Review: Dante’s Amulet by Melinda De Ross

Posted May 30, 2014 by Sophia Rose in Reviews / 4 Comments

Tags: Coriolas, Dante’s Amulet, Melinda De Ross, Romantic Suspense

I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review.
This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Dante’s Amulet

by Melinda De Ross

Series: #2 Coriolas
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Published by Indie/Self Published
Released on April 12, 2014
Pages: 316
Format: eARC
Source: Author

I read the first book in this series and was intrigued by Linda’s brother, Giovanni, so I was thrilled when I got a chance to continue on and read Giovanni’s own story.

Successful, Italian businessman, Giovanni Coriola is in London just before the Christmas holidays for his sister’s wedding. He decides to practice his gun marksmanship skills so signs up for sessions with a target-shooting specialist and trainer, Sonia Galsworthy. He is impressed by her skill and attracted to her immediately.

Sonia is very good at what she does and is slightly defensive when she has to constantly defend her chosen vocation. She is not the domestic sort and can’t imagine herself in a situation with home, husband and children. She likes her life and is content until handsome and hot Giovanni not only accepts her as she is, but wants to be with her. Sonia knows he must be popular with the ladies and will want nothing permanent so she accepts his presence in her life knowing there is an expiration date on it when Linda gets married and Giovanni goes home. Only, she’s wrong because the man she has come to love claims to love her back and wants something lasting. Now she must decide whether she’ll take Giovanni at his word and trust that he cares for her as much as she has come to care for him.

It was fascinating how the two stories took different tones and reflected somewhat the feel of the personality of the characters. Giovanni’s story was more incisive, heated and grittier with less of an enchanted feel though there is a bit of the inexplicable to it as well when it comes to the amulet. Giovanni’s love interest matched him well too. Sonia was independent, capable and somewhat set apart from life until she encountered Giovanni.

Their romance sparked and flamed quickly. They were thinking of hearts, love, and long term before several days had passed. Love at first sight and fast commitments are a bit of a stretch for me, but I went with it because I was enjoying the story. These two came together with a great deal of heat and passion reflecting their strong personalities. Things weren’t all ease though because Sonia has preconceived notions about what type a person she thinks Giovanni is and Giovanni has to learn that he now has a partner when tough times come.

The story was told in two parts with the romance developing in the beginning section giving the story a gentle pacing and then it continued in the latter half as it was no longer isolated, but set into the greater circle of family and daily life. The second half was augmented by the suspense element too that got pretty exciting and picked up the pace with danger stalking them from an unknown source.

All in all, I enjoyed all the elements put together in this story: characters, backdrop, and plot. I would recommend it for those who enjoy Contemporary Romance and Romantic Suspense with a slight paranormal element to it.

My thanks to the author for providing the book in exchange for an honest review.

About Melinda De Ross

Anca-Melinda Coliolu, writing as Melinda De Ross, lives in her native Romania with her husband and a pair of rude parrots. She attended Law School and got her degree but worked as a journalist for several newspapers, polishing her writing skills.

It never occurred to her that she wanted a career as an author until she began writing, as therapy to get perspective on a crucial part of her life.

Melinda was a professional target shooter for a decade, winning multiple National Championships. She was breaking records in her teens until health issues forced her to give up the sport.

Out of that heartbreak, Rendezvous with Hymera – her first novel – started taking shape and so began her career as a Romantic Suspense author.
Melinda has always been a fan of writers like Diana Gabaldon, Nora Roberts and Sandra Brown. Currently she weaves romance into tales laced with the paranormal and occult. Her interests in yoga, philosophy and a large range of other disciplines give her work depth and color.

Other books by Melinda De Ross include: Unabridged, The Coriola Series (Mirage Beyond Flames and Dante’s Amulet), Chronicles of The Blood Countess, Be My Valentine, and A Touch Of Poetry.

She loves to hear from her readers, and you can find her at:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Sophia Rose

I was born and raised near Sacramento, CA. I have read since I was four years old and developed tastes that run the gamut of literature. I went away to college and have a degree in education, a certificate in family history research, and a certificate in social work. I worked for a non-profit agency with low income families for 20 years which included being responsible for the children’s library and promoting/teaching adult literacy. I have lived in Southeast Michigan for the last 18 years and I am currently a book addicted homemaker with a cat and husband who keep me grounded. Recently, I made it a challenge to review each book that I have read as a favor to author friends who said reviews are important. I have done reviews for Good Reads, Amazon, eBay, and Smashwords, but mostly at Goodreads and Amazon.

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Anna@herding cats&burning soup

7 years ago

That sounds so good Sophia! Especially with the added suspense on the second part. I love some rom-suspense. Insta love isn’t my favorite of things either but great she was able to pull it off and keep you enjoying the story and okay with it. On the list it goes!