Official Review: The Girl Who Knew da Vinci by Belle Ami

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kdstrack
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Official Review: The Girl Who Knew da Vinci by Belle Ami

Post by kdstrack »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org 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 da Vinci by Belle Ami could classify as a thriller-romance novel. The author combines mystery with love to keep readers spellbound from start to finish.

Welcome to the races! This is a race to recover a missing, and yet unknown, da Vinci painting. Leading the way is Angela. She works as an intern at the Getty Art Museum. Recently, she has been having dreams and visions related to a mysterious painting. The second participant is the director of the museum. He uses his contacts with the mafia to advance towards the prize. Enter Alex Caine, a detective, who has been contracted by a German billionaire. His assignment is to clear his client’s family name of any association with the painting and the Nazis. Who will be the first to uncover further clues, or even, the painting itself? Let the races begin!

The setting spans three distinct time periods. Angela and Alex live and work in Los Angeles. Angela’s time travel episodes transport her to WW II Germany and also to Italy at the time of da Vinci. With each journey into the past, she acquires further details about the undisclosed location of the missing painting. A considerable portion of the narrative takes place in Florence, Italy. The descriptions of the museums and the city are utterly amazing.

The pacing of the book captures the reader’s interest. New information is shared gradually, maintaining the suspense. The tension of various characters converging on the location of the missing painting increases throughout the story. The omniscient third-person point of view reveals the plans of each of the runners as they race toward the finish line. Fascinating snippets of information about the Medici family add flavor to the narrative.

The change of focus, from unraveling the mystery to showcasing the increasing affection between Angela and Alex, was disappointing. The intimate scenes were well done but increased in frequency. What started out as a mystery about a missing da Vinci, slowly shifted focus to a love story. I also felt that some of the conversations were unreal, especially during the times Angela traveled back to Germany.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The plot had me absolutely intrigued. Nevertheless, the unreal conversations and numerous editing flaws impeded the reading flow. Readers who enjoy historical fiction will breeze through this book. Those who prefer romance novels will also race through this book.

******
The Girl Who Knew da Vinci
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Kibet Hillary
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

Wow, thanks for the awesome review. It is nice to learn that the book has a mix of both historical and romance genres. I would have also loved if the author would have managed to stick to one lane either the historical or the romance genre. Nevertheless, the combination will work well for some who do not like reading books that major on one area. I love historical fiction and I hope that I might be able to read this.
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Post by Bianka Walter »

A historical thriller romance. Interesting!
I'm not sure if I wouldn't prefer a more focussed genre.
Either way, it sounds like quite an exciting read.
Thanks so much for the review! :)
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Post by bootsie0126+ »

Great detailed filled review. I have plans to read this book. Thanks for the heads-up regarding the pace of the book and the change of plot from a mystery to a romance. This is kind of a let down but I will still read. Hopefully, I won't be too disappointed in the end. A romance story is ok in a novel, but when the main focus on solving a mystery shifts towards the development of a romance, to me weakens the suspense in the book. Because you were able to still give a rating of 3 out of 4, I will read keep an open mind while reading.
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Post by kandscreeley »

Well, I started out thinking that this one sounded quite intriguing. But then you said the number of intimate scenes started increasing, and you definitely lost me. I'm really not looking for a romance, but the rest of it sounds good. Thanks.
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kdstrack
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Post by kdstrack »

Kibetious wrote: 22 May 2018, 03:40 Wow, thanks for the awesome review. It is nice to learn that the book has a mix of both historical and romance genres. I would have also loved if the author would have managed to stick to one lane either the historical or the romance genre. Nevertheless, the combination will work well for some who do not like reading books that major on one area. I love historical fiction and I hope that I might be able to read this.
If you like both of those genres, you will love it!
kdstrack
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Post by kdstrack »

kandscreeley wrote: 22 May 2018, 07:40 Well, I started out thinking that this one sounded quite intriguing. But then you said the number of intimate scenes started increasing, and you definitely lost me. I'm really not looking for a romance, but the rest of it sounds good. Thanks.
That was the biggest disappointment of the book. The rest was top-notch!
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Post by gen_g »

Oh wow, thanks for the great review! This certainly seems really exciting, and I'm definitely tempted to pick it up!
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Post by Jackie Holycross »

I love the idea that it includes time travel. It sounds fast paced and interesting.
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Post by togormey »

:techie-studyingbrown:
Kudos!!!
Mixed adventure and love is a "must read"
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Post by kfwilson6 »

When I saw this one is up for book of the month next month I really wanted to read it. I looooove Dan Brown and this reminded me of The Da Vinci Code. I can get past the points that led you to drop a star. I think it'll be worth it. I'm surprised to see a review for this because Amazon has a publication date of June 1. I'm jealous you got to review it :)
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Post by NL Hartje »

So there is time travel involved in the "race" to find the painting? How are they transported? Is it a mind or body type experience?
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Post by crediblereading2 »

Adventure, mystery, and art together in 1 package. This one is definitely a page-turner. Very good review.
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Post by haleygerstenberg »

I was pretty curious about this one (I've been seeing it in the sidebar on this site), that's really interesting that it's that multiple-time-period type of historical fiction. I've read maybe one other book that did this, and I really enjoyed it. Definitely not what I expected from the title of this book, though. Thank you for this review, it's very helpful.
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Post by Favouristic »

Thanks for ur preview, it helps one have a little idea about the book. It interests me to read how mystery ,love and adventure acts together in one book
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