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kelsiegentry11's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
annie_l_h's review
3.0
I had a very hard time getting into this book initially; the beginning part of the novel was especially hard to read in terms of plot pacing and prose. However, once you get past that part I think the book really takes off. Maddalena’s descent into darkness and evil was fun to read, and I think Fine did a a great job with her character development. Unfortunately, a lot of the plot points were predictable, so the book lost a bit of its shock factor because of that. I would say this was a solidly good book, however the wordiness of the majority of the lines felt a bit unnecessary.
rainbowbookworm's review
3.0
What an ending! I thought I was going to read a Sapphic love story, but instead I read a story about greed, about ambition, about the lengths these women were willing to go to in order to get what their heart desired...sort of.
I'm honestly not sure whether or not I liked it.
I'm honestly not sure whether or not I liked it.
sleepy_possum's review
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
nic_readsbooks's review
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I wanted to push myself to read something that was a bit outside of my usual comfort zone - I’ve been reading a lot of romance and fantasy and I just needed to try something completely different. Unfortunately this time it didn’t quite work out for me.
This dark novel is set in 18th century Venice and tells the tale of Luisa and Maddalena, two girls who are set on challenging the life that has been planned for them. It is my first time reading from this author and I have heard great things about her other books.
This book is written in an almost fairytale way - a dark one. The fairytale qualities bring a whimsical touch to the plot which is otherwise dark and intense and I appreciated this.
The book took me a while to get into but it pick up in the second half.
I think fans of dark academia would probably enjoy this book - the school setting is good and is a bit different to other dark academia books I have read - this is a school for foundlings, the talented are taught to become prestigious musicians while everyone else is trained in a more domestic role.
I didn’t love the relationship between Maddalena and Luisa - Maddalena is very dominant in the relationship and at times I really didn’t like her and felt like Luisa was given little space to be her own person. Some of the choices made by the characters were very questionable and made me quite dislike them. We get to read alternative points of view throughout the book which is interesting but at times made it quite repetitive.
I found this to be a bit of slow burner, I liked it but didn’t love it - 3⭐️ from me
nukie19's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
annamickreads's review
3.0
2.5 rounded up
"Maddalena and the Dark" is a historical fiction novel set in 1700s Venice and follows two girls: Maddalena, who is wealthy but sent to the Ospedale della Pieta, a place where wayward orphans or unwanted children are taken in and turned into musical prodigies. There, she meets Luisa, a passionate violinist with whom she develops a dysfunctional relationship.
To enjoy this book, you have to be someone who is more interested than the prose than the plot — as I am typically one of those people, I was at first enchanted with the atmosphere of Venice, only to quickly become tired of atmosphere because nothing was happening with the plot. The book is a split POV between Maddalena and Luisa, but it's difficult to differentiate between them because it's written in third person present tense. Not to mention, although the story follows the girls between the ages of 15 and 25, there's no sense of growth like you would expect.
Admittedly, I went into this book and its premise with optimism that it would be reminiscent of "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue," making a deal with the water as the Venice canals had been built up early on to hold a connection between the sea and the city. It was my own misconception that let me down here, but I think especially because of the name-dropping of historical figures like Vivaldi, there was a missed opportunity here for sure.
"Maddalena and the Dark" is a historical fiction novel set in 1700s Venice and follows two girls: Maddalena, who is wealthy but sent to the Ospedale della Pieta, a place where wayward orphans or unwanted children are taken in and turned into musical prodigies. There, she meets Luisa, a passionate violinist with whom she develops a dysfunctional relationship.
To enjoy this book, you have to be someone who is more interested than the prose than the plot — as I am typically one of those people, I was at first enchanted with the atmosphere of Venice, only to quickly become tired of atmosphere because nothing was happening with the plot. The book is a split POV between Maddalena and Luisa, but it's difficult to differentiate between them because it's written in third person present tense. Not to mention, although the story follows the girls between the ages of 15 and 25, there's no sense of growth like you would expect.
Admittedly, I went into this book and its premise with optimism that it would be reminiscent of "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue," making a deal with the water as the Venice canals had been built up early on to hold a connection between the sea and the city. It was my own misconception that let me down here, but I think especially because of the name-dropping of historical figures like Vivaldi, there was a missed opportunity here for sure.
bethcanread's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0