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A review by yvonneiswriting
Da Vinci's Tiger by L.M. Elliott
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.