The Botticelli Secret by Marina Fiorato

The Botticelli Secret Reviews

• 
  Kate Quinn

  This book was pure fun. The plot was improbable and at times inexplicable, but I smiled all the way through. Mainly this was due to the narrator: cheerful Renaissance prostitute Luciana. How refreshing to come across a courtesan who is not ethereal, wounded, or brutalized - Luciana likes men, likes sex, likes her chosen profession, and makes no bones about it. Her golden hair lands her a job modeling for the goddess Flora in a painting of Botticelli's, and Luciana steals a small sketch of the painting to take away with her when the job is done. People start turning up dead around her, and Luciana ends up fleeing Florence with Brother Guido, a handsome and intellectual monk. Their journey is a travelogue through the city-states of Italy, as they stay a step ahead of a mysterious hit-man and try to unravel the clues in Botticelli's painting - clues pointing to a massive conspiracy. The plot twists sometimes left me scratching my head, but the book's real charm is in the two main characters. Luciana's foul-mouthed conversation and unabashed sensuality keep unsettling the straitlaced monk, who has some secrets of his own to keep hidden. I was happy to see every city in Italy with them, as long as I could keep eavesdropping on their verbal sparring. And Fiorato's descriptions - of art, of food, of clothes, of Venice and Florence and Rome - were delicious enough to bathe in.
• 
  Emma

  3.5 stars. This wasn’t quite my cup of tea, but still enjoyable. It was like Dan Brown set in the 15th century. The two main characters were a likeable combination and all the historical details of the most important cities of Italy at the time, made me want to go and visit them. I’ve always wanted to go to Venice and Florence. Rome is the only place in Italy I’ve ever been and it’s so ensconced in history, I could really visualise the story as it happened in Rome.
• 
  Piyangie

  This was a bit of a disappointment having really enjoyed The Venetian Contract by the same author. Similar to the Venetian Contract, Botticelli's Secret too is a historical fiction set in the 15th Century Italy (before the unification, of course). The theme chosen by the author was interesting and the story was developed on this theme using codes and puzzles (which reminded me of Dan Brown).
  
  The female and male protagonist are an unusual duo - a monk and a prostitute. This is an interesting choice. However, while I liked the male protagonist I had mixed feelings for the female protagonist. I liked her at times, but couldn't stand her at others. The rest of the characters were all good; and the author had employed real historical figures which gave the story a real feeling.
  
  The story takes the reader on a journey through various cities of Italy giving a good historical account of them. And I did enjoy this journey with the two main characters solving the puzzle to unravel "Botticelli's Secret".
  
  However, I had a serious issue with the writing. While Fiorato has been careful in preserving the historical feeling in the narrative with appropriate language, when it came to dialogue, it was too modern and unrefined for me. It really put off my steady enjoyment of the story as I was constantly transported to two realms through the language difference. It is a peculiarity of me, I know; but when reading historical fiction, I'm keen on usage of language suitable to the time setting. If not for this reason, I'm pretty sure I would have enjoyed it more.
• 
  Tonkica

  Stvarna ocjena.. 2-2,5
  Ne znam kada sam zadnji put knjigu čitala duže od dvadeset dana! :O
  Ajme, jedva sam ju prožvakala do kraja. Pažnju mi je držalo možda stotinjak stranica i to pedesetak na početku i pedesetak na kraju.. Ovo ostalo.. Preduga radnja, hladni likovi kao i njihova povezanost.. Nisam od ljubića, a izgleda ni od povijesnih.. Mene stvarno nije dirnula.. osim u živac! :P
• 
  Frankie Brown

  I love this book and don't care what you think.
• 
  Misfit

  (3.5 stars) A map of murder.....
  
  Or is it something else altogether? The basis of the novel and the mystery is Boticelli's famous painting Primavera. Asked to sit as "Flora" prostitute Luciana Vetra unknowingly says something that sends the artist into a fit of anger, and sent off without pay she decides to steal a smaller version of the painting (the artist would use this to *map out* his larger painting), but it doesn't take long before people are dropping dead left and right around her. Luciana eventually hooks up with a very good looking monk who goes by Brother Guido (who of course has not taken final vows yet) and the game is on to solve the pieces of the puzzle in the Primavera and stop "The Seven" before.......
  
