City of Lights: The Trials and Triumphs of Ilyse Charpentier

City of Lights: The Trials and Triumphs of Ilyse Charpentier
by Melika Dannese Lux

City of Lights: The Trials and Triumphs of Ilyse Charpentier
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Book Summary Information

Author: Melika Dannese Lux
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-08-01
ISBN: 0595443508
Number of pages: 146
Publisher: iUniverse, Inc.

Book Reviews of City of Lights: The Trials and Triumphs of Ilyse Charpentier

Book Review: Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Summary: 5 Stars

Ilyse Charpentier's world changes forever the day her parents leave on their boat trip that Ilyse and her brother Maurice surprised them with for their 20th anniversary. Her parents' lawyer notifies them that while at sea, the ship has exploded and everyone on board was killed.

So Ilyse and her brother are sent to live with their uncle, Emile. Emile is an evil man, and the two children witness him murdering one of the house staff. Fearing for their lives, the two run away and try to return to Paris. Upon their return, they are told that their lawyer friend has been murdered and all their money has been cleared out from the bank.

Trying to honor her mother's last words to her before they boarded the ship, Ilyse takes it upon herself to protect Maurice and keep the two of them together. Relying on her beauty and her voice, she eventually talks her way into the hottest cabaret in Paris. There, she receives the unwanted advances of Count Rakmanovich. He will do anything he can to possess her. Her young brother believes him to be evil and wants nothing to do with Ilyse if her plans to survive include the generosity of the Count's money.

For five years, Ilyse misses her brother but is at the mercy of the Count. She fears him and dreads seeing his face in the crowd at the cabaret at night. But one fateful evening, an outgoing British man, Ian McCarthy, stumbles into the cabaret and catches a glimpse of lovely Ilyse. The two meet, and an instant connection is formed.

Before Ilyse can even imagine a life of love with Ian, she must face her fears and her oppression by the Count.

Ms. Lux writes a lovely period piece taking place in 1894 Paris. The scenery is beautifully described, and the wonder of the City of Love is expertly detailed. Ilyse is a strong character that faces her fears for true love.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

Summary of City of Lights: The Trials and Triumphs of Ilyse Charpentier

Ilyse Charpentier, a beautiful young chanteuse, is a diva of the 1894 Parisian cabaret scene by night and otherwise unwilling obsession of her patron, Count Sergei Rakmanovich.

Though it has always been her secret desire, Ilyse?s life as ?La Petite Coquette? of the Paris stage has turned out to be anything but the glamorous existence she had dreamt of as a girl. But as a young woman, Ilyse?s parents are killed in a tragic ship accident, she becomes estranged from her beloved brother, Maurice, who blames her for allowing the Count to drive them apart, and she must abandon all attempts at finding love in order to save herself from incurring her patron?s jealous wrath.

Unhappy and alone, Ilyse forces herself to banish all thoughts of independence until the fateful night when Ian McCarthy waltzes into her life. Immediately taken with the bold, young, British expatriate, Ilyse experiences her first descent into love and contemplates risking everything to follow her heart.

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