Scorpio Rising by Monique Domovitch : A Review

Even as a young man during the early 1950's, Alex Ivanov's is determined to leave his life of poverty and become rich. He soon finds, however, that in order to achieve his dreams he must make some sacrifices. Thousands of miles away, in Paris, beautiful Brigitte Dartois escapes from her abusive childhood and struggles to make it on her own. But when fame comes knocking, it also brings dangers from the past. 

Some people have ambitions so great that they will trample on anything and anyone to achieve it. Born in Brooklyn from an embittered mother, Alexander Ivanov climbs his way to a better life in New York. Thousands of miles away, beautiful Brigitte Dartois also has big dreams and raging ambitions. Scorpio Rising is an American saga, the story of two people whose single-minded obsessions are put to the test when they meet. - From Amazon.com



The first thing I noticed right off the bat was the uniqueness of Monique's writing style. I really love the originality of the story along with how the story progressed. I enjoyed following Alex's journey from the streets of Brooklyn to the small studio apartment in Manhattan as he did everything he could possibly do to become the architect he wanted to become, to following Briditte's life from the abuse at such a young age to finding herself alone, her every day struggle to survive.  We watched years of each of their lives go by, each struggling, suffering, surviving all leading up to their eventual meeting. 

Over the course of the book, people come into their lives, some with ulterior motives and others as geniune friends.  The ending of the book was a surprise, and leaves you wanted more. Monique was kind enough to let me read the sequel, The Sting of the Scorpio, and I have to say it does not disappoint! Starts where Scorpio Rising leaves off and, without giving away any details I will say, the ending of this surprised me as well.

I honestly enjoyed reading both books back to back and am looking forward to future releases by Monique.