Thursday, December 13, 2012

Review # 256: The Girl in the Glass by Susan Meissner

Description: (book jacket)
     Since she was a child, Meg has dreamed of taking a promised trip to Florence, Italy, and being able to finally step into the place captured in a picture at her grandmother’s house. But after her grandmother passes away and it falls to her less-than-reliable father to take her instead, Meg’s long-anticipated travel plans seem permanently on hold. 
     When her dad finally tells Meg to book the trip, she prays that the experience will heal the fissures left on her life by her parents’ divorce. But when Meg arrives in Florence, her father is nowhere to be found, leaving aspiring memoir-writer Sophia Borelli to introduce Meg to the rich beauty of the ancient city. Sofia claims to be one of the last surviving members of the Medici family and that a long-ago Medici princess, Nora Orsini, communicates with her from within the great masterpieces of the Italian  Renaissance. 
     When Sophia, Meg, and Nora’s stories intersect, their lives will be indelibly changed as they each answer the question: What if renaissanceisn’t just a word? What if that’s what happens when you dare to believe that what is isn’t what has to be?
Review:

     With imagery vivid enough to transport me to Florence, Italy, Susan Meissner wove a novel draped in history, with a touch of romance, family drama and lifelong uncertainty. I have to applaud the cover-art, I loved the bold colors and the scene that they captured; a great start to the book! I also enjoyed the rich use of detail and the timely dialogue, as well as the top-notch character development evidenced in Nora, Sophia and Meg. I was intrigued by the layers I found within the plot-line, although they tended to blur together in certain areas, (especially those between Nora and Sophia), but I appreciated the overall build-up of the story and the emotion behind it. The Girl In the Glass was a wonderful story of fathers, daughters, regrets, dreams and hopes for the future that took me on a much needed visual journey across time. Recommended to all readers, particularly women, who enjoy fiction with a little romance, great characters, and a lot of emotion.

Rating: On the Run (4/5)

*** I received this book from the author (WaterBrook Press) in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

No comments:

Post a Comment