- Paperback: 548 pages
- Publisher: BEAUTIFUL BOOKS (6 May 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1905636806
- ISBN-13: 978-1905636808
- Product Dimensions: 18.8 x 13 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 88,347 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Praise for Marina Fiorato:
'A great read'
'Captures the scents, passion and vigour of Italy'
(Books Quarterly )'Fiorato creates her own masterpiece'
(Booklist )'Mesmerising'
(Waterstones Books Quarterly )'Recommended'
(Good Book Guide )'A sizzling . . . read, and a must to pack in the suitcase'
(Italian Magazine )'The enchanting tale . . . is rich with passion, mystery and intrigue'
(Booktime ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.Product Description
Gloriously fresh and vivid, with a deliciously irreverant heroine, The Botticelli Secret is Marina Fiorato's most ambitious achievement to date. When Luciana Vetra is asked to pose for a painter friend, she doesn't mind serving as the model for the central figure of Flora in Sandro Botticelli's masterpiece Primavera. But when the artist dismisses her without payment, she steals an unfinished version of the painting-only to find that someone is ready to kill her to get it back.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I thoroughly enjoyed The Botticelli Secret by Marina Fiorato - I was engrossed by the storyline and couldn't put it down - you know it's good when you wish your morning rush hour tube journey was longer just to keep reading!! It was an easy read and I really liked the two central characters, Brother Guido and Luciana. I love the combination of history and fiction so this is exactly the book for me! And Marina's previous two books are excellent too. This book is highly recommended reading.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
This one seemed promising at the start - the scenes in Florence were entertaining and the descriptions pleasing. By the time the action reached Naples the whole thing had become ludicrous. After surviving a shipwreck by floating up to a grille, the two main characters have a few adventures and then go into a church looking for 'a lady'. They see a carving and realise that the numbers above it are significant (I won't spoil the story but it was a stroke of genius which caused one of the characters' eyes to glow blue). They go to a different carving, tug away at a piece of the stonework then press the numbers above it. Abracadabra, a secret passage opens. I was baffled as to how they'd done it and had to re-read it several times. I still don't know.
There seems to be a glut of these historical-mystery thriller novels at 99p or less on Kindle. In my opinion too many of them have ludicrous plotlines and shall we say experimental grammar - they seem to have been written by non-scholars who are trying to jump on the Dan Brown bandwagon. This one was a little bit more interesting and quite a lot better written than some of the others I've read and it may well appeal to many readers. But I gave up when the two main characters, a prostitute and a monk, ran down the aforesaid secret passage leaving a murderous leper with silver eyes wondering where they'd gone. I no longer cared.
There seems to be a glut of these historical-mystery thriller novels at 99p or less on Kindle. In my opinion too many of them have ludicrous plotlines and shall we say experimental grammar - they seem to have been written by non-scholars who are trying to jump on the Dan Brown bandwagon. This one was a little bit more interesting and quite a lot better written than some of the others I've read and it may well appeal to many readers. But I gave up when the two main characters, a prostitute and a monk, ran down the aforesaid secret passage leaving a murderous leper with silver eyes wondering where they'd gone. I no longer cared.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is absolutely entertaining from start to finish.
The heroine, Luciana, is a truly captivating character whom you instantly love. Her salty attitude makes her immediately authentic. A fantastic blend of irreverent humor and endless curiosity, Luciana is a perfect guide to this dangerous and fascinating world of fifteenth-century Italy.
The heroine, Luciana, is a truly captivating character whom you instantly love. Her salty attitude makes her immediately authentic. A fantastic blend of irreverent humor and endless curiosity, Luciana is a perfect guide to this dangerous and fascinating world of fifteenth-century Italy.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
AMAZING!!
I just loved this book and I couldn't put it down! If you like feisty female leads you'll love it. It's a great adventure with rich writing and fantastic descriptions of the... Read more
Published 24 days ago by M.Child
A STOPPER TO ALL THINGS
AN EXCELLENT BOOK -MAKE SURE YOU HAVE PLENTY OF TIME AS ONCE YOU START YOU WILL NOT WISH TO PUT IT DOWN
Published 1 month ago by MARGE
SUBLIME
This was just an absolutely brilliant book. Found myself going to bed early, snuggling down, and enjoying this book. I don't normally write reviews (just rely on everyone else's)! Read more
Published 3 months ago by monkey
Convoluted and confusing.
I thought I would really enjoy this book, but I didn't warm to the central character at all. I found the whole story too convoluted, and when it got to good bits, they were soon... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Lynne
a good romp
I enjoyed the characters, and the puzzle of the story, though I wasn't convinced by the end - far too tidy. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Anne Le Bas
Superb
What an exciting and interesting read! This book captivates your senses, makes you fall in love with the characters and gives you the urge to visit Italy and study art. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Zebedee
Is this the same Marina Fiorato???
Marina Fioratos first novel, 'The Glassblower of Murano', is a favourite book of mine. Her second, 'The Madonna of the Almonds' almost surpassed the first for me and therefore I... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mrs Pisaroni
Another exciting book.
Another exciting book from Marina Fiorato. The mix of fact and fiction is cleverly done and the book is full of lots of interesting details. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Gill Wyatt
Powerful historic thriller but more than that
I won't go into the storyline as enough is said in the reviews already. I was gripped immediately by the strong characterisation of Luciana and then Brother Guido, the main... Read more
Published 9 months ago by A. M. Fifield
Such an annoying book
If you liked the Da Vinci code you might like this, because it is very very similar, but it is so full of annoying anachronisms that I found it hard to read. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Busy doctor
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Fiction > Historical
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
