A descendant of Giovanni Lomazzo brings his art treatise to a book restorer, who discovers the palimpsest, Giovanni's journal of his illicit love affair. DeRoux beautifully portrays the artist's impossible romance amidst the terror of the Ottoman Empire. The attraction between between Giovanni's descendant and the book restorer pales by comparison, and is not as interesting. Perhaps this is because it's too familiar, or it may be that the mores of the time are more mundane, a simple married man and single woman. In any case, this historical fiction is worth it for Giovanni's tragic romance with the courtesan of Venice's powerful military commander. I was fortunate to receive a digital copy from the publisher Ballantine Books through NetGalley.

Unfortunately this book didn't show up on my kindle even though it's on my list and shelf, so I'm obligated to provide a review and a rating even though I can't figure out how to get the book. I wish there was a way to alert netGalley when this happens. Sorry.

this was a really interesting read, the characters were great and I loved the use of the two storylines. I had a great time reading this book.

Dual timelines, with one set in 1571 Venice, and the other in a current time college town in Connecticut. In Venice Chiara is the beautiful courtesan to Viero, a Venetian military leader, and he has retained Giovanni Lomazzo, to paint her portrait. During the sittings for the portrait, Chiara and Gio discover their mutual interest in the arts, her in music, and his in painting Unbeknownst to most is the fact that Gio is loosing his eyesight, and this may be his last portrait. Centuries later, William Lomazzo, an artist looking for direction, has undertaken to sift through his deceased relative's belongings and discovers an extremely old palimpsest, which is a document written over a hidden text that has purposely been scraped away. He hopes to have it restored so he takes it to Rose, professional book restorer in the college town. The process of separating the two texts and the process of creating Chiara's portrait took a lot of my attention, but the salons of Venice Swirl with politics as they prepare for the invasion of the Ottoman fleet, while the rest of Venetian society is dictated by antisemitism, superstition, and the inequality of women. The characters in the Venetian timeline have stronger details and plot lines, but William's unspoken responses to the marriage counselor were priceless.

"The Lost Diary of Venice" features stories from the past and from modern times, woven together in one narrative. The details and background on art and on book restoration make this book interesting for me. I enjoyed the storyline on Giovanni and Chiara quite a lot, as I find historical novels to be intriguing. The lush details and descriptions draw the reader into the stories of both past (Venice) paralleling current times (Connecticut) and provide a fitting background for the action. The story was well-researched as well as imaginative.

I received this book from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The ideas expressed here are entirely my own.

The Lost Diary of Venice by Margaux DeRoux also weaves together two captivating narratives. In the present day, Rose Newlin is a bookseller and book restorer whose client, artist William Lomazzo, brings in a manuscript dated 1571, likely written by his ancestor, Giovanni Lomazzo. That manuscript, a palimpsest, is both an art treatise and a chronicle that recounts the personal and political machinations Gio gets mixed up in as the Ottoman fleet nears Venice. Sparks fly between Rose and William—and between Giovanni and Chiara, his patron’s courtesan—and the result is utterly enticing.

3.5 stars rounded up. I enjoyed this book a great deal, though wish the pacing could have been a tad quicker. I don't mind books that alternate between the historical and modern narratives, but I could have spent all my time in the ancient story in this work and done without the modern one entirely. The story of Giovanni and Chiara was wonderful, and I loved the rich detailed backdrop giving us insight into art as well as the historical and social context of the Ottoman-Venetia era. I felt it ended too abruptly and we didn't see their endings through. The modern narrative of Rose and William is fine but didn't serve as a great foil to Giovanni and Chiara.

For all of that, it was very well written and cohesive. Enjoyed very much and will read further from this author.

Lovely book that travels back in time through the eyes of a book restorer and the wonderful streets of ancient Venice. I loved all the characters and the intrinsic way their lives melded together. It's a story of love, life, hardship, war and forbidden love. Forbidden love always being the constant. This book is destined to become a book club favorite.

The Lost Diary of Venice
Mrgaux DeRoux

The Lost Diary of Venice is a seamless story - one in present day Connecticut and the other 5 centuries prior during the Renaissance period in Venice. This skillfully weaved tale of forbidden love between Rose and William, and Giovanni and Chiarra. The story is very well researched and I enjoyed the historical revelation of the historical art piece. Really enjoyed this immersive read.

This was an interesting dual timeline book. The present time was easier to keep straight…as well as the characters. However, the 1571 time had too many characters so that it was difficult to remember everyone. That made it difficult to connect with them.

I enjoyed reading about Italy and the art. Traveling to Italy is on my bucket list. Hopefully one day!

I definitely think some will enjoy this book and encourage anyone reading this review to read those of people who rated it higher than me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Lovers of Italian historical fiction will adore this dual timeline story, set in present-day Connecticut and Renaissance Venice, There is a bit of war and peace within the story and I did find the romances more intriguing than the details of the war, but all in all, it's beautifully written, emotionally gripping, and full of historical factoids that kept me reading till the very end.

I love historical reading. This is full of facts from the past. It has an interesting weave of a time from the past with a story of today. Thanks for the advanced copy by netgalley and the publisher.

I enjoyed this book that told two stories in different timelines almost 500 years apart.

In present day, William, an artist, brings a book written by his ancestor, Giovanni, to a woman named Rose to be restored. As she works on the books, she discovers diary entries and sketches of a woman which start to consume her and draw her dangerously close to William, who is married.

