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megan_malone's review
5.0
I had a chance to read the ARC, and this is an extraordinary book. The historical setting of Renaissance Florence is painted in lush, incredibly researched detail. The heroine, Ginevra de Benci, is smart, articulate, and totally kick-butt: a compelling character for YA and adult readers alike! Fans of Art History will also appreciate the depictions and characterizations of Leonardo Da Vinci and his artistic peers. Lots of plot twists that kept me engaged the whole way through. In many ways, this book celebrates the power of women, the power of poetry, and the power of art. An absolute must-read!
bookish_owlet's review against another edition
4.0
It's not a bad book, it just took a little bit to get into the story. It seems well researched on events of the time.
I received this book in a monthly subscription box and I will say that I'm glad I read it.
I received this book in a monthly subscription box and I will say that I'm glad I read it.
peachykeenreviews's review
1.0
I was quite disappointed in this book. I loved the concept of it, because I enjoy novels that give life to figures in famous paintings, but this story was dumbed down and I felt that the author was looking down on her readers. The way this novel was written made me feel that L.M. Elliott didn't want to write the story to its full potential, because she didn't have faith that her readers would understand the story if she did. I don't like when young adult novels look down on their readers, because young adults are more than capable of grasping and understanding many different stories and writing styles. If a young adult novel can't be enjoyed by adults alike, I consider it a failure, and that is what my view of this novel has come to.
beckyg1016's review
4.0
A fabulous fact-based Historical Fiction, including a bibliography, that is well-written and a joy to read. A great portrayal of what it means to be a strong, independent-minded woman, without having to make a heavy-handed overt "feminist statement."
teenage_reads's review
4.0
Italy is one of the most culture enriched places left in the world today. It has seen the start of the human race, and has been the hot spot for many historical events. Even if it is not the capital Florence is a main city in Italy, where creativity and art is born. Ginevra de’ Benci is a young woman and expiring poet in Florence, yet sucked into the duties of her arrange marriage and is stuck playing housewife when she could be creating her art. Ginevra is trapped in a life she didn’t want, and it isn’t till she finds out what true love is, she can set free.
Ginevra de’Benci is married to Luigi Niccolin at age 16 arranged by her uncle. During her time (15th century) it was the duty of the father to marry off their daughters. Because Ginevra father died in 1468, it was her uncle, Bartolmeo, job to marry her off. He did not approve of her poetry, and even more disapproving of Le Murate’s convert school she went to. It was why he picks Luigi, an old childhood friend of his, and married them five months after Luigi’s first wife died. Yet it was not a happy marriage. More of a business deal than love, they didn’t even sleep together, and when asked about a child Ginevra would blush and said that they were not planning one currently. Yet the beginning of the year 1475, Ginevra meets Bembo, whose interests for her goes beyond just poetry.
Bembo was an ambassador who fell in love with Ginevra and her poetry. From her beautiful face, the way she held herself, Bembo knew he wanted her. As a way to show his affection he paid for a portrait of her as well as a statue to be made at her by Florence best: Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci. Yet it was during those portrait sections where Ginevra starting falling for Leonardo. Sure he was an outcast, but the way he questioned the world around them, and treated Ginevra like an equal and not just a girl. Even though she’s married, has Bembo after her, Ginevra opens her heart and lets Leonardo in, not matter what the public say about him. “So sing Ginevra, Make them listen” was what Mother Scolastican from Le Murate told her, and so she shall as Ginevra might be the smartest of them all.
L.M. Elliott did a great job with this story. She took the painting and facts behind da Vinci’s painting, Ginevra de’ Benci, and gave it a romantic twist that any young adult reader would love. He made her not only beautiful but haunting in the picture with the words IRTVTEM FORMA DECORAT (which means beauty adorns virtue) painted for her. The setting of the story was described in detail, giving you an experience of what living in Italy in the 15th century, especially being a woman, was like. The research was done to the point, as nothing in this story stood out to be untrue. The hardest part was getting behind the names as there were lots of characters, and not confusing one with the other (like Ginevra brother Giovnni and Giuliano Medicirider). The story was fast pace as Ginevra battle her heart and brain from the duties she promised to Luigi when she married him, Bembo and his affection, and Leonardo who shared her passion for discovering the world.
