Unfortunately I no longer wish to review this book as the first few chapters did not reel me in. Thank you for the opportunity.

Unveiling Venus is the sequel to Following Ophelia, which I’d really enjoyed last year. Both books follow Mary Adams and her transformation into the mysterious Persephone Lavelle, the toast of London’s artistic circles. Unveiling Venus sees Persephone travel to Venice with her friend Kitty, where things don’t go as expected. I must admit it’s been a long time since I read the book now, and I don’t remember that much about it. I know I didn’t enjoy it as much as Following Ophelia, I think because I missed a lot of the supporting characters back in London, but also because Mary/Persephone doesn’t always act very sensibly. And of course she doesn’t – she wouldn’t have ended up as Persephone if she always took the sensible route! But it did seem like she was almost a different person to the one we’d previously met. However, the author did bring the setting alive, and I still very much enjoyed Unveiling Venus.

A reader’s perspective

Straight off, I would say it’s best to read Finding Ophelia first. There is a helpful recap in the sequel (which is great if you’ve forgotten some details) but I think you’d enjoy it even more as part of a set. Nonetheless, there are enough clues to work the most important aspects out.

Unveiling Venus has more light and shade, or chiaroscuro as the artists say. There is more humour this time which neatly offsets the darker themes of deceit, revenge, and tragedy. The fun comes from both character-led humour, and in spotting real characters from history – I can say no more because of spoilers. It’s a bit like the cameo roles in cinema: Terry Pratchett appeared in all the film adaptations of his books.

As you might expect from the sequel to The Art One, it is a strongly visual story. That’s why I put the full wrap as the lead image. The contrast between the bright and beautiful masked young woman and the gothic back alleys of Venice could not be clearer. You have the sense of both joy and threat entwined which suits the story perfectly.

I loved the