  Well, you know I can't tell you that don't you? This was a lot of fun and I enjoyed watching Luciana and Guido unraveling the clues that abound in every portion of this painting, as well as their own secret pasts (both are doozies). The story takes the pair from Florence to Pisa, Rome, Venice, Milan, Naples, near death on the high seas, a massive earthquake and even a spooky castle in the high mountains with a secret underground as they are chased by the ever-so-creepy leper with a talent for murder.
  
  While I did enjoy the pairing of Luciana and Guido, I really would have liked to see less banter and more sexual chemistry between the two - this book is definitely heavy on the mystery and light on the romance. I also didn't care for the way Luciana was written, prostitute or no her language was extremely course and filled with potty words and I didn't warm to her as much as I should have. I also found her a tad bit too modern - using phrases like "get a move on" that just felt out of place - and for those reasons I'm knocking this one down a half star to 3.5/5. It was fascinating reading the minor bits and pieces that make up the whole painting (do read up on it), I'd love to see it in real life although most of those details would have gone right over my ignorant head. A very enjoyable and fast read and a nice mystery that keeps you guessing, but not quite up to four star material.
  
• 
  Mira Margitta

  Proputovala kroz Italiju i upoznala šaroliko društvo.
• 
  Kristin

  Historical fiction should make the reader feel as though they are being offered a privileged view of things as they progressed in history, with the caveat that a certain amount of suspension of disbelief is necessary on the reader's part, but not too much. The privileged view the historical fiction reader enjoys is usually dependent on the understanding that the characters speak in the native language of the novel's setting and we, through some magical historical fiction device, read it in English.
  
  Within the first 20 pages this book's heroine (a part-time model and full-time whore, by her own constant description) teases an earnest monk trying to have a conversation with her by making "our souls" into "arseholes." And in Italian, "lo stronzo" sounds nothing like "le nostre anime." Phlbbbt.
  
  Strangely, though, this book got better, which saved it from getting one star. I think that it might have been a case of the author trying to contrast two extremes in the main character's personality, an overshooting the characterization to a desperately terrible degree to begin with. The language stayed firmly stuck in colloquial modern English (at one point the main character bemoans the long time it has been since she got laid), though this bothered me less by the end (probably because I got used to it). What saved it was the intricately imagined plot tied to a lot of close looking at Botticelli's Primavera; as an art historian I find that kind of thing hard to pass up. Which is why I suppose I picked up the thing in the first place.
• 
  Kathleen

  This was so much bawdy fun and by that, I mean because of the verbalizations of Luciana, our happy-go-lucky protagonist who starts the book as an unapologetic prostitute. Other than the vulgar things that come out of her mouth, there's no sex in the book, should that be off-putting to you. If you don't get thrown off by her crudity, especially in the beginning chapters, and just settle into her free spirited personality, it's a fun romp across Renaissance Italy particularly once she's paired up with her counterpart, Monk-in-training, Brother Guido della Torre. Two more opposite characters there couldn't be but they work together magically.
  
  I know very little about Art and neither did Luciana but the biggest clue there was something important about the "cartone" she stole of the infamous Botticelli painting "La Primavera," was everyone coming up murdered around her. To think there was a message/meaning buried into any beautiful painting would be far removed from my mind. Out of curiosity, I had to google the real painting & while magnificent, I still would have missed any communication transferred so subtly. It's an interesting, harrowing adventure following the two characters while they deciphered that message tho and a fantastic idea to build a book around.
  
  Fun read. Unlike anything I've read previously and charmingly irresistible book to start off the New Year. 4 stars but the cover alone gets FIVE ~ can we just say "cover lust??!!" That dress is splendiferous!
• 
  Alison

  Just finished the book. I loved, loved, loved how it ended. I'm a sucker for such endings. I must admit, I was not very much impressed with the book at the beginning of it. Some details seemed unnecessary and some ideas were too far-fetched but it was highly entertaining and I adored the two main characters. I don't think I can say that this is my favourite book by Marina Fiorato but I have to give 5 stars to it because I enjoyed it so much. Fiorato is certainly one of my favourite authors, particularly because she writes historical novels on one of my favourite countries in the whole world - Italy. She makes 15th century Pisa, Genoa, Naples, Venice, Florence, Rome and Milan sooo beautiful even amidst the murders, crimes and evil lords (and ladies) :)
• 
  Lady Vigilante (Feifei)

  ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF ALL TIME!!!
  
  I'm too lazy to leave a full review (haha). I read this two years ago and I can still remember all the details of this book. History, suspense, political intrigue, and of course, ROMANCE!!! This book has it all! Best of yet, the heroine is an experienced kick-ass prostitute and the hero is a priest-in-training!!!!! <---- my first reaction was O_O then when I finished the book I was on top of the earth, moon, water, land, and every other geographical landmark ^_^
  
  If you're a fan of historical romances with a twisted political plot and a controversial romance, this is one to have on your TBR!!
• 
  Alejandra

  Okey... Sometimes you have to embrace how unrealistic a book is and accept despite the unrealism you couldn't put it down and it made you cry.
• 
  Kimm

  I'm sorry to say I absolutely hated this book. The first page or two held my attention as it was written in the first person and strongly conveyed that the narrator was intelligent, educated, cultured, and possibly wealthy. This impression came from the flawless English, complex sentences, and lack of slang or dialect. Imagine my surprise when I found out the narrator was the prostitute, supposedly very young, uneducated, and low class. And then came the torrent of vulgarities and constant references to lewd acts performed by said prostitute. I'm no prude, but found myself disgusted by far too much of this and by page 11 I was ready to toss it in the trash. Based on this alone, I would not recommend this book to a friend or family member out of sheer embarrassment. This is one of those books that a 13-yr-old boy would sneak out of his mother's bookcase to read the good parts under the covers.
  
  Forcing myself to continue a bit further, since I did agree to read and review the ARC, I then found myself much annoyed by the narrator's constant recital of her "3 facts" which she had for some person or some place or thing introduced into the story. Once or twice I wouldn't have minded, but every few pages of this had me wishing the narrator were real so I could slap her silly. Between this and the vulgarity, I gave up reading by chapter 8 and just lightly skimmed the rest of the novel.
  
  The vulgarity so strongly presented in the beginning did seem to ease up quite a bit after chapter 8 but I noted that just when I thought perhaps it had stopped completely, something would be said out of the blue in a moment where it was not really necessary. It all seemed immature and gratuitious to me and while realistically I would expect this sort of language and behavior from a low class, 15th century Italian prostitute, it seemed far more annoying, offensive, and out of place due to the aforementioned perfect English. Had such vulgarities been written in some sort of dialect to indicate and match with the prostitute's station in life, I would have been far less annoyed and more convinced it was the prostitute speaking instead of the author writing. Usually dialect is distracting and difficult for me, but I would have welcomed it in this case. I kept thinking perhaps the prostitute was telling the tale in hindsight after she was reformed and educated or else that she wasn't really a prostitute but was working as one as part of the "secret". Very confusing.
  
  As far as plot I have to say there wasn't really anything new here. It is very much in the Dan Brown vein. It's a mystery novel with a strong historical bent to it. Been there, done that. I also wasn't surprised at all by the ending - I could see that coming by page 11.
  
  So, all-in-all, my "3 facts" about this book are: it's vulgar, it's annoying, and it's nothing remarkable. I would like to do with this book what the prostitute did with the monk's pamphlet when they first met. :)
• 
  GlowingFalkor

  This was an extremely awesome book! I'm so happy I picked it up at Half Price Books. As I've said before, my one problem with it is that then author does tend to use language that would come across in English, but not always in the Tuscan or Pisan or other languages in the book. But I suppose it's for those of us who unfortunatly don't speak more than one or two. There's a bit of swearing, too, that doesn't really ring true.
  I did love this story, though. And I LOVE that it's based on theories by Enrico Guidoni, an Italian academic who thought he had unraveled the secrets of Botticelli‭’‬s most famous painting,‭ ‬La Primavera. So the theories haven't exactly been proven, but man are they believable. As I was reading, I kept going online, researching what was going on at the time in history when they made reference to something. I also kept going back to pictures of La Primavera itself, looking for the clues they found and going "Oh hey! That totally makes sense!" But it IS a work of historical fiction. While the places and most of the people are real, the author does state that some characters are invented, or in the wrong place opposed to history.
  I'm not sure if to read this, you absolutely need to know something about the real history, but it sure as hell helped me through it. The little notes at the end were also pretty helpful.
  This is definitly going in a prominent place on my bookshelf. ^.^ Thanks Marina Fiorato!!
• 
  Gwen - Chew & Digest Books -

  In 1482 Florence, Luciana Vetra is a 16 year old orphaned prostitute, when one of her clients asks her to sit for the famous painter, Sandro Botticello. Mad that she isn’t paid for her time spent modeling, she steals a small copy of the painting and mayhem ensues. Before she realizes the power of what she has, her roommate is killed as well as a lover/client. She can trust no one, but a monk that she meant the day before.
  
