In 1525, Simonetta di Saronno is a young widow who has lost her husband Lorenzo to the Italian wars. After his death, she discovers that Lorenzo has spent all their money, and she must find a way to make more if she wants to keep hold of her grand home.

Bernardino Luini is a highly talented apprentice of Leonardo da Vinci, who is hired to decorate a church, and offers to pay Simonetta if she will be his model for the Madonna. Although they initially feel hostility towards one another, they soon end up falling in love, but their love brings disgrace upon them, as people feel that she has disrespected the memory of her husband.

In a further bid to save her home, Simonetta enlists the help of Manodorata, a Jewish money lender, who helps her to create a drink from the almond trees that grow on her estate.

Will Simonetta and Bernardino ever find happiness together, and will Simonetta manage to save her home? And what effect can a mute, almost dead soldier have on Simonetta’s future?

I was not sure what to make of this book. Initially I thought I was going to struggle with it, but I did start to enjoy it. However, I never felt that the characters were particularly well drawn, and I was not able to connect on any level with them. The story was interesting enough to hold my attention, but I did guess the twist very early on.

The most interesting and shocking part of the story was the ill-treatment of Jews by the Christians at the time. Although this was something that I was aware of, it is portrayed very strongly in this book, and for me, this was far more effective than the romantic aspect.

I think most fans of historical fiction would probably enjoy this book, and although I wasn’t as captivated by it as I might have hoped, I would probably read more by this author. ( )

I loved The Glassblower of Murano, so I had high hopes for Madonna of the Almonds. However, I was really, really disappointed by Marina Fiorato's second novel.

Simonetta di Saronna is a widow, her husband killed in the Italian wars of the early 16th century. Bernadino is a painter who once apprenticed under Leonardo Da Vinci, and a ladies' man to boot. When Bernardino is commissioned to paint the chapel of Saronna's chapel, he meets Simonetta. Later, Siomoetta invents a drink that will become famous the world over.

I liked the premise of the novel, but unfortunately, most of the story relies on circumstance. Also, the plot was predictable; I could see the ending coming from a mile away, and I'm not even all that good at predicting what will happen in novels. This book promised passion, but I really got no sense of that while reading this novel. Neither was there any kind of romantic tension between the two main characters. All the characters were wooden and unrealistic; I found it hard to believe that Simonetta would openly accept, without question, someone like Manodorata.

This all might be excusable, if the book had been well written; instead, the prose reads like it was written by someone whose first language isn't English. In fact, sometimes Fiorato's turns of phrases became downright weird, using, for example, the double negative on a few occasions. I'm not quite sure what happened here, considering that The Glassblower of Murano was so fantastic. I just wish that Madonna of the Almonds had lived up to its potential. ( )

I was delighted to meet Marina earlier in the year as I had so enjoyed her debut novel, The Glassblower of Murano, which I had blogged about before I met her. I was equally delighted to receive a review copy of her new book, and lovers of historical romances will not be disappointed.

It's set in Lombardy, specifically Saronno - home to the famous liqueur Amaretto, and the story behind the creation of that exotic tipple is the inspiration for the novel. In the early 1500s a church in Saronno commissioned frescoes from one of Leonardo Da Vinci's students - Bernardino Luini. Luini needed a model for the Madonna and a young widowed innkeeper posed for him - and became his lover. To thank him, she created Amaretto from apricot kernels steeped in brandy, and the legend was born.

Bernardino Luini is real - his work can be seen in museums around the world, and his frescoes of the Madonna in Saronno, and the Saints in a Milanese monastery exist. The latter in particular are said to be particularly fine and equal in skill to that of his master. Apart from his art, not much is known of his life, so the author was able to create a rich narrative involving him and the Amaretto legend.

The author has made the widow of this tale a young noblewoman, Simonetta, forced into straightened circumstances after her husband's premature death in battle. With no money in the coffers, she will be forced to borrow money from a Jew, but in Manodorato, she finds a friend who persuades her to try to make some money rather than borrow. She reluctantly agrees to pose for the painter, a known philanderer and unbeliever, but he falls in love with his muse and she begins to have feelings too - but she's still meant to be in mourning. A stolen kiss leads to their denouncement in front of the visiting Cardinal and Bernardino has to flee. Simonetta retreats to her villa where she finds a still and experiments with the almonds growing in her orchard - and we know where that will lead!

The main story is set against a period in history where the Jews were being subjugated wherever they settled, extra-marital relationships would likely end in execution, and corrupt cardinals had their fingers in many pies. Yet (renaissance) art is a powerful redeemer; and having escaped to an abbey in Milan, Luini starts to paint frescoes of the Saints - martyrs all, and finds himself and what he must do in their agonies.

Marina has created another richly imagined world and this made for an immensely satisfying comfort read - a summer bestseller for sure. Her first novel had Venice as a co-star; here, art fulfills that role admirably. Should I go to Milan, I'd love to see the Luini frescoes. The only irony though is that although we strongly associate Amaretto with almonds, the current liqueur is 'Nut-free'! ( )