The Count of Monte Cristo is a riveting tale of revenge, romance, and adventure all set on the stage of 19th-century France. Our hero, Edmond Dantes, ascends to greatness, happiness, and fortune, only to have it all snatched away as quickly as it came. He is implicated as a Bonapartist on the eve of his betrothal to the beautiful Mercedes and is sent to rot in the treachorous Chateau d'If. Many years later, he returns as the illustrious Count of Monte Cristo, seeking revenge on those who betrayed him.

I must admit, I wasn't too eager to read this at first. It was a reading assignment for school, and we were given six weeks to read it. Being the procrastinator that I am, I put off the assignment until the weekend before the test on it. I opened to the first page of the book covinced that I wouldn't finish in time - and I was only reading the abridged version, mind you. When I started reading, I couldn't put it down. Alexandre Dumas was a master writer who could tell long riveting tales that could still manage to hold the readers attention. I dove further and further in, not caring how long the book was anymore, but just wanting to get to the next revelation. Before I knew it, I was done (with a day to spare!). If you like adventure, cunning, and romance, this is the book for you. Heck, you'll like this book if you're into  the whole billionaire, philanthropist, heroic, vengeful  playboy character...... *cough* Bruce Wayne...................*another cough* Tony Stark. Anyway, the Count of Monte Cristo is an excellent read; even if you are a slow or impatient reader, just take it 25- 50 pages at a time. I promise that reading this book is time well spent. And if you are interested in other works by Alexandre Dumas, feel free to look into The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After.