This book was ROUGH. Right from the beginning, the MC had no respect for a different culture from a different time. She went in with the 'they must bend to my ideas' type of attitude and it was extremely jarring. Does she not realize how dangerous that was at the time?
After that, she kissed a man who was already betrothed to another and dared to suggest that the man's betrothed was crazy for acting jealous. No. The poor girl did nothing to deserve what the MC and Marcello put her through.
A note on the narration: The narrator is super dramatic, making the MC's attitude seem even worse. ( )

Historical Fiction

I... I... I.. Please see review for book two.. I'm speechless about this one for now.

Negative 5 stars.

Wait! I'll add this in! I find it difficult to believe that a girl who had no real "belief system" would suddenly become religious within hours of landing in a different time. This is an implausible insertion of the Christian Fiction / Belief conversion angle. If she went along with the behaviors and ways of the times of the period it would be one thing, perhaps after a long time or a particular event to begin to consider questioning her own belief system is one thing - this scenario is entirely contrived and unbelievable. ( )

Blech. Abandoned at 20% read.

The main character was incredibly immature, flying into an angry feminist rage anytime a guy questioned her ability to do something (even though they were correct that she couldn't).

The book was completely unbelievable, as there were too many coincidences. The main character is the daughter of archaeologists, so she knows tons about history (how many kids pay this close of attention to the details of their parents' jobs?), speaks Italian fluently practically overnight (and not the modern language, but the version spoken hundreds of years ago), and just so happens to know how to fence.

The author kept describing guys as "hotties" and went on and on about this... I realize this book is written for teens, but I have no patience or time for "love stories" where teenagers mistake lust and infatuation with romantic love.

I was disappointed that this is a Christian book... the author is a Christian, and the book is from a Christian publisher, so I'm assuming the main character eventually sees the error of her ways and becomes a Christian in the end (she's not one in the first 20%)...? And I guess for many people, this is enough to justify the entire book. For me, it's not. ( )

The Betarrini sisters (Gabi and Lia) are at an archaeology dig with their mother when they sneak into a Etruscan funeral mound and are transported back into medieval times in Tuscany, where Sienese and Florentine nobles are at war. Gabi and Lia are separated, and Gabi falls in love with one of the noblemen, and then gets embroiled in house warfare in order to rescue her sister. Her modern ways and her height make her stand out in medieval times. A little too heavy on the love story for me, but I liked the battles and politics. ( )