(ʀᴇᴀʟɪᴛʏ) ᴇᴄʜᴏᴇs ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴠɪɴᴇ |

In the gilded and volatile world of nineteenth century Tuscany, where noble titles carry more weight than conscience and desire moves beneath the surface of every formal gathering like current beneath still water, Corinna arrives at the Laurent Estate with dark eyes, a past carved by grief, and a beauty so complete it rearranges every room she enters. She is a Black woman who has traveled far from the shores that raised her, drawn to Tuscany following her grandmother's death and the need to begin somewhere that does not already know her name.

The Laurent Estate is one of Italy's most storied noble houses, its ancient stone soaked in wine and older scandal, presided over by Count Alexandre Laurent, a man of devastating composure and barely contained feeling who is formally betrothed to the cool and calculating Sophie Beaumont. What builds between Corinna and Alexandre across harvest seasons, candlelit cellars, masked balls, and crackling family ruin is a slow and punishing accumulation of desire that neither can outrun.

©️ _RelleLebby_// R. L.