“I beg your pardon. I am a mountain tiger.”
Ginevra de’Benci is married to Luigi Niccolin at age 16 arranged by her uncle. During her time (15th century) it was the duty of the father to marry off their daughters. Because Ginevra father died in 1468, it was her uncle, Bartolmeo, job to marry her off. He did not approve of her poetry, and even more disapproving of Le Murate’s convert school she went to. It was why he picks Luigi, an old childhood friend of his, and married them five months after Luigi’s first wife died. Yet it was not a happy marriage. More of a business deal than love, they didn’t even sleep together, and when asked about a child Ginevra would blush and said that they were not planning one currently. Yet the beginning of the year 1475, Ginevra meets Bembo, whose interests for her goes beyond just poetry.
Bembo was an ambassador who fell in love with Ginevra and her poetry. From her beautiful face, the way she held herself, Bembo knew he wanted her. As a way to show his affection he paid for a portrait of her as well as a statue to be made at her by Florence best: Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci. Yet it was during those portrait sections where Ginevra starting falling for Leonardo. Sure he was an outcast, but the way he questioned the world around them, and treated Ginevra like an equal and not just a girl. Even though she’s married, has Bembo after her, Ginevra opens her heart and lets Leonardo in, not matter what the public say about him. “So sing Ginevra, Make them listen” was what Mother Scolastican from Le Murate told her, and so she shall as Ginevra might be the smartest of them all.
L.M. Elliott did a great job with this story. She took the painting and facts behind da Vinci’s painting, Ginevra de’ Benci, and gave it a romantic twist that any young adult reader would love. He made her not only beautiful but haunting in the picture with the words IRTVTEM FORMA DECORAT (which means beauty adorns virtue) painted for her. The setting of the story was described in detail, giving you an experience of what living in Italy in the 15th century, especially being a woman, was like. The research was done to the point, as nothing in this story stood out to be untrue. The hardest part was getting behind the names as there were lots of characters, and not confusing one with the other (like Ginevra brother Giovnni and Giuliano Medicirider). The story was fast pace as Ginevra battle her heart and brain from the duties she promised to Luigi when she married him, Bembo and his affection, and Leonardo who shared her passion for discovering the world.
“I beg your pardon. I am a mountain tiger.”
agameofbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Da Vinci's Tiger is a story of platonic loves and muses in 15th century Florence. Seventeen-year-old Ginevra de Benci meets a young Leonardo da Vinci who is commissioned to paint her portrait for her platonic love, Bernardo Bembo. Through painting and making groundbreaking portrait decisions for that time the artist and his subject grow very close while the Florentine intrigues determine the background for this story.
I enjoyed reading about the 15th century Italian setting, however, the plot itself was quite tedious. Nothing truly happened throughout the book in my opinion. The emphasis was too much on Ginevra's thoughts - which were always about how to function as an intellectual woman in a world where women's lives were determined by men. The few events that did take place were not explained in enough detail or lenghth to make them able to carry the story. Not the best historical fiction I've ever read.
I enjoyed reading about the 15th century Italian setting, however, the plot itself was quite tedious. Nothing truly happened throughout the book in my opinion. The emphasis was too much on Ginevra's thoughts - which were always about how to function as an intellectual woman in a world where women's lives were determined by men. The few events that did take place were not explained in enough detail or lenghth to make them able to carry the story. Not the best historical fiction I've ever read.
yvonneiswriting's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book in OwlCrate's December 2015 box.
I don't typically read much historical fiction. In fact, I usually have trouble getting past the first few chapters. A lot of the time, the writing is too dry for me, and I feel like the author is trying way too hard to sound like the book belongs in the correct time period that they do not succeed in taking me there. Da Vinci's Tiger, however, was riveting. I love anything that has anything to do with art and painting, so I dove into this book the moment I opened the box! I was not turned off by the writing style. In fact, the way it started was straight with a scene, not describing everything that might possibly have to do with the time period, so I was interested from the get go. I was disappointed that Leonardo Da Vinci was not a major plot-driving character, but it is historical fiction, and it is true to what is known of this story. Also, it technically isn't his story anyways. I did adore how the protagonist watched him with such an eye and how she fell so in love with watching him work that we got to experience the details some authors might ignore. If I didn't know what the techniques were called, I would have been lost, but my artist heart swelled at the descriptions because I knew what they meant.
