History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

The Assassin of Venice Author: Alyssa Palombo Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense Publisher: Crooked Lane Books  Publication Date: 2024 Pages: 314 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review  Synopsis: A Renaissance courtesan must choose between love and duty in this high stakes 16th-century mystery, perfect for fans of Madeline Hunter and Rhys Bowen.        Valentina Riccardi is many things: beautiful, cultured, deadly. As one of Venice’s famous courtesans, she’s perfectly positioned to seduce powerful men, get them alone, and assassinate them. Spies. Traitors. Who they are doesn’t matter—only that they made an enemy of the Council of Ten, the shadowy and seemingly omniscient power from which Valentina takes her orders without question.        Venice is her home, and after losing everything once before to an invading army, there is nothing she won’t do to protect her city, for...

The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel: A Story of Sleepy Hollow Author: Alyssa Palombo Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense, Fantasy Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin Release Date: October 2, 2018 Pages: 432 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: When Ichabod Crane arrives in the spooky little village of Sleepy Hollow as the new schoolmaster, Katrina Van Tassel is instantly drawn to him. Through their shared love of books and music, they form a friendship that quickly develops into romance. Ichabod knows that as an itinerant schoolteacher of little social standing, he has nothing to offer the wealthy Katrina – unlike her childhood friend-turned-enemy, Brom Van Brunt, who is the suitor Katrina’s father favors.      But when romance gives way to passion, Ichabod and Katrina embark on a secret love affair, sneaking away into the woods after dark to be together – all while praying they do not catch sight of Sleepy Hollow’s le...

The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence: A Story of Botticelli Author: Alyssa Palombo Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin Release Date: April 25, 2017 Pages: 320 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A girl as beautiful as Simonetta Cattaneo never wants for marriage proposals in 15th Century Italy, but she jumps at the chance to marry Marco Vespucci. Marco is young, handsome and well-educated. Not to mention he is one of the powerful Medici family’s favored circle.      Even before her marriage with Marco is set, Simonetta is swept up into Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici’s glittering circle of politicians, poets, artists, and philosophers. The men of Florence—most notably the rakish Giuliano de’ Medici—become enthralled with her beauty. That she is educated and an ardent reader of poetry makes her more desirable and fashionable still. But it is her acquaintance with a young painter, Sandro Botticelli, which str...