Ratings3
Average rating3.3
“Like Outlander with an Italian accent.” —Real Simple “A detailed historical novel, a multifaceted mystery, and a moving tale of improbable love.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review A NEW YORK POST MUST-READ BOOK Readers of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander and Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring…will be swept away by the spell of medieval Siena” (Library Journal, starred review) in this transporting love story and gripping historical mystery. Accomplished neurosurgeon Beatrice Trovato knows that her deep empathy for her patients is starting to impede her work. So when her beloved brother passes away, she welcomes the unexpected trip to the Tuscan city of Siena to resolve his estate, even as she wrestles with grief. But as she delves deeper into her brother’s affairs, she discovers intrigue she never imagined—a 700-year-old conspiracy to decimate the city. As Beatrice explores the evidence further, she uncovers the journal and paintings of the fourteenth-century artist Gabriele Accorsi. But when she finds a startling image of her own face, she is suddenly transported to the year 1347. She awakens in a Siena unfamiliar to her, one that will soon be hit by the Plague. Yet when Beatrice meets Accorsi, something unexpected happens: she falls in love—not only with Gabriele, but also with the beauty and cadence of medieval life. As the Plague and the ruthless hands behind its trajectory threaten not only her survival but also Siena’s very existence, Beatrice must decide in which century she belongs. The Scribe of Siena is the captivating story of a brilliant woman’s passionate affair with a time and a place that captures her in an impossibly romantic and dangerous trap—testing the strength of fate and the bonds of love.
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I???m a sucker for anything set in the Italian Renaissance, and I???m an equally big sucker for a timeslip romance, so since this book basically squishes all those things together, I knew I had to read it.
And you know what? I enjoyed it! I wasn???t sold on a LOT of things though. I thought the protagonist???s extreme empathy that somehow allowed her to read minds (sorta) and travel through time (????) was a bit weird, but hey: I???ve seen weirder. The romance wasn???t as well executed as I might have liked, but it wasn???t utterly objectionable. Actually I think the reason I wasn???t all that sold on the romance is that and the male half of that romance could???ve done with some (a lot) more character development - actually everyone could have used some more character development. As for the plot, it had a lot of deus ex machina going on, and maybe a bit too much melodrama.
But I was sold on this book because of the SETTING. Medieval Siena, both before and after the Plague, is a character unto itself and it is FABULOUS - strong enough to support everything else, really.
So! Not a bad read, all in all, as long as you???re not asking for a lot, like I was.