This book isn't for me, and I DNF'ed it. Maybe it is because of the translation. Maybe it is because of the time period. Maybe it is because I barely know anything of this part of history. Maybe it is because I am not used to French/Italian/Spanish names.... but I got lost. It was too slow, too political, too much like I was reading a non-fiction at times. Frale definitely knows her stuff and she did a wonderful job with it. I am sure there are people who would love this. I'm just not one of them.

My thanks to Barbara Frale, Head of Zeus and Netgalley for the ARC of THE CELLARS OF NOTRE DAME.
I tried a number of times to get into this novel as its title would imply that it's certainly the kind of book I love to read. Unfortunately, I found it difficult to find the hook to keep me reading. I always give a novel second and third readings but on this occasion it wasn't for me.

The story was a bit stilted and maybe this is due to the fact that it was a translation. I expected more especially because Notre Dame fascinates me.

The setting of Philip IV and Joanne of Navarre was in itself very intriguing. No hiding the fact that Joan was very religious and took her duties to her homeland sometimes even more seriously than to France or to her husband. Did not go down well in so many ways.

Quite a lot of intrigue and at times I found it difficult to keep track of the various strands in the story. Though it is a prophecy about the Anti Christ it is also very political dealing with the ins and outs of the palace itself.

An interesting story, but too convoluted for me.

The premise of this book sounded incredible, but it just didn't live up to expectations for me. As much as I wanted to enjoy this book, it really seemed a bit too muddled and confused for me. The storyline, the plot and the characters were all a bit difficult to comprehend.

As much as I like a complex book, this was more confused than complex. Well researched but not the best story.

I think it would have an interesting informative book as it's well researched and full of information.
Unfortunately too much information made a story quite confusing and it didn't keep my attention.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Cellars of Notre Dame by Barbara Frale is a translation, likely one of the reasons it was difficult to read. It often didn't flow well. It is an interesting novel describing the times surrounding King Philip IV of France and his wife, Joan of Navarre. There was so much court intrigue; so much religious interference; and so many players that it has been difficult even for historians to ferret out the truth. It is established that Joan, while Queen of France, took her duties as Queen of Navarre much more seriously. Joan was intensely religious and extremely devoted to her homeland. She loved her husband but he was beyond odd and taken with the notion that he was all-powerful. Medicine was largely superstition at this time and anything new was frowned upon. It was widely believed that a touch by the king could cure. As in all governments, more deals were made through the backdoor than out in front. The public had no rights and was easy to manipulate.

It was difficult to read, but hugely interesting. The different personalities were sometimes difficult to keep straight, as they were essentially flat characters, with little to differentiate them from one another. At times, the story was confusing. I would suggest this book to a serious read of historical fiction or one with a serious interest in this time period of France. It would not hurt to have some background in the situation. It was not an easy read.

I was invited to read a free ARC of The Cellars of Notre Dame by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #thecellarsofnotredame

I've never been as confused and lost as I've been reading this book. I have to give it that - it was first to confuse me.

Too many names, too many twists where one person's actions become another person's... I was lost. It was not fun. It was not suspense. It was not a drive to make me read on. I love history and I enjoy historical fiction, but The Cellars of Notre Dame promised a world and delivered nothing...

This book was okay. It was researched for twenty years. It might have made a better nonfiction however as at times the plot seemed to drag a bit. I learned a lot about the 1200's medieval world though which I enjoyed.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

The Cellars of Notre Dame by Barbara Frale

#TheCellarsofNotreDame

a gripping, dark historical thriller
by Barbara Frale
Aria & Aries
Head of Zeus -- an Aries Book
Historical Fiction | Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 17 Sep 2020  

Renowned scientist Arnaldo da Villanova conducts occult’s studies within the depth of mazes of cellars of Notre Dame. Fleeing France and those who who accuse him of impiety. He travels to Roman and serves as Pope Boniface VIII's personal physician.
Carrying a dark secret that causes his very life to be threatened.
This a mesmerizing story that captures the era and times of medieval 1294.
Exceptional meticulous, research makes this book phenomenal.

Notre Dame holds a special place in my heart. When I visited it in 2014, it took my breath away. When it burned in 2019, the world lost a treasure.

This book is part apocalyptic - with the Antichrist prophesied to come from the tunnels below Notre Dame - but mostly political thriller.

It was fun to read a book that was set outside of the usual time periods. The downside to not being familiar with this period in history is that the characters started to blend together at times. Dante (the author of Dante’s Inferno) was the only character I’d heard of before. The author extensively researched this period, and at times gave more history than was necessary.

This author was at her best when describing the love triangle between Joan of Navarre, the king and Matilda. I wish we had a little more of that.

King Phillip seeks the return of a physician who holds the key to solve his biggest problem - which isn’t what it seems at first. But that physician has taken refuge with the Pope, who is not friendly to the King. Many men seek to try to solve it, but in the end, it’s a woman who triumphs.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Paris, 1298. Philip of Fontainebleau, a knight known as Lanius, informs Cardinal Matthew Bentivegna of Acquasparta that he must go to Rome and escort Arnaldo da Villanova, the celebrated Catalan doctor, safely to Paris, per king’s orders. Lanius is romantically involved with Joan of Navarre, king’s wife.

What interested me to this story was the Catalan doctor, who was also a religious reformer and supposedly an alchemist. He is unorthodox in his approach and with many experiments under his belt is highly valuable. The king wants him back in France to resume his experiments. I enjoyed reading about him. I also enjoyed the character of Maddalena, the pope’s niece, a very smart girl, whose knowledge makes some worrisome.

When it comes to historical background and descriptions of historical figures, there is a lot of telling. Some of the informative telling brings interesting facts. The others could be trimmed to make the pace faster.

I found it hard to follow all the names. I understand if the goal is accuracy, but this is fiction and some names could be omitted for better flow.

In general, I’d say some trimming needs to be done with better focus on what this story is about.

Two things attracted me to this book - the subject matter and the author, whose book on the Templars I had read in the past.

Medieval politics is a difficult path to navigate at the best of times. Throw in some papal discord, political and religious machinations, mysterious cabals, superstition, rumour and inuendo, and two political giants in Philip the Fair of France and Pope Boniface VIII, and you have the makings of a very good historical fiction thriller.

Frale is a noted historian and paleographer at the Vatican Secret Archives, and her previous works have been in the non-fiction genre and this is her first novel (as far as I am aware). The amount of research that has gone into this book is (at times, painfully) evident.

I would strongly suggest that having some interest in this particular period would be a good thing as there are a plethora of characters (real and fictional) that walk across the pages; some add to the story, others are not so critical, leaving me wondering if they were necessary in the first place (mayhap a short list of essential characters at the very start might be an idea). There are also a number of themes running through the narrative - some evident; others not so and these are not cleared up until towards the end. At times, the reader could be left wondering which narrative it is that they should be following and what should be discarded. Despite this being an area of interest for me, the dearth of information provided sometimes felt oppressive - at page 50 I felt like I was at page 500!

Once you get past all of this, the story itself it rather an interesting premise. I will most likely read this again.

I liked this book, but I struggled in the middle. There was a lot of dialogue and many times it was the same story being repeated over and over. However, overall it was interesting and I enjoyed the story

A fascinating book, and historical novel, that deals with the occult and is, as far as I can tell, accurate in historical research.

Ok, well, this is awkward, going to review a book, only to realize that you’re the first one to do so (so much so the publisher didn’t even take the time to create a GR listing for it) and the historical aspects of it took two decades of research…and you didn’t really like it. If not for the 20 years thing, this would have been easier. I’ve no qualms, typically, of giving the book its due, the due according to me that is. But 20 years of research just seems so monumental. Like it ought to produce a spectacular result. But then again, maybe the author’s strength lies in historical nonfiction. Because that criteria for those are different from fiction, it needs to hit different levels of excitement and engagement, traditionally. Which is all to say that, while this book was unquestionably well researched, it just wasn’t that exciting to read. It got off to a very good start, dynamic chase, city secrets promising dangerous reveals and then…it just got mired in the convoluted politics and conflicting personalities of the time and became a proper slog. Now am I saying this should have been an action movie and became a historical textbook? No, absolutely, not, it wasn’t the case. The past here is definitely dramatized and fictionified and frankly I am not that much of a fan of actioneers. It’s just that this book tried to cram so much (well, duh, 20 years of research) into a relatively slim volume and as a result it’s too dense with political acrobatics of the time and doesn’t have enough other elements to offset it. It promises a lot, it has all these exciting things at play, conspiracies, secret plots, etc. set both above and below terra firma and yet…and sure, there’s romance and some suspense and tons of historical personage, some you know (yes, that Dante), some might be new. But…overall it was something of a drag, not a major drag, but still…It is also entirely possible that the era itself didn’t quite work for me as much as the past fascinates me, it isn’t a uniform fascination, some epochs are more interesting than others. So in the end this is a work of historical fiction where I enjoyed the former aspect much more than the latter, which is to say things were learned and that’s always great, but then I wasn’t all that entertained or delighted as a reader. User mileage may vary. Well, suppose it counts for international reading though. Thanks Netgalley.