Julia Fine

It sounded like it could be good, and the first pages were definitely interesting. Then it slowed down, I felt I was waiting for her childhood to finish so we could get on with the story. And as soon as we did move on, I started getting bored. I didn't like the 2 guys who get into the protagonist's life, I find their interactions annoying, and the whole thing feels contrived and I feel I've seen it all before. Plus, I don't like the protagonist so much any more either.
I read a few reviews and apparently there is going to be a love triangle. Great. Teenagers and love triangles. How much more annoying can it get?
I'm not interested in the story anymore, so I'm quitting.… (altro)

Ohh, this one was dark and seductive and I loved it! Venice 1717, two teenage girls, Maddalena and Luisa, are students at the Ospedale della Pieta studying music. Luisa comes from nothing but wants desperately to be a virtuoso violinist. Maddalena comes from a once prestigious family that has been sullied by her mother's actions and so she has been sent to the school in an attempt to up her chances of a good marriage and put them back in the good graces of society. The book is a love letter to Venice in the 18th century, full of gondolas, music, masked balls, scandals and rivalries. Vivaldi even shows up as a teacher at the school. These two girls at the center are enmeshed in the expectations and limitations of their genders and they each seek out help in the form of magical wishes at mysterious water edged shrines. Things take a turn and each one is granted wishes, but the consequences are dire. Overall, it's a tense, messy story of two girls vying for success and the outcome is destroyed by obsession, betrayal and revenge. It brought to mind Dangerous Liaisons.… (altro)

I really enjoyed this novel. This is the first time that I have read any of Julia Fine’s work and I am so happy that I decided to give this book a try. I like books that involve music so the fact that Maddalena and Luisa cross paths at a music school was a big draw for me. The story is beautifully written and full of magic, music, friendship, and maybe something more. The story takes a few surprising twists that kept things very interesting.

The book is set in 1717 Venice so even though Maddalena and Luisa are only 15 the world is different and they are at the age that most girls marry. There has been some scandal in Maddalena’s family so they have sent her to the school since her marriage prospects don’t seem to be working out. Luisa has been raised at the school as an orphan like most of the other students. The story is told through both Maddalena’s and Luisa’s points of view which was a very effective way to tell this story. They share a bit of magic and develop a strong bond that stretches beyond the walls of the school. I really enjoyed seeing both of these young ladies grow individually and appreciated the changes to their bond of friendship as their circumstances change.

I listened to the audiobook and thought that Sophie Roberts did a remarkable job with the narration. The Italian words in the story flowed nicely and added to the story’s atmosphere. (I don’t speak Italian so I can’t comment on the accuracy of the pronunciation but it sounded good to me!) I thought that she did a great job of bringing both of these characters to life and adding just the right amount of emotion to her narration. I do believe that her narration only added to my enjoyment of this story.

I would recommend this book to others. This book took a couple of twists that were completely unexpected and made the book impossible to put down. I will definitely be looking for more of this author’s work in the future.

I received a review copy of this book from Flatiron Books and Macmillan Audio.… (altro)