The Painter's Apprentice

Venetian Artisans

By: Laura Morelli

Narrated by: Anna Butterworth

Star-crossed lovers with a costly secret. As the plague grips Venice, more than a quarantine divides them....

Venice, 1510. Maria Bartolini wants nothing more than to carry on her father's legacy as a master gilder. Instead, her father has sent her away from the only home she's ever known to train as an apprentice to Master Trevisan, a renowned painter.

Maria arranges to leave the painter's workshop to return to her family workshop and to a secret lover waiting for her back home. But the encroaching Black Death foils her plans....

When the painter's servants uncover the real reason why Maria has been sent away to train with Master Trevisan, they threaten to reveal a secret that could tear down her family and the future of their trade. She is forced to buy the servants' silence, but as their greed steadily grows, Maria resorts to more desperate measures. She questions whether her heart's desire is worth risking her family, her trade, and her future, but Maria's sacrifices may amount to nothing if the plague arrives on her father's doorstep and steals away everything she's ever loved....

From the author of the award-winning The Gondola Maker comes a rich tale of Renaissance Venice, a heroine with a lust for life, and love against all odds.

Buy The Painter's Apprentice today to transport yourself to the vibrant and dangerous world of 16th-century Venice....

©2017 Laura Morelli (P)2017 Laura Morelli

Well researched Venetian fiction

This is an enjoyable book for sure, and if you like Venice and in particular stories set in the Renaissance, you may like the Painter's Apprentice.

Laura Morelli meticulously researched the subject matter and time period, so everything feels very authentic, but the book could've used a little more time spent on plot and characters. The story is fairly one-dimensional and predictable, as are the characters. It could've used an additional editor, as well. The writing is excellent for the most part, but there's a great deal of repetition and passive writing. However, these are nitpicks. If you like star-crossed love stories, the setting, time period or art history, I recommend this book.

Fascinating Book!

I learned so much about Renaissance Venice while listening to this book! The reader was perfect, the story captivating, and the details well researched and presented. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and highly recommend to anyone who loves historical fiction.

Not Impressed

The first part of the book discusses Maria's pregnancy and the servants trying to exhort money from her to keep quiet about it. The story would have been better without that part. Concentrating on the period in history would have been more believable.

Excellent story filled with historical facts

This story took so many turns, and I loved all the details about gilding and painting.

Decent book if you can overlook a few quirks

The time period and themes are interesting and make it worth the listen. It was a bit slow going but better at faster speed. Also, much of the book is laden with an "I did this... I did that..." style, which I found tiring. There are plenty of creative ways to construct sentences to avoid such an overuse of "I."

In a few spots, modern phrases popped out of nowhere during dialog, such as, "Why on earth would I do that?" and "If you tell anyone about this, I swear..." and "I know it sounds absurd..."

If you can overlook a few of the books nuances and if you have a free weekend to relax with a gently paced book, rich in historical detail, this is a fine choice.