Reviews - The Stone Witch of Florence

543 reviews for:

The Stone Witch of Florence

Anna Rasche

3.68 AVERAGE

sarihartman's review against another edition

4.25

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

audreyedmondo's review against another edition

4.75

emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

kdbou_3's review against another edition

2.0

DNF

catie356's review against another edition

3.0

emotional reflective

meashleyfr's review against another edition

4.25

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

brann_mac_finnchad's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

So. That was not at all what I expected. I've procrastinated on reading this for some time, and almost didn't, es I was expecting a fairly typical Medieval novel with bits of mystery and a hint of fantasy. Something more political, and while I do enjoy those on occasion, I haven't felt like I had the attention span for it lately.

I was wrong. This novel, set primarily in 1348 Florence is a lovely masterpiece of satire and has unexpected notes of wittiness which had me laughing out loud. Even better is that some of the humour is period appropriate.

The MC is a witch working with stones/crystals--a premise enhanced by the author being a lapidarist with an interest in the medieval theories regarding the usage of stones. All she really wants is validation as a member of the Physician's guild...what she gets, of course, is accused of witchcraft and exiled. Eventually being drafted to find out who is stealing the various body parts of Saints.

I did see the reason for the thefts coming, but not the thief's motivations. The characters were lively, the author made me feel for them, and the ending was quite satisfying and not what I expected.

According to the author, several of the characters were real people.

Pair with a light Italian red wine, and period appropriate music.... possibly liturgical.

Almost 5 stars--I have to take a bit off due to jumping around between the main period and her past, although the title heads do include dates. Highly recommend.

[Cover of The Stone Witch of Florence by Anna Rasche, fonts in white and gold. The cover is black, with gold floral patterns and a central ring with an amethyst.]