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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
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!
Following my enjoyment of Médicis Daughter and still waiting for the next in Laura Andersen’s Tudor Legacy series to become available, I’d been looking for something else in the fifteenth or sixteenth century royal court, intrigue and drama niche. When I saw that there was an upcoming novelization of the life of Lucrezia Borgia—C. W. Gortner’s The Vatican Princess—I figured that would fit the bill. While it certainly was full of political and personal maneuvering and drama, I realized that it wasn’t quite what I was looking for but not for the reasons I’d expected.
Told from Lucrezia’s first person perspective, The Vatican Princess begins with the conclave during which her father, Rodrigo Borgia, is elected as Pope and becomes Alexander VI. She is only getting ready to turn thirteen at the time of her father’s ascension to the papacy and while she doesn’t get along too well with her mother or her brother, Juan, she is quite close to her oldest brother, Cesare who is vocal about his resentment for the being pushed by their father to join the church. The rivalry between Cesare and Juan is established early and Lucrezia finds herself at the center of it inadvertently, paying a high price for being female in a man’s world. A political pawn expected to marry where and when her father bids, Lucrezia learns just how far her family is willing to go to protect itself and how much being a Borgia means to her.
For the complete review, please visit my blog:
http://wp.me/pUEx4-JT
Told from Lucrezia’s first person perspective, The Vatican Princess begins with the conclave during which her father, Rodrigo Borgia, is elected as Pope and becomes Alexander VI. She is only getting ready to turn thirteen at the time of her father’s ascension to the papacy and while she doesn’t get along too well with her mother or her brother, Juan, she is quite close to her oldest brother, Cesare who is vocal about his resentment for the being pushed by their father to join the church. The rivalry between Cesare and Juan is established early and Lucrezia finds herself at the center of it inadvertently, paying a high price for being female in a man’s world. A political pawn expected to marry where and when her father bids, Lucrezia learns just how far her family is willing to go to protect itself and how much being a Borgia means to her.
For the complete review, please visit my blog:
http://wp.me/pUEx4-JT
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a very beautifully written book but it was very tough to get through. Not because of the writing but the subject material if you know anything about the Borgia family it better be the incest accusations. I like that the author made it horrid and had Lucrezia think of it like that as well. There was no justification for it through the ~forbidden love~ trope that The Borgias tv show tried to do. I had to take frequent breaks.
Lucrezia never goes through a large change, to the end she was just a girl. Which I think was the point of the book. She was just a girl who was used by her family for gain and was hurt along the way. But you have to take it all with a grain of salt because as the author notes it's fiction. All information that we have about the Borgias is dramatized in some way and this is another example of it.
Lucrezia never goes through a large change, to the end she was just a girl. Which I think was the point of the book. She was just a girl who was used by her family for gain and was hurt along the way. But you have to take it all with a grain of salt because as the author notes it's fiction. All information that we have about the Borgias is dramatized in some way and this is another example of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Infidelity, Grief, Pregnancy
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, War
This novel tells the story of Lucrezia in a beautiful way: it is gentle and understanding with her, it places her firmly in her time period and, if there is any judging of her at all, it does so within that time period, which is so refreshing. I feel like a major flaw of many historical books is to make their characters act and think in modern ways, or to judge them from our point of view, when neither is realistic nor fair. Thankfully, this story does none of that.
Another thing I loved about this book was its readability. The prose was exquisite, and the feelings expressed by the characters are truly moving. I felt like I got to know them as people, which made me care so much more about their fates. I was specially moved by Cesare, who was at once enigmatic, irresistibly attractive, dangerous and forbidden.
The descriptions of Renaissance Italy are gorgeous and accurate, and as someone who has been to Rome and the Vatican, I could picture myself there perfectly. Also, it's a real page turner, full of suspense and quick-paced plot twists that left me reading way past my (self-imposed) bed time. Lucrezia had nothing if not a heartbreakingly eventful life, and I was swept away by the story. Reader beware: have tissues ready!
In summary, this book really took me there. I was in Renaissance Italy, sweeping along with Lucrezia on her arduous journey, feeling her heartbreak and stealing her joyous moments right along with her. Bravo C.W. Gortner for bringing Lucrezia and her world to life!
Another thing I loved about this book was its readability. The prose was exquisite, and the feelings expressed by the characters are truly moving. I felt like I got to know them as people, which made me care so much more about their fates. I was specially moved by Cesare, who was at once enigmatic, irresistibly attractive, dangerous and forbidden.
The descriptions of Renaissance Italy are gorgeous and accurate, and as someone who has been to Rome and the Vatican, I could picture myself there perfectly. Also, it's a real page turner, full of suspense and quick-paced plot twists that left me reading way past my (self-imposed) bed time. Lucrezia had nothing if not a heartbreakingly eventful life, and I was swept away by the story. Reader beware: have tissues ready!
In summary, this book really took me there. I was in Renaissance Italy, sweeping along with Lucrezia on her arduous journey, feeling her heartbreak and stealing her joyous moments right along with her. Bravo C.W. Gortner for bringing Lucrezia and her world to life!