Graceless Heart
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 Graceless Heart
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#1 New York Times bestselling author Isabel Ibañez makes her adult debut with a gorgeous, historical, and romantic fantasy perfect for fans of One Dark Window and Ever After. A lush tale full of enemies-to-lovers tension, whimsical magic, villain romance, and slow-burn desire, set in an enchanted, perilous Florence where forbidden power could ignite a war.
“Truly radiant.” Rachel Gillig, New York Times bestselling author of One Dark Window
LOVE IS THE MOST DANGEROUS MAGIC.
As a sculptress, Ravenna Maffei has always shaped beauty from stone but she has a terrible secret. Desperate to save her brother, she enters a competition hosted by Florence’s most feared immortal family, revealing a dark power in a city where magic is forbidden.
Now a captive in the cutthroat city of Florence, Ravenna is forced into a dangerous task where failure meets certain death at the hands of Saturnino dei Luni, the immortal family's mesmerizing but merciless heir. But as he draws her closer, Ravenna realizes the true threat lies beyond Florence’s walls.
The Pope’s war against magic is closing in, and Ravenna is no longer just a prisoner but a prize to be claimed. As trusting the wrong person becomes lethal, Ravenna must survive the treacherous line between a pope's obsession and the seductive immortal who might be the end of her ― or surrender her power to a city on the brink of war.
Emily's Review
This is my second book by Ibanez, and I clearly need to read more, because this was fantastic! I would never have expected to give a Romantasy novel five stars, but here we are!
The writing and pacing were perfect, and pulled me in, but it was the intrigue and romance that sucked me into the story. I was so immersed in the setting; this book was so cinematic. I think it would make a great movie, like Ever After. It has strong fairytale vibes!
Saturnino's character arc and his relationship with Ravenna was gorgeously written. Ravenna was a fascinating protagonist in that she was never entirely sure of what was going on. She reminded me a lot of Katniss Everdeen, just charge ahead and hope for the best.
I appreciated the fact that I could never be sure of anyone's true allegiance. The intrigue between factions kept me on the edge of my seat! So many twists and turns. I must have gasped at least a dozen times.
The yearning, the magic, the intrigue - I couldn't put this book down!
Other Similar Books
Other suggestions on the subject of Renaissance Italy.
- Leonardo da Vinci (by: Stanley, Diane, Leonardo da Vinci, LE, MG)
- Michelangelo (by: Stanley, Diane, Michelangelo, LE, MG)
- Stone Giant: Michelangelo's David and How He Came to Be (by: Sutcliffe, Jane, Michelangelo, LE)
- The Apprentice (by: Llorente, Pilar Molina, Art History, MG)
- Along Came Galileo (by: Jeanne Bendick, Jeanne, Galileo, MG, UMG)
- The Second Mrs. Gioconda (by: Konigsburg, E.L., Leonardo da Vinci, UMG, YA)
- Leonardo's Shadow (by: Grey, Christopher, Leonardo da Vinci, UMG, YA)
- Graceless Heart (by: Ibanez, Isabel, Italian Renaissance, Medici Family, A)