I liked the magic system in this, and how the art magic worked. It was well explained!

But what this is actually about is her recovering from the trauma of her trial as a survivor, and fighting against misogyny in this magical Renaissance art world. It's about an angry woman with magic, essentially. And that's done well.

It ended up being too long and too slow. It delved into the everyday too much, and meandered away from the revenge we were promised. While the end picked up a little (not enough) and the beginning was very strong, the middle dragged big time. The more I read, the less I liked the book. Which is never a good feeling.

It also got a little repetitive. She was angry and it repeated that 100 times, without doing much of anything about it until the end. I liked Artemisia and the concept, but the execution lost me.

It also promised a revenge plot, and it never really delivered on that front.

A book that never really takes off — I was left waiting for the book to start. It’s very slow paced to begin, and when it start eventually start, you’re just a bit exhausted from having to wait so long. Nice prose, but the story wasn’t for me!

Gentileschi is a fascinating, absorbing choice of heroine and Jarvis brings her to life as a furious young woman raging against the injustices committed against her. Jarvis's Artemisia is as subtle as a brick and as forgiving as midwinter, repeatedly making terrible decisions as she forges her career and confronts her detractors. But Gentileschi is an inspired choice for a feminist fantasy and Jarvis imbues her work with enough magic to breathe her own vision of Artemisia to angry, frustrating life - an engaging heroine if not always a likeable one. I thoroughly enjoyed A Portrait In Shadow, not least for the way it celebrates women working together to elevate one another, exerting influence in spite of the constraints of their male-dominated time.

Very conveniently I can write the same review for two books. The review goes:

If you’re writing a book set in a historical place, please do not leave me very aware that I’m reading the work of an American of the modern age. The tone, the concerns, the word choices… I read this work to be transported to another place, another world, not ours. I’m down for anachronistic fantasy but the moment you’re setting it in this world, the bar is higher. I’ll make an exception for Lindsey Davis and Falco, as she’s hilarious and very consistent in the liberties she takes.

Not for these two. Shame that.

So I love this book, the story is exceptionally compelling, and I love seeing an almost unknown part of history come to live with a side of magic. There were points of the story where it honestly felt very dragging and just too drawn out. The story does not really pick up until part three, so you have to make it to that when the pacing really picks up. But overall, I really adored this story.

"A Portrait in Shadow" offers brilliant writing, characters, and plot. But what got me more than anything else was the stunning atmosphere of the book. It is so solid and rich and real - and more than a little bit beautiful. The fantasy element entwines so perfectly with the setting. Many, many more books please, Nicole Jarvis!

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

Artemisia Gentileschi was a sort of feminist icon when I was a teen and Artemisia by Anna Banti was a sort of you-must-read book.
I like her story and love this unusual historical character who was brave enough to press charges against her raper.
Even if I love some of her paints I’m always left wondering if I love the painter or the icon’s work
That said this was a fresh and unusual take on Artemisia and it was a fascinating description of an alternate Florence featuring historical characters like Galileo Galilei.
It was an entertaining and compelling read. I liked the world building, the well researched historical parts and the details
Nicola Jarvis delivers an intriguing story featuring a new Artemisia and I’m happy I met this one as it brought back to life a historical character.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Titan Books for this arc, all opinions are mine

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book!

I love Nicole Jarvis' writing and when I saw this book I just had to request it! It definitely did not disappoint. It has art, a beautiful city, magic and an interesting heroine, everything needed for a good book.

The first half did feel a bit slow to me, but the pace picked up again in the second half and came to a spectacular close. I had to push myself a bit to get through the first half, but it was so worth it in the end.

Artemisia is trying to make a name for herself in a man's world and this is one premise I always love. They refuse to accept a female painter, but Artemisia is determined to succeed. She's a complex character trying to heal from trauma and make a name for herself in Florence, all whilst fighting against sexism, misogyny, religion, and the power held by the wealthy.

A lot of the book is based on historical events, and some of it is completely fictional. There's also magic, griffons and blood drakes
I enjoyed the magic and how it was used. Also, definitely a fan of Nicole Jarvis's writing style.

I was expecting something good from this, and I wasn't left wanting.

Based on a real historical figure, Jarvis has taken Artemisia's story, entwined it with other famous names (de Medici for example) and given it some colour and fantasy flair. Overall, I enjoyed this one, and looking forward to the next adventure.

I really hope Nicole Jarvis keeps setting her books in cities I've been to, because it's always fun when she names something and my brain is like "AHA, I'VE SEEN THAT/I'VE BEEN THERE". If you're reading this Miss Jarvis please give me 3/3 for your next book, thanks!!

