This book came out after the first season of The Borgias began to air. I began watching the tv series but I don't recall if I finished the first season or not. The premise behind this book, about a court poisoner was most interesting. This is the second book in the Poisoners Mystery series. I did not read the first book, Poison. According to the Reading Group Gold interview with Poole, each was written as a stand alone book. Poole felt there could be as many as a dozen books in the series but to date only three have been written. In fact, the Sara Poole site is no longer in existence and Goodreads indicates Sara Poole is a pseudonym for a New York Times bestselling author who wanted to write historical fiction. As the Twitter and Facebook accounts haven't been updated in a few years, I think it's unlikely there will be more than the three books.

I'm disappointed as I fell a little bit in love with Sara Poole's Francesca. Francesca could easily have an ordinary life with a husband and child and she sometimes thinks about it. She learned poisons from her father and her profession puts anyone who cares about her in danger. She wishes to avenge the death of her father and the life of an ordinary woman would not allow that. Francesca's intelligence and the trust Borgia places in her provides her with opportunities she otherwise might not have. Francesca's complexity is why I liked her so much. ( )

A woman singing, a child crying. These are the nightmares that disturb Donna Francesca Giordano's nightly sleep. Sara Poole brings us back to life in the Vatican in this sequel to Poison. Francesca, still reeling from the events in the first book, is distraught to learn that the fanatical priest Morozzi is back in Rome with vengeance in his heart. Francesca has revenge in hers. After two failed attempts on her life, Francesca determines must bargain with both the devil and the Pope. Francesca's desire to kill Morozzi single handled has put her life in danger and leads her to make reckless decisions. Will Francesca succeed in avenging her father's death and finally be able to stop her nightmares?
I first read Poison when it first came out. I loved it so much when I heard that this book was coming out, I pre-ordered it. I NEVER do this. NEVER. (I have since pre-ordered The Song of the Nile and will be pre-ordering Kate Quinn's upcoming book.). It had been a while since I had been to the Vatican in Francesca's care, so I was a little worried that I wouldn't remember the happenings. Not to worry, I was immediately transported back. Its like I never left Francesca's side. The storyline flowed and was steady, just as I remembered.
I love Francesca, she is plucky and confident, but still unsure of herself in so many ways that it's easy to relate to her. I felt at home with her and the secondary characters. Poole is historically accurate in her descriptions of Cesare and the Pope. She even brings into the story other historic facts that are taking place. I like this because sometimes I focus so intently on one historic event I forget that it was related to another event taking place at the same time. I also love the triangle tension between Francesca and the two men of her life, Cesare and Rocco. One the man every woman wants, and the other the man every woman needs. I can't blame her for not being able to make up her mind.
This is a great book, and now that I have reviewed it, I might want to review Poison. Before you dive into this book, start with it! ( )

I have to preface this by saying I failed to realize this was book 2 in a series but the synopsis grabbed me since I've always had this fascination about the Borgias. The book started out a little slow for me maybe because I had to figure out who was who, the relationships between them all and who could really trust each other. Once I got the lay of the land the story drew me in and after taking days to get through the beginning of the book I devoured the rest of it in two sittings.

My favorite part of historical fiction is seeing all the maneuvering that goes on in any royal or in this case papal court. When you read about the things people do like in the case of Francesca poisoning people they sound pretty despicable but when you dig deeper into why some of these people make the choices they do you start feeling sympathetic. It sounds like such a cut throat environment to live in and I can't imagine trying to survive and wonder what I would do in Francesca's position. She openly states that she doesn't feel like she is a good person and she constantly has to protect her friends from her dark side and yet she shows a soft side as she tries to protect her friend's son and her friends in the secret society, the Lux, from those who mean them harm.

The bit of romance thrown in between Francesca and Cesare was also an interesting puzzle. I couldn't tell how deep their relationship really went vs convenience and about using each other for their own purpose. I can't wait to see where this relationship goes in the next book.

The major weakness I found in this book was that the villain who was really behind the betrayal wasn't as fleshed out as they could have been. It was almost anti-climatic when their identity is revealed and you almost don't care with everything else that is going on. Still I will definitely want to read the next book in the series. ( )

Francesca Giordano isn't your typical Renaissance maiden. When her father was murdered (in the first book in the series, Poison), she vowed to avenge him. She has the skills to do it, too, since her father was the court poisoner to Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia), and Francesca learned how to create poisons from him. The man who killed her father is back in Rome and she's eager to confront him, but she needs the Pope's connections to find him. Only the pope wants someone else taken care of first. As if that wasn't enough, she's wavering between two men: Cesare Borgia, who appeals to the dark side of her nature, and Rocco the glassmaker, who might have been her husband had her father not been murdered.

Francesca's lively inner life and the balancing act she manages in the treacherous papal court make this a fast, fun read. ( )

This book was the second in the Poisoner series. The story picks up shortly after book 1 ends and Francesca is again trying to protect Borgia, Pope Alexander VI from being murdered by Morozzi, a mad priest who favors another for the Papal throne. It seemed rather repetitive at the beginning but toward the end there some interesting developments that carried me along to the end.

Some of the passages were so filled with descriptions that I lost where or what was happening so overall I felt it needed more editing, but still it was an interesting tale. ( )