Donna RussoRezensionen

« Vincent’s Women » de Donna Russo m'a passionné du début à la fin !
J'ai adoré, lisez-le !

L'auteur nous emmène faire la connaissance exaltante du célèbre Peintre Vincent Van Gogh, depuis sa famille jusque sa mort, contreversée...
Toutes les étapes cruciales de sa vie sont analysées sous le prisme expert de Donna Russo, qui emprunte la voix de la belle-soeur de Vincent, Johanna. Celle-ci aura eu a coeur, sa vie durant, à rassembler toutes les oeuvres et lettres de son beau-frère adulé et tristement méconnu de son vivant. C'est par ces archives compilées avec un soin prodigieux que nous nous aventurons, pas à pas, à travers le dédale immense de ses oeuvres, sa vie passée au peigne fin, ses dialogues désuets et charmants de l'époque, sans jamais nous lasser. Une biographie époustouflante qui m'a émue au plus haut point.

Sa ferveur, extrême, alors qu'il prêche en tant que Prédicateur dans les mines, qui le pousse à ressentir les affres de la misère de ces pauvres gens en imitant carrément leurs conditions d'existence, comme pour mieux s'imprégner de leur douleur, sa quête dde la perfection ultime et absolue tant dans la recherche de ses modèles que le rendu sur la toile, sont d'une force inouie !

Peindre la vie domestique avec toutes les souffrances qui étranglent les petites gens devient sa dévotion, exorcisant ainsi les traumas de son enfance, mal-aimé de ses parents. Il exulte à tirer le portrait d'une prostituée qu'il sortira de la rue et aimera jusqu'à se perdre lui-même. En vain, ses amours deviennent toujours l'enjeu d'objectifs irréalisables, tant son idéalisme forcené l'éloigne des contingences matérielles.

On plonge dans l'histoire tragique de sa vie avec délectation, comme si on y était spectateur à ses cotés !

La puissante connivence de Vincent et son frère ainé Théo est magnétique, envoutante, leur amour fraternel unique !

On suit la trajectoire chaotique de Vincent, celui léger et versatile, fuyant et irrationnel à celui dépressif et décharné après la mort de son père et la rupture d'avec son premier amour, en même temps. Deux évènements qui le plongeront dans une phase "maniaque aigue avec délire", mal diagnostiquée à l'époque, apparenté aujourd'hui à la bipolarité.

Cet amour perdu rouvre la faille de son être souffrant d'abandon et il est interné à l'asile d'où il trouve une seconde vie dans la peinture, qui le submerge et le confond en extase divine.

Plusieurs facettes de Vincent s'étagent avec délicatesse, comme suspendues dans le temps, le lecteur s'imprègne des couleurs choisies de l' artiste, les paysages sauvages de Arles, d'Auvers, d'où seront peints ses oeuvres majeures, il en identifie toute leur beauté immaculée, suprême, sur ses toiles, avec en toile de fond, l'amour vibrant qu'il ressent en lui, pour chaque femme qui fut sa muse et son amie.

L'Amour comme pouvoir rédempteur de transformation l'a transcendé à chaque fois, ponctué d'atroces rechutes de plus en plus graves et dangereuses pour lui-même, qu'il ne parvenait plus à canaliser, le dévastent, l'engloutissent, comme avalé par ses propres délires shizoïdes, nourris par cette solitude qu'il exècre et anéanti par les trop nombreux fantômes de son passé.

Stupéfiant de réalisme, addictif et d'une remarquable précision, la vie de Van Gogh d'après ses lettres adressées à son frère, reflètent la vision du post-impressionnisme naissant et ses déchirures qui le fracturent, Génie méconnu et rejeté de son vivant.

Une sublime épopée d'une extrême beauté, le lecteur est submergé, boulversé, trancendé... C'est pour des histoires comme celle-ci que je lis. Merci !
Quelle plume ! Quel chef d'oeuvre !
Donna m'a embarquée, eblouie, une émotion comme nulle autre pareille qui me marquera à jamais ! La beauté est omniprésente malgré la noirceur de ce que Vincent à rencontré, et ses tableaux ont cet unique pouvoir de transcender le quotidien.

Fascinating romantic history of this enigmatic painter. Great research done on this topic, and you can see how some tragedy might have affected his mental health and his work.

Highly recommend this book. It was well researched and well written. Ms. Russo, the author, recreated events in Van Gogh's life through letters and other material. She described the heartbreaks Van Gogh underwent even from the time of his birth as he took on the name Vincent from a previously deceased brother. It appears from the book that his mother never nurtured him and this fact seemed to color all his relationships for the rest of his life. Ms. Russo describes Van Gogh's loving relationship with his brother Theo who supported him throughout his life financially and emotionally. There were a series of women Van Gogh encountered through his life but he was never able to have a meaningful relationship with them because of his lack of nurturance as a child.
There is a lot to learn in reading this book about the loneliness and heartbreak Van Gogh endured despite his creating of beautiful art that has been loved by all even to this day.

I have had some time thinking about the book before I wrote this review and I think although it's a good book, would I have preferred to have read the previous book first. Now, I don't mean that it was hard to get into the story in this book, it's more like the mentioning of events from the first book made me curious about that book, to get the past stories behind all the characters. And, reading the first book would have made it easier to understand the characters, instead of learning during the books progress more about them.

Nevertheless, despite my lack of previous knowledge did I enjoy this book. I find the era fascinating and one thing I truly loved was reading a book about Leonardo da Vinci. Yes, it's a story about da Vinci's disciples, but I can't help being fascinated by the man and I loved that his POV was included in the book. I was also intrigued by Lorenzo de Medici. I really need to find more books about both men to read.

Anyway, besides that was it the women's struggles to be accepted as artists the thing that I found absolute fascinated to read about. It's OK for a woman to draw at home, but to be an artist? Nah, that's just for men. Made my blood boil I tell ya when I read some parts of the books when they were found out and had to take the public's scorn.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy from NetGalley for an honest review!

Incredibly disjointed and uneven in tone, this book is, frankly, unreadable. Not only is the plot all over the place, but the prose is akward with so many ludicrous word choices (like using fisted as a verb for the clenching of one's hand or engorged to mean stabbed). Ugh.

Gilded Dreams is the second book featuring two friends, Pearl and Ginevra and their two different worlds. They have been through so much together – I did not have the honor of reading Gilded Summers but Ms. Russo Morin does an excellent job of weaving in the salient details so that this book stands alone quite well. As I always note though, books in a series are always richer for reading all the books.

This book takes place during the last 8 years of the fight for women’s suffrage but it begins with the sinking of the Titanic. The impact of that tragedy on the residents of Newport, RI, was truly devastating as many of the well to do had their “cottages” there. The scenes surrounding that event are horrifying and heartrending. The ramifications for Pearl as she loses her family help to showcase some of the reasons that women were fighting so hard for their rights, culminating in the right to vote so as to be able to install legislators to promote their causes. (No comment on how far we have come and how far we still have to go.)

Both women are very compelling as characters each representing a very different demographic in the fight for women’s rights. Pearl is a child of privilege and Ginevra is an immigrant who has worked hard, gotten an education and overcome some trauma to find herself happily married and best friends with Pearl. The hows and whys of that friendship are detailed in Gilded Summers.

As Ginevra supports Pearl through her loss the two join a suffragette group and work to recruit others to the cause. This effort is supported by their husbands but not always by the other people in their social circles. As the fight for the right to vote for women reaches a boiling point these two friends are right in the midst of the battle. People against their efforts resort to deeply personal attacks against them but I’m not giving any spoilers by telling you that women are given the right to vote. The celebration of the ratification of the 19th amendment is approaching; the 90th anniversary is 8/18/20.

It’s thanks to the real women who inspired the fictional characters and the actual suffragettes featured that women are no longer just their father’s daughter or their husband’s wife. A woman can own property in her own right and she can vote. The fight was a hard one and reading out the efforts to stop it is both discouraging and horrifying. These women were beaten, jailed and treated like less than just for seeking to better themselves. Ms. Russo Morin brings the period to vivid life with two very rich characters to tell her tale. It’s a page turner of a book and a story that should be read and needs to be told for so many are unaware the battle. Not to mention there is still a long way to go.

This novel follows Pearl and Ginevra, as they fight for women's rights and suffrage during the years of the sinking of the Titanic and WWI. WWI is when women really proved their abilities to do a man's job, while the men were off fighting in the war, after the US had entered it.

Pearl, sadly lost her family in the sinking of the Titanic. She is the only surviving member, and quickly learns from the lawyer that she is not entitled to any of the inheritance left. It will go to her husband, all of it. No female can take an inheritance, and their daughter is not yet old enough to inherit anything either. Thankfully her husband is one of a kind during this time, and the two are partners - he does not look at her as property.

Pearl and Ginevra, after finding this truth out, decide that change needs to come. How is this fair at all? Just the person is holding a meeting, at the right time and they soon get involved with the suffrage events that the Alva Vanderbilt Belmont has been doing. They are tasked with scouring the town to get other women to join. The more members they have, the more they can do. The more noise they can make.

WWI breaks out, and not too long after the US has joined. This has turned the tables with the suffragettes, in that they are now filling in the men's roles as they are off to war. So not only are they having to handle the household and children, they need to do all they can for the war. Not only does this help them, but the president himself has even spoken about women and them having more rights.

Everything Pearl and Ginevra has not been in vain, although it feels that often they take a step forward and then two steps back. The two, every prevailing do make headway in recruiting new women and even a few men to also then back their wives in this fight for more rights and the ability to vote.

This was a good read about suffragettes, and the struggle women had back then to be their own person and have rights with out the man's say so. It was interesting to read about how WWI did kind of change the outlook of women's roles and helped in a way propel the change of minds of many to look at women as not just a child bearer and property.

Thank you to the author, and HFVBT for the invite to the tour, and sending me a free book! I enjoyed reading about these two ladies, and all of the groundwork they laid out for us to have gotten where we are with women having rights, the ability to vote and be a persons ourselves.

I love historical fiction because it speaks of bygone eras and social norms we find unfathomable today. Gilded Summers perfectly illustrates the lives of women in the 19th century and how little rights they had at the time. Even more enlightening is the idea that women of privilege had even fewer rights because of the strict social constraints of their set.

Pearl, born into a life of privilege, and a card carrying member of the Newport elite, does the unthinkable by befriending her lady's maid. Pearl and Ginevra become fast friends, as they both share dreams of a different life from what they are destined for, and what is expected. Pearl soon learns of the scandal and undesirable behavior behind the scenes of the privileged set. Ginevra learns that a kind word or gesture from those in high society often leads to much more menacing behavior underneath. These revelations culminate in a shocking denouement.

I have long been a fan of this author. She knows how to vibrantly tell a historical story while still staying true to the historical side of things. Her passion for the Newport area shines through in her words. Gilded Summers is an insightful glimpse into an age and place where women, even women of power, were merely objects and ornamentation. It is also an inspiring story of two women who chose to buck convention and live lives of their choosing; women who pioneered the way for the women of future generations.

(I received this book free of charge from the author or publisher.)

This book comes at a time, even more so than the first book Portrait of a Conspiracy, when the triumph of the female spirit needs to be heard. Women have made so much progress in the world (in my country, the U.S.), but recently, we have begun to feel subjugated once more. The very real progress women have made seems to be reverting back, or stagnating. It is stories such as this that can work to inspire women that the fight for equality is well worth it.

I always enjoy Russo Morin's books. She really knows how to tell a story while bringing vividly to life the real historical figures and events surrounding her characters. These women, these Da Vinci's Disciples, are the lifeblood of the story. Each woman is unique and even when brought together as a whole with the group, their individuality shines. I like to think that there really were women such as this. In fact, I'm quite sure there probably were. Perhaps they did not take on a large commission as depicted in the book, nor bid for commissions during that time period, but I like to think there was a hidden studio with women secretly working, defying society's strictures on women and what they were allowed to do.

Having Leonardo Da Vinci as an important supporting character works very well with these stories. Of what I've read on Da Vinci, I believe that he had very progressive attitudes. For him to be mentoring a group of women artists does not seem impossible to me. I love that the author used real quotes from him throughout the book. This one is my favorite and really captures the spirit of the book:

"I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death."

However, a quote from Viviana, the central and most endearing character, in my opinion, is what spoke to me the most. It is a personal motto of mine. "We all deserve to be loved, but our first love should always be for ourselves. Without self-love and self-respect, we show others how they may treat us."

And that is the crux of this story. These women believed in themselves, believed in their talent, enough to defy society's views of what women can and cannot do. It's an inspiring work of historical fiction that should not be missed.

I received this book free of charge from the author or publisher.

Donna Russo Morin's The King's Agent remains one of my favorite historical novels so I was pretty excited when I heard about Portrait of a Conspiracy. Morin has a real knack for telling a great story with a good dose of adventure thrown in.