So we have Artemisia who's trying to make a name for herself in a man's world. They refuse to accept a female painter, but Artemisia is determined to succeed. Will she?

A lot of the book is based on historical events, and some of it is completely fictional. There's also magic, griffons and blood drakes (which I imagine to be like dragons, but smaller).

The magic is either healing, or something that could harm a person, and it's in nearly every art piece an artist produces. Each time they do they give a bit of themselves to it and as a result they end up dying young.

I like this system, but I wish it was a bit more complex than that, it feels almost out of place. I think it gets better near the end, when we see more of the darker side of it.

Artemisia is interesting as a character. For the whole book you can feel her rage building up due to the injustices she faced in her past and present and you're just waiting for her to go off (especially knowing she has magic). So if you like female rage you'll probably like this book.

It's also a character driven story, much like one I read the other day, so don't go into this expecting non stop action, it's more internal development until it can no longer be contained.

The writing improved from Jarvis' first book, it flows better, and the descriptions are just as wonderful as they were in The Lights of Prague. And even though this one is longer than that one, it felt shorter, so bonus points for that.

*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

5.5 / 10 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2023/05/02/a-portrait-in-shadow-by-nicole-jarvis-review/

For as thorough and hauntingly beautiful a recreation of 17th century Florence A Portrait in Shadow provides, it’s a shame that nothing really happens to show of the setting. I mean, occasionally the characters will mill around one of the many markets, or mill around the Duomo, or wander over to admire the Palazzo. But of course, they also wander around the lesser known parts of the city, stop to take in a lecture at the Accademia, or mill about the Santa Maria Novella. So, in short, the meat of this book is a bit dry. In fact, even when the plot gets exciting, I <i>still</i> found it a bit dry. The story itself is a dreary, political and historical fantasy, regarding post-Renaissance Florence.

Artemisia Gentileschi is an interesting character. And by “interesting”, I don’t mean good. In fact, I found her to be a horrible person—which was somewhat of a theme in this novel.

A young, unmarried artist in an age dominated by men, Artemisia has to fight tooth and claw for everything, “impeded” as she is by being born a woman. I honestly have no idea how much of a struggle it must have been, making your fame in a world that sees you as little more than someone else’s misplaced property and future kiln. But even as strong as my sympathy was for Artemisia at the outset, her character—as written, of course—tends to disappoint. She is exceedingly proud and arrogant to the point of vanity; full of herself while being dismissive of the abilities of any of her fellow students. In fact, those friends that she <i>does</i> make seem to have one thing in common—they love her artwork. Now it’s a mark of a good friend to be supportive, but Artemisia seems to shun those that don’t shower her with praise. Only positive feedback; no dissent accepted. This trait also extends to her private life, treating her paramour like shit even as he bends over backwards for her. There’s one instance where he doesn’t tell her the whole truth and she gets upset breaks it off and forces him to beg for her forgiveness, all while continuing to repeatedly lie to him right up to the very end.

That being said, it’s not that Artemisia is <i>written</i> poorly, it’s just that I didn’t relate well to her character. No, the writing of the book is fine—more than, even. The plot and setting being both intricate and lovingly woven so that A Portrait doesn’t resemble a record of events as it does a visual tapestry—beautiful and evocative in equal measure. As much as I found the… textures of the tale rather dull, I never had any trouble imagining the time period. It’s just that with the beautifully rendered city of Florence as a playground, I had issues focusing on the rather lackluster plot.

Let’s quickly address the magic system. It’s a subtle addition, though central to the plot. In this version of history, an artist can imbue their creation with magic—of one of two forms. There is pure, healing magic, and dark, necrotic magic. Both are incorporated into the piece via the paint (or oil or marble or clay or whatnot), coming from the artist’s very soul. In essence, a piece gains its ability to cure or kill from its artist literally siphoning off part of their soul to use in its creation. A piece they won’t get back, mind. In this Florence, there’s more than one reason that artists tend to die young. In terms of a magic system I found it interesting if incomplete. Unique, or at least uncommon, but not yet fully realized.

TL;DR

All in all, A Portrait in Shadow ended up being a bit of a mixed bag for me. Yes, it has its pros. And yeah, it has its cons. I’m not sure how it all works out in the grand scheme of things, but I do know that I can’t very well recommend a book where—while I loved its baroque setting and evocative writing—I hated the lead and found the story itself to be mind-numbingly dull. This is my second book by the author, following up the lovely Lights of Prague from 2021. And where I understand that not every book is improved with the addition of vampires, that <i>is</i> something I’d recommend here.