I finally had a chance to read the long-awaited novel by Laura Morelli. Oh wow, I loved this one! Check out my review and then enter the giveaway to win your own copy.

Would you rather sacrifice your livelihood, your lover, or your life? When the Black Death comes knocking on your door, you’d better decide quickly.

Venice, 1510. Maria Bartolini wants nothing more than to carry on her father’s legacy as a master gilder. Instead, her father has sent her away from the only home she’s ever known to train as an apprentice to Master Trevisan, a renowned painter.

When the painter’s servants uncover the real reason why Maria has been sent away, they threaten to reveal a secret that could tear down her family and the future of their trade. She is forced to buy the servants’ silence, but as their greed steadily grows, Maria resorts to more desperate measures. She questions whether her heart’s desire is worth risking her family, her trade, and her future, but Maria’s sacrifices may amount to nothing if the plague arrives on her father’s doorstep before she is able to get back home.

From the author of the award-winning The Gondola Maker comes a rich tale of Renaissance Venice, a heroine with a lust for life, and love against all odds.

Reviewed by Laura Fabiani

Laura Morelli's The Painter's Apprentice is a real treat for lovers of historical fiction and Renaissance art. It has drama, star-crossed lovers, and the beauty of art set in the midst of the terrible time in history when the black plague ravaged Europe. I was swept away to medieval Venice into the life of Maria Bartolini, the trained daughter of a gilding master, who is sent away to train as an apprentice to a painter. As the story unravels, we get to understand the real reason Maria was sent away. She is in love with what society deems the wrong person and has all odds against her that she will ever see him again.

The pages flew by as I became more and more immersed into Maria's life. She was caught in several difficult situations and the conflict built suspense in this dramatic unfolding of a young woman living at a time in history where little choice was given to women but to marry well and have children. I felt Maria's vulnerability keenly, but I also felt her inner strength and determination to seek and pursue what and who she loved in life.

It is evident that Morelli's art history background makes this novel rich with the descriptive details of Renaissance artwork, especially that of gilding with gold leaf and its processes in the production of beautiful artwork still present in many of the Churches today. I found this aspect of the novel fascinating as it was weaved into the tale of Maria's life.

The Italian expressions used in the novel were correct (I cannot tell you how many times I come across wrong Italian words or verb tenses in books set in Italy) and added authenticity to the setting. I loved this novel and consider it one of the best books I've read this year. From the book cover to the title and everything in between, The Painter's Apprentice is a fine piece of literature. If you love historical fiction and Renaissance Italy, you will want to add this book to your reading list. It's a gem.

Disclosure: I was given a complimentary copy. I was not told how to rate or review this novel. All opinions are my own.

Buy the Book:

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Meet the Author:

LAURA MORELLI holds a Ph.D. in art history from Yale University, has taught college students in the U.S. and in Italy, and currently produces art history lessons for TED-Ed. She authored a column for National Geographic Traveler called “The Genuine Article” and has contributed pieces about art and authentic travel to CNN Radio, The Frommers Travel Show, and in USA TODAY, Departures, and other media. Laura is the author of the Authentic Arts guidebook series that includes the popular book Made in Italy. Her fiction brings the stories of art history to life. Her debut novel, The Gondola Maker, won an IPPY for Best Historical Fiction and a Benjamin Franklin Award.

Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Pinterest ~ Instagram

Book Details:

Book Title: Venetian Blood: Murder in a Sensuous City
Author: Christine Evelyn Volker
Category: Adult Fiction, 328 pages
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: She Writes Press
Release date: August 2017
Tour dates: Sept 25 to Oct 6, 2017
Content Rating: PG-13 + M (There are a few instances of bad language and a scene with partial nakedness but little concrete description.)

Book Description:

Struggling to forget a crumbling marriage, forty-year-old Anna Lucia Lottol comes to Venice to visit an old friend—but instead of finding solace, she is dragged into a police station and accused of murdering a money laundering count with whom she had a brief affair. In the days that follow, Anna, a US Treasury officer with brains and athleticism, fights to clear her name in a seductive city of watery illusions. But as she tries to pry clues from a cast of uncooperative characters who implausibly deny what she sees and hears, she begins to question whether they are hiding something…or she is losing touch with reality. Racing to unlock secrets, she succeeds instead in unleashing a powerful foe bent on destroying her. Will she save herself and vanquish her enemies, including her darkest fears?

A captivating tapestry of murder, betrayal, and family, Venetian Blood is the story of one woman’s brave quest for the truth—before it’s too late.

To read reviews, please visit Christine Evelyn Volker's page on Italy Book Tours.









Christine Evelyn Volker became intrigued by foreign cultures at an early age, which propelled her to study Spanish, German, and Italian. After pursuing an MLS and an MBA, she was drawn to international banking and became a senior vice president at a global financial institution. Her career brought her to Italy, where she immersed herself in the language and made frequent visits to Venice. A native New Yorker, she resides with her husband in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, where she heads a local library non-profit organization and writes about environmental sustainability. She is currently at work on her second international mystery, this one set in the rainforest of Peru.

Connect with the Author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook


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And now for the giveaway!

Italy Book Tours

The Jewels of Paradise by Donna Leon

AudioGo 

Released: October 2012

Narrated by Cassandra Campbell

Length: Unabridged, 9 hours

Caterina Pellegrini is a Venetian scholar of Baroque opera who returns to Venice from the United States when she is hired as a researcher to examine the contents of two eighteenth-century trunks belonging to a forgotten Baroque composer. The two greedy cousins who hire her for the job expect the documents held in the trunks to lead them to the treasure that has been rumoured by their family to exist. As Caterina delves into the contents, clues lead her to discover something that doesn't surprise her in the end.

I was captivated by the story from the moment I began to listen to it because of the narrator's melodious and mesmerizing voice. Cassandra Campbell captures the Italian accented voices of the characters so well, but even more than that, she captures the wit and satire of Leon's prose. Her Italian reading was good, only sometimes off in pronunciation. However, she never stumbled over the many difficult foreign names of the historical figures that came up from the research the main character did. I'm almost sure I would not have enjoyed this book half as much if I had read it.

I particularly liked the characters of Caterina and her sister. The dialogue was witty and I hung on every word. I loved the description of Venice and its streets, the Italian lifestyle, and the famous Biblioteca Marciana that came to life when Caterina went to do research there. I also loved learning more about operas and music and how a researcher goes about the fascinating but tedious work of reading old documents.

The mystery itself, though, was a little bit of a let down. Oh, I thought the ending was perfect, and Leon does throw us clues along the way so that it doesn't come too unexpected. However, the story itself builds up to something ominous, what with Caterina being followed by a man who scares her, the lawyer who seems to have his own agenda—which is not clarified at the end—and the overall sense that something more and bigger than the two cousins are involved. Maybe some sort of conspiracy...but nothing like that happens. The mystery really is only about what is in the trunks. That's it. A few things were left unresolved for me, and I thought this was too bad after the wonderful buildup that promised more than it delivered.

If you like a well-written story with intelligent characters set in history-laden Venice, and don't mind a mediocre plot, I suggest you try this audiobook, if only to listen to the talented Cassandra Campbell as her voice immerses us into Venice and the world of a Baroque composer.

Note: This audiobook is rated C = clean read, except for a few religious expletives in Italian.
I will count this book toward the following challenges: I Love Italy Reading Challenge and the Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenge