The Grotto

by Evelyn Rogers

"I do not believe in La maledetta," claims Kate, but as the lovely young widow arrives in Belmare, she has to admit there is something disturbing about the abandoned villa by the sea. The mournful... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0505524791
• ISBN13: 9780505524799
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Love Spell Books
• Length: 366 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.5" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

The Grotto

Very good book. I had waited forever and was glad I finally got to read it. I read this book in one day. It was that good.

MyShelf.com Book Reviewer

Newly widowed Contessa Caterina Donati suddenly finds she has been set free from the loveless marriage she had been trapped in for many years. She seeks to put a final end to her painful past by fleeing from the mysterious circumstances that are evolving around her husband's untimely death. Her travels take her to Belmare; there she is determined to rebuild her cherished ancestral home. What she doesn't anticipate is the ghostly curse that has been placed on the helpless estate. Roberto Vela is the one man who steps forward and proclaims he will do battle with the evil forces. Will she be able to trust a man with a face like a God and a voice like the Devil?With midnight blue eyes, Roberto Vela's gaze penetrated Caterina 'Kate' Donati. Before him was a stunning young American solely in need of his assistance. By agreeing to come to her aid, will he be placing her life in jeopardy by exposing her to the dark turmoil that surrounds his very existence? Can he take the chance to give love an opportunity to bloom? Or will his haunted past be enough to destroy one so fair and pure?Once again, Ms. Rogers has pulled out all the heavy ammunition and used it to create a beautiful compelling Gothic Romance. As always, her writing talent stands alone in serving to uphold the romance genre. Few authors can only hope they will be able to mimic the talent of Evelyn Rogers so they too will be able to produce a timeless treasure. Every book I read by this much-loved author only strengthens my belief that she is one of the best in the romance industry. For anyone new to romance, do yourself a favor, and begin by reading one of her legendary books. What you will find is an unsuppressed talent that is sure to go down in history!

Evelyn Rogers is the new Gothic queen!

I simply loved the Grotto!! It was well-written, well-plotted and well-told. I have always found Evelyn Rogers to be a master storyteller, and the Grotto is no exception. She is one of my favorite authors, and this book moves her up higher on my short list of favorites. Thank you, Mrs. Rogers for a book that kept me up long into the night, and kept me turning pages. It was most deserving of a 5...

Will hook you quickly & keep you until the end.

Set in Italy, during the 1800's. Contessa Caterina Donati was all alone. Her father had drowned at sea, en route home to America, shortly after she married Conte Pietro Donati. Pietro's idea of making love was painful and humiliating. Thus the short marriage was not blissful. Then Pietro met an untimely death. Young Caterina was left with no one to turn to, little money due to Pietro, and only the Donati villa with its barren fields to go. Knowing all within the seaside village of Belmare would hate her, not only for being an American but also for having the name Donati, Kate went to The Villa Falcone. Kate was determined to work the land and bring life back to the fields and the village. However, the Donatis had brought ruin to Belmare and its people. Few would work for "the Contessa." Those few who would, did so only on the condition that no one from the village knew they did. Only one man, Roberto Vela, was as determined as Kate to make the fields prosper. Kate was attracted to him from the beginning, but danger lurked around Kate and Roberto kept too many secrets. And whenever harm came to Kate, he was suddenly there. Was he to be her savior or her executioner? ***** When I found the name Evelyn Rogers on the cover of this book I was ecstatic! That name meant I was about to be transported into a new dark realm of romance called "the Gothic"! So few gothic stories are written anymore even though there are many fans of the genre out there keeping careful watch on the bookshelves of major stores. Recalling how much I loved Devil In The Dark, her last gothic release, I was unable to stop myself from immediately opening the book and beginning to read. I was not the least bit disappointed! Once again Evelyn Rogers has created believable characters that I could easily sympathize with and care for. Then put them in the haunting setting with danger everywhere. Highly recommended! An enjoyable read! I look forward to this author's next release! *****

exciting gothic romance

Contessa Caterina Donati hated her life as a paragon of Boston Brahmin behavior because all her wealth and social standing left her lonely. Her father simply did not care what happened to her. Her blue-blooded spouse was abusive in his better moments.With the death of her husband, Kate leaves for Tuscan, Italy to restore her spouse's villa to the magnificence it once displayed. Her undergoing seems Herculean her changing her life makes the task more difficult. The villagers refuse to help, detesting the Donati family for closing the fields and deserting them five years ago. When Kate is ready to quit and return beaten to Boston, Roberto Vela offers to help her. As they begin to fall in love, Roberto with his own troubled past asserts she is too good for him as she is an aristocrat and he insists he is just a peasant. However, questionable accidents occur leaving Kate to wonder if Roberto wants her to fail.THE GROTTO is gothic romance at its brooding atmospheric best though the tale remains inside the sub-genre box. The locale is perfect and Roberto is the ideal gothic hero while Kate is the perfect female protagonist. Though not quite the typical virgin she shares many of the same characteristics as one. The villain's actions remain a secret that Evelyn Rogers never reveals, but as she did with DEVIL IN THE DARK, the author provides a tale that sub-genre fans will enjoy. Hopefully, her western romance readers will want to read her excellent gothic and see how versatile Ms Rogers really is.Harriet Klausner