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colls's review against another edition
3.0
This book has one of my favorite themes - a combined story line containing two women, one historical and one contemporary. A dab of mystery, a dab of drama and a dab of romance. Some passages were little too flowery at some points, but overall a good historical fiction.
maecave15's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. The intrigue and political deceit of 17th century Venice mixed with a modern day woman's search for the truth of a courtesan of Venice is fun and enjoyable. Claire and Gwen make a cute and lovable pair, once they get past their initial differences, although their adventures in Venice weren't quite as fun to read as the ones from the past.
lizokeefe's review against another edition
3.0
The historical scenes are the best part. Claire is an interesting heroine, but a little too much of the “I’m nothing special, why do these hot guys pay attention to me” variety. Gwen grew on me and there were just enough surprises to keep it interesting.
truyff's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great read that kept me entertained. At first the dual narration annoyed me, but then it started to grow on me and I was looking forward to reading what each character was doing. I am not sure I cared for the way a couple characters in the historical narration ended up. By the conclusion, I didn't feel like the modern day narrator tied up all the loose ends, and there were a few issues I wanted to know more about. I wished it was longer, and I am looking forward to whenever the sequel comes out.
innashtakser's review
4.0
Overall, rather disappointing. The book is a combination of two stories - one of an early 17th century Venetian courtesan and the other of a contemporary US PhD student doing research on Spanish attempt to take control of Venice in which the courtesan took an important part. The main question is what was her part in the events exactly. The story on the early 17th century is nice. The contemporary story, though, does not work too well.
kashephe's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like it, I did, but I found Claire's storyline so boring and Claire herself so bland.
rubel's review
4.0
Wonderful fun, snappily written -- this is part historical novel and modern day, with a complicated plot playing out in the past while in the contemporary chapters, a history student tries to figure out what happened (for her dissertation). It's all set in a sparkly, enticing Venice with charm and intrigue and action and romance. The author is very good at playing off the two interleaved sections of her novel and at keeping the suspense going.
aprildb2's review against another edition
5.0
Reminded me of Davinci code but with a female protagonist. Really liked it.
jenturnspages's review against another edition
3.0
It took a very long time to get invested in this book, and I wish I could say it captivated me through to the end, but it it didn't. There's certainly a way to write a book that flashes back and forth between the past and the present. Unfortunately, this is where I struggled with this book. I'm all for keeping a reader guessing until the end, but I prefer to be far less confused and struggling to remember which characters are which along the way. It's disappointing when you flash back and forth and can't even remember where you left the other characters the last time you were with them. There was just too much going back and forth, and several times, not enough happened to rally warrant it. Several chapters felt frivolous.
That being said, I really did enjoy the settings the author described. She really took you to Venice, both in the past and present. I got lost a few times, but doesn't everybody who visits Venice? I enjoyed the characters for the most part, though they all went into the realm of the unbelievable at times. Overall, it was an interesting read that could have done with a bit of plot restructuring.
That being said, I really did enjoy the settings the author described. She really took you to Venice, both in the past and present. I got lost a few times, but doesn't everybody who visits Venice? I enjoyed the characters for the most part, though they all went into the realm of the unbelievable at times. Overall, it was an interesting read that could have done with a bit of plot restructuring.
melbsreads's review against another edition
3.0
A nice, quick read. It skips between seventeenth century Venice and the present smoothly. Although I found it a little hard to believe that Claire would go all the way to Venice to attend a conference and then only go to two presentations! But that's a random observation rather than a detrimental feature of the book.