Thrilling and well-paced book set in the academic world of research to uncover centuries-old secrets. Especially enjoyable read for lovers of the sixteenth century, moving between Scotland, Genoa, Florence Paris. In the Dan Brown style; l could really see this being televised. I liked the characters and all the descriptions too, building to a thrilling climax.

I rewally enjoyed this book, it was well written with a compelling storyline that was engaging all the way through and well developed characters. The pacing was perfect for the book, slow when it needed to be but also increasing with the tension in the plot.

An absolutely incredible read with a great mystery backstory and wonderful for lovers of history. While it could be slow at times it was all brought together. I couldn’t put it down!

The Bequest by Joanna Margaret is a dual timeline story with a dark academia atmosphere and a historical fiction mystery in the throes of a wild goose chase.

Isabel Henley is a PhD student who arrives in Scotland to discover that her thesis advisor has died under mysterious circumstances. Forced to find a new subject, she bumps into Rose Brewster, her friend from undergrad school. Rose implicates Isabel in a life-threatening mess that involves a cursed emerald, a Renaissance assassination plot, and 16th century politics that shadows Isabel’s life in dangerous ways. Isabel is swept up in a centuries old whodunnit in the libraries and archives of Genoa, Florence, and Paris where she must decipher, decode, and translate her and Rose out of a centuries old puzzle that may have deadly consequences.

Fans of dark academia will appreciate the rich locations in this book and the gorgeous European libraries where most of the story takes place. Fans of historical fiction will appreciate the cryptic letters and cat and mouse games of the Renaissance. Personally, I found the historical mystery a little boring and Isabel’s romance unbelievable. The first half of the book was a little too slow paced for my liking but the second half of the book was better paced and more suspenseful. I think the cursed emerald storyline could have ventured into supernatural territory, appropriate for dark academia ,which would have made this a more entertaining read. The plot about ruthless scholars who will stop at nothing to get what they want was predictable and the motive of the “person in charge” was unsurprising. The book cover does not seem to reflect the story because it looks vintage. Having a more Renaissance inspired look to the cover would have better reflected the story.

The Bequest promises to be a gripping literary thriller with an atmospheric dark academia setting. I wouldn’t call it a gripping thriller, but rather a boring thriller. It does have an atmospheric dark academia setting, but it outshines the predictable storyline.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

thank you so much for sending me an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This story was a wild ride, dark academia mixed with national treasure? I couldn’t put this down, although the ending felt kind of predictable but I still really enjoyed it.

I really liked the academia kind of feel but the story didn’t grab me so much. I imagine it would be a good mystery with some atmosphere for some readers,, but it just was not the book for me.