Happy Release Day!
AUTHOR: Donna Russo Morin
INFO: Paperback, Fiction, 418 pages
PUBLISHED: Kensington, 2012
SOURCE: Received from Publisher for Review and Blog Tour
FROM GOODREADS: The King’s Agent is based loosely on the life of Battista della Palla-a patriotic plunderer, a religious rogue-of the 16th century, a lifelong friend to the great Michelangelo.
As the cloistered ward of the Marquess of Mantua, Lady Aurelia is a woman with a profound duty, and a longing for adventure. In search of a relic intended for the King of France, Battista and Aurelia cross the breathtaking landscape of Renaissance Italy. Clues hide in great works of art, political forces collide, secret societies and enemies abound, and danger lurks in every challenge, those that mirror the passages of Dante's Divine Comedy. It is an adventurous quest with undercurrents of the supernatural, powers that could change the balance of supremacy throughout Europe.
MY TAKE: A fun book that I was very happy to get a chance to review. It is a historical romp set in Italy of the 1500s with a thief/hero/mystery man and a beautiful, secretive woman at the heart of the tale. This doesn't even begin to describe it though..
A lot of ingredients and flavors spice up this engaging story from the beginning. There are touches of fantasy, history and romance mixed in with a healthy helping of adventure in the vein of "Indiana Jones", "National Treasure" and "The DaVinci Code". The references to various masterpieces like Dante's "The Divine Comedy" and appearances of such august persons as Michelangelo add lovely substance to a well-written fictional tale. The real historical backdrop of Italy's changing political and religious scene sets the stage for many twists and turns that the reader won't see coming.
I enjoyed the main characters of Battista and Aurelia. The reader will become invested in their lives and their progress as they hunt down an elusive and legendary piece of artwork. They have such dissimilar lives and backgrounds and yet they connect at a deep level. The author did a great job of laying the groundwork for their paths to intersect and converge. Their journey was peppered with a lot of ups and downs and other colorful characters. I wanted to hate Federico, the marquess of Mantua, but he proves himself to be true. As do Battista's best friend Frado and their wild bunch of merry men.
Ms. Morin is very adept at describing the surroundings and details of what the characters are seeing and experiencing. It makes it very easy for the reader to be right there with Battista and Aurelia as they traipse across the country in search of the elusive prize! She also keeps you guessing with well-placed clues peppered throughout the story. I did manage to figure part of the mystery out before the big reveal, but it was well worth the journey.
A very helpful and thought-inspiring reader/discussion guide is included at the end of the book. It would be great for a book club as this book has so many elements that any reader should be able to find something that resonates with them in this story.
Out of 5 JEWELS, I give it:
The King's Agent is out TODAY and available at most retailers including:
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| Donna Russo Morin |
Donna Russo Morin was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1958. Her writing endeavors began at age six and covered such timely topics as The Pink Pussy Cat for President and The Numbers 2 and 4 are in Love.
Traveling through adolescence on the wings of the ‘60s gave Donna a lot of grist for her writing mill. Feminism, civil rights, the Vietnam War were all a disturbing yet highly motivating muse. Donna found her voice in fiction and with the appearance of a new horror writer on the book scene, a little known author named Stephen King, she turned her pen to the gruesome and the grotesque.
After graduating from the University of Rhode Island, Donna worked in marketing and advertising for large corporations and small non-profit arts organizations. When she had her children, she knew with a certainty that she needed to show them, by example, that if you believe in yourself, anything is possible.
In addition to writing and teaching writing, Donna has worked as a model and actor since the age of seventeen, when she did her first television commercial for Sears. Since then she has appeared in more than thirty television spots and print ads, everything from changing the oil in her car (that was acting) to modeling fur coats. She also appeared in three episodes of Showtime’s THE BROTHERHOOD, as well as in Martin Scorsese’s THE DEPARTED.
Donna lives peacefully, close to the beautiful shoreline of Rhode Island that she loves so much, with her two sons, Devon and Dylan, her greatest works in progress.
Connect with Donna: website, Facebook, Twitter
I'd like to thank the author and Amy from Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for including me in this tour.
~~~~~ Disclaimer: All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own. I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links. I may receive books in order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one. Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.
