All the lost places by Amanda Dykes
Quote - "Life was a kaleidoscope, lite by the Mediterranean sun through colorful glass in shop window."

Synopsis - When a baby was discovered floating in a basket along the canals of Venice. In 1807, A guild of artisans took him in and thought him their trades. His name was Sebastian. Sebastian was questioning where he came from and was finally getting clarity when a woman washed up on his lagoon island. Decades later, Daniel Goodman is given A fresh start at life by translating A rare book in Venice.

My thoughts - The one thing I love about Amanda Dykes book's is there is always A secret message. She knows how to pull her reader's into the story. She also has a way of making the story come to life. The characters are well written and realistic. The book was very hard to put down, even for a cup of coffee.

Recommend - I will recommend "All the Lost Places" to family, friends, and others through social media and retail site's like Amazon, Bookbud, Wal-Mart, Barnes and Nobles, and Goodreads.

Rating - I rate this book a 5 out of 5

Disclaimer - I received this complimentary copy from publisher and author for a honest review. All thoughts and opinions are mine and mine alone.

All the Lost Places by Amanda Dykes is a dual-timeline historical novel set in Venice during the early 1800s and the early 1900s. This beautifully written story involves a complex mystery, some romance, and love for the beautiful city of Venice.

Story Recap:
1806 A basket with a baby inside is found floating down a Venitian canal. Fisherman Guiseppe pulls the baby from the murky canal and starts to take him to the local orphanage. On the way, he changes his mind and decides to keep him and he takes him to his guild to help raise the baby. Guiseppe the fisherman, Pietro, the glassblower, Elena, the gardener, Dante, the printer, and Valentina, the lace maker, all decide to raise the baby together. They named him Sebastien Trovato, and each member of the guild train him in their perspective careers.

1907 Daniel Goodman needs to redeem himself for the trouble he’s been in. Fresh out of prison, and working in a cannery in San Francisco, he makes just enough money to repay his debts. When he finds out his mother is in financial trouble, he needs to make more money, so he takes on a job to travel to Venice to obtain a rare book and to sketch the city for a San Fransisco developer who wants to replicate the canals and beauty of Venice.

My Thoughts:
This is the story of two men, Sebastian who is searching for his parents and wants to know why he was left in a basket, and Daniel, who wants to make up for the sins of his past.

This book has everything I want in a story, I loved both mysteries, and they do intersect eventually. Daniel was such a great character. He needs to atone for the mistakes he made when he was young and needs to help his mother before she loses her house. His dedication to his mother is heartwarming as is his love of books.

Sebastian had an unusual and loving upbringing with the guild acting as his parents. But, he always wondered why he doesn’t have just one mother like his friends growing up. When he saves a young woman who washed up on his island, she helps him uncover the mysteries of his origin.

The star of this book is Venice. The author wrote lovingly about the history, and the people of Venice, but it never felt overdone, or too much. In each timeline, the characters are trying to solve a mystery and we get to follow them along the roads, bridges, and canals as they search for clues. We get little snippets of Venitian history woven into the beautiful descriptions as we follow Sebastian and Daniel on their individual quests.

Recommendation:
I highly recommend All the Lost Places to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book deserves many more than five stars.

I am not sure I have ever read a book quite like this one before.

Some books come into your life, are read and quickly forgotten.

Not so with this one It will be remembered by myself and many other readers for quite some time.

I feel spiritually fulfilled after reading this.

The descriptions are so vivid that I feel as though I was experiencing this with all the characters in the time periods portrayed.

The book is a real gem, the words are clear, concise and fluid.

I am really looking forward to reading more by this author.

I was given a complimentary copy by Interviews and Reviews and Bethany House Publishers. All opinions expressed are my own.

1807—Sebastien Trovato grows up knowing he is loved. Each of the guild members present on that fateful night when someone set Sebastien afloat in a Venice canal loves him without question. But as he grows, Sebastien struggles with his surname—Trovato, or Found—and wonders why he has no mother and father.

The guild members teach him their trades and lavish him with the love, attention, and education necessary to help Sebastien reach manhood. But Sebastien’s differences set him apart from the other children in his beloved Venice. He finds contentment in service to those who raised him until he rescues a beautiful woman who lands on the island where he lives much of his time.

