Review by Nicolesmith327 -- The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci

[Nicolesmith327]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci" by Belle Ami.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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The Girl Who Knew DaVinci by Belle Ami is a brilliant story about a girl who connects with her past to solve a mystery. Today’s art world is spinning as Angela learns the truth about a painting, rumored to be one of Master DaVinci’s lost creations, by reliving her past. Angela finds she has a deeper connection with the people in the painting and realizes she knows the truth about its creator. Starting off in Los Angeles, California, we follow Angela to Italy, who escapes the clutches of her sleezy boss, and falls into the path of Alex, an ex-military man turned art sleuth. Together they make some wild discoveries, learn fascinating details about their own pasts, and journey through the Italian countryside to learn the truth.

This novel is a page turner. I had an enjoyable time reading it, and I could not put it down once I started reading. I loved the back and forth narration between both main characters and the flashbacks to the past. This book does have several romance and adult scenes; however, they are tastefully done. Often romance novels force the plot of the story to take a back seat to the interactions between the couple, but not here. Instead the romance between two souls does not sacrifice the suspense, action and mystery of the plot. Likewise, the characters are well-rounded with their own mysteries.

Belle Ami did a marvelous job of adding just the right amount of spice to the mystery surrounding the DaVinci painting. The concepts she addresses concerning the afterlife and the ability to connect with your past, made this story spectacular. Her story focuses on the many questions one might have about how to move forward when the past will not let you go. Just because you are fated to fall in love, does that mean you truly must?

I give The Girl Who Knew DaVinci a rating of 3 out of 4 stars. This rating is based on the various occurrences of missing quotation marks and a scene in chapter 10 that felt repetitive. I am unaware if this repetition was intentional or not, but it did create confusion. I also encountered several instances of open-ended dialogues where it made sense for the speaker to end their statements, but the quotation marks were not present. This broke the immersion factor of the novel. Despite the flaws, the story remains one that I would highly recommend.

As someone who enjoys art history and period pieces, I would recommend this book to any adult. The frequency of adult scenes does mark this novel for mature audience only. This novel is a stand-alone novel, though I do believe there is a second novel that follows the characters into another adventure. I look forward to reading that one as well!

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The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci
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