It's sometimes astonishing to realize that at one time women were forbidden to be publicly known as artists. And so, in the book we have a group of women who gather in secret to ply their craft. Little do they know that soon their secret society will be far more than just that. As Florence is thrown into chaos by the murder of Giuliano de Medici, the subsequent vengeance enacted by his brother, Lorenzo, and the untimely disappearance of their dear friend and member of their group, the women realize that they have the only means to discover the truth behind the fate of their friend. Aided by none other than Leonardo Da Vinci, they are soon mastering their art while also penetrating the secrets that abound in Florence. Exciting, to say the least.

Told from several points of view, I enjoyed the care with which each character was written. Each one has their cross to bear and I found myself easily identifying with them. Of course, my favorite was Leonardo. I have a fondness for this historical personage so his appearance in the book was a real treat.

Portrait of a Conspiracy is the first novel in the new Da Vinci's Disciples series, and I can't wait for book two. I highly recommend Morin's historical fiction. If you have not read her books, this would be a good one to start with.

(I received an eBook copy in exchange for an honest review)

How to sum up a book such as The King's Agent with mere words? The book has all the elements of what I consider to be great fiction. Adventure, mystery, love, and mysticism. And to speak of my opinions without giving the story away will be quite a feat in itself, but I shall attempt to do it justice without revealing too much.

Set in the 16th cenury, in the twilight of the Renaissance, The King's Agent tells the story of a quest for an object of power that would be at the heart of the demise of mankind. Battista, who is loyal to his benefactor, King Francois I of France, and also to his beloved home of Florence, embarks on this quest with a clear idea of the outcome. But he is soon to learn that there is no clear outcome and the circumstances surrounding the obtaining of this object are shrouded in danger and mystery. As I was reading the sections where dangerous obstacles had to be overcome for Battista to reach his goal, my mind kept going to the Indiana Jones films. That is the kind of adventure the reader experiences in The King's Agent. Talk about a thrill!

To add to the mystery, we have the character of Aurelia who is an enigma, to be sure. Everyone who encounters her can feel that there is something different about her, but her mystery is kept secret, thankfully, until the very end. What is present in the character of Aurelia is a resolve to complete her destiny, a destiny not of her making. She is a brave woman who accepts her fate and ultimately sacrifices her own happiness for the good of all.

Finally, I must touch on the historical aspects of this book. Wonderful was the introduction of the stories of Dante and the presence of Michelangelo himself in the story. The historical detail is so well researched and interesting. I found myself on Google several times while reading, wanting right then and there to learn more about the people and places I was reading about. I must say that Ms. Morin is a talent in the historical fiction genre. I have To Serve a King is on my review pile and so I must get to reading it soon, as well as her other titles. Her books will remain a sought after commodity for my home library.

In conclusion, I must not forget the love story between Battista and Aurelia. Their love is inspiring and breathtaking. The sacrifice they have to make and their reconciliation to the fact speaks of a very true love indeed. So I leave you with a favorite passage from Dante which Battista whispers to Aurelia, " 'lady, you in whom my hope gains strength, you who, for my salvation, have allowed your footsteps to be left in Hell, in all the things that I have seen, I recognize the grace and benefit that I, depending upon your power and goodness, have received.' "

Such vivid descriptions of Venice! After reading this novel I have placed this city on my "must see" list.

I just could not get into this book--the author uses far too many unnecessary adjectives and forced metaphors.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in Ms. Russo’s Da Vinci Disciples series so I was very much looking forward to this follow up volume. I wasn’t disappointed. It follows the group of women artists formed in the first book as they strengthen their bonds and actually go forth and bid on an art project in Florence. This might not sound so controversial to today’s world but in the time period of the Renaissance it was downright revolutionary. Women were supposed to stay home, produce babies and run their households.

But Da Vinci’s Disciples – women who showed remarkable talent and are being tutored by that great master – are not content to stifle their art. They want the world to see it and so they decide to bid on an upcoming installation for a chapel. They get the begrudging permission of Lorenzo de Medici, who does not believe they have the talent or the ability and they submit their concept.

It is chosen and soon the women are not just fighting a timeline but seemingly the bulk of the citizenry of Florence as they are appalled at lowly women doing such work. But not all are against them and they buckle down under the guidance of their master and some friends of his to get the job done.

There are also some personal subplot going on for the women and for Leonardo during the course of the production of the fresco so that the reader is kept engaged not only in the creation of the artwork but in the politics of the time and the everyday goings on of well to do Florentines.