How can a man with no history and no future claim the woman he comes to love?

1904—Daniel Goodman has almost repaid his debts to society when a chance encounter leads to the opportunity of a lifetime. If he succeeds, he’ll have the funds to pay off the last of his debts. Researching and translating the mysterious Book of Waters in Venice could lead to reconciliation with his mother.

Uncovering the book’s history, veiled in intrigue and mystery, seems like an impossible task. When Daniel meets Vittoria, keeper of a bookshop and traveling library, he finds hope for his quest. As Daniel translates the Book of Waters, he shares his findings with Vittoria. Together they search the canals and crevices of the city to uncover the ending of the unfinished story.

Why I Loved This Book

At first, Sebastien and Daniel’s stories seem worlds apart. But as readers travel from California to Venice, they start to wonder if a century-old secret in Italy can affect the life of a reformed thief. It takes a masterful writer to weave together the heart of a city, memorable characters, and the greatest love story of all time.

Amanda Dykes wields prose like a poet in this luminous love story filled with intrigue, danger, redemption, and being found. The story brought me to tears, but not in a sappy ‘The-Notebook-made-me-cry’ sort of way. I cried honest tears of recognition (the author is writing MY story), contrition (oh, I’m so guilty of acting THAT way), and absolution (only the greatest love story can absolve my sins).

If you’ve never read a book by Amanda Dykes, you should go buy one (or check one out) now. I loved Yours is the Night. Fans of Kristy Cambron and Amy Lynn Green will enjoy this book.

It took me much too long to write this review because I honestly don’t know what to say. This book left me speechless. I smiled. I cried. And I flipped page after page devouring the beautiful prose I’ve come to expect from Amanda Dykes. With the rich descriptions and fantastic characters, All the Lost Places transported me to Venice every time I picked the book back up.

The spiritual storyline provides a timely reminder about God seeing each of us and His plans for us. Dykes really knows how to touch the heart of the matter. Both Daniel and Sebastien had such beautiful stories, and the lessons they learned deeply resonated with me.

Overall, All the Lost Places is a beautiful and poignant novel historical fiction fans will love.

With breath-taking imagery and emotive symbolism, Amanda has spun a truly magical story that whisks you away on an unforgettable journey through the canals of Venice. Born from Amanda’s own experience with the lost places, All the Lost Places is sure to stir you deeply in a way you will never forget.

You’ll walk—more accurately, float--Venice’s ancient streets alongside Daniel as he uncovers who the baby in the basket really is. And as he finally discovers the end to the unfinished story, you’ll re-discover yourself alongside the broken artist with a lost gift and the lost boy found in a basket. After all, “empty places…are not always lost places.”

Venice springs to life under Amanda’s skillful pen in a way both memorable and imaginative. From Vittoria’s whimsical bookshop complete with a pet owl, to the haunting ruins of Sebastien’s island home, you’ll be utterly enchanted by Venice and its people. A city that is so deeply intertwined with its ancient history that no two stories are ever completely separate, as Daniel discovered.

From Giuseppe the gondolier, to Dante the bookbinder, to Valentina the lacemaker, each of the characters captured my heart with their delightful quirkiness and realness. I felt deeply Sebastien’s longing to know who he was, Massimo’s longing to have a purpose, and Daniel’s longing to find forgiveness and atonement.

In short, this is a story all about the longings, the wounds, the questions we carry deep in our hearts, ones we cannot even put a name to sometimes. But questions that all find an answer, a new beginning in the great Author of life who flung the stars, hovered upon the water, and cradles each of our lives in His hands.

The only downside was that I struggled to stay engaged with the story, especially in the first half. Because of how descriptive Amanda’s prose is, the story tended to pace slower. But from an artistic point of view, I appreciated the care she put into her prose. In our fast-paced, instant gratification age, this story was a breath of fresh air. I felt as though I was truly transported to the other-worldly, ancient place of Venice and was able to experience it in all its joie de vivre.

I can’t end this review without mentioning the Author Note. It’s clear that Amanda wrote her very soul into the story. She is Daniel, in a way, rediscovering her pen, her voice after a season of lostness. Her words pierced straight to my heart as I too have had to rediscover who I am after walking the dark road of depression two years ago. And yet, she leaves us with hope for a new tomorrow.

