The Venice Sketchbook: A Novel

This is the first book I had read by this author. Loved the story the way it was put together back and forth with the time line. Did not want the book to end The characters were so real, I would have loved to meet Leo if he was "real" person. I ended up reading this a second time, as I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything, since I read allot when I can't sleep. I am glad I did. At the end of the book I wanted more-would love if the author continued their story in another book

Dual-timeline novels have been a real thing of late, especially involving WWII. This said, I did enjoy The Venice Sketchbook. Lettie's character, as revealed in her diary entries, was interesting enough to keep me invested in her story. Caroline seemed a little weak and flat, although part of the subplot is that a somewhat wimpy woman (both Caroline and Lettie) starts to find her voice and self once she is separated from the life that defined her. The romance elements were a little harder to digest. I was willing to suspend disbelief about Lettie and Leo because it seemed plausible enough, and I have known couples whose long marriages started off as "love at first sight." The Caroline romance story seemed very contrived and felt more like a Harlequin Romance. Furthermore, what detracted from the book for me was that I could predict much of what would happen and that the ending felt abrupt. The fact that other characters' fates are unconfirmed at the end is not a problem for me as it was for other readers, because it reflects the lack of information that many had in real life about their loved ones following the war. (Mini-spoiler: The explanation of Leo's fate seemed odd and contradictory since he apparently had the assumption of help coming, and therefore made the plot more unbelievable for me.)

This is not an action novel, but rather slow, following the rhythms of days and seasons, with ample descriptions of the City of Venice, the festivals, the art, the food that people ate, etc. Unlike some other readers, I really enjoyed that element of immersion and felt a strong sense of place in the author's descriptions; this accounts for the higher rating I've given.

A final note about the audiobook: The narration was extremely good, worthy of at least 4.5 stars. While at times Barrie Kreinik's voice sounded a bit nasal, she was exceptionally good at alternating seamlessly between tones of her voice and different accents to represent different characters in conversation. Her narration was an example of a reader being able to bring a book more alive and heighten the listener's enjoyment.

This book was interesting, very descriptive, telling the story of two lives. Sometimes it was hard to know who was related to who and what it meant. It is a book that you don’t want to put down, you keep reading because you want to know the end of their stories. But I feel the author came up short on the ending, using only just a few lines to tie it all together. That seems to be how I find a lot of books lately, so maybe it’s just me. It was an enjoyable read, there is a lot of factual history included, and the author described Venice beautifully.

Having read almost everything Rhys Bowen has written, I was eagerly anticipating delving into this novel. First of all, it was just not the book I was expecting to read. I have a big problem enjoying books that constantly switch back and forth between time periods, as this one did relentlessly. There are, as a result of this style, two completely different sets of characters to try to keep straight, and there are two completely different storylines, even though they do intersect at some point. This one intersected living characters only briefly as Caroline's great-aunt Lettie lay dying early in the story. The author's writing skills are amazing, and she had me enthralled with her descriptions of Venice, including actual historical elements. I was eager to go online to search out some of the scenes she described so well. That aspect of the story was well done, but on the whole I just didn't enjoy this book and ultimately had to make myself finish it. That was a 'first' for me with a Rhys Bowen novel. The plot didn't resonate well with me. As a matter of fact, I found it very often quite depressing. Thus, the novel as a whole, once I completed it, was not a satisfying experience for me. The ending was not much of an ending, in my opinion, and my only reaction was..."Well, I'm glad that's over-with". There was little real joy in the book, because the few instances of happiness were soon to be snuffed out. At this stage of my life, I'm not interested in suffering through some of the horrors of WW11 again via my reading material, particularly relating to the German overrun of neighboring countries and the brutality to the Jewish residents that ensued as a result. I would classify this book as a 'downer'. I'm truly not glad I read it, after being left somewhat depressed, and will be exceedingly diligent in reading the plot synopsis of my next new Rhys Bowen novel. I was quite disappointed in this one.