I enjoyed this book as well as I did the first and while I believe it’s to be the completion of the series it does leave things open for further exploration so a reader can hope for continuation. The background details are such that I felt like I was back in Florence walking the streets and seeing the sights of that beautiful city. Of course it has changed mightily since the 15th century but some aspects are remarkably the same. The characters are unique and well drawn and in this volume there was even a pop up appearance by my favorite artist, Michelangelo. It is always encouraging to read a book when women triumph in a time when they were not considered to be more than well, art pieces or brood mares. Enjoy the book for what it is and celebrate the joy that art brings to the world.½

I really wanted to like this book. I liked the setting and the idea to use real people. I also liked the mystery that unfolded. But the author failed in one of the essential obligations of writing fiction; she didn’t make me believe it. Also, her gushing about the work of Michelangelo grew tiresome.

This is the first book of a series and I can’t wait for the next one to come out. This period in history is one of my favorites as it is the time period of the Renaissance. The book opens with the murder of Giuliano de Medici which sets off a revenge spree by his brother Lorenzo. There had been a long simmering feud between the de Medicis and the perpetrators – the Pazzi family and it all came to a head with this attack. As history tells us Lorenzo wins and goes on the rule Florence.

But this novel mixes the fictional with the real and it does it incredibly well. The fictional are the heroines of the story – the women who come together to paint in secret since they are not allowed to pursue their art any other way. One of their group goes missing and they need to find out where she is and why she is gone. Could it have anything to do with a painting that might show the conspirators of the plot against the Medici? The women work together and with a surprising ally – Leonardo da Vinci – to solve the mystery.

This was a book rich in history, character development and with a unique take on presenting the time period. Ms. Morin really brings the period to life with her descriptive writing and fascinating players. She weaves her creations so smoothly in with those that actually lived you might forget that they are fictional. 15th century Florence is brought to life in it’s glory and it’s darker side. A riveting mystery for sure.½

What went wrong? Well in a way that is easy to explain; frankly I was bored. I wanted to skim, I wanted to get it over with. I just could not connect. I did like one part of the book though..after page 300 it grew interested and there was a new mystery that caught my attention. But even if that was good in the end I just did not get one thing, which I can't tell you about.

The book was a bit heavy and it's not straight up historical fiction. It has a bit of "paranormal" in it that shows up later. Not much but there is something and truth be told as I was bored in the beginning I did not get the whole thing in the end. There is an adventure, a mystery, a hidden painting, war between France and Spain, worries in the city states of Italy, a woman that wants more from life and an art thief that is real pretty. That sums it up.

Sure it's well written but this time it was not the book for me. I wanted to like it, it had promise, but the beginning was so heavy and I just never connected (well ok at page 300 but if I did not have to review this one I would have given up before that).

It was a good story, but for me, it was a boring story.

I received this book as a Goodreads ARC giveaway. This was a great book and I really enjoy it. Historical fiction is my favorite genre and this book did not disappoint

Battista della Palla is an art collector, or a thief, for the king of France. His job is to collect valuable paintings and sculptures for the king. He is in a mission to find a mysterious sculpture which is believed to have special powers when he meets mysterious woman named Aurelia. Aurelia has been living as a ward of Marquess of Mantua and her life has been very sheltered but she is a woman with secrets.

Before I started this book I thought this would be straight-forward historical fiction and not so much a mystery book with the quest of finding the sculpture. I haven’t read much about Italy and I enjoyed learning more about the country. The book is a take of Dante’s Inferno and video game The Legend of Zelda and I’m not familiar with either of them and I felt like I was missing way too much stuff. Battista and Aurelia travels through "Hell", "Purgatory" and "Heaven" finding clues within paintings and from Dante’s work. The stuff with Hell, Purgatory and Heaven went little too much religious side that I lost interest and I’m not good with this mystery thing anyway.

I loved seeing the relationship growing between Battista and Aurelia. Aurelia had been living very sheltered life and hadn’t know freedom and she grows so much with Battista’s crew and seeing the world. I also liked Battista’s crew and their friendship between them.

While the book was bit hard to get into at first, I still enjoyed it. I just wish I was more familiar with Dante so I could have understood more. But this made me even more curious about the author’s previous book To Serve a King which I’ve wanted to read.

When I picked up this book, I was looking for historical fiction and I got it. Historical fiction was my staple for a long time and is still a comfort read for me, especially when I hit a slump. And to be honest, anything set in Versailles gets my attention even if Marie Antoinette is not part of the story. This book features the Sun King and is set slightly before Maria Antionette arrives on the scene.