“God is not bound by the way things used to be,” she writes. “Take heart for the shifting places. In the hands of our God, there is redemption at work. And in that, there is hope.”

This story managed to surprise me in the best, most beautiful of ways (It's definitely found a place on my all-time favorites shelf!). All the Lost Places is a story of found family, hope renewed, and lost things found. It reminds us that like a sparkling mosaic created out of thousands of broken pieces, we are not too broken to be beautiful. We are not too lost to be found, too far gone to be used by the Storyteller.

This story is a candle in the dark, a whisper of hope in the night. And it's one you'll treasure long after you put it down.

Have you ever finished a book and then turned back to the first page to read it all over again immediately after finishing the last page? That is what I did with All the Lost Places by Amanda Dykes.

I was first introduced to Amanda's writing with her book Set the Stars Alight. I was enchanted by that book and expected to feel the same with All the Lost Places. I wasn't disappointed. Amanda's writing is a combination of magic and lyrical beauty. She has managed to capture the essence of Venice and wrap it up in a story that is heartfelt, mysterious, and intriguing. I might have to read it for the third time.

The theme of finding oneself and the importance God plays in our identity as humans are presented in a way that is not preachy. We all experience feelings of being inadequate or not living up to our full potential. In this story, Daniel Goodman is plagued by his past and is trying to make things right. He meets "the Garbin," also called Vittoria, who literally blows into his life and changes it for the better.

We also meet Sebastien, who has a story of his own to tell and asks the question, "Who am I?" As both men try to find who they are, the author helps readers understand what it means to be lost and find hope again.

"A person never knows how far their life might reach." He paused, deep in thought, as he often did. "Courage keep, and hope beget...the story is not finished yet."

"Broken things, harvested as treasure and pieced together into something entirely...different. Old, but new. Broken, but whole."

"Perhaps you are becoming a tool for a new work. God is not bound by the way things used to be, Daniel. There is great hope in that."

This book encouraged me so much. It helped me realize that even in my broken places, God can rebuild something new. It was exciting to know that someone like me, who has an incurable disease that almost killed me last year, could still be used by God for something else. My story isn't finished yet, and I would like to thank Amanda Dykes for reminding me of that. I cannot recommend this book enough.

I received a review copy courtesy of Bethany House Publishers through NetGalley.

This beautiful dual timeline spoke to my soul.

Daniel Goodman's search for redemption leads him to Venice in search of the original edition of a book, and soon his story becomes intertwined with Sebastien Trovato, a man searching for a place to belong and whose story is told within the pages of the book.

The poetic prose, the vivid details, the beautiful themes, the deep and complex characters, the suspenseful scenes, the sweet romance. There is soooooo much to love about this book it is hard to list it all.

It took a little bit to get into the rhythm of the book but once I did, I was hooked and I ended speechless and in tears. Hope, forgiveness, light - all can fill the lost places in our souls, and the author presents these Christian themes in a way that is not preachy or overbearing.

This book is absolutely a 5-star read and is one I will treasure and visit again and again.

I received a complimentary copy but a positive review was not required.

Oh my! I have inadequate words to describe this beautiful and uplifting story. All the Lost Places starts with a note to readers "To all who have felt lost, or faced the questions that echoes within these pages: "Who am I?" This tale is for you." To say that Author Amanda Dykes has an amazing way with words is a vast understatement, her beautiful way with words elevate every story she writes. I took my time savoring this compelling story that begins in California in 1904, but much of the book is set in primarily in Venice at different times in history, mostly 1807 and following, and 1904. Authentic characters and powerful truths gently glide you back and forth in time in the two storylines. Tender, heartwarming, heartbreaking, and hopeful. All the Lost places is a superb example of historical dual timeline fiction with a beautiful yet subtle faith thread.

I pre-ordered this book long before I was allowed to read an early copy by the author, publisher, and net galley. All opinions are my own. I highly recommend this grace filled story that really made me think, and delighted me at how it all fit together.

This book is beautiful and poetic and redemptive and kind. I loved it, and truly loved Daniel, the tormented main character who discovers that he is worthy of love, and more, that he is already loved.

