It took awhile to connect the story and characrers. Lots of historical details that I appreciated at the end. Well written!

The Lost Diary of Venice is a historical fiction book that tells a story through a dual timeline, present day Connecticut and late 1500 Venice. The story begins in the present with bookshop owner and restorer, Rose. William, an artist, walks into her store with an old document, found while cleaning out his grandmother's home, in search of answers and restoration. From here the story travels back to 1571 Venice and artist Giovanni Lamazzo's current commission to paint Chiara, the daugter of a very powerful military leader. Both Giovanni and Chiara find themselves in a difficult romance due to the impending war with the Ottoman empire.

This book has all the things that lovers of historical fiction look for: an author who loves description, a mysterious document with a hidden layer, an ancient war that is about to erupt, art and some romance.

Sadly, I found myself unable to connect with the characters. I also found the story to lag at times, and wished there had been more dialogue. I did find the book intriguing with a wonderful concept and interesting along with a good ending.

I still believe that this book is definitely for some.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Ballantine Books for giving me an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Like so many other historical fiction novels that I have read previously, I expected "The Lost Diary of Venice" to volley between Rose's story set in the present day and Giovanni's story in the 16th Century. As the title implies, it was necessary to chronicle the religious persecution and events in and around Venice during the mid-1500's to understand Giovanni's story. The chapters dedicated to the telling of these times, including details of the Battle of Lepanto when the Ottoman fleet made a play to take Venice, were challenging to follow. The book may have flowed smoother if I had been more familiar with this period in history, but instead, I admit that I struggled during those chapters.

On the flip side, I appreciated the deep love between Giovanni and Chiara, and was captivated by Rose's story and the book restoration process. The development of Rose's character was well-plotted, and I couldn't have asked for a better conclusion.

Historical Fiction is a favorite genre for me. I’m usually entertained and always learn something about the era and locations. The historical details and references to actual events and characters taking place in Venice captured the essence of the Renaissance era. Both relationships of artist and muse depicted in modern day and 1500s Venice reveal many contrasts and parallels. At times this book really held my interest, at other times I kept wishing for the book to end.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

This story is a blend of historical fiction and romance. Like many other current books, it spans two different time periods: modern-day Connecticut and Renaissance Period Venice. At first, I felt that the modern romance part was somewhat unnecessary. However, as the book progressed, I realized that the author was drawing interesting parallels between the two stories. Margaux Deroux does an excellent job of using Venice as the focal point of the tensions in that time period. The characters are well drawn and interesting. In an afterword, she tells us about the backgrounds of the actual people involved in the story.

William brings an ancient manuscript into the bookstore that Rose owns. Her real love is restoring old books and other documents. In reading this book, I learned about the skills required to bring these ancient works back to life.

In the Venetian story, Giovanni is an artist who is hired to paint a portrait of Chiara, the courtesan of a high-ranking military commander who is preparing for war with the Ottoman Empire. Chiara and Gio fall in love despite the impossible barriers between them. The reader learns about the religious relationships among the Christians of Venice, the Jews in the Venetian Ghetto, and the Muslims of the Ottoman Empire.

This is an intriguing and immersive historical fiction straddling two timelines - current day in New Haven, Connecticut and 1571 in Venice, Italy. Rose Newlin owner of a bookstore, she’s also a book restorer. In walks William Lomazzo, an artist, who brings with him an old document found at the bottom of his great-grandmother‘s trunk. The document turns out to be a palimpsest dated Venezia 1571. Back in the late Renaissance, Venice is bracing itself for the onslaught of the advancing Ottoman army. Giovanni Lamazzo, a well-known brilliant artist of the day, has been commissioned to paint Chiara, a favorite courtesan, of powerful military commander Sebastiano Vernier. But love cannot be put in a box and Giovanni and Chiara find themselves in dangerous waters as Venice simmers with intensity and desperation as the Ottoman army advances imminently closer. Back to present day, the Rose-William connection threatens to take shape...but clearly plays second fiddle to the first, for all the right reasons. This was a very enjoyable read that kept me immersed and engrossed in the storyline, particularly the sixteenth century one. Intrigue, a bit of mystery, history, culture, and a bit of romance all swirled together for a nice interlude. I’d definitely recommend it. This was a perfect book to distract one from the realities of everyday life - current day COVID-19! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The blurb for this book reads: "Two impossible love stories are fatefully connected by one artistic legacy in a stunning debut that leaps between the mysteries of late-Renaissance Venice and the dramas of present-day America."

And that is EXACTLY how i like my historical fiction -- gorgeously rendered and equal parts history, romance, and mystery. The two romances belong to Chiara and Gio (16th century Venice) and Rose and William (modern day New Haven, CT). I don't want to give too much away, but the way these couples' stories intertwine is amazing and evocative and will stay with you. I highly recommend this book.

