Summary from GoodReads:

Claire Donovan always dreamed of visiting Venice, though not as a chaperone for a surly teenager. But she can’t pass up this chance to complete her Ph.D. thesis on Alessandra Rossetti, a mysterious courtesan who wrote a secret letter to the Venetian Council warning of a Spanish plot to overthrow the Venetian Republic in 1618. Claire views Alessandra as a heroine and harbors a secret hope that her findings will elevate Alessandra to a more prominent place in history. But an arrogant Cambridge professor is set to present a paper at a prestigious Venetian university denouncing Alessandra as a co-conspirator — a move that could destroy Claire’s paper and career.

 

As Claire races to locate the documents that will reveal the courtesan’s true motives, Alessandra’s story comes to life with all the sensuality, political treachery, and violence of seventeenth-century Venice. Claire also falls under the city’s spell. She is courted by a handsome Italian, matches wits with her academic adversary, bonds with her troubled young charge, and, amid the boundless beauty of Venice, recaptures the joy of living every moment….

 

My Review:

I wish it were possible to review a book by cutting it up into three separate books.  Because two out of the three would get favorable reviews from me while the third… well, I don’t think I’d have read the third after the first 20 pages or so if I had the choice.

Basically, The Rossetti Letter is three stories – that of modern-time Claire, out to prove her dissertation on Alessandra Rossetti, that of Alessandra, a courtesan who lived in seventeenth century Venice, and finally, a political conspiracy taking place in Venice in which Alessandra has a part in.

The modern story, I think, is given more credit in the summary than deserves, but it was entertaining, I found Claire likeable, I found the reason she actually got to go to Venice a bit laughable, and the relationships formed in Venice a bit contrived, but still – it was mindless fun.

I actually enjoyed Alessandra’s story the most.  I enjoyed learning about the lifestyle, the choices given to women without dowry and I had no idea that only one son in a family was usually allowed to marry, thereby making courtesans “necessary evils”.

But the political, historical stuff – seriously, I felt so lost and I floundered my way through it because, frankly, it just wasn’t that interesting.  If the book had more of that part of the story in it then it did, then I honestly would not have finished the book, because as much as I enjoyed Alessandra and was amused by Claire, it wouldn’t have been worth the boredom.

But, for the $5 this book ended up costing me – it was an okay read, just nothing to write home about.

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