Ginevra was not my favorite protagonist, but if she was anything like the author portrays her in this novel, I could see how so many were inspired by her. Da Vinci, Verocchio, Landino, and Bembo were all so taken with her. She is quite naive at times, but everybody is naive sometimes, so I forgive. I do like the depth of the characters. They felt real (well, probably because they were... But the author has no way of knowing that 100% so it's still an accomplishment.) Simonetta drew me in most, having been described with such beauty that all of the town was taken by her, and yet she was still humble and kind. Bernardo threw me off most of the novel, so much so I could not tell if I adored or despised him.
My favorite part of this novel, though, it the last ten pages, which the author titled "Afterword," where she goes into detail about everything she found while researching and gives us all the information we need to understand why she wrote her novel this way. I'm incredibly thankful that L.M. Elliot was true to the characters' sexual orientations. I don't know how I would have gotten through it if she had written Da Vinci as straight.(I’m pretty sure this isn’t a spoiler… Since it’s history.)
I'm happy that this is the first book I've read in 2016. If you like historical fiction and/or love the arts,i but would recommend this.
I don't typically read much historical fiction. In fact, I usually have trouble getting past the first few chapters. A lot of the time, the writing is too dry for me, and I feel like the author is trying way too hard to sound like the book belongs in the correct time period that they do not succeed in taking me there. Da Vinci's Tiger, however, was riveting. I love anything that has anything to do with art and painting, so I dove into this book the moment I opened the box! I was not turned off by the writing style. In fact, the way it started was straight with a scene, not describing everything that might possibly have to do with the time period, so I was interested from the get go. I was disappointed that Leonardo Da Vinci was not a major plot-driving character, but it is historical fiction, and it is true to what is known of this story. Also, it technically isn't his story anyways. I did adore how the protagonist watched him with such an eye and how she fell so in love with watching him work that we got to experience the details some authors might ignore. If I didn't know what the techniques were called, I would have been lost, but my artist heart swelled at the descriptions because I knew what they meant.
Ginevra was not my favorite protagonist, but if she was anything like the author portrays her in this novel, I could see how so many were inspired by her. Da Vinci, Verocchio, Landino, and Bembo were all so taken with her. She is quite naive at times, but everybody is naive sometimes, so I forgive. I do like the depth of the characters. They felt real (well, probably because they were... But the author has no way of knowing that 100% so it's still an accomplishment.) Simonetta drew me in most, having been described with such beauty that all of the town was taken by her, and yet she was still humble and kind. Bernardo threw me off most of the novel, so much so I could not tell if I adored or despised him.
My favorite part of this novel, though, it the last ten pages, which the author titled "Afterword," where she goes into detail about everything she found while researching and gives us all the information we need to understand why she wrote her novel this way. I'm incredibly thankful that L.M. Elliot was true to the characters' sexual orientations. I don't know how I would have gotten through it if she had written Da Vinci as straight.(I’m pretty sure this isn’t a spoiler… Since it’s history.)
I'm happy that this is the first book I've read in 2016. If you like historical fiction and/or love the arts,i but would recommend this.
sometimesleelynnreads's review
4.0
"Most importantly, you make the choice of songs you sing within the case. With your mind and gifts, it can be an exquisite litany. Sing of us. Sing of yourself. Sing of what treasure lies inside women's hearts and minds if men but look beyond their preconceived notions. We think, we feel, we bleed when hurt. We have courage when tested. Someday men may laud rather than fear that. That is my hope.
So sing, Ginevra. Make them listen."
Italy. 1400s. Renaissance. This is a time where artists are trying to find their muse, and bring the beauty of their subject to life, whether it's through a painting or through a sculpture. This is the time of Donatello, Leonardo Da Vinci, and all the other greats that history has come to know about. It is in this setting, so far into the past, that history comes to life, in the eyes of one particular girl in Italian history. Her name is Ginevra de' Benci, and this is her story.