Two time frames, linked together by one ancient book; a book that needs to be restored.

Present day, New Haven Ct. William Lomazzo, while going through his deceased grandmother's belongings, finds a book written by Giovanni Lomazzo. He takes it to Rose Newlin, a book store owner and book restorer. She begins to restore it and obtains translation. As a result of this restoration and its review, William and Rose are attracted to each other. Rose is single, but William is married... ah, an unfortunate complication.

Late 16th Century, Venice, Italy. Giovanni Lomazzo, a real person who existed, is commissioned by Sebastiano Venier (also a real person) to do a portrait of Chiara, Venier's courtesan. The artist and the courtesan fall in love and must keep their liaison as secret as possible.

The dual timeline is educational and entertaining. Present day CT bookstore vs Venice of the 1570's. Real people are named with real events. Battle of Leponto is at least one of the real events. The battle was engaged to free a colony of Venetians on Cyprus from the Turks. The book is slow reading for me because I keep stopping to look things up on Wikipedia.

The author provides a Note from the Author when the book is complete. It is a beautifully written note and explains very clearing the author's motivations in writing this book. It also makes some sense of what is historically happening in 1571 and also why she picked an Ivy League college city (Yale is the college) in which to locate the present day story.

The product of my research revealed the following: Venier was married to a woman named Cecilia. His marriage is never mentioned in Deroux' book. But Deroux did cleverly include Cecilia as the maid servant of Chiara.

I did have a problem with some of Deroux' similes. She just seemed to be trying too hard to impress.

I did like the book and treasure what I have learned both about book restoration and the Venice of 1571.

4 stars

I really enjoyed this book. It’s a period of history in which I’m not well versed, so I learned a few things. The sense of place was outstandingly conveyed. I could easily picture Renaissance Venice. The two love stories complemented each other perfectly. I will definitely recommend this to patrons looking for historical fiction,

Four and a half stars for this novel that bounces between the 1570s in Venice and modern-day New Haven, Connecticut. The bouncing back and forth is why I didn't give it a full five stars - it is a common enough framing device, but I always find it jarring. Just when I'm "getting into" one story line, the author pulls me out of it and back into the other one. Luckily, in this instance, both story lines were quite compelling, which I've found is often not the case for the modern-day framing story.

I was fortunate enough to have visited Venice many years ago and I could picture the places described in the book. Reading this in the middle of a pandemic, staying at home so much, really made me want to revisit that amazing city.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me with an advance reader copy of this delightful book in exchange for my honest review. Highly recommended, especially if you like historical novels and/or the history of art.

This #bookreview is difficult because there are sections of the book that are great. I also really appreciate the historical detail that the author researched. Yet that research goes too far and becomes the burden of the book. There are too many historical characters mentioned who add nothing to the plot line. The modern love story described makes the novel worth finishing. However, some readers might not get that far because too many characters have their own viewpoint and the historical narrative becomes a mess. A ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #historicalromance that won’t satisfy those wanting romance nor those preferring a historical novel. 📚📚📚 #netgalleyreview #netgalley #ballantinebooks #reading #amazonkindle

Let’s be honest, I was first drawn to this book because of the gorgeous cover. I also like historical fiction and Italy, so it definitely was appealing.

This is an interesting historical fiction following the model of jumping back and forth from present day to Renaissance Italy. The characters are interesting and I found myself wanting to know more about their stories. It’s not a predictable story either as there are twists and an edging that I thought was unexpected.

I enjoyed this book because I was also able to learn things I didn’t know about 1570s Venice though an engaging story instead of a dry history text. I didn’t know anything about the naval battle that takes place in the book, and I also wasn’t aware of the Jewish ghetto in Venice. The Jews were also required to identify themselves with yellow badges... Hundreds of years before World War II.

Thanks to #netgalley and the publisher for this arc. Due to very less rating for this book I am not going to post this review anywhere ( my blog, bookstagram and good reads ) other than here !
I finished 38% of the book . I couldn’t drag myself to read further . The narration is painfully slow paced . The characters are not clear and there is no emotions at all . The overly descriptive passages were too bored to read and deviate from the main line . I was interested in the book because of its mention of historical Venice but that historical part of the story was not at all to the point ! Lot of characters to remember and none of them hooks us into the story ! The present day Connecticut story is equally dull and dragged ! I thought of after some 25% of the book the story may pick up . But I am clearly wrong ! This book is not for me !