Jeanne du Bois is now back at Versailles, kicked out of the convent her father shipped her off to. She’s outspoken, and as far as her father is concerned, a hindrance to everything he needs to get ahead. Wanting her out of his house, he plans to marry her off to a man who can help him politically but does nothing for Jeanne romantically. Not wanting anything to do with her father’s plans, Jeanne does what she can to sabotage everything he’s set in place and goes on with her life as usual, which includes a secret life only she and her uncle know about. In this secret life, she poses as a musketeer and fights alongside the men tasked with protecting the crown. When Jeanne happens upon a plot to kill the queen, a woman she greatly admires, she finds can’t give up the charade. When love enters the picture, it becomes even more difficult to hide her feeling and cover up her second life.

I have to say, it’s totally unbelievable but it’s fun. Who wouldn’t want to be a sword wielding musketeer instead of standing around smelly Versailles waiting for someone more important to pass by? Although, I always love hearing about the court rituals and the silly gossip and this story has that and more. The details about the king’s toilette were at once fascinating and so strange I wanted to laugh. I’ll never understand how people, royalty or not, could live like that. And why anyone would put up with it to be in favor of the king confounds me, but not living in that time, I can’t even begin to understand the fascination with watching someone get their hair curled. But, yes, I like very much to read about it.

Jeanne is part of the upper class with the strange rituals but she shuns most when possible. The fencing lessons her uncle bestows on her are just one of her many offending traits, at least to her father. Her mother is interesting in that she wants to help her get out from under the tyranny of her father, who is just a cruel and mean individual, that can’t and won’t see the world around him even when it’s in his best interest to do so. You don’t ever feel sorry for him.

Love story time. Jeanne falls for her fellow musketeer Henri. Her father wants her to marry a sniveling little man named Poligniac because he thinks it will increase his access, and mostly to get back at Jeanne and his wife for transgressions only he seems to perceive. Without saying, there’s a happy ending here.

Donna Russo Morin is a new to me author but I’ve seen her books around. This is her first book for me. My library only had this one but I might have to see if it would be possible to get more. I liked her style.

It seems like I waited forever for this novel, and despite the fact she autographed it to someone else, I found it to be well worth the wait. I loved the action and the characterization, I hope to read more of her works. I LOVED it!

Set in late Renaissance Italy, this novel is a fun blending of fiction and history. Battista della Palla is an agent of King Francois I of France, charged with obtaining many legendary works of art for the French king. He encounters the mysterious Lady Aurelia when he sets out to find a mythical piece of art for the king, a piece which may tip the balance in the ongoing wars in Italy. As Battista and Aurelia work to locate the piece, they endure trials reminiscent of Dante's Divine Comedy and find clues in the work of great Renaissance artists. While not realistic, The King's Agent nevertheless is a fun read, full of adventure and famous Italian art.

Dante's Divine Comedy holds the key to the quest to one of the greatest and most powerful works of art - and it is this piece that Battista della Palla is commissioned by the King of France to acquire, any means necessary. To succeed he must break into palazzos, run through secret doors and passages, and decipher clues that are found in famous works of art. Along his way he meets Lady Aurelia, an intelligent and feisty woman who longs for freedom, adventure and love. This is a brilliant combination of adventure, romance, art, history and mystery. A great read for all!

Please visit my blog for my full review:
http://bookchateau.blogspot.ca/2012/04/kings-agent-donna-russo-morin.html

The King's Agent by Donna Russo Morin is a historical fiction novel set during the 16th century in Italy. It is based on the real life art thief, Battista della Palla. Battista works for The King of France, Francois I. During a trip to 'acquire' a particular piece of art he runs into Aurelia. Aurelia has lived a very sheltered and mysterious life. She helps Battista escape with the condition that she accompany him. Battista is desperate so he agrees. Battista and Aurelia have great chemistry from the beginning of the book.
Battista takes Aurelia home with him. Aurelia won't sit back and stay at home. She wants to help Battista solve an artistic mystery that might help France. Together, with the help of Battista's lively crew, and a poem by the infamous Dante, they traipse across Italy on an adventure of a life time. Battista is charming, loyal, and clever. Aurelia is an intriguing character. The way her character unfolds during this novel is compelling. This story has quite a handful of characters including Battista's loyal friends.
The King's Agent is a cross between the Da Vinci Code and Indiana Jones with endearing characters that will captivate you. The Italian landscape makes a perfect backdrop to this book. It has everything from adventure to romance. The King's Agent by Donna Russo Morin is very entertaining. It is an epic adventure that was a joy to read.