Mariella of the Ghosts

Many souls stalk the tangled paths of Poveglia, but only one of them can bleed.

 

Mariella was raised by ghosts. A treacherous island full of them, abandoned and decaying in the heart of the Venetian Lagoon. She’s fiercely devoted to discovering ways to free the spirits in her family from their individual torments, but harbors a fervent, secret desire to meet someone like her. Someone with a heartbeat.

 

Alessio lives within sketching distance of Poveglia, burying himself in books and drawings to avoid his lonely home. He’d give anything to explore the crumbling ruins of the forbidden island, dreaming up a life and a family in the shadowed woods.

 

Alessio finagles a spot on an excursion to Poveglia and runs smack into a stunned Mariella. Their meeting is more dream than reality, as they find in each other everything they’ve lacked in their young lives. The ghosts panic when they discover Alessio, accidentally injuring him in the chaos and cementing Mariella’s determination to keep outsiders off the island and out of harm, regardless of the personal cost. The torch Alessio carries for Mariella only burns brighter with time, but no matter how he begs to see her or how she aches to give in, Mariella refuses.

 

When a nefarious developer's bid for Poveglia threatens its very existence, Alessio leaps at the chance to prove himself to Mariella by ousting the interlopers. Mariella will have to fight her every instinct and let Alessio into her world, or risk losing the family she’s given her life to protect.

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*Out on query!*