The Lost Diary of Venice
A Novel
by Margaux DeRoux
Read an Excerpt
Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine
Ballantine Books
Historical Fiction
Pub Date 09 Jun 2020 | Archive Date 31 Aug 2020

What a book! Thanks to Net Galley and Random House Publishing-Ballentine for the ARC of this book.
Part of it was confusing for me to read (crows), But all in all it is a great book.
Get your hands on a copy when it is released in June.

This book held my interest from start to finish. It takes place in both the 1500’s and today and flips back and forth between both. It is like reading two stories which are bound together. The most interesting thing is you want to keep reading to see how they tie together. The ending is not obvious, and most certainly not what the reader, at least this one, would want to happen. I like the way the characters are developed and the descriptions are most colorful. However I did have a tough rime following the parts about the crows in the 1500’s part. I was not quite sure what all that was about or exactly what was happening.. All in all, I did find the book to be a fast and most enjoyable read. I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys historical fiction.

Thanks Net Galley for my advance release copy.

The juxtaposition of these two stories in one is fascinating. To be a book restorer sounds like a satisfying profession. Rose is just that. This story of how William, the artist, and this book which dates from the 1500’s, come into and affect Rose’ s world, is the basis for this novel. The rich history that surrounds the story is wonderfully descriptive and educational, especially to one who loves history. This is a beautiful book, and a really great read. Thank you to Random House Publishing - Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ePub. I’ll be thinking about Chiara, Rose, Giovanni and William for a long time. Ms. DeRoux’s writing left a very strong impression on me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine books for sending me this ARC in return for an honest review.

I found this novel very enjoyable. Two parallel stories are told – one from the 1500’s in Venice, and another in modern-day Connecticut.

Rose Newlin owns a bookstore in Connecticut, and works as a book restorer. William Lomazzo visits her store with a request for her to restore a 16th century book – a treatise on art – that he believes was written by his great great (several times over) grandfather – Giovanni Lomazzo. As Rose starts to investigate the book, she discovers it is a Palimpsest – a book written over a previous document that had been scraped off the vellum. As she works, she realized the first layer of the work is Gio’s diary.

Meanwhile we follow Giovanni, an artist, as he struggles to cope with slowly losing his sight. As he works on the last painting he is ever likely to be able to produce, the Ottoman empire is heading to invade Venice, and war is about to break out. Gio finds himself in love with the mistress of a very powerful man – and suddenly in danger. He decides to record both his life and details of his skills before it is too late.

Rose and William discover the history of Gio together, and must start to face the consequence of their own connection.

I thought the author did a great job of bringing ancient Venice to life in a way that made you feel like you were there. Lots of historical details about the daily life of its citizens were shared in an engaging way. I learned a lot about the darker side of life at that time. The way the two stories were woven together worked well, and the characters were very believable.

The ending was very satisfying to me to, as considered adult choices were made in the conclusion to both of the stories.

You must read this book! Told in dual timelines, we begin in the present day. Rose is working on restoring a document written during the Renaissance period in Venice, italy by a painter, Giovanni, who is slowly losing his eyesight. Imagine an artist losing his eyesight! As the document's contents are slowly revealed, Giovanni's ambitions and innermost thoughts are revealed. At the same time, in the present, Rose is discovering who she is too, and who she ultimately wants to be. You will meet William in the present (the diary belongs to him), and Chiara in the past, a courtesan whom you will come to love. The two timelines mingle and intertwine as the story unfolds, and I found myself as conflicted as the characters were as the story reveals itself. This is a very well-researched and beautifully written story that kept me turning the pages. There were surprises sprinkled throughout which kept me very interested. I also learned something of the history of the region as the epic battle (that now adorns our history books) was fought nearby in the Adriatic Sea. It builds and then rages in the background in the frail pages of the ancient document. If you are an historical fiction fan, this will please you. If you like women's fiction, this will definitely hold your interest too. Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the absolute pleasure of being able to read and review this beautiful novel.

The premise of the book sounded interesting to me. The plot was very slow moving though, and the characters weren't interesting enough to draw me in, I ended up giving up less than half way through. I think that it could be a case of just the wrong book at the wrong time for me though, and I may try again later. There were a lot of complicated relationships in the book, so maybe the characters start to develop more as the story moves on. It just felt really slow and flat.

I requested this book because it sounded interesting. I love historical fiction and love reading about Italy so I thought I would really enjoy it. However, this book just didn’t grab me. I kept falling asleep while reading it and then would have to go back pages to remember what was going on. Nothing really grabbed me and pulled me in. I’ve realized I’m more of a plot driven reader. This was more story and character driven I guess? I found the writing too flowery and descriptive when I didn’t really care, I thought the writer was trying too hard at times and trying to add suggestive Language in the writing that I didn’t feel added to the story. I just wasn’t excited about this book. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.