Beatrice Trovato is a successful Italian-American neurosurgeon in New York City. But her beloved brother, Ben, dies suddenly while doing historical research in Siena, Italy. Bereft, Beatrice takes a leave of absence and goes to Siena, where she resolves to complete her brother’s research and solve the historical mystery that he was trying to solve, even though she has not been trained as a historian.

What follows has been described as “Girl with a Pearl Earring meets Outlander.” Beatrice time travels to 14th-century Siena. There she solves a centuries-old mystery and meets Gabriele Accorsi, a handsome, charismatic, and brilliant artist.

Winawer had originally thought to write the book as an epistolary novel. In its final form it is mostly told from Beatrice’s first person perspective. But other voices still make themselves heard through the documents Beatrice reads: the letters, the trial transcripts, even the tax records.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book will definitely appeal to fans of time traveling. The setting and time period are interesting. Overall, a solid read although a bit long.

Gorgeous cover but remarkably similar to Outlander. Not that there can't be multiple time travel stories that are all excellent but you can tell this author had read Outlander before. Still, I found the writing beautiful and the time periods very interesting.

This book was a fun ride! It is very fast-paced! The writing is lovely with gorgeous descriptions of Siena. The characters are very likeable and relatable! It has everything you want in a novel, romance, conspiracy, mystery, and time travel. I loved it so much I bought the finished copy! This is a book that you do not want to put down. I recommend it for fans of A Murder in Time, Juliet, and Overseas.

A terrific combination of historical fiction, time travel, romance, art, and Italy! Winawer has hit many sweet spots in what I suppose could be broadly put in the time travel genre. I enjoyed this not only for the plot which is so carefully done, but also for Beatrice and Gabriele, who were so realistic and wonderful. Don't be fussy about whether certain things make sense- that's not how this works. Focus on the Siena setting (I so want to visit now!) and the beauty of the whole thing (even the Plague.). This one will keep you engaged, whether at the beach or traveling or just for a good read on the couch. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Two thumbs up!

You can tell Winawer put a lot of effort into researching and writing this book, but it impacted the reading experience in a rather mixed way. On one hand, there were moments that were very enjoyable to read because of how conscious and convincing they were, though overall it was a slow, and not very captivating, read. It's been a while since I enjoyed a lead character as much as Beatrice, who is calm and calculated to the best of her abilities, even though she still made a few blunders that somehow went unnoticed by those around her. This was probably the only positive I found in "The Scribe of Siena", which is otherwise burdened by the repetitive nature of the Medici plot, a not very suspenseful pacing which becomes almost unbearable towards the end, and a love interest that's sweet and charming but lacks that final breath of life in him. It took a lot of effort to finish reading "The Scribe of Siena", and finishing makes me want to go and watch "Outlander", as some other reviewers have mentioned, where I can really connect with the characters and have the feeling of urgency which I expected to have from this novel, but didn't.

This book was marketed to fans of Outlander and I can totally see why. Lady doctor some how time travels back hundreds of years and falls in love.

Sounds a lot like Outlander right? If you want to get that basic, then yes it is similar to Outlander, however this book is not Outlander so if you are looking for another book series that’s basically like Outlander, then I suggest looking elsewhere. Now that said, if you liked Outlander this book has similarities that you might find intriguing and interesting so if you like time slip novels then keep reading this review.

Accomplished neurosurgeon Beatrice Trovato knows that her deep empathy for her patients is starting to impede her work. So when her beloved brother passes away, she welcomes the unexpected trip to the Tuscan city of Siena to resolve his estate, even as she wrestles with grief. But as she delves deeper into her brother’s affairs, she discovers intrigue she never imagined—a 700-year-old conspiracy to decimate the city.

After uncovering the journal and paintings of Gabriele Accorsi, the fourteenth-century artist at the heart of the plot, Beatrice finds a startling image of her own face and is suddenly transported to the year 1347. She awakens in a Siena unfamiliar to her, one that will soon be hit by the Plague.


Yet when Beatrice meets Accorsi, something unexpected happens: she falls in love—not only with Gabriele, but also with the beauty and cadence of medieval life. As the Plague and the ruthless hands behind its trajectory threaten not only her survival but also Siena’s very existence, Beatrice must decide in which century she belongs.

The Scribe of Siena is the captivating story of a brilliant woman’s passionate affair with a time and a place that captures her in an impossibly romantic and dangerous trap—testing the strength of fate and the bonds of love (summary from Goodreads)

I’m on the fence with this one. On one hand, it’s entertaining and enjoyable with elements that Outlander fans will like. But on the other hand, I just felt like it was a square story trying to fit into a round hole.

There was a lot of time in the beginning talking about the plague and Siena and establishing Beatrice as a neurosurgeon and as someone with something a little odd going on. But there was nothing subtle about any of this. Too much time was spent talking about the plague and establishing that as the time period we were likely traveling to.

The other piece I struggled with was Beatrice finding Gabriele’s journal and suddenly feeling this connection with him. I get that she was supposed to be feeling this connection to him even through time, but yet something about this just seemed off to me so when she meets him in the ‘past’ I just didn’t buy their attraction. I don’t know, it just seemed off to me and I struggled with that the entire novel. I just felt like some of the elements of the story were trying to fit into place and for one reason or another, it didn’t work and this was one of those elements for me.

