The Count of Monte Cristo

In three words I deem this book: thrilling, adventurous, and clever.

I really enjoyed this book. Alexandre Dumas's quick and clever mind made this book a mystery and adventure from the first page to the last. While you may need a character list while reading this book, I highly recommend this read. However, contrary to the book's synopsis on the back cover (see below), I think this story is more of an adventure than a romance. But a really good read nonetheless. It just made it to my top 10 for sure.

Set against the turbulent years of the Napoleonic era, Alexandre Dumas's thrilling adventure story is one of the most widely read romantic novels of all time. In it the dashing young hero, Edmond Dantes, is betrayed by his enemies and thrown into a secret dungeon in the Chateau d'If--doomed to spend his life in a dark prison cell. The story of his long, intolerable years in captivity, his miraculous escape, and his carefully wrought revenge creates a dramatic tale of mystery and intrigue and paints a vision of France--a dazzling, dueling, exuberant France--that has become immortal. {from the back of the book}

5 out of 5 stars