I really like how Sarah Dunant brings history to life. This time it's an epic tale of family ( the Borgia) history, war and religion set in Renaissance Italy. Wonderful historic characters are brought to life, Pope AlexanderVl, Lucretia Borgia, Cesare Borgia, Machiavelli etc.
An exciting and fun read. ( )

I know a lot of people liked this book and appreciate Sarah Dunant's writing, but I found the writing dense and difficult to slog through. ( )

The calm steady prose of this book takes the reader on a smooth canal ride past some of the most interesting people of the Italian Renaissance during their most crucial moments, and from Machiavelli to Lucrezia Borgia is gathered only the faintest whiff or real passion and engagement. A plot-less review of events that isn't much more informative than that delightful romp Prince of Foxes which had a lot more fun covering the same territory. ( )

I received this book for free as a Goodreads giveaway.

I enjoy Historical Fiction books very much however, I don't always care for the ones that are more fiction than historical. This is not one of those books. This book is about the infamous Borgia family and it seems very well researched and does not rely on the gossip and hearsay that is usually surrounding the Borgia family. Because the story is not driven by the scandalous gossip, sometimes the plot of the story gets a little dry and slow, but I think the author did a good job of keeping the story line going by jumping to different people's perspectives throughout the book. Overall, I think this book humanizes the Borgia family, into a family more relate-able than the family usually portrayed. ( )

I find the Borgia family endlessly fascinating. They are one of the most intriguing political families in history, in my opinion. My disappointed with this book is vast. This book was so dull. I'm not sure how it is possible for that to happen, but it did.