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anaistromeria's review against another edition
1.0
More like 1 1/2 stars. What can i say? Im disappointed. Maybe i compared it too much to Juliet by Anne fortier (with siena and the palio and rival families etc) which is one of my all time fave books but idk i couldnt get into any of the characters here and i kept comparing pia to giulietta the latter who was much more headstrong then what pia was advertised as tbh. I also had some issues with the prose in general too like riccardo comparing pia to an asses milk uhhhhhh yeah anyways i guessed riccardos major reveal when gian came to siena then i skipped to the end to see if i was right :'D anyways sorry i wanted to like this book but it didnt do it for me.
bee_cee's review
2.0
The premise of this book (Romance and intrigue set during the Sienna Palio Horse race in 1723) seemed fascinating to me, and I was eager to read this book. Unfortunately, it fell flat. The author couldn't keep track of the names of her characters, and the timeline was very odd. Something that happened on one page would be referred to on the next page as a week ago, when we as readers knew that it was the same day. This happened again and again. The discrepancies and the irrational drama of the characters ruined what otherwise might have been a good book.
munsonce's review against another edition
3.0
Verrrrrry slow start. Took me about 200 pages to be invested. From there it was downhill and easy to read.
lpcoolgirl's review against another edition
5.0
I liked this book, a good plot, and a good setting, it worked well all around. Great book, and I loved it!
jordantaylor's review against another edition
2.0
What a disappointing, terribly written book. Earlier in the year, I read Fiorato's "The Glassblower of Murano," which, though weakly written, was enjoyable due to its lovely setting of Venice. I was hoping that her second book would do the same for Siena, a city that I don't know nearly so much about.
Unfortunately, all that this book did was make me wish fervently that I had requested another Early Reviewer's book for that month.
The story starts off by describing the heroine, Pia, as "the most beautiful girl in Siena," a statement that always annoys me. And not only that - she is descended from Cleopatra, too.
Pia, a member of the nobility, is betrothed to a distasteful boy whom she hates, but falls in love with a lower-class horseman named Riccardo.
It was all just ever so predictable and cliche. Not a single event in this book transpired that even mildly surprised me.
Pia was a cardboard character that I never got the slightest picture of in my head, and every other supporting character was either exaggeratedly good or exaggeratedly bad. The two main characters of Pia and Riccardo are so perfect, they should have halos. The villains or distasteful persons of the story are overdone. For example, Pia's first fiancee tries to rape her within seconds of meeting her, and the author then informs us that he is famous for getting girls pregnant and then abandoning them, forcing them to commit suicide. Just as bad, Pia's second fiancee practically tortures her and seems to enjoy ridiculing her both in public and in private. He didn't seem to have any objective or point to doing this - he was just that evil!
Nearly every character has an animal nickname. Owlet, Eagle, Panther, Zebra... People were frequently referred to by their animal names. It annoyed me because I saw no purpose behind it, and also I found it a bit hard to believe that members of the Siena nobility would go around calling each other "Fox" or "Rabbit."
There was also something about a secret society, which was even more ridiculous. I couldn't resist skimming over these parts because they were so dull and unbelievable.
All in all, I am sorry that I gave Fiorato a second chance. Her first book was average, but this one was awful. Not recommended.
Unfortunately, all that this book did was make me wish fervently that I had requested another Early Reviewer's book for that month.
The story starts off by describing the heroine, Pia, as "the most beautiful girl in Siena," a statement that always annoys me. And not only that - she is descended from Cleopatra, too.
Pia, a member of the nobility, is betrothed to a distasteful boy whom she hates, but falls in love with a lower-class horseman named Riccardo.
It was all just ever so predictable and cliche. Not a single event in this book transpired that even mildly surprised me.
Pia was a cardboard character that I never got the slightest picture of in my head, and every other supporting character was either exaggeratedly good or exaggeratedly bad. The two main characters of Pia and Riccardo are so perfect, they should have halos. The villains or distasteful persons of the story are overdone. For example, Pia's first fiancee tries to rape her within seconds of meeting her, and the author then informs us that he is famous for getting girls pregnant and then abandoning them, forcing them to commit suicide. Just as bad, Pia's second fiancee practically tortures her and seems to enjoy ridiculing her both in public and in private. He didn't seem to have any objective or point to doing this - he was just that evil!
Nearly every character has an animal nickname. Owlet, Eagle, Panther, Zebra... People were frequently referred to by their animal names. It annoyed me because I saw no purpose behind it, and also I found it a bit hard to believe that members of the Siena nobility would go around calling each other "Fox" or "Rabbit."
There was also something about a secret society, which was even more ridiculous. I couldn't resist skimming over these parts because they were so dull and unbelievable.
All in all, I am sorry that I gave Fiorato a second chance. Her first book was average, but this one was awful. Not recommended.
sonshinelibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
It's been a while since I read a straight historical fiction and I enjoyed it. I've been really interested in Siena since visiting the city on a grad school trip and this novel brings the politics and intrigues around the city and the Palio into focus. It gets a little melodramatic at times, but nothing too outrageous and I enjoyed the arc of the story and the characters. I really appreciated (mild spoiler) that the author didn't resort to the rape storyline, though she obviously had the opportunity. It goes to show that you can develop plenty of tension and danger without having to actually put the character through it. There's threat, but the reasons she isn't raped make sense within the story and the characters and don't diminish anything. Thank you.
ashesmann's review against another edition
2.0
I don't understand it, but I just couldn't connect with the story. Pia is a young woman who always knew she'd be given away in marriage, and is given to quite a brute. I think maybe part of the problem is everything seems a bit overdone. Almost every character is absolutely horrible, and for no reason I can truly discern. Greed? Yes, but a lot of people are greedy and don't go around killing people and ruining young people's lives. There just doesn't seem to be much dimension to their character.
Pia herself...the only virtue she has truly is her beauty. She certainly isn't clever, she and Riccardo know they're being set up and watched. Still kiss, Riccardo still asks to sleep with her. We're supposed to be horrified she's being watched? It was almost a relief.
Many things about the horses are written well, sometimes...well sometimes you can tell the author just had a good consultant. She gets caught in a romantic image. For example, Riccardo is given a Lipizzaner. To race with. A highly skilled, highly trained, well bred, and pricey war horse is given to be used in a local horse race? Even unrideable he would be a useful stud. Besides, only mixed breed horses are allowed to race the Palio de Siena. I don't know how old that rule is exactly, but a Lipizzaner seems far fetched. And every time a character approaches a horse, the horse whinnied, or made some noise. Some horses are more vocal that others, but in my experience most aren't noisy. They call out in excitement when it's time to be fed, in fear, or when locating their companions. Mothers rumble deep in their chest to their babies. They do not vocalize in happiness to someone an arms reach away.
Pia is obsessed with her namesake. Now I'm super nostalgic, but even I found her obsession excessive and unhealthy. Am I to understand a 190 year old pampered girl had studied Dante's Pia, because they share a name? A girl who's only training would have been in household management?
Leocornos death is tragic. The author tries to spin it as this peaceful death. Try to spin it all you like, he ran in terror and would have died in a panic. That is no peaceful release from a last great heroic act.
All in all it was okay.
Pia herself...the only virtue she has truly is her beauty. She certainly isn't clever, she and Riccardo know they're being set up and watched. Still kiss, Riccardo still asks to sleep with her. We're supposed to be horrified she's being watched? It was almost a relief.
Many things about the horses are written well, sometimes...well sometimes you can tell the author just had a good consultant. She gets caught in a romantic image. For example, Riccardo is given a Lipizzaner. To race with. A highly skilled, highly trained, well bred, and pricey war horse is given to be used in a local horse race? Even unrideable he would be a useful stud. Besides, only mixed breed horses are allowed to race the Palio de Siena. I don't know how old that rule is exactly, but a Lipizzaner seems far fetched. And every time a character approaches a horse, the horse whinnied, or made some noise. Some horses are more vocal that others, but in my experience most aren't noisy. They call out in excitement when it's time to be fed, in fear, or when locating their companions. Mothers rumble deep in their chest to their babies. They do not vocalize in happiness to someone an arms reach away.
Pia is obsessed with her namesake. Now I'm super nostalgic, but even I found her obsession excessive and unhealthy. Am I to understand a 190 year old pampered girl had studied Dante's Pia, because they share a name? A girl who's only training would have been in household management?
Leocornos death is tragic. The author tries to spin it as this peaceful death. Try to spin it all you like, he ran in terror and would have died in a panic. That is no peaceful release from a last great heroic act.
All in all it was okay.
kadyjak's review
3.0
This one was a little different than my usual choice of reading. The story was good, but many times it felt slow and a little hard to follow. I think it just felt like there was too much going on for my taste. I enjoyed learning a little about the history of Siena and that culture though.
kleejos's review
5.0
This book really captured my attention! I love all things Italy epically historical Italy. And this book captured one of the most beautiful cities and traditions in a clever and intriguing story. I didn't want to put it down.
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