So, I bought some books. My TBR shelf was looking a bit
sparse so I thought I'd treat myself to a few new reads, in particular,
the novels of Marina Fiorato. I read The Double Life of Mistress Kit Kavannah last
year and loved it, and since then I've been meaning to try out some more of her
work. I'm keen to get to all of these soon because they all sound like great
reads. I was also recently sent S.T.A.G.S by M. A. Bennett for review which I
later found out is a pseudonym of Marina Fiorato and what re-sparked my
interest in reading some more of her work. S.T.A.G.S is a brilliant YA thriller
and my review is up on The Bookbag if you want to know
more about it.
Anyway, on with the books:
THE BOTTICELLI SECRET (2010)
Hodder Books • 514
pages
An irrepressible young woman in
15th-century Italy must flee for her life after stumbling upon a deadly secret
when she serves as a model for Botticelli... When part-time model and
full-time prostitute Luciana Vetra is asked by one of her most exalted clients
to pose for a painter friend, she doesn't mind serving as the model for the
central figure of Flora in Sandro Botticelli's masterpiece
"Primavera." But when the artist dismisses her without payment,
Luciana impulsively steals an unfinished version of the painting--only to find
that someone is ready to kill her to get it back.
Fourteenth-century Italy was a rich and
sumptuous era and one I'm always keen to read more of in historical novels. Kate Quinn's The Borgia Chronicles sparked
my interest in this particular place in history and The Botticelli
Secret sounds like a lot of fun. A story about centred around art,
mystery, and possibly murder? Count me in. It's a chunker of a book but if the
premise is anything to live up to then I'll fly through it.
THE DAUGHTER OF SIENA (2011)
John Murray Publishers • 387 pages
Amid the intrigue and danger of
18th-century Italy, a young woman becomes embroiled in romance and treachery
with a rider in the Palio, the breath-taking horse race set in Siena.... It's
1729, and the Palio, a white-knuckle horse race, is soon to be held in the
heart of the peerless Tuscan city of Siena. But the beauty and pageantry masks
the deadly rivalry that exists among the city's districts. Each ward,
represented by an animal symbol, puts forth a rider to claim the winner's
banner, but the contest turns citizens into tribes and men into beasts--and
beautiful, headstrong, young Pia Tolomei is in love with a rider of an opposing
ward, an outsider who threatens the shaky balance of intrigue and influence
that rules the land.
The eighteenth-century is another
historical era I'm keen to read more of, although to be honest, any historical
novel set pre-1800 instantly grabs my attention. This one
definitely sounds like more a romance which I don't usually go for, but
the plot sounds different to any other historical novel I've read (a story
centred around a horse race?). I think I'll save this one for when I'm feeling
a bit soft at heart and in the mood for some love.
THE VENETIAN CONTRACT (2012)
John Murray Publishers • 407 pages
1576. Five years after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire at
the Battle of Lepanto, a ship steals unnoticed into Venice bearing a deadly
cargo. A man more dead than alive disembarks and staggers into Piazza San
Marco. He brings a gift to Venice from Constantinople. Within days the city is
infected with bubonic plague—and the Turkish Sultan has his revenge. But the
ship also holds a secret stowaway—Feyra, a young and beautiful harem doctor
fleeing a future as the Sultan's concubine. Only her wits and medical knowledge
keep her alive as the plague ravages Venice.
Out of all three of the books in the haul, I think this is
the one I have my eye on most at the moment. A story woven in to
sixteenth-century Venice full of adventure, mystery, and a woman ahead of her
time are all the things I look for in a historical novel. This has the
potential to be amazing and I only hope it lives up to my expectations! The
Venetian Contract is a high contender for being my next historical
read.
***
I don’t think three books is bad for a book haul. I’ve been
tempted to buy a few more over the last month but I’ve held back and not let my
TBR shelf become too crowded. Let’s see how I hold out throughout September…
Until next time, happy reading!
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