  On they run, through all of Italy, the two are chased while trying to decipher what conspiracy is a foot with the painting.
  
  The Botticelli Secret has it’s thrilling twist, but has a few flaws as well. The crude language of Luciana can be quite jarring at times as well as unnecessary. The ciphers in the painting are very complex and it is hard to picture a young unlearned prostitute that can’t even read or write figuring them out as easily as she does. There are also many points where the dialogue seems very contemporary. If you would love to read fiction about the political intrigue of Italy before it was united, this might just be your great escape.
  
• 
  Medina Jasarevic

  Uzbudljivo i napeto. Priča o snu i ujedinjenju Italije u vrijeme Lorenca de Medicija i ostalih renesansnih likova u Italiji.
• 
  Elena

  The Botticelli Secret is a fully enjoyable read. It has a plot full of twists and turns, with peculiar, funny characters and a rich and beautiful setting.
  
  The novel follows the adventures of Luciana, a prostitute who becomes the target of mysterious assassins after she steals a copy of “La Primavera”, a painting by Botticelli. Helped by a young monk, Brother Guido, she travels in many italian cities while discovering the truths behind the painting and her own past.
  
  Luciana is not an easy heroine to like. I personally really loved her from the beginning, but I can see why many wouldn't: she is awfully irreverent and profane, and also very frivolous and selfish. However, she is not stupid and she does change during the novel, discovering that her own safety is not the most important thing; and that feelings she initially despised can actually be truly admirable.
  
  Guido is the complete opposite of Luciana, which is why their relationship is so funny to read. In real life they probably wouldn't last one day together, but in the book they make a good team with a great chemistry. He is intellectual, collected and calm, with an admirably strong faith. Of course, during the books he faces shocking revelations which make him questions his belief in God, but I was happy with his character development and his ending - predictably, he stops being a monk to marry Luciana, but he keeps believing in his God.
  
  The plot cleverly interweaves historical facts and figures with action, adventure and mysteries. It is sometimes a little improbable and unrealistic, but it is always eventful and delightfully enjoyable. There are also so many facts about so many different disciplines that in the end I truly felt more learned! The only part which is a little slower is Luciana's time in Venice, but I still enjoyed it because of Fiorato's impressive skill at creating alluring settings. One of the things I appreciated the most about the book, in fact, is that Luciana and Guido's adventures take them to many beautiful italian cities, all of them equally different and splendid. The representation of these places was so well done that I felt almost like I was visiting them too.
  
  A book highly recommended, especially if you like historical fictions mixed with mysteries and adventures. I had a truly great time reading it and I definitely will try Marina Fiorato's books again.
• 
  Gaile

  Chi-Chi (Luciana)a common harlot is asked to pose for a painting for Alessandro Botticelli. In a fit of pique, after the session, she steals a cartone (smaller copy) of the painting. never dreaming it will propel her into danger and intrigue. Fleeing for her life, she comes across Brother Guido whom she entices to help her. He insists the painting must be the cause of all this and together they try to decipher the meaning hidden in the painting.
  Follows a chase through the nine cities of Renaissance Italy during which Luciana finds she is higher born than she thought,has several near encounters with her life, falls in love with Brother Guido and he with her.
  This is told in the first person so that we get into the head of a convent raised girl who slips away at the age of twelve to become a harlot, a more exciting life to her way of thinking than the convent one. She grows into a great beauty but her earthy thoughts and language make her a most unusual heroine. This coupled with the intelligence and wordy Brother Guido makes these two an enigmatic couple.
  As they struggle to uncover the plot, they are caught. Luciana is taken into the custody of her cold hearted mother while Brother Guido becomes disillusioned with his church, manages to escape his imprisonment and meet up with Luciana again thus bringing the novel to a satisfying and happy end.
  This book reminds me of the DaVinci code. Indeed we meet DaVinci himself in this story. I think I will never look upon Italian paintings the same again, wondering if they all conceal a code!
  Highly recommended!
• 
  Nancy

  Another Goodreads First Reads win!!
  
