The Island of Enchantment

Spring, 1355. Venice teeters on the edge of war as King Louis of Hungary gathers his forces for a second invasion of Dalmatia, his armies already laying waste to the coastal towns. Into this charged atmosphere steps young Zuan Gradenigo, a Venetian nobleman summoned by his uncle, the newly crowned Doge, to defend the island of Arbe, a precious possession of the Gradenigo family now threatened by the Ban of Bosnia. What begins as a mission of duty becomes something far more complicated when Zuan encounters Princess Yaga, a mysterious figure aligned with his enemies who he initially swears to destroy. But as the political landscape shifts and unexpected alliances form, Zuan finds himself drawn to a woman whose true loyalties remain gloriously, dangerously unclear. Forman weaves a rich tapestry of 14th-century Venice and its turbulent territories, populating his political drama with vivid period detail and genuine emotional stakes. The result is a sweeping tale where love and honor collide, where a man must choose between his duty to his people and his heart, and where no alliance proves as simple as it first appears.