This story jumps time and place and character (a little hard to follow when I was tired!) Telling the stories intertwined like this made sense though, and gave a deep sense of the ways in which our history makes us who we are.. This book was truly lovely!

I received a an eARC from NetGalley. All enthusiastic praise for this book is completely my own!

A baby boy is discovered by a man floating in a basket along the canals of Venice and he decides not to take him to the nearby orphanage. Instead he’s raised by a guild of five artisans, Pietro a glass blower, Valentina a lace maker, Giuseppe a gondolier, Dante a printer and Elena a gardener. Sebastian Trovato thinks he will never discover who he is and until he finds Mariana Fedele unconscious on Elena’s island.

All the Lost Places has a dual timeline, it’s set in Venice in the early 1800's and in 1900's.

Daniel Goodman has made mistakes in his life, a way of redeeming himself is by traveling to Venice for Mr. Wharton, to procure an original book and it's sketches. Here he meets Vittoria Bellini, she works in a bookshop and her uncle Antonio repairs rare and antique books. With Vittoria’s help, he navigates the streets and canals of Venice, he discovers who Sebastian Trovato is and why he didn’t finish his story.

I received a digital copy of All the Lost Place from NetGalley and Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. Amanda Dykes skilfully writes a story about a man who is a foundling, and him trying to find out who his parents are and another trying to right the wrongs of his past. An amazing story that combines faith, mystery, secrets, hope and the history of Venice to weave a narrative that will hold you captivated by it’s brilliance and use of words. Four and a half stars from me and I had to really concentrate reading this complicated novel.

Thank you Bethany House Fiction for the gifted book!

A dual timeline (1807 and 1904) story set in Venice with powerful themes of identity and redemption.

Read for:
• A Venice setting
• A gondola lending library
• Book for book lovers
• Dual timeline told in a unique way
• Found family

This is a slower burn story and it took me a little while to get into, but the payoff was so good! The writing is absolutely beautiful and felt SO authentic. I loved being transported to a wintry Venice and meeting this lovely cast of characters. This was my first novel from Amanda Dykes, but I will certainly be reading more.

“I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.”

We all know that line from “Amazing Grace” by John Newton. A former slaver turned Christian and abolitionist. Newton once said, “‘It will always be a subject of humiliating reflection to me, that I was once an active instrument in a business at which my heart now shudders.’” While Daniel Goodman is only a thief, he feels the same shame and heavy guilt at the things he had done. He wants a new life but does not consider himself worthy of it or his mother’s love. When he travels to Venice, Daniel hopes to earn enough—and to redeem himself—to return to his mother and beg for forgiveness.

A question haunts Sebastien throughout All the Lost Places by Amanda Dykes: Who am I? He does not know his past prior to his adoption, and it weighs heavy on him and influences him every step of his life. He just wants answers. What he does not expect is a young woman washing up on his shore, nor the impact she will have on his life from that moment forward. Mariana brings him something he had no idea he had been missing: hope.

All the Lost Places by Amanda Dykes expresses messages of such beauty to its readers. Dykes has a way with words that is incomparable to any other author I have ever read. She soothes the anxious heart. Cools the mind like a floating in a freshwater stream after a long journey. Dykes reminds her readers that they are not alone. Even in the darkest corners. Even in the grief. Even in the lost places, where you think you could never be found. You are no longer lost or alone. You are found. The word now has new meaning to me thanks to All the Lost Places.

This is an impactful and heartwarming piece of historical fiction that speaks of the love of God, friends, and family. It enfolded me. Filled my heart. It reminded me why I love Dykes’ work as much as I do. I think she says things best in her author’s note, so I’ll end my review with excerpts of it. Amanda Dykes spoke to the recesses of my soul with All the Lost Places, and I fully believe she can do the same for you if you give her the chance.

“In the wilderness is a place of new things, too. And more importantly—there’s Someone else there, with a nail-pierced hand outstretched and waiting to take ours—in the wilderness. It was here that this gentle yet strong whisper wrapped from every direction around my heart with old truths made new. You are mine. Found. Beloved.”

“Take heart for the shifting places. In the hands of our God, there is redemption at work. And in that, there is hope.”

