In New York, Alex Ivanov slaves away night and day to fulfil his ambitions of becoming a renowned architect.
In Paris, the beautiful Brigitte Dartois flees from place to place, trying to find a safe harbour where no one will take advantage of her.
Alex finds his meaning in architecture, Brigitte finds her escape in art.
The only thing they have in common is their strong drive and yearning to break free; to be something more than they used to be. Then their ambitions bring them together in an unexpected way.
In Scorpio Rising, Monique Domovitch skillfully paints the lives of Alex and Brigitte on her canvas of words, enticing you into their lives so that you empathise with their struggles and fears and wish fervently for their success. All her characters are vivid and real, even those with minimal page time.
On the downside, the actual meeting between Alex and Brigitte seemed a little rushed (my Kobo says they only meet at 92% of the way through the book), and I would have loved a slightly longer build up in their relationship. Also, I’m a bit of a prude in my reading tastes, so I was slightly put off every once in a while by the casual sexual descriptions scattered throughout, though it was not enough to really detract from the reading experience. I guess I still belong to the era of stolen kisses.
Domovitch ends the book on a bit of a cliff hanger, making you want to read the next book to see what happens.
Next up: The Sting of the Scorpio.
