Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: Ramirez and Clark
Pub date: 27 September 2022

They stole his love. 
They’ll pursue him across the oceans.
He will kill–or die–to save her.

A riveting short story for fans of historical fiction, adventure or star-crossed lovers. You will be spellbound by this gripping tale from the author of The Prisoner of Paradise and Painter of the Damned.

Part I: Outlaw

1589 A.D. The Republic of Venice.

After Angelo Mascari is thrust into a dubious plot that ends in disaster, the elite swordsman is forced to flee his home with nothing but a few coins, his rapier, and a vague instruction to save his beloved Isabella: travel to the New World.

But the Doge of Venice believes Angelo stole a mysterious book that holds the key to unlimited power. With the sands of time rapidly falling, the doge’s ruthless men are on the hunt. They’ll stop at nothing until they capture Angelo and return him to the City of Masks.

To save Isabella, he must become an outlaw.

The Prisoner of Paradise is a brilliant dual time novel with an ending that left me wanting more. The Swordsman of Venice picks up just where we left off and continues with Angelo desperate to save Isabella but how?
His ally gave him a destination to head towards but exactly how will he do that with powerful men chasing him?

This novella is the first part of Angelo’s journey, Samborn has pulled out the stops to create a fast paced story with violent bursts and unexpected events.

For a novella I was pleasantly surprised how much happens, from drunken chats, new friendships and quite a bit of violence as Angelo attempts to reach his goal.

There are moments of humour, sadness and cheering on Angelo during the action packed story. Personally, having been waiting for Painter of the Damned, the next instalment in the Painted Souls series, this was the perfect way to get back into the story.

The Painter of the Damned is out on the 25th October and I can’t wait especially after reading this brilliant novella.