Review of The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci
Posted: 26 Jan 2023, 12:11
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci" by Belle Ami.]
The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci , a historical romantic thriller written by Belle Ami, follows Angela Renatus and Alex Caine as they discover their past lives while trying to recover an undiscovered piece of work painted by none other than himself, Leonardo Da Vinci. Angela Renatus is an art historian, working for her stuck-up, perverted boss, Alberto Scordato. She begins having dreams of Giuliano Medici and Fioretta Gorini, who have an unknown, forbidden love, when she meets Alex Caine who helps her find the meaning behind these dreams, as she aids in his own mission to recover a mysterious painting. In their adventures, they fall in love with each other and find out a connection between themselves and in their past lives.
When I started this book, I was not expecting much. However, as I read it, I found the book to be remarkable. I fell in love with the story much like Alex and Angela did. One of my favorite aspects of the book is the attention to detail that Ami uses, especially regarding the historical facts and cultural aspects surrounding the setting of the book. It is clear that the author conducted precise research on Italian culture as well as the history behind Leonardo Da Vinci and his works. This is especially seen in the dialogue between the characters, where Italian is often spoken. I also fact checked some points that this novel uses as a part of the plot, for example the affair between Giuliano Medici and Fioretta Gorini. I fully expected these characters to be completely fictional, but lo and behold, their relationship was historically accurate. Unfortunately, I could not find a mysterious painting of their wedding.
Another thing about this book that I love is that it has very vivid scenery and imagery, which helps envelope you in the story. Reading this, I truly felt like I was a part of the plot. The scenes come to life with Ami’s incredibly detailed writing.
This book is not without its flaws, unfortunately. About half-way into the story, the writing takes a sharp turn from romantic teasing to extreme honeymoon-esque sexuality, which is not only incredibly sudden considering the timing, but also somewhat uncomfortable. I found these parts to be a bit unrealistic, comparing them to real relationships. Even if they were realistic, however, the repetitiveness and constancy of these scenes take away from the romantic aspect of the novel, I’ve found. It makes the relationship between Angela and Alex seem so much less special than what it could be. Despite how cute they are, the relationship between the two are incredibly unrealistic as a whole, and I believe that they could be written as a couple and as individuals much more effectively with some more development.
Another flaw that I found is that the novel is poorly edited. I found multiple errors not only in grammar and punctuation, but also consistency. For example, the transitions between scenes. In the novel, there are often transitions between time periods. One with Angela and Alex, another between Sophia Caro and Gerhard Jaeger, and finally between Fioretta and Guiliano. While in one instance, the transition is incredibly sudden, with a change in dialogue, in another instance, the transition is referencing the place where the scene occurred. After those two, the author seemed to settle on using a squiggle to indicate when the scene is changing. There is also, of course, inconsistency with the plot and the characters’ overall behaviors and personalities, where the characters seem to jump between different mindsets.
I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars. I gave it the rating I did because of the intriguing plot as well as the effort put into the story, and the imagery it evokes. However, I took off a point due to general writing errors as well as the inconsistency in the plot as a whole.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in art history. While I’m not an avid fan, I share appreciation for art history and I found myself satisfied with the take that this novel has regarding the art world. I’d also recommend this book to those who like romance. While I’m on the edge when it comes to romance in the media, I enjoyed the relationship(s) in this novel and I found myself excited to see the characters develop together. I would not recommend this book to those who find NSFW scenes uncomfortable, and I would not recommend the book to anyone who may be disturbed by sexually violent scenes and mentions of rape/molestation. Overall, this is a great book, and if you find yourself interested in what you’ve read from my review, I highly recommend looking into The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci by Belle Ami.
******
The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci , a historical romantic thriller written by Belle Ami, follows Angela Renatus and Alex Caine as they discover their past lives while trying to recover an undiscovered piece of work painted by none other than himself, Leonardo Da Vinci. Angela Renatus is an art historian, working for her stuck-up, perverted boss, Alberto Scordato. She begins having dreams of Giuliano Medici and Fioretta Gorini, who have an unknown, forbidden love, when she meets Alex Caine who helps her find the meaning behind these dreams, as she aids in his own mission to recover a mysterious painting. In their adventures, they fall in love with each other and find out a connection between themselves and in their past lives.
When I started this book, I was not expecting much. However, as I read it, I found the book to be remarkable. I fell in love with the story much like Alex and Angela did. One of my favorite aspects of the book is the attention to detail that Ami uses, especially regarding the historical facts and cultural aspects surrounding the setting of the book. It is clear that the author conducted precise research on Italian culture as well as the history behind Leonardo Da Vinci and his works. This is especially seen in the dialogue between the characters, where Italian is often spoken. I also fact checked some points that this novel uses as a part of the plot, for example the affair between Giuliano Medici and Fioretta Gorini. I fully expected these characters to be completely fictional, but lo and behold, their relationship was historically accurate. Unfortunately, I could not find a mysterious painting of their wedding.
Another thing about this book that I love is that it has very vivid scenery and imagery, which helps envelope you in the story. Reading this, I truly felt like I was a part of the plot. The scenes come to life with Ami’s incredibly detailed writing.
This book is not without its flaws, unfortunately. About half-way into the story, the writing takes a sharp turn from romantic teasing to extreme honeymoon-esque sexuality, which is not only incredibly sudden considering the timing, but also somewhat uncomfortable. I found these parts to be a bit unrealistic, comparing them to real relationships. Even if they were realistic, however, the repetitiveness and constancy of these scenes take away from the romantic aspect of the novel, I’ve found. It makes the relationship between Angela and Alex seem so much less special than what it could be. Despite how cute they are, the relationship between the two are incredibly unrealistic as a whole, and I believe that they could be written as a couple and as individuals much more effectively with some more development.
Another flaw that I found is that the novel is poorly edited. I found multiple errors not only in grammar and punctuation, but also consistency. For example, the transitions between scenes. In the novel, there are often transitions between time periods. One with Angela and Alex, another between Sophia Caro and Gerhard Jaeger, and finally between Fioretta and Guiliano. While in one instance, the transition is incredibly sudden, with a change in dialogue, in another instance, the transition is referencing the place where the scene occurred. After those two, the author seemed to settle on using a squiggle to indicate when the scene is changing. There is also, of course, inconsistency with the plot and the characters’ overall behaviors and personalities, where the characters seem to jump between different mindsets.
I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars. I gave it the rating I did because of the intriguing plot as well as the effort put into the story, and the imagery it evokes. However, I took off a point due to general writing errors as well as the inconsistency in the plot as a whole.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in art history. While I’m not an avid fan, I share appreciation for art history and I found myself satisfied with the take that this novel has regarding the art world. I’d also recommend this book to those who like romance. While I’m on the edge when it comes to romance in the media, I enjoyed the relationship(s) in this novel and I found myself excited to see the characters develop together. I would not recommend this book to those who find NSFW scenes uncomfortable, and I would not recommend the book to anyone who may be disturbed by sexually violent scenes and mentions of rape/molestation. Overall, this is a great book, and if you find yourself interested in what you’ve read from my review, I highly recommend looking into The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci by Belle Ami.
******
The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon