This book was an interesting read that follows two different timelines, one in the present and one set during the 1500's.

I was drawn to this book on NetGalley and was excited to receive an advance copy. It took me a while to get into reading the book and find myself completely immersed in the book.

I definitely enjoyed the weaving between the two timelines and would recommend this to readers who enjoy historical fiction.

I was intrigued by the cover and the story drew me in. Weaving together two romances DeRoux has created a painting in prose that illustrates the similarities between the two romances. Intertwined in the story is a current romance between a bookshop owner and a man who has asked her to restore a palimpsest that has belonged to his family since the 1500’s and the artist and the courtesan revealed in the text Rose is restoring. It’s well-written, and complex and yet not as compelling as I was expecting. Getting three stars from me means its still a readable book and it will find an appreciate group of readers.

Following two stories, one of Rose the book restorer in present-day Connecticut and the other of Giovanni the artist in 1571 Venice, this historical fiction novel traces the path of a recovered diary and what it reveals about a romance amidst the War of Cyprus. ⁣
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I was gifted an Advanced Readers Copy of this title from NetGalley and Ballantine Books in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately, I cannot say I enjoyed it. I found most of the storyline trite and some of the historical sections casuistic. I really struggle with the should-I-or-shouldn’t-I-cheat-on-my-spouse trope, and was underwhelmed by the characters DeRoux created to inhabit her Venetian storyline. I also did not think the insertions of battle scenes added anything to the story. ⁣

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This is a great piece of historical fiction that jumps between Venezia in 1571 and present day New Haven, Connecticut. They are linked by a diary. This is an enjoyable read and I found myself learning a lot about that time period even though this was fiction.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I finished this book a couple weeks ago but wasn't able to write the review until today and I am having a hard time remembering much about it. I think that is an accurate way of describing this book for me- forgettable and unremarkable. It wasn't that I disliked it, but I never really found myself that interested in it while reading nor can I think of anything that really stood out about it now. It was a quick easy read with some interesting characters and plots, but overall it was just meh for me. I consistenly wavered in my opinion throughout the book, sometimes liking the story and characters, other times annoyed and ready for it to be over. I don't have complaints about the writing style and feel that it could be an enjoyable book for other readers- it just didn't grab my attention. I'm giving this book a medium rating as I didn't have any strong dislikes or great things I liked about it.

The first thing that caught my eye for this book is the beautiful cover.. As a fan of dual time books I was intrigued by the storyline as well. I do not know a lot about Renaissance Italy so was also interested in learning more. I was not disappointed.

The book is a dual time novel, one of my favorite genres. In the present we have Rose a reclusive book restorer and William Lomazzo who brings her an ancient book he found in his Grandmother’s belongings. Rose discovers this is a diary from Italy in the 1500’s and sets about restoring and translating it.

In the past we have painter Giovanni Lomazzo who is commissioned to paint the portriat of a courtesan named Chiara. Sadly Giovanni is losing his sight, a horrible condition for a painter, and soon loses his heart to Chiara. Never a good thing when her sponser/lover is a powerful man.

The novel switches between time periods and has some really interesting history of Venice during the 16th century. I am not really knowledgeable about this time period and this book really peaked my interest in that era and the politics between Venice and the Ottoman empire. If you are looking for a historical dual time novel wiih some romance thrown in. I recommend this book. I look forward to more books from the author.

Thanks to Netgalley, Ballantine book and the author Margaux DeRoux for the opportunity to review this book

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Random House and Margaux DeRoux for the ARC.

The book is an historical fiction and a modern day story. The story is intertwined between past and present. Rose does book restoration and is brought a journal by an artist. The story takes place in the 1500’s Renaissance in Venice and modern day college town outside of NYC. The characters we well written coming to life visually. I throughly enjoyed this book.

Beautiful cover. Dual timeline story, one present day and one in 1570 Venice. Modern day art restorer is translating and restoring an old diary from 1570. That was a tumultuous time in Venice, war with the Ottoman’s, dirty politics, and great art. The story connects through Rose and William in the current day.

