The Violinist's Apprentice

by Isabella Mancini

[Lynn]

Clementina (Tina) McBride is sceptical about going on a school trip to Rome. She doesn't want to leave her sick brother behind but is pursued by her Italian mother to accept the chance to visit the country of her birth. Strangely, before going on her adventure she's given an amulet by her teacher Mr Verdigris to wear at all time especially during the trip… what does this mean?

Captivating, I adored Clementina's time in 17th-century Rome. The author's paints a vivid picture of the Italian city at the time as I learned about young Antonio Stradivari. As someone familiar with the city, I appreciate the depth of detail Ms Mancini put into the narrative and finished this novel more knowledgeable than before.

My favourite aspect of this time-slip novel is when the story's based in Rome, simply because the plot's self-contained. The tentative relationship between Antonio and Tina, their innocent first love attraction highlights how differently such meetings were conducted in times gone by. Therefore, seeing 21st-century Tina through Antonio's 17th-century eyes is delightful.

The contemporary scenes are less appealing except for when the plot shifts to the Arctic settlement where Salem is trying to acquire items from the seven wonders of the world. His objective is to solve environmental problems on earth. However, binding this plot-line, the time-slip and Clementine's home life together made the reading pleasure initially frustrating when the author is setting the scenes. Yet overall, it's still a fascinating original novel, laced with rich historical detail and 21st-century issues.

***arc generously received courtesy of Darkstroke/Crooked Cat Books via Rachel's Random Resources***