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sam_hartwig's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, wow, wow! I loved this book soooo much! It's a mixture of lore, romance & intrigue - all the things i love! What i enjoyed most about this book is that each chapter would jump back and forth from AD 1340 and present time, so I was always dying to find out about the past and get some more information about what happened so I could piece everything together. I also enjoyed the many twists & turns in this (there are many!) and I was always left thinking "Whaaaaaaaaatt??" I never saw them coming or figured them out. I listened to this on audio book and I don't think I would've enjoyed it as much if I read it because their was alot of italian in it and Italian names which i think I may have not been able to pronounce and I may have gotten very confused. I did take me a while to finally get round to reading it but I'm so glad i did because it's wonderful.
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
Audio book performed by Cassandra Campbell.
Julie Jacobs and her twin sister, Janice, were orphaned as toddlers. They’ve been raised by their great Aunt Rose, with the help of her houseman, Umberto. When Rose dies suddenly, her will is a complete surprise that drives a deep wedge between the sisters. Janice gets the house and all the money. Julie gets the key to a safe deposit box and the name of the banker in Siena Italy that her mother trusted. She also gets a new identity … or shall we say her true identity.
Moving back and forth between the 1340 “true” story of star-crossed lovers in Sienna – Giulietta Tolomei and Romeo Marescotti – and the modern day Julie Jacobs’s efforts to find her mother’s legacy, this is a novel that tries to be a romantic epic and a suspense thriller. The result is that it doesn’t quite succeed on either count.
I was pretty caught up in the 1340 story. Although some of the “coincidences” strained credulity, I was willing to go along because it’s a story handed down through generations. But the modern story just irritated me. There were far too many complications, with multiple double-crosses, and triple-crosses. People show up very conveniently and without good explanation. The modern love story was weak. But my biggest complaint is that Julie behaves so stupidly – over and over again.
On the plus side, Fortier did a very good job of putting the action in the city of Siena and the surrounding Tuscan countryside. The location is practically a character; it is so vividly drawn and so central to the story. She also does a decent job of keeping the plot moving and building suspense. Cassandra Campbell’s narration on the audio book was very good; her ability to voice the many characters made it easy to keep them straight, especially when dialogue was fast and furious between two or more characters.
Julie Jacobs and her twin sister, Janice, were orphaned as toddlers. They’ve been raised by their great Aunt Rose, with the help of her houseman, Umberto. When Rose dies suddenly, her will is a complete surprise that drives a deep wedge between the sisters. Janice gets the house and all the money. Julie gets the key to a safe deposit box and the name of the banker in Siena Italy that her mother trusted. She also gets a new identity … or shall we say her true identity.
Moving back and forth between the 1340 “true” story of star-crossed lovers in Sienna – Giulietta Tolomei and Romeo Marescotti – and the modern day Julie Jacobs’s efforts to find her mother’s legacy, this is a novel that tries to be a romantic epic and a suspense thriller. The result is that it doesn’t quite succeed on either count.
I was pretty caught up in the 1340 story. Although some of the “coincidences” strained credulity, I was willing to go along because it’s a story handed down through generations. But the modern story just irritated me. There were far too many complications, with multiple double-crosses, and triple-crosses. People show up very conveniently and without good explanation. The modern love story was weak. But my biggest complaint is that Julie behaves so stupidly – over and over again.
On the plus side, Fortier did a very good job of putting the action in the city of Siena and the surrounding Tuscan countryside. The location is practically a character; it is so vividly drawn and so central to the story. She also does a decent job of keeping the plot moving and building suspense. Cassandra Campbell’s narration on the audio book was very good; her ability to voice the many characters made it easy to keep them straight, especially when dialogue was fast and furious between two or more characters.
tmathews0330's review against another edition
3.0
There were times I didn't want to put this book down and others when I could not keep my eyes open to keep going. The story was interesting with maybe one too many twists on what was really going on, but there were moments when the pacing would get thrown off. Overall, an excellent idea for a book.
legallyde's review against another edition
5.0
Reading this book felt like what I imagine visiting Siena would be like. The way was long and winding, and you never knew exactly what to expect around the next corner. There was art to consider, history to explore, and romance of course! At the end, you’re wrung out and tired, but you feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction of all you learned.
penguins_save_lives's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
valaurens's review against another edition
4.0
Es el libro que leo cuando siento que necesito un poco de drama pero, al mismo tiempo, algo fácil de leer. Es una historia simple, que, alternando entre distintos tiempos y personajes, te trae una sonrisita a la cara.
moonmama's review against another edition
5.0
I did not think this book was going to be much more than fluff, and I was pleasantly surprised. genuinely engaging.
erkadahl's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book, more than I had originally expected I would. If you read The Thirteenth Tale or The Forgotten Garden and liked them, you will enjoy this book! I am not sure what genre these books belong in, but the combination of historical fiction, romance, international settings, and mystery weave a story that I want to keep reading! I highly recommend this book.