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salot3's review
dark
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
misssusan's review
3.0
this read a little more like an engaging history book than a novel but i happen to like history books so that's alright. omnisicent viewpoint is tricky and i think dunant managed it pretty well. it did create something of a distancing effect though, i felt like she leaned more to arguing for particular characterizations (like a non-fiction book!) than giving them the kind of interiority a novel should manage. still going to pick up the sequel though
(also i think she must have read much of the same books as the writers for starz borgias show. this suspicion kept me highly entertained throughout the novel)
3.5 stars
(also i think she must have read much of the same books as the writers for starz borgias show. this suspicion kept me highly entertained throughout the novel)
3.5 stars
angryglitterwitch's review
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
katylang's review
4.0
Overall I found this book to be a page-turner with brilliantly developed characters. Lucrezia and Alexander in particular jumped off of the page. And the Borgia history is so fascinating that it would be almost impossible to write a book about them that wasn't engaging.
A few small exceptions. At times the endless parade of Italian names and who's on the side of who was hard to follow, and it turned out that even though I stopped being able to keep track of them all, the story still made plenty of sense. And I was a little thrown off by the beginning and the ending - the beginning because we never hear directly of Giovanni de' Medici again, and the end because it seemed abrupt. Dunant has an endnote about another Borgia book in the works, but it just feels jarring and a lot of the tension in Blood & Beauty is unresolved.
A few small exceptions. At times the endless parade of Italian names and who's on the side of who was hard to follow, and it turned out that even though I stopped being able to keep track of them all, the story still made plenty of sense. And I was a little thrown off by the beginning and the ending - the beginning because we never hear directly of Giovanni de' Medici again, and the end because it seemed abrupt. Dunant has an endnote about another Borgia book in the works, but it just feels jarring and a lot of the tension in Blood & Beauty is unresolved.
salve58's review against another edition
This book was good but I had already seen the Borgias series which was pretty much exactly the same. Got about 2/3 way through and wondered why I had perserved but then discovered that there is more to come! Since I thought the series was cut short I look forward to seeing what happens.
laurenlethbridge's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
kriff08's review
4.0
I love when I find a well researched historical fiction that gets me researching the subjects outside of the book. Dunant succeeded in doing this for me in Blood and Beauty. I felt immersed in the Italian Renaissance and have since googled the Borgia's and the time period. I love that a fun fictional read can get me learning so much about a new subject. Great read, I recommend to anyone looking to get into the politics of the Italian Renaissance.