The best kind of book for me is a book that teaches me something I didn't know before, or makes me think about things in a new way. This book certainly did that. The story flips points of view between Giovanni, an artist in 1570's Venice, and Rose, a present-day book restorer who comes into contact with Gio's work and begins to restore it. Rose gets really involved in the project, and we learn more about her life and of course Gio's life as well. One of my favorite things was learning about Gio's time period; the author did a ton of research and was able to paint a really clear picture for us readers about that time period and multiple things that were going on at the time, which was really interesting to me. I also loved the relationships in the story; it isn't something I think I can explain without giving too much away, but I feel like they developed and changed in a realistic way. It wasn't predictable and that made it very enjoyable to me.My only complaint about the story was that it was a little long winded at times. But it was still a worthwhile read and I loved the history and the story in general. I'm interested to see what else the author writes about in the future!

The Lost Diary of Venice by Margaux DeRoux is filled with artistic angst, forbidden love, war, modern day romance and the love of preserving literature. How can you not want to read this engrossing novel?!

Told in two time lines we meet current day Rose a young reclusive intellect who owns a bookstore in a quiet college town. She also restores antique manuscripts. She even has a cat who resides in the store. Her routine life is turned around when artistic painter William walks in looking to have an inherited manuscript from 1571 restored and translated from its original Italian.

Before William and Rose even speak a word there is an undeniable connection between them. He is not a free man and there is the drama.

As Rose works on the manuscript written by Giovanni Lomazzo, a portrait artist in 1570s Venice, we learn about Gio the artist starting to lose his sight but not before falling in love with the beautiful courtesan Chiara who he has been commissioned to paint a portrait of by the powerful man who owns her.

We are introduced to villains, sorcery, anti semitism and religious wars in Gio's world while Rose and William deal with feelings they don't know how to control.

This book is detailed in it's historical background and lends to the urgency of Gio and Chiara's ill fated love affair. There were some elements of wizardry and sorcery that took me out of the story for a bit.

Though the end may not be what everyone would want it has merit. It beautifully displayed that in every kind of love we all want our feelings validated. We want to be acknowledged even if we don't get the exact happily ever after we imagined for ourselves.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opionions are my own.

This dual time line story gives voice to several characters. We have Rose, a present-day book restorer, and William who owns a newly found ancestral book he takes to Rose to restore. Then in 1571, Geo Lomazzo, a great artist, begins painting the portrait of Chiara, a courtesan of Venier, a military commander. As events fall into place and as love blooms, someone’s life is going to be in danger.
I enjoyed this story even though I don’t know a lot about art. I felt the emotions of the lovers, their passions and their fears. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good romance, some action (a battle scene) and enjoys the tension that a crazy antagonist brings to a well-crafted story.
Thank you #NetGalley and #TheLostDiaryofVenice for the advanced copy of this book.

This is a great novel to read. It combines anti-semitism, woman’s rights along with a love of literature and art all couched in a dual time line of 21st century America with 16th century Italy. I could not put this novel down. I certainly highly recommend that it be read by anyone who enjoys historical fiction with real people immersed in a fictional tale. I was supplied this novel by Netgalley for an unbiased opinion
#netgalley #margauxderoux #randomhouse

Like Rose wanting to finish the restoration and translation of the manuscript I similarly wanted to finish the book to find out how it was going to end. Both in present day and 1571 Venice, the story shows a glimpse in the life of the original writer of the manuscript and through Rose’s research we also get some more clarification on what is happening during that time period in Venice. The author did a marvelous job in pulling you into the lives of Rose, William, Lucas, Chiari and Giovanni. Each is a unique person and you keep wishing that it will come to a good ending for everybody. The story is friction but makes us aware of some of the historical facts happening in Venice and surroundings in that time period

I was privileged to read an ARC of Margaux DeRoux''s debut novel, The Lost Diary of Venice, thanks to NetGalley. This tale captured my attention immediately, pulling me into the world of contemporary book restoration and the setting of Renaissance Venice. Weaving together these two timelines with believable characters, the author created a compelling portrayal of Venetian society, including many historical settings and people. I learned so much about this era, guiding me to do some extra research. I highly recommend this book!

