Name: The Serpent and the Pearl
Rating: 4 (3 reviews)
ISBN: 9780425259467

Kate Quinn

An innocent young girl chronicles the rise to power of the legendary Borgia family in 1492 Rome in this new novel from the best-selling author of Empress of the Seven Hills and Daughters of Rome. Original.

A Novel of the Borgias

The Serpent and the Pearl

This is my first time reading this book in nearly a decade, so it was pretty much brand new to me.

The Serpent and the Pearl follows Giulia Farnese, notorious mistress to Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, who later became Pope. I love books that take place in/during the Renaissance, and this was no different. What is different about Kate Quinn's novel is we not only follow Giulia, we have two additional narrators: Carmelina, a cook with a secret, and Leonello, an embittered dwarf with a talent for knife throwing who becomes Giulia's bodyguard.

This book is certainly more character driven than plot driven; the plot was slow going, but this did not bother my personal tastes. I think I prefer character based stories. Though, with the constantly alternating POVs, this book shone a spotlight on the three main characters instead of just one, making it hard to feel entirely connected to them all. Just when you seem to be making progress when connecting to one of the narrators, a new POV begins. The book could be slow at times, even for a reader like me, but is well-worth the read.

I do think this book suffers from some bad editing as opposed to bad writing on Quinn's part. The major issue seemed to be continuity; for example, one minute a character is on a horse, the next she's mounting the horse for the first time--little things like that, that maybe only I notice. I'm very detail oriented as a reader; I don't think I used to be (like when I first read this story years ago), but it does affect how I read now, for better or worse. But these continuity issues seem to happen nearly every few pages. Again, I don't think this takes away from the author's brilliant writing at all, but she could have enlisted a stronger editor to catch more of these instances. There were also some unnecessary repetitions that I think were, again, due to the editing process.

I really enjoyed Giulia, she was a complex and kindhearted character, but found Leonello unnecessarily cruel too many times. Just when I'd start to like him, he'd lash out and hurt those he cares about. It was hard to feel sympathetic to him at times. I really enjoyed Carmelina's expertise in the kitchens, and all the descriptions of food and menus and banquets were mouth-watering. 

If you're looking for a book that showcases the Borgias, this may not be the best one. Instead, we are introduced to the world of Renaissance cooking, of steely underworlds, of unsolved murders--while of course getting a look at the pomp and splendor of Giulia's lavish world as the Pope's concubine. We get a glimpse of what Rome truly was like during this time period, what all of its people were like, not just the elite. I appreciate that about Quinn's work. Each setting was well written and everything from clothing to food was described well.

Overall, this may not be the author's strongest work (compared to her Mistress of Rome series), and partly due to the editing, but it is a compelling read about a fascinating period of history, with a colorful cast of characters. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel!

Amanda

This is my first time reading this book in nearly a decade, so it was pretty much brand new to me.

The Serpent and the Pearl follows Giulia Farnese, notorious mistress to Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, who later became Pope. I love books that take place in/during the Renaissance, and this was no different. What is different about Kate Quinn's novel is we not only follow Giulia, we have two additional narrators: Carmelina, a cook with a secret, and Leonello, an embittered dwarf with a talent for knife throwing who becomes Giulia's bodyguard.

This book is certainly more character driven than plot driven; the plot was slow going, but this did not bother my personal tastes. I think I prefer character based stories. Though, with the constantly alternating POVs, this book shone a spotlight on the three main characters instead of just one, making it hard to feel entirely connected to them all. Just when you seem to be making progress when connecting to one of the narrators, a new POV begins. The book could be slow at times, even for a reader like me, but is well-worth the read.

I do think this book suffers from some bad editing as opposed to bad writing on Quinn's part. The major issue seemed to be continuity; for example, one minute a character is on a horse, the next she's mounting the horse for the first time--little things like that, that maybe only I notice. I'm very detail oriented as a reader; I don't think I used to be (like when I first read this story years ago), but it does affect how I read now, for better or worse. But these continuity issues seem to happen nearly every few pages. Again, I don't think this takes away from the author's brilliant writing at all, but she could have enlisted a stronger editor to catch more of these instances. There were also some unnecessary repetitions that I think were, again, due to the editing process.

I really enjoyed Giulia, she was a complex and kindhearted character, but found Leonello unnecessarily cruel too many times. Just when I'd start to like him, he'd lash out and hurt those he cares about. It was hard to feel sympathetic to him at times. I really enjoyed Carmelina's expertise in the kitchens, and all the descriptions of food and menus and banquets were mouth-watering. 

If you're looking for a book that showcases the Borgias, this may not be the best one. Instead, we are introduced to the world of Renaissance cooking, of steely underworlds, of unsolved murders--while of course getting a look at the pomp and splendor of Giulia's lavish world as the Pope's concubine. We get a glimpse of what Rome truly was like during this time period, what all of its people were like, not just the elite. I appreciate that about Quinn's work. Each setting was well written and everything from clothing to food was described well.

Overall, this may not be the author's strongest work (compared to her Mistress of Rome series), and partly due to the editing, but it is a compelling read about a fascinating period of history, with a colorful cast of characters. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel!

The Serpent and the Pearl A Novel of the Borgias

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