I just didn't bond at all. I found her very immature and rather shallow and quite undeserving of the hero's love. But our hero, a mysterious brooding man who wears a mask made up for it. ( I think Jill, my goodreads friend who knows I'm a big POTO fan and was kind enough to send this to me knew that :D ) It is not a retelling of POTO,( at least not to me ) but if you like this type of hero that tugs at your heart as well as a fast paced read you wont be disappointed.

Thanks Jill! :)

[Mermarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those rare, 'it' books. I read this book first in 2001, and stopped reading romance thereafter; as I considered it the pinnacle of romance.

I truly believe the hero is the only one within romance I've read, that I'd probably pursue myself. He's unforgettable, unwaveringly patient and his self-control is infinite. Women acquire those sensibilities. ;]

I believe one of the most perplexing and alluring qualities pertaining to this hero, is that he never removes his mask.

The heroine is lackluster in my opinion, but the hero makes up for it immensely!

*giggles at the conspiracy she leaves*

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 4 out of 5]

MASQUE OF THE SWAN had elements of a gothic romance. With some unpredictable twists and turns, this is a pleasant mixture of Beauty and the Beast and Phantom of the Opera. The hero is a mysterious brooding man who wears a mask. The heroine is both naive and immature at moments yet I understood her angst. She yearns for true love. How much older he is than the young woman is left for the reader to guess.

Confusion, frustration and passion were some of the feelings embedded in my thoughts while I read this book. The story is a voyage between two very independent people who never really feel complete in their respective worlds. At times I knew what to expect with the story line but it still managed to be refreshing and engaging. I was drawn to solve the riddles and secrets of the Count of Samothrace.

Caralisa's simple songs drew him to her. He was there one moment and gone the next. He made her feel safe but sometimes her insecurities made me want to yank her from the pages.

What is it between these two? Their story is what happens when passion and danger make tempting bedfellows. He sees her, wants her, needs her; he has to have her. He wants more but will she see him for what he truly is? Parts fantasy and historical romance, you can taste their hunger. This book is why I enjoy a good romance and a lesson to not overlook little-known authors.

[☆Eiko · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a person who has never read any books or seen any films about The Phantom of the Opera, Masque of the Swan is a book that had me mystified and anxious through the entire story. It begins with the heroine Caralisa whom we're told, is an orphan living in a boarding school. The time setting is never told, so we're left to assume one according to the clothes the characters are described wearing which leads me to think around the 1500's, as this book has a lot of religious overtures which were quite common back then. She has no dowry and her godfather won't let her go out in Larissa society, so she is left behind only with her hopes and dreams. Caralisa can hear the songs of the wind, and she interprets them when she's by herself until one night, a masked man finds her singing and dancing by herself. He introduces himself as the Count of Samothrace, enigmatic and aloof, he proceeds to take her to a masquerade where she meets two men: one a cavalier with dubious intentions, and a young beautiful marquis who expresses his undying love for her. She runs away from both men with the help of Samothrace, and is soon pursued by the marquis in hopes of learning her name and place of residence to ask for her hand in marriage. Events occur that lead to the excommunication of Caralisa and the Church, threatened to be killed by a hired assassin, raped by a mad man, and is constantly rescued by a large black swan whom she dubs 'Lancelot'.

[SOME SPOILERS ALERT]

I find that Count Samothrace was certainly the only reason I continued to read the book, otherwise I would've given up before I even read the third chapter. As most stories go, this one moved a bit slow, however, halfway through the book it began to show more development and the tension between Caralisa and Samothrace is blatant. The fact that the Marquis fell in love with Caralisa when she had a mask and a costume on the entire time was unbelievable, but we're later told that, apart from being a shallow man/character, the marquis only loves beautiful things so I suppose it makes sense that he would want Caralisa. What I didn't understand was the love between Samothrace and the heroine. I felt she was a tad shallow, and undeserving of his love, but then again this could simply be me being jealous of a made up character :p. All in all, I rate this a 5/5 because of Samothrace's character, the swan 'Lancelot', the story behind these beautiful creatures and the way the author put it all together. I always enjoy books with gracious creatures be them dragons, elves mermaids or swans so of course this book won me over.

[RIF · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part fairy tale, part fantasy, all love story. So good, so original and quite powerful. Deliberately fictionalized setting seems so much a part of the tale and is loveliness itself. She's a young orphan with a gift for composing music and in love with the possibilities of life, though it's a sheltered one at her girls school. They meet and he is dashing and charmed. He shows her more of the exotic, mysterious city and displays confidence and encouragement in her compositions that lead to some fortune and fame. As she comes into her own and is presented with admirers courtly and profane, like many an immature engenue, she must learn to see her surroundings and people in more than black and white, for more than appearances. The writing and characterizations are superb. This book pulses w passionate emotion, revealing depth of character and an undercurrent of myth and history spanning any time, like love itself. Hard to find, begin the campaign for a re-release! Very Fav Reads.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a lovely, if a little bit odd, retelling of the Phantom story. The Count is the most engaging character in the book. MichaelJohn is a little too cardboard, a little too besotted by a woman he does not know and who was masked when he met her. Caralisa is young and a bit immature, but she makes up for that throughout the book. In a twist, Caralisa is the accomplished musician and composer in this retelling. It's always been one of my favourite retellings of my favourite story.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh my gosh. This book is ALL over the place... and not in a good way! The beginning to 2/3's through this book are incredibly slow. Not much happens. The writing is cumbersome and stilted. I should have stopped reading halfway through, but I didn't. I thought it would get better.

I was looking forward to a Phantom of the Opera/Beauty and the Beast type of romance. This is far from that as there is basically no romance until the last 30 pages! You don't even know that the "hero," the Count of Samothrace, has any feelings for Caralisa!! They don't court, don't woo, don't flirt! HOW is this a romance???!! It's NOT!!

Oh, and the setting. This takes place in Larissa... or is it Montagne.... or is it Byzantine..... or is it the Heights? The author refers to SEVERAL places, but never explains ANY of them (and there's no map in the book)! It's SO frustrating. AND we have NO idea when this book is supposed to take place. They talk about having fires to keep warm, but then they have newspapers and talk about engineers. What? It's like a modern medieval novel (note I left off the romance since there is no romance to be found until the last 30 pages).

Caralisa is VERY young, and innocent, and immature and the Count of Samothrace is conceited and arrogant. However, Caralisa and Michaeljohn (yes you read that right, it's not a typo) are in love and trying to get married. I think the Count just shows up to be with Caralisa whenever Michaeljohn is trying to reach her/meet her because he's jealous. It feels like false love... a love that appears out of jealousy... that's not love.

So, at the end of the book when the wicked Monsignor excommunicates Caralisa (leaving her free for the people of Larissa to burn her) out of jealousy because he wants her and he knows she's trying to marry Michaeljohn. The Count saves her (as a black swan, he's an immortal, of course, apparently as old as the ancient Greeks). The Count takes her back to his castle in the mountains... the Heights? I have no idea, the author is so confusing. The Count FINALLY admits his love (which he had previously denied to her and never said she was beautiful either) which scares her because she's supposed to marry Michaeljohn and she thought of the Count as a father figure. Well, that REALLY pisses him off. He tries to rape her. Fortunately he stops and lets her go. She goes to her married friends house for a couple of days and decides that she actually does love the Count so goes to break it off with Micaheljohn and then goes up to the castle in the mountains to tell the Count she loves him. She does. Then he reaffirms he does. Caralisa takes off his gloves, his hands are fine, but his finger nails look like talons. She also takes off his mask (which he always wears) and ALL the authors says is that "the mask was that there was no mask." I'm guessing that means that there's nothing wrong with his face. VERY anti-climactic. The author has Caralisa even thinking herself that it's anticlimactic! OMG!! How would an editor ever let that stay in!! It's the same thing as saying the book she's writing is anticlimactic... which it is if it ever read faster than the slower than molasses start. And there is not even a HEA, not really anyway. Yes they get married, but he's immortal and she's not, she's going to die and he'll leave on. *facepalm* I wish I could un-read this book!

No, I do not recommend this book!!

[Penny Wema · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who likes a mystery man this book is for you. The historic romance and the twist.