The Venice Sketchbook: A Novel

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There are never ending passages that read like a travelogue of Venice which may be of interest to someone who has been to Venice. I have not. So this is a story I’m kind of on that painful fence about. I liked Caroline a lot, I ended up seeing Julietta as both heroic and incredibly naïve at the same time, and I wanted the 21st century story more than I did the historic one. Your mileage may vary, especially if you’ve not experienced the same kind of WW2 historical fiction fatigue or you’ve not read much about that period in Italy as opposed to the more usual settings of France or Britain.. Caroline’s story felt shorter but was no less intriguing. What I didn’t like, however, was that it seemed to end quite abruptly. I was hooked by the characters and wanted to read more! What happened next? I felt this timeline needed another chapter (if not two) to properly wrap things up. A woman determined, in her last moments, that it was time for someone she loved to uncover her truth.

The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen Book Review: The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen

Juliet's "voice" seems so melancholy throughout her story and she has reason to feel that way. After her 1928 visit to Venice, Juliet's plans to attend art college are cut short by her father's financial losses and she must take a teaching job to support herself and her mom, after her father's death. In 1938 and then 1939, Juliet is able to travel to Venice and each time she runs into Leo. It's on what should be her year long visit to Venice in 1939 that Juliet knows she is in love with the married Leo. War is coming closer and closer but Juliet refuses to return to her home where she would be safer. In 1938 Juliet gets a teaching job in Venice and rekindles her romance with Leo. But the threat of war closes in on Venice and they’re forced to fight, survive, and protect a secret that will bind them forever. She is put in danger now as she agrees to become a spy for the English government. A clever prologue referring to Romeo and Julietsets the stage for Bowen’s…diverting romantic adventure in Venice, complete with intrigue, mystery, and, woe…This novel’s engaging entertainment is enhanced by its dual time line that uncovers Juliet’s secrets, and a plot enlivened by coincidences and romance. A must-read for Bowen fans and historical fiction enthusiasts.” ― Library Journal(starred review) The plot has Englishwoman Juliet Browning visiting Venice with her aunt in 1928 and then she visitsagain in 1938 and 1939. Each time, she meets and spends time with wealthy nobleman Leonardo Da Rossi. Leo is an Italian count with whom Juliet has an affair. Unfortunately, he is unhappily married to a wealthy Venetian girl. They cannot marry, even after Juliet becomes pregnant with Leo’s child. Plus, because of her father’s financial losses and untimely death, she cannot achieve her dreams of attending art college.

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I think that the issues I had with Lettie/Julietta’s part of the story was that so much of what she did has been written before, and the parts of the story that were unique to her were a bit too predictable, especially her doomed romance and its results. Pour a glass of Prosecco, make yourself a plate of tramezzini or some bruschetta, fill a little bowl with olives and let’s pretend we are soaking up the sun on the balcony at Hotel Danieli whilst reading Rhys Bowen’s latest masterpiece, “Venice Sketchbook”. It’s 1938 when art teacher Juliet Browning arrives in romantic Venice. For her students, it’s a wealth of history, art, and beauty. For Juliet, it’s poignant memories and a chance to reconnect with Leonardo Da Rossi, the man she loves whose future is already determined by his noble family. However star-crossed, nothing can come between them. Until the threat of war closes in on Venice and they’re forced to fight, survive, and protect a secret that will bind them forever. Leaving behind one final request, that Caroline go to Venice, a place that Lettie seems to have loved but that Caroline never knew was such a part of her great-aunt’s life, along with enough money for Caroline to make the trip, scatter Lettie’s ashes, and perhaps figure out what made the request so important to the dying woman that she hung on long enough to make that one last request.

The Venice Sketchbook: A Novel by Rhys Bowen, Paperback

This sounded such a fabulous premise - and it was set in Venice in two different time periods! I was so excited, especially as this is a new writer to me so the prospect of a whole set of new books to reead was exciting! I have a fondness for dual timeline books so I was quite pleased to accept a copy of The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen thanks to TLC Book Tours. All opinions are my own.Caroline’s story (2001), to me, was superfluous and just took up space and I did not care for the idea of cousins getting together. The Venice Sketchbook is that rare book, both epic and personal, and utterly compelling. Two women, decades apart, escape to Venice, each forced to grapple with the influence of world events on her own life. This is a tale brimming with secrets, romance, and possibilities, cast against the colorful setting of irresistible Venice. I was utterly captured." - Barbara O'Neal