4 out of 4 stars
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New Review of The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci. I can definitely see why this book got a book of the month award. I enjoyed it immensely and give it a 4 out of 4. It has intrigue, romance, suspense and best of all is just the first book of a new series. In the epilogue, the main character had a new vision. I plan on looking for the rest of the series and following the author, Belle Ami.
It is difficult to summarize the book without giving away spoilers. It is set in Italy. The main character is able to be a conduit to past lives to help solve mysteries involving missing art. Her special abilities started out with her having headaches and insomnia due to being plagued with vivid dreams. These dreams progressed to flashbacks during the day.
The dreams started out about Leonardo da Vinci. The main character’s fear wa if she ended up in the dream state and can’t come back. As with any book that is a thriller, there are also evil counterparts whose characters are also well developed. Her counterpart also has some intuitive abilities of his own. I particularly enjoyed the character development. Although the book is long, it held my interest.
Anyone would enjoy this book except perhaps die-hard fans of non-fiction. I particularly enjoyed some surprises and that this book was not predictable. I enjoyed that the protagonist is a woman and women in general are portrayed with strength and intelligence and not just physical attributes. One thing that I did not like was there were a couple of characters who seemed superfluous to the storyline but perhaps in future books, their characters will have more meaning.
The central piece of the book involved a lost painting thought to be a painting done by Leonardo da Vinci. One of my favorite passages was in the description of the painting. “The painting depicted the young couple standing opposite each other, their hands extended as though about to touch. The young man, dressed in Florentine red velvet gazed with love at the face of his intended. The young woman wore the same white gown of velvet she had on for her wedding, but she faced outward as if holding the gaze of the viewer. Her smile was a work in motion, not quite realized, as though she held a secret known only to her. The two lovers seemed to float above the city with the magnificence behind them. The painting was masterful, rendered in exquisite detail. Leonardo da Vinci captured the freshness of youth and love while at the same time elevating its power above church and state.
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The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci
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