One of the things that stands out a lot about Ginevra is her lack of fear when it comes to speaking her mind. This is clearly shown during the first chapter, while she and her friend Simonetta are watching the jousting competition. She hears some men in the audience speaking ill of her brother, calling him names and basically saying that he is a fool for spending so much money on a particular horse. She has no problem standing up to them, using her wit to give those men a run for their money. They didn't even realize that they were insulting her brother until she spoke up. More examples of her assertive demeanor is prominent throughout the book, and it's what makes her so easy to root for.
As a woman living in Italy during the 1400s, we see how women are treated back then if they are considered beautiful enough to win the Platonic heart of a man in high power. Simonetta was the Platonic love of one of the Medici sons, and Ginevra became the Platonic love of Ambassador Bembo. We also see that the fact that Ginevra is a poet is rare in and of itself, since there are very few - if any at all - female poets during this time period. In fact, it is one of her poems that catches the eye of Ambassador Bembo to her in the first place, although it is revealed later on in the novel that that may not have been the case. Her poems are deep, reaching into the very depths of human soul, and because she is a woman, she is sometimes afraid to show her talent to those in power. It's with the help of her Mother Superior, Mother Scolastica, that helps her to "sing" of her talents, so that other women can be seen as more than just their beauty.
I may not be an expert in Italian Renaissance history, but I was really impressed with the attention to detail that went into this book. The author even sited all of her sources in the end of the book, as if this were a college historical essay rather than a Young Adult fictional story. It made the story seem that much more real, as if it were an autobiography I was reading rather than a work of art. That was part of the appeal to me, and I'm very glad that the author decided to write the book this way. Ginevra was a force to be reckoned with, and with the help of Leonardo Da Vinci, she became a legend that we can still see to this very day. She was a mountain tiger, and that's what she will be remembered as.
So sing, Ginevra. Make them listen."
Italy. 1400s. Renaissance. This is a time where artists are trying to find their muse, and bring the beauty of their subject to life, whether it's through a painting or through a sculpture. This is the time of Donatello, Leonardo Da Vinci, and all the other greats that history has come to know about. It is in this setting, so far into the past, that history comes to life, in the eyes of one particular girl in Italian history. Her name is Ginevra de' Benci, and this is her story.
One of the things that stands out a lot about Ginevra is her lack of fear when it comes to speaking her mind. This is clearly shown during the first chapter, while she and her friend Simonetta are watching the jousting competition. She hears some men in the audience speaking ill of her brother, calling him names and basically saying that he is a fool for spending so much money on a particular horse. She has no problem standing up to them, using her wit to give those men a run for their money. They didn't even realize that they were insulting her brother until she spoke up. More examples of her assertive demeanor is prominent throughout the book, and it's what makes her so easy to root for.
As a woman living in Italy during the 1400s, we see how women are treated back then if they are considered beautiful enough to win the Platonic heart of a man in high power. Simonetta was the Platonic love of one of the Medici sons, and Ginevra became the Platonic love of Ambassador Bembo. We also see that the fact that Ginevra is a poet is rare in and of itself, since there are very few - if any at all - female poets during this time period. In fact, it is one of her poems that catches the eye of Ambassador Bembo to her in the first place, although it is revealed later on in the novel that that may not have been the case. Her poems are deep, reaching into the very depths of human soul, and because she is a woman, she is sometimes afraid to show her talent to those in power. It's with the help of her Mother Superior, Mother Scolastica, that helps her to "sing" of her talents, so that other women can be seen as more than just their beauty.
I may not be an expert in Italian Renaissance history, but I was really impressed with the attention to detail that went into this book. The author even sited all of her sources in the end of the book, as if this were a college historical essay rather than a Young Adult fictional story. It made the story seem that much more real, as if it were an autobiography I was reading rather than a work of art. That was part of the appeal to me, and I'm very glad that the author decided to write the book this way. Ginevra was a force to be reckoned with, and with the help of Leonardo Da Vinci, she became a legend that we can still see to this very day. She was a mountain tiger, and that's what she will be remembered as.
hobbes199's review against another edition
4.0
It may be my love of anything to do with Da Vinci, but I couldn't help but get deeply involved in this novel.
Amazing turn of phrase, and a great way with conversation that truly makes you feel like you're eavesdropping on the real life counterparts of the characters in the story.
Full review to follow
Amazing turn of phrase, and a great way with conversation that truly makes you feel like you're eavesdropping on the real life counterparts of the characters in the story.
Full review to follow