I very much enjoyed this novel. It is set in two different eras: present day and during the time of Venice's heyday. The diary was written by an artist in Venice and the characters in the present day are restoring and reading it. There are love stories in both times. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Renaissance is one of my favorite time periods, particularly for art, so my interest was piqued by The Lost Diary of Venice. And while, as a dual timeline storyline, the present day storyline sounded less compelling and potentially more troublesome, I was willing to give it a chance for the sake of the historical storyline.

And the historical timeline is the highlight of the book. I didn’t know anything about Giovanni Lomazzo prior to picking up this book, but I found it heartbreaking how he faced the threat of losing his sight and thus his livelihood, and later falling into an impossible relationship with the courtesan Chiara. And while that relationship is the center of that arc, I love how it fleshes out the society of the time through the inclusion of the conflict between Venice and the Ottomans.

But the modern timeline…apart from anything that has those characters looking back at the past, I wasn’t particularly moved. I wondered what the justification would be for William to pursue a relationship with Rose in spite of being married, and after reading it, I’m not buying it. There just aren’t the same stakes in modern times when divorce is an option.

The transitions between timelines were super jarring as well…they would alternate between chapters, so I never felt like I spent as much time as I would have liked in Renaissance Venice before being forced back to modern day with insufferably boring, unsympathetic characters.

This book is all over the place, and I kind of wish DeRoux had dispensed with the “lost diary” concept in the present timeline and worked on fleshing out the historical one more. I can recommend picking this book up for the sake of the Venice bits, with the caveat that that’s my own personal opinion and it’s possible there are people out there who will enjoy it in its entirety more than I did.

This book didn't do it for me, but I could see it being successful for someone who likes romance more than I do. The premise was intriguing, but the plot ended up being pretty thin. No one or no thing was particularly compelling. The descriptions of settings were well done, but the writing for the characters' thoughts left a lot to be desired. A lot of "their arteries touched" type language.

Thanks to #NetGalley for an advanced copy.

Fans of the dual time line novel will like this one for it's fascinating depiction of Venice in the 1570s. It starts in present day New Haven, when William brings a book he found in his grandmother's things, to Rose, who restores books. Giovanni Lomazzo was an artist who, in 1571, was commissioned to paint a portrait of Chiara, a courtesan. He's struggling with his eyesight but he definitely sees her, and falls in love, defying convention and the fact that her patron, Sebastian Venier, is a powerful man. William and Rose fall in love too but he's married. This hangs on the relationships but I was equally fascinated by the history Deroux has wrapped in-a looming war between the Venetians and the Ottomans as well as the politics of the time. Many of the characters were real people- I found myself googling not only them but also various events, something I only do when I'm fully engaged. This one pulled me in and kept me reading. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For those who enjoy historical fiction.

I chose to read and review this book because I love all things Venice; it's my ultimate travel destination. The Lost Diary started a little slow for me, but it really started moving about halfway. It's set in 2 time periods, which I love! It's based on true events, so I actually learned a few things, too. Overall, I thought it was pretty good.

4 stars

Immediately after reading the title, I was intrigued. My favorite genre is historical fiction and The Lost Diary of Venice by Margaux DeRoux didn’t disappoint my dreams of Venice.

This novel follows two forbidden love stories connected by the trial of history recorded in a long lost diary. One in late-Renaissance Venice and the other in present-day America. The story begins with Rose, a book restorer and bookstore owner, getting contracted to restore William’s family heirloom.

As the reader unfolds, the reader learns about the dark Venican history, the war between religions, and the way some love stories end tragically. The novel has several themes woven in the plot: religion, infidelity, war, love, and sexism.

I want to thank Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC version of this novel. I truly enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to a friend.