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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
So I love reading and learning about the Borgia family, and I was especially excited to read more about Lucrezia. Unfortunately I was a little disappointed in the quality of this book. I enjoyed Gortner's other novels for the most part but I wanted more for this one. I just felt that there was a bit lack of intrigue and scandal for a book about this family - it was relatively tame and boring. It also seemed to contrast with what I have read in other books/ novels and even some historical accounts, but that could be just my opinion. What really got to me was how much of a saint Lucrezia was painted as - not saying she wasn't in real life but we don't really know for sure if she engaged in the same acts as the rest of her family or tried to avoid it. I think it would have been worth mentioning throughout the book her struggle with not giving or even committing one poisoning, like her legend paints her as doing, but I just got the sense that she was a naive, little girl who didn't know what to do when in fact Lucrezia was known to be quite clever at times. The one point that did kind of upset me was
Spoiler
how they had her first son be a product of rape and incest by Juan, when I am pretty sure that was not even a credible rumour in the history books.
This was a wonderful story with rich detail and all of the intrigue and drama of renaissance Italy. The tragedy of Lucretia’s life is felt deeply as this young girl then young woman navigates an ocean that is largely out of her control.
I ran out of time and had to return it to the library. I didn't like it enough to bother renewing it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault
This was one of the most difficult emotional journeys I have read. For a girl like Lucrezia to know that those closest to her are the very ones she could not trust. That they used her to their own gain, and left her to reap the consequences. That they thought her an object, a pawn that must be reduced to obedience. But if she had, then this legend will have never been born.
And to be used again and again, by her own brother when it suited them and cast aside when it was suitable. Lucrezia had seen all and borne all, even before she was twenty. And her later life which was peaceful and finally gained her the freedom to leave her family.
I enjoyed how it blended so many details. It treaded lines so thin, but making it clear that Lucrezia had no part in it as well as one who did her best with her options. Her entire family is made of vipers, enemies who use her when they see it fit and because she is a woman she can always be offered a hand in marriage a second and third time.
But still, the ending promises hope for Lucrezia and her final ending. As a woman who managed to escape her family’s shadow and live her life out in peace. Even if she was far from faithful with her husband, but she managed to gain the peace that none of her other family ever will.
Like many others of this author, this is a story of a woman having to seek her way in a man’s world. To fight for something that when others found out, it will be considered sinful. She will have been condemned, at so very fronts. But despite all, it was her own wisdom that saved her. Her ability to convince the right person at the right time.
It is a story of survival, as every woman had to do so without ever being knowb as such. A woman’s only choice in this time was to obey wherever order her family gave her.
And the various characters, from Sancia who had been rather open with her own desires. To her mother, who say have detested her and yet chose to give her the one piece of advice that will have done her good. If she had heeded it.
Finally, this is an account of her. A story that is told and ends before her final choice and chapter. But it is one which spells of the constant machinations, the emotions of Lucrezia and what she thinks. She has always been a person, which everything the author written has always been so. This latest installment brings her to life, and in a way that I just can’t put it down.
And to be used again and again, by her own brother when it suited them and cast aside when it was suitable. Lucrezia had seen all and borne all, even before she was twenty. And her later life which was peaceful and finally gained her the freedom to leave her family.
I enjoyed how it blended so many details. It treaded lines so thin, but making it clear that Lucrezia had no part in it as well as one who did her best with her options. Her entire family is made of vipers, enemies who use her when they see it fit and because she is a woman she can always be offered a hand in marriage a second and third time.
But still, the ending promises hope for Lucrezia and her final ending. As a woman who managed to escape her family’s shadow and live her life out in peace. Even if she was far from faithful with her husband, but she managed to gain the peace that none of her other family ever will.
Like many others of this author, this is a story of a woman having to seek her way in a man’s world. To fight for something that when others found out, it will be considered sinful. She will have been condemned, at so very fronts. But despite all, it was her own wisdom that saved her. Her ability to convince the right person at the right time.
It is a story of survival, as every woman had to do so without ever being knowb as such. A woman’s only choice in this time was to obey wherever order her family gave her.
And the various characters, from Sancia who had been rather open with her own desires. To her mother, who say have detested her and yet chose to give her the one piece of advice that will have done her good. If she had heeded it.
Finally, this is an account of her. A story that is told and ends before her final choice and chapter. But it is one which spells of the constant machinations, the emotions of Lucrezia and what she thinks. She has always been a person, which everything the author written has always been so. This latest installment brings her to life, and in a way that I just can’t put it down.
dark
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I’ve always loved a good historical fiction novel. This novel did not disappoint. The author weaved a masterful story that blended fact with fiction. Lucrezia was a compelling and complex character. Unfortunately, she was a casualty of her time. I connected with her and loved the way she told her story. The plot twists and they intrigue her story brought about were page turning. Her heart ache and pain were heart wrenching to read. She was used and abused by the ones she thought loved and cared for him. I can’t imagine how hard those realizations had to have been for her. The ending felt a bit abrupt, but it fit her character and story well.
There are so many different fictionalized versions of Lucrezia's life, and this definitely falls into the "her family were totally assholes" category. But it was very compelling, well researched, and the audiobook narrator is fantastic.
Ich habe mich schon seit längerem für die Borgias interessiert und deshalb zu diesem Buch gegriffen und wurde nicht enttäuscht. Es ist sehr anschaulich geschrieben und teilweise dachte ich mir, dass es doch eigentlich langweilig sein müsste, weil eine Szene sehr ausführlich beschrieben wurde, aber die Spannung wurde immer aufrecht erhalten, was eine Leistung für sich ist. Der Autor geht auch gut mit dem Mythos um, der sich um diese Familie dreht, in dem er im Nachwort einiges genauer erklärt und man somit auch nicht komplett alleine gelassen wird, sich die historische Realität herauszufiltern. Eindeutig lesenswert!