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The Violinist of Venice: A Story of Vivaldi by Alyssa Palombo

Monday, April 25, 2016
A sweeping historical novel of composer and priest Antonio Vivaldi, a secret wealthy mistress, and their passion for music and each other

Like most 18th century Venetians, Adriana d'Amato adores music-except her strict merchant father has forbidden her to cultivate her gift for the violin. But she refuses to let that stop her from living her dreams and begins sneaking out of her family's palazzo under the cover of night to take violin lessons from virtuoso violinist and composer Antonio Vivaldi. However, what begins as secret lessons swiftly evolves into a passionate, consuming love affair.

Adriana's father is intent on seeing her married to a wealthy, prominent member of Venice's patrician class-and a handsome, charming suitor, whom she knows she could love, only complicates matters-but Vivaldi is a priest, making their relationship forbidden in the eyes of the Church and of society. They both know their affair will end upon Adriana's marriage, but she cannot anticipate the events that will force Vivaldi to choose between her and his music. The repercussions of his choice-and of Adriana's own choices-will haunt both of their lives in ways they never imagined.

Spanning more than 30 years of Adriana's life, Alyssa Palombo'sThe Violinist of Venice is a story of passion, music, ambition, and finding the strength to both fall in love and to carry on when it ends.
 

Goodreads Summary

As someone who has a deep love for music, I have an appreciation for the woman in this story. Adriana risks it all for her love of learning to play the violin to get lessons from the virtuoso composer Vivaldi. I know if I had a mom or dad that told me that playing an instrument was useless, like Adriana in the story, I would have been an unhappy man. Little did she know, she would be diving into a deep romance with her teacher. What makes it worse is that Vivaldi is a Priest, and thus married to God for life so fraternizing with women is a big break in the rules for him as well. Will they continue together, or will they both come to their senses and please the original promises that they made to themselves?

I love historical fiction books like this, even if they aren't one hundred percent historically accurate. Its fun to read a book like this because you can put yourself in their shoes and experience their lives even if you wouldn't have made the same decisions as these two sinners. It's a testament to true love for these two to have made the decisions they made to be together. The period writing is spot on as well which adds to the glamour of the story. Palombo takes you back and creates a world that you can't help but immerse yourself in and enjoy to entirety until the last page passes. The other thing that I really loved about this book was the passion for music that is oozing from every page. It made me feel right at home in that aspect. Overall, this is a great novel that almost every should enjoy. Everyone knows Vivaldi and his works, so who wouldn't want to take a peek into his personal life.

4.5 Stars

Reviewed by Chris


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