Unfortunately, I didn't get into this one. I struggled to connect with the story, and only made it halfway through in my effort to complete it before stopping. It just didn't work for me, and it didn't engage me.

When all of Venice is unmasked, one man's identity remains a mystery . . .

1807
When a baby is discovered floating in a basket along the quiet canals of Venice, a guild of artisans takes him in and raises him as a son, skilled in each of their trades. Although the boy, Sebastien Trovato, has wrestled with questions of his origins, it isn't until a woman washes ashore on his lagoon island that answers begin to emerge. In hunting down his story, Sebastien must make a choice that could alter not just his own future, but also that of the beloved floating city.

1904
Daniel Goodman is given a fresh start in life as the century turns. Hoping to redeem a past laden with regrets, he is sent on an assignment from California to Venice to procure and translate a rare book. There, he discovers a city of colliding hope and decay, much like his own life, and a mystery wrapped in the pages of that filigree-covered volume. With the help of Vittoria, a bookshop keeper, Daniel finds himself in a web of shadows, secrets, and discoveries carefully kept within the stones and canals of the ancient city . . . and in the mystery of the man whose story the book does not finish: Sebastien Trovato.

Amanda Dykes has done it again with her newest release All the Lost Places. I really enjoyed back in time with this story and meeting the characters. It was a beautiful book to read. Five stars.

I loved the lyrical prose of this story. Well written and executed beautifully. While I enjoyed the first book Amanda Dykes wrote, I think that I liked this one even better!

This is a beautiful tale of two men: one in the early 1800s (Sebastien) in Venice, Italy, and the other (Daniel) in the early 1900s in San Francisco. Amanda Dykes, who weaves her words in an extraordinary tapestry, has crafted a story so unique and glowing, that it's almost impossible to summarize and give it justice. The essence here is two men, separated by decades but somehow connected, who ask the question that so many of us face in life: "Who Am I?"

Thank you NetGalley, Amanda Dykes, and Bethany House Publishers for an ARC of this book!

All the Lost Places by Amanda Dykes dives into a world of identity. It is a timely novel with so many people trying to figure out who they are by diving into a world of sin and chaos. No, Dykes does not touch on those issues in her story, but she allows her hero in 1807 to dive into the world of discovering who he really is. At first, the story starts a little odd, and I was following the story, but I had no idea what was really occurring. But once the story moved to Italy, it made more sense, and I became fully invested in the character's lives. I love the hunt for the missing pages of the story. I enjoyed reading the actual story as Daniel is translating it while he is in Italy. Both stories intertwined really nicely and had a satisfying ending. Both characters discovered who they were created to be and relished in God's love and plan for their lives. Dykes does have a lyrical way of crafting the description. I took notice of how she described certain things like the water and the lagoon and marveled at her use of imagery to convey the scenes and the emotion of the scenes. Nicely done! Overall, All the Lost Places by Amanda Dykes is a unique, yet important story with a lesson that everyone needs to uncover. I really enjoyed the story.

I received a complimentary copy of All the Lost Places by Amanda Dykes from Bethany House Publishers, but the opinions stated are all my own.

"And isn’t that the way of miracles? Something extraordinary because of the faithful ordinary."

There are so many beautiful layers in this story. I love how Amanda weaves truth into the fabric of her story and everything points to it. She is a stunning example of an author who can use truth in an allegorical way, but then leaves no questions about what it is she's referring to - she straight out tells you, and I appreciate her being clear where it really matters.

Because the vagueness and not mystery as much as mystique in the rest of the story kept me as a reader at a distance and made it difficult for me to care or get invested for large swaths of the book. Ultimately, I loved the characters and the general plot, but the setting was not something I came into the book caring about and all the constant reminders of secrecy of the place made me feel unwelcome and care about it even less than when I started. There were a lot of concepts connected to the culture that were foreign to me and for which I needed a less purple explanation to understand everything as it unfolded.

I think lovers of the setting would have a very deep appreciation for this book, and lovers of truth can enjoy it, but it's not necessarily easily accessible for every reader. Nonetheless, I can appreciate the author's skill with character, plot, weaving of the message, and immersing in a setting.

I received this book from the publisher but a positive review was not required and all opinions are my own.