Mystérieuse!
Witches, wine, and revenge set in early 20th century France...
The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith | Goodreads
The Glamourist by Luanne G. Smith | Goodreads
The Conjurer by Luanne G. Smith | Goodreads | Release date: January 2021
For centuries, the vineyards at Château Renard have depended on the talent of their vine witches, whose spells help create the world-renowned wine of the Chanceaux Valley. Then the skill of divining harvests fell into ruin when sorcière Elena Boureanu was blindsided by a curse. Now, after breaking the spell that confined her to the shallows of a marshland and weakened her magic, Elena is struggling to return to her former life. And the vineyard she was destined to inherit is now in the possession of a handsome stranger.
Vigneron Jean-Paul Martel naively favors science over superstition, and he certainly doesn’t endorse the locals’ belief in witches. But Elena knows a hex when she sees one, and the vineyard is covered in them. To stay on and help the vines recover, she’ll have to hide her true identity, along with her plans for revenge against whoever stole seven winters of her life. And she won’t rest until she can defy the evil powers that are still a threat to herself, Jean-Paul, and the ancient vine-witch legacy in the rolling hills of the Chanceaux Valley.
Phantom doings...
by Gaston Leroux
Classics, Horror, France | Goodreads
First published in French as a serial in 1909, The Phantom of the Opera is a riveting story that revolves around the young, Swedish Christine Daaé. Her father, a famous musician, dies, and she is raised in the Paris Opera House with his dying promise of a protective angel of music to guide her. After a time at the opera house, she begins hearing a voice, who eventually teaches her how to sing beautifully. All goes well until Christine's childhood friend Raoul comes to visit his parents, who are patrons of the opera, and he sees Christine when she begins successfully singing on the stage. The voice, who is the deformed, murderous 'ghost' of the opera house named Erik, however, grows violent in his terrible jealousy, until Christine suddenly disappears. The phantom is in love, but it can only spell disaster.
Leroux's work, with characters ranging from the spoiled prima donna Carlotta to the mysterious Persian from Erik's past, has been immortalized by memorable adaptations. Despite this, it remains a remarkable piece of Gothic horror literature in and of itself, deeper and darker than any version that follows.
For Love of the Phantom by Davyne DeSye | Goodreads
Skeletons in the Closet by Davyne DeSye | Goodreads
Phantom Rising by Davyne DeSye | Goodreads
This sequel to Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera begins just after Christine and Raoul leave the Phantom in his lair in the basement of the Opera House. After faking his own death to escape the authorities, the Phantom sets out to find Christine again, eventually following her to London. With a detective after the Phantom and Christine endangered when Jack the Ripper begins his killing spree not far from Christine's home, the Phantom must put his life at risk for his love.
Will Christine -- desperate for song (which her husband, Raoul, has forbidden in his jealousy) -- finally open her heart to the Phantom, as he desires?
* image source: Au bord de la Seine by Eugene Galien Laloue
* part of Paris in July (here)