In 1570's Venice, Giovanni is conducting an affair with a courtesan named Chiara. With the Ottoman-Venetian War as a backdrop, their love story is one for the ages.

Two forbidden romances with unforgettable characters, this book was intricate and well-researched. I couldn't put it down.

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House/Ballantine Books and the author for an ecopy to review.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions in this review are completely my own.

I love books that take place in present day and in the past. This particular book is about a present day Book restorer and an artist in 1571 Venice. There is war, intrigue, romance and a maniacal bad guy.

I think the most fascinating part of this book is the Jewish ghetto. In the authors note, she said that she was inspired by reading an article about the 500th anniversary of the first Jewish Ghetto. They even wore yellow badges to denote their status. History truly is damned to repeat itself.

I definitely recommend this book to my fellow historical fiction friends.

Thank you to Netgalley and Margaux DeRoux for my copy of The Lost Diary of Venice. This story tells the tale of two different times in history and yet the storyline is timeless. Rose, an introverted book restorer, meets William Lomazzo. The piece comes from William’s ancestor, Giovanni Lomanzzo and Rose finds herself learning everything about the piece. The Lost Diary of Venice, follows two love stories one in Connecticut and one in Venice. These characters find themselves in forbidden love stories. This is a beautiful story, with such depth. The author’s ability to merge the timeframes together, is fantastic. This story followed love and art and was a

Lovely story but nothing extraordinary. Enjoyed it anyway because of the characters and setting. The cover is gorgeous too so that's always a plus!

Thanks very much to Netgalley for the copy!

Rose, a book restorer, meets William when he brings to her an ancestral manuscript. The manuscript dates to the 1570s. During the restoration process Rose discovers that the manuscript is a palimpsest. This means that the original writings in the text were removed or washed away and new text was written over it. However, Rose can clearly see some of the writings and the drawings from the original text. These discoveries lead Rose and William to meet various times to discuss the book and art. These meetings make them both yearn for more but William is married.

In a secondary timeline we have flashes back to the 1570s, during the Ottoman-Venetian War. We meet Giovanni Lomazzo, William's ancestor. Gio is a painter who is going blind. He is commissioned to paint a courtesan names Chiara. A romance develops with war, and societal conflict as a backdrop.

I was honestly not impressed at all with Rose's or William's characters and their sullen ways of looking at life and love. However, Gio and Chiara's relationship was a fascinating story with a few twists and surprises. If you want to learn a little about Venetian history this book is worth the read; otherwise, it is ok to give it a pass.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a book that I was looking forward to reading because of its inclusion of the Arts in Venice. Sadly, it let me down in places. The basic premise was interesting and I liked the layered stories, as well as the palimpsest, but it never really seemed to fully flesh itself out.

The concept was a bit ambitious and of a sort that can get very confusing if not handled carefully. DeRoux deserves credit for keeping everything very clear and easy to move between time periods. Although, this simplicity was also the downfall of the story itself. There were times when more detail was needed, especially in relating the characters between the past and the current time frames. Sometimes I felt as though I was imagining a connection that wasn't really there all for the sake of filling out the depth of the story.

The portions that took place in the past were, in my opinion, more interesting. Having an Arts background, I especially appreciated references to the artistic process. With that said, I still found it rather weak and wanted to read so much more about that. I wanted the author to paint a picture of what was going on rather than limit the writing to what seemed to be only random swatches of the scenes. Rich, enhanced details like that are what could have taken this book to a higher level.

The modern story, especially the almost romantic relationship between the protagonist and her client, was what I thought to be the weakest link in the entire book. I'm not certain if it was because it never went anywhere or if it was just all too diluted to hold my interest. The reason for their interactions was good and extremely relevant to the story, but it just never presented us with anything interesting other than allowing us to have a peek into the diary. The relationship with the Librarian was very sweet yet also very predictable rendering it to be only a mediocre part of the story.

These are the reasons that I lean towards believing that this book will do well with the reader who likes a basic Romance novel but won't satisfy those of us who prefer our novels to have more depth and refinement.

This historical romance was an enjoyable, intriguing novel that prompted me to investigate Venetian history and the people involved in the Battle of Lepanto in 1570. I was aware of several Aegean islands belonging to Italy, although not Cyprus, but never knew how that came about. Both Sebastian Venier and Giovanni Lomazzo were the real people about whom the story was developed.

I enjoyed the Venetian story in 1570 over the contemporary romance as it opened my eyes to the major work of Lomazzo on how to paint. This well respected Italian artist was gong blind but has a commission to paint the courtesan of Venier's at the end of 1570. The author described the (forbidden) relationship that developed between the two as well as the perils that occurred as a result. The villain in this story was introduced along with an ominous crow- symbol of bad luck/death. She obviously researched the dress and customs of the day and brought the characters to life. I liked the way she described the elements of Renaissance art, introduced alchemy, religious wars (between the Christians and Turks), and even anti-semitism (which I didn't realize existed that far back).

The contemporary story took place in New Haven, CT, where Rose - a bookstore owner and restorer meets William. While the author deftly wove the 2 love stories together to have them mirror each other, I felt that this relationship was too one sided, and seemed adolescent and superficial. I think the ending was alright, although a little contrived. I do not think that she developed Rose's character as well as the Venetian characters and setting.

I am grateful to NetGallley and Ballentine books for sending me an ebook to read in exchange for an honest review of the book.

Forbidden love and two timelines. This was an enjoyable read and I especially enjoyed the historical aspect. The writing was very atmospheric.
Many thanks to Random House Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.