The writing was reasonably well written, maybe a little polishing needed but on the whole I would say well written and entertaining. I learned a lot about the plague and felt like the author’s historical research was splendid. She clearly spent time researching Siena, Italian history, art history, and how the plague effected Siena’s population in particular. I almost felt like she wanted to write a historical fiction novel and then added the time travel bit as an after thought. I personally think this would have been better as just a historical fiction novel rather than a time travel novel.

I liked Beatrice well enough. Some might say that she was a little too ‘perfect’ being good at so many things and well, but I actually didn’t mind that. I liked her and thought her dedication to picking up her brother’s research was endearing and made me like her even more. I just wish the romance had a little more oomph.

If you like time travel novels then you will probably like this one. It takes us to a different setting and time period than most historical fiction/time travel novels with romance…..which I liked that the author decided to try something different, but for me this one was just ok.

Challenge/Book Summary:

Book: The Scribe of Siena by Melodie Winawer

Kindle edition, 464 pages
Published May 16th 2017 by Touchstone
ISBN
1501152254 (ISBN13: 9781501152252)
Review copy provided by: Author/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This book counts toward: NA

Hosted by: NA
Books for Challenge Completed: NA
Recommendation: 3 out of 5

Genre: time travel, historical fiction, romance

Memorable lines/quotes:

A book attempting to be in the vein of The Da Vinci Code but with time travel and less action and suspense. The story itself, about a neurosurgeon who inexplicably time travels to XIVth Century Sienna just before the plague and tries to discover the mystery of why Sienna was hit so hard, was interesting but the execution was not what it could have been. .

Since I read an ARC, I hope that the final copy was edited more tightly. Sentences went on running, information dumps happened in every single page, characters spoke for too long. This book could have easily been a third of its size without the plot suffering. Yes, I understand the author did very thorough research, she was proud of said research, and wanted to showcase it. However, it was done clunkily, in ways that did not feel organic. The book was unnecessarily long which made it feel heavy and the story dragged.

I can understand why the author decided to have multiple POVs, but switching from first person to third constantly, was tiresome and off putting. I didn't connect to Beatrice's first person POV any better than to the third person POVs and I think having the other POVs, where you saw sort of behind the scenes of what Beatice knew, took away from the suspense because they didn't just give you hints of what happened but blatantly told you so.

The first half of the book is very slow, the pace feels like it drags. Then, when the plague finally hits Messina, it picks up but surprisingly enough, for a book about a modern doctor who travels back to Italy right before the Black Death, the author chooses to have her character travel back to modern times so that she essentially misses all the plague and her background as a doctor does not come into play. Why make a character a doctor if you're not going to use said profession to enhance your plot? It wasn't even a big part of Beatrice's discovery when she does go back in time.

I enjoyed reading about a time in history of which not many people write fiction novels. However, I think I liked the premise of the book more than the book itself.

Thank you to NetGalley and Touchstone for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am a huge Outlander fan and any book that is compared to that series gets my attention. This book did not captivate me and hold my attention too well. Someone that is interested in Italian history might be more interested.

This book put me a bit in the mind of Gwendolyn Womack or M.J. Rose. I have to say that it started a bit weakly, with Beatrice's brother dying off the page, her quick decision to put her medical career on hold to indefinitely go to Italy and suddenly become a Medieval scholar, and her strange empathetic intuition, or whatever you want to call it. It definitely felt like it was written by a doctor rather than a writer. However, once the story got moving, I was really able to forget my earlier skepticism and really enjoy it. Winawer's historical detail was quite interesting and I enjoyed Beatrice's medieval sojourn for the things it taught me about art, libraries, and scholarship of the age. For some, it might bring to mind Outlander just because Beatrice and Claire share a professional field, a propensity for jumping centuries, and a good deal of luck with historical hotties. They even share the challenge of figuring out where home is and what things are most important in life. The comparison ends there because Beatrice's story is so much shorter (and a good 400 years earlier), but I think it is somewhat appropriate. Winawer has written an engrossing tale, and aside from some unevenness (which I hope will be corrected in later works), I would definitely recommend this and look forward to reading her next effort.

Thanks Touchstone and netgalley for this ARC.

Genre bending, mind altering, and totally awesome!

I didn't know much about this going in but when I saw it was set in Siena I was sold, as it is one of my favourite places in Italy. I thought this was a really enjoyable read. I have to admit the time travel element surprised me a little bit but it actually worked quite well. I've never had much luck with time travel elements in the past. It definitely wasn't perfect as it is quite slow and wordy at times. The time travel could definitely have used a better explanation and it does seem a little bit of a stretch to think a modern women could so easily adjust to life in a medieval society. It was still a fairly entertaining though.

I’ve been anxiously waiting for this book to hit the shelves. Its not a disappointment! Melody Winawer's atmospheric descriptions of medieval Siena are entrancing. The author's experience as a physician is keenly reflected in the gruesome descriptions of plague victims falling ill and dying almost immediately. Although she used the time-travel device, her historical story-telling feels grounded in reality. Lots of entertainment.

This was such a beautifully written book, set in a time period that was filled with the dark horrors of the plague and I enjoyed every word.

Beatrice was a fabulous heroine and I enjoyed her adventures in history and time travel very much. The cast of characters were well written and I became very involved in their lives and came to care about them all a great deal.

I highly recommend this one to lovers of historical fiction and time travel and anyone who delights in beautiful words that come together to create a fabulous story. This is a really good one.

Thanks Touchstone and netgalley for this ARC.

Melodie Winawer will be your hero, fav author, and goddess of fantasy after you read The Scribe of Siena. This book is that good. I sat up straight in bed to read this whole book in one night.- it had all my senses engaged. I love when a book can do that.

Beatrice is a medical doctor and her brother, Ben, a scholar, who moves to Siena to study medieval Plague and why it was so much worse there than any were else. He dies before his manuscript is published. Once in Siena, at her brother’s house Beatrice discovers a diary, which takes her into 14th century Siena and a life of a painter, Gabriele Accorsi. She gets transformed back in time to medieval Siena, where she meets Gabriele and falls in love with him and it all happens right before the Plague.

The story starts in present time and it takes time before it moves to medieval Siena. At first we get very short glimpses of medieval Siena through Gabriele’s story. The glimpses are too short and his story is too brief. Once the story happens in medieval Siena, it doesn’t get any better. The plot is slow moving. The descriptions and dialogue are very flat, not attention-grabbing. The story also has minor issues: Beatrice’s questionable transition from present to past and questionable fact of archivist bending rule of letting original copy out of library.

Beatrice Trovato is a successful neurosurgeon living in New York. Orphaned at birth, Beatrice was raised by her older brother Benjamin, who named her after Dante’s muse. He insisted they honor their Italian heritage and learn to speak the language, which came in handy when Ben moved to Siena three years ago. Beatrice has never visited him there, and she is ready to change that – but before she can go, she receives the devastating news that Ben has died suddenly of a heart condition.

Since childhood, Beatrice has always had a powerful sense of empathy. It often connects her to her patients, and being able to feel what they feel has occasionally helped her to save lives. However, her empathic feelings are growing stronger, and beginning to impede her work. It seems like the perfect time to take a leave of absence and travel to Siena to deal with Ben’s estate, including the mysterious research he was involved with at the time of his death.

Benjamin was a microbiologist, but his interest in Italian history led him to research 14th century Siena and its fall from power during the aftermath of the plague. When Beatrice reads through Ben’s papers, she finds intriguing clues that point towards a conspiracy to decimate the city – Siena’s decline might have been a political powerplay, caused by the city’s enemies and their intentional spread of the plague.

Also included in Ben’s research are the journals of Medieval painter Gabriele Accorsi, who seems to be somehow involved in the plot against Siena. Beatrice immediately feels a connection to the artist, and when she uncovers one of his paintings on the walls of Ben’s home, she finds an image of her own face painted by Gabriele. Inexplicably, her empathic connection to Gabriele draws her back in time, and she arrives suddenly in the year 1347. She is still in Ben’s neighbourhood, but nothing else is familiar, and it’s not long before her modern sensibilities get her into trouble. Fortunately, Suor Umilta from Siena’s Ospedale della Scala is in search of a scribe, and Beatrice takes the job in exchange for a sense of security in this unknown world.

Through her work as scribe, Beatrice soon meets Gabriele – and their connection in person is just as strong as it was through his painting. However, happiness is fleeting as they are threatened not only by the impending plague but also by the ruthless Florentine men who wish to destroy Siena’s political power. The details of Medieval life are intriguing and thoroughly researched, and the collision of art and science (and artist and neurosurgeon) is fascinating.

The Scribe of Siena is immersive historical fiction, seen from the modern perspective of Beatrice, a strong, capable woman who is able to deal with extraordinary circumstances. Of course it is not always realistic, and the time travel aspect is mostly left unexplained, but it is well worth it to suspend disbelief and enjoy this clever, entertaining novel. It will inevitably be compared to Outlander because of the plot, but I also think it is very similar in tone and character. I’m curious to see whether this novel is also expanded into a series, as I think it would work very well.

I received this book from Touchstone Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love historical fiction and I love time-travel, and so I was very excited to get a chance to read The Scribe of Siena early. Most of time-travel books I read take place in England or Scotland therefore I really liked the fact that in The Scribe of Siena we get to visit 14th century Siena, during the time when the Plague swept across Europe. I love strong heroines and I really liked Beatrice, who is a neurosurgeon in the present. Once she was transported to the past she was quick to think on her feet and to adapt to a new, harsher reality. There are also a lot of interesting secondary characters who enriched the story and added to my enjoyment of the book. I also loved learning about life in medieval Italy, the rivalry between two great cities, Florence and Siena, and the origins of the Plague. Some of the aspects of time travel were a little hard to swallow and prevented me from suspending my disbelief entirely but overall I really enjoyed this book.

Interesting historical fiction.
Some dialog was stiff, but overall a good first novel
Recommended reading before a trip to Italy !