Blood and Beauy by Sarah Duant

As shouts if "I am Pope" echo off the Vatican, the world ushers in the Borgia era. A Spanish family, with ruthless aspirations, the Borgia family has become synonymous with corruption, scandal and grievous excesses. Sarah Duant challenges what history has repeated. The truth, however, can be very ugly.

Sarah Duant is an amazing author. After a long hiatus, her book, The Birth of Venus, brought me back to historical fiction and reading. The Borgia family comes to life under her pen. Mainly told through the eyes of Lucrezia, this book does indeed spares no details. Family conflict, private dealings and mechanizations are all explored. I learned more about this family in this book than I ever knew. Lucrezia is my favorite. Her voice is naive and jaded at the same time. A pawn at first, I loved watching her grow into the only family member able to survive. Amazing story, wonderfully researched. A must read.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me a copy via Librarything.