  Here I am immersed in the Dark Ages again having recently read “The Lady Queen" by Nancy Goldstone, and despite the brutality I find the period fascinating. Imagine sitting down to a feast of such delicacies as hare’s testicles, tiny octopus with two tiny front teeth you have to remove before eating, coal black pasta made with the ink from a squid, and immense boars with glassy eyes that stare at you—yum!
  
  This story revolves around secrets hidden in the famous Sandro Botticelli painting “Primavera” and the race to decipher them before the ‘evil guys’ get their way. What I particularly liked was the juxtaposition of the two protagonists—a surly-mouthed street whore and a pious Franciscan monk who also happens to be a nobleman. I loved the growth of the two characters as Guido, the monk, loses his naiveté about the fallibility of man and Luciana, the prostitute, learns that she has value and is worthy of being loved.
  
  However, I did find their unbelievable ability to discern the hidden clues in Botticelli’s painting with apparent ease (or at least part of the time with apparent ease) a stretch of the imagination. But I guess that’s what kept the thread of the story moving and why it kept me turning pages to the end. I definitely plan to search out Fiorato ‘s other book, “The Glassblower of Murano.”
  
• 
  Natasa

  I liked the concept of this book, but the execution left much to be desired. The language, first of all, is filthy. I’m not turned off by “bad” language but it is just so over the top.
• 
  Jasna (JV_readinglist)

  Odlično putovanje kroz Italiju uz ovu knjigu....
• 
  Cherie

  I really enjoyed the romp around to all of the cities in the story. All of the clues from the Botticelli painting were interestingly presented. After a somewhat slow start, the story took on a quicker pace. I was content to finish each section and put the book down and think about all of the clues that had been revealed until the next reading section. There were so many things to look up and words to query in each section, I felt a real sense of discovery in the tromp around Italy. I am glad to finally have finished this book. It has been the longest on my TBR list for several years.
  
  I am looking forward to reading the author’s other book and a couple from the suggested reading list.
• 
  Pernille

  2.75.
  This one was tough.
  A good and interesting plot, but the characters were lackluster. I didn't enjoy the writing.
• 
  Caitlin

  It was hard for me to choose between one and two stars for this one, which is too bad, because I so wanted to like it. Unfortunately the book couldn't have been more predictable, most of the characters were entirely one-dimensional, and I found various inconsistencies throughout the book (and I wasn't even looking for them). One of these that bugged me was the fact that a character is killed very early on and while the murder is happening, the murderer is questioning the victim, only for it later to be revealed that the murderer is incapable of speech due to a physical deformity. Overall this book lacked heart and seemed more like someone gave the author plot marks to hit and she set out to make sure love happens at point A, despair at point B, reconciliation at point C, intrigue at point D, and resolution at point E. Very formulaic and disappointing. I started out at 2 stars at the beginning of this review. Now I'm down to 1.
• 
  Петя

  Като автор,Марина Фиорато е абсолютен шедьовър. Всяка една нейна книга е отлично написана и изпипана до съвършенство. "Тайната на Ботичели" от своя страна е книга с толкова реален исторически сюжет,че за един историк е удоволствие да я прочете. Картините , които описва авторката са докосващи и успяват да те пренесат в средата на действието, без никакви проблеми. Всяка една сюжетна линия успява да те заинтригува и успяваш напълно реално да вникнеш в действието, което не всеки автор успява да направи. Всяка следваща книга е просто нова наслада за сетивата и те оставя в очакване.
• 
  Elysium

  I did enjoy the book but there was some things that annoyed me. I thinks the way it was written was too modern. I'm not sure but I doubt people that time said "What the fuck" or "For fuck's sake". And while I don't generally mind swearing, I didn't like how she constantly used the word fuck. And I would have liked some more romance between Guido and Luciana.
• 
  Ivana

  Odlično pisana knjiga, Fiorato isprepliće ljubav, povijest i avanture. Zanimljivo mi je bilo čitati o talijanskim gradovima budući da sam većinu i sama posjetila.
  
  „Ljubav je kad nekoga toliko voliš da to moraš nazvati nekim drugim imenom“, šapnuo je. I otišao.