Review by sarrie - The Stone Witch of Florence

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sarrie 's review for:

The Stone Witch of Florence by Anna Rasche

5.0

funny hopeful inspiring mysterious relaxing fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

TL;DR: What a sleeper hit - This deserves so much more hype!
Source: NetGalley! Thank you so, so much!

Plot: Ginevra returns to the city that banished her to try and stop the Black Plague but instead ends up hunting a theif.
Characters: We switched PoV’s a few times and consequently I loved so many of these characters. Anna Rasche did a great job connecting us to the character.
Setting: I loved Florence in this. I’ve never been an Italy girl but this had me sold.
Fantasy: It’s just a drop, Ginevra’s ability to use the magic of the stones, but it’s well woven in.

Thoughts:

I’ve been in a slump, well and truly for the first time in years. But this book - WOW. This book knocked my socks off. My husband had to force me to put it down for bed, I was so invested I wanted ‘just 15 more minutes!’. It got me good.

Ginevra returns to Florence after receiving a letter from an old lover. He wants her help to stop the plague, and in return she may gain admittance to the Doctor’s guild and her exile from years before rescinded. Of course there is far more to this request than she thought and she ends up hunting a thief that’s stealing the holy relics from the churches. Along the way she meets the few people left in the city, she discovers new uses for her magic, and she faces her past.

Ginevra is a complicated, very real feeling woman. She’s got backbone and she’s smart, but she’s also a bit bullheaded and naive. Just enough that you’re left wondering if she’s going to get herself into more trouble or if it’s going to work out at all. We get some secondary characters as well, a noblewoman she saves who becomes her partner and a gravedigger I loved with everything in me.

The characters and setting are both strong, Florence felt grounded (which I’ve never been so take that with a grain of salt) and I ate it up. There were a few moments in here that had me laughing out loud, while others had me glued to the page. I loved it a lot, what can I say?

6 out 5 Bloodstones - this is going on my favorites of the year list.

Content Warnings