Review: The Venetian Bargain by Marina Fiorato

Title: The Venetian Bargain
Author: Marina Fiorato
Format: ARC
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publish Date: April 8, 2014
Source: I received a copy from the publisher; however, this did not affect my review.

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You're a historical fiction fan.
• You love intrigue.
• You're an armchair traveler.

 What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Venice, 1576. Five years after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto, a ship steals unnoticed into Venice bearing a deadly cargo. A man, more dead than alive, disembarks and staggers into Piazza San Marco. He brings a gift to Venice from Constantinople. Within days the city is infected with bubonic plague—and the Turkish Sultan has his revenge.

But the ship also holds a secret stowaway—Feyra, a young and beautiful harem doctor fleeing a future as the Sultan’s concubine. Only her wits and medical knowledge keep her alive as the plague ravages Venice.

In despair, the Doge commissions the architect Andrea Palladio to build the greatest church of his career—an offering to God so magnificent that Venice will be saved. But Palladio’s life is in danger too, and it will require all the skills of Annibale Cason, the city’s finest plague doctor, to keep him alive. What Annibale had not counted on was meeting Feyra, who is now under Palladio’s protection—an impossible woman whose medical skills and determination are matched only by his own."

My Two Cents:

"The Venetian Bargain" is a fascinating story of Constantinople and Venice. Feyra is a doctor who comes to Venice from her home in the Ottoman Empire to discover the answer to a mystery that she was told right before a loved one passed away. Feyra doesn't know what awaits her in Venice and she goes to the brand new city with a lot of trepidation. This book has a little bit of something for everyone.

I love visiting some place new through my reading and this book gave me an opportunity to visit the gorgeous city of Venice. Unfortunately, the city is dealing with the Bubonic Plague but that only makes for a more fascinating story. You really get a good sense of the city through Feyra's eyes as she unravels the mystery that was given to her. We get to see her dealings with some of the highest houses in the city. She was such a fantastic character.

One of the details that I absolutely loved was the medical aspect of the book. Feyra is well practiced in the way of medicine and she meets another doctor, Annibale Cason, who is working hard to treat those with Bubonic Plague. I think medicine is really interesting to read about in general but I especially like reading about how people used to be treated prior to the advent modern medicine. It is just so interesting to me! Fiorato loads this book with a lot of really great detail but the detail surrounding Feyra and Annibale's practice was really fantastic to me!

I know that this book is definitely going to be a future re-read for me!