Gladly Beyond by Nichole Van

Synopsis:

An ancient curse, fractured at the birth of three brothers.
Two strangers helplessly drawn to each other.
A love story two hundred years in the making.

Claire Raythorn arrives in Florence, Italy, shattered, alone, and anxious to rebuild her life—preferably one without men. But she soon finds herself hunted and haunted— literally—when a mysterious stalker dressed like Mr. Darcy from BBC central casting appears in her photos. And only her photos. Who is this man? And what does his ghostly presence mean?

Dante D’Angelo simply wants to safeguard his brothers, despite the family curse that hounds his vision. But then Claire Raythorn walks into his life, untouched somehow by his curse. Soon, everything Dante thought he knew about himself starts to unravel, dragging Claire down with him.

Set against the lush backdrop of Florence, Italy—both past and present—Claire and Dante fight for a future together. But, first, they must uncover their shared past . . .

My Review: 4.5 Stars

Alone and broken, Claire finds herself in Florence, Italy determined to rebuild her life and career. She wouldn't be in this situation if it hadn't been for her cheating boyfriend. Thanks to him posting the video of her reaction when she discovered him cheating, she is now known as "Batty Ray Psycho". Everyone sees her as the bad guy instead of the victim. Never again will she let a man into her life. She can and will do this on her own. 

On the day of her interview with the Colonel, a wealthy man with a vast art collection, she discovers that she is being followed. A man dressed as a Mr. Darcy look alike is showing up in all of her selfies. She doesn't need this. Not today. It's bad enough that she already has a cyber stalker and that her interview turned out to be an audition between her, her cheating ex-boyfriend and Dante D'Angelo. Can't one thing go right for her?! Too much is riding on her getting this job. She just needs to put her head down and focus on the job. There can be no distractions and definitely no men. No matter how attractive and intriguing Dante D'Angelo is. She needs to stay strong and stay far away. 

An ancient curse has plagued Dante's family for many years. But this time around, it's different. This time there are triplets. One to see the past, one to hear the past and one to see the future. Dante has so much on his plate where is family is concerned, he doesn't have time for anything else. But then he meets Claire. She is completely blank to him. He sees nothing of her past. How can that be? Is his ability on the fritz? Who knows. But there is something about Claire that draws him in. He can't explain it but he has to get to know her better. He wants to be by her side always. To protect her, help her, laugh with her, enjoy life with her. He'll definitely have his work cut out for him. 

While Claire and Dante work to find the origin of a painting, they discover that their lives are more entwined than they ever imagined. The more they get to know each other, the more their feelings grow. However, with Claire's past, she has a hard time trusting Dante and letting him in. But with everything going on with her cyber stalker, the Colonel acting creepy and weird, her ex-boyfriend popping up out of no where, a man following her and Dante, she has to put her trust somewhere. She is tired of living in fear. It is time to take back her life and actually live it. Will they be able to figure everything out before it's too late? One thing is for sure, curse or no curse, neither Claire nor Dante will go down without a fight. 

*dreamy sigh*

WOW! I forgot how much I enjoyed this book. Just like the first time, once I started it, I could not put it down. I was sucked into the world of Claire and Dante and loved every minute of it. This book kept me on my toes and had me guessing till the very end. There were so many twists and turns that I did not see coming. I'm looking forward to rereading the other books in this series. 

If you haven't read anything by Ms. Van, then I would highly recommend you give her books a try. I have absolutely loved every book of hers I have read. I'm looking forward to see what she has in store for us next! 

Ok... I'm not going to lie. This casting was SO hard! I can't tell you how many pictures I looked at of this guy. Haha. So... without further adieu... my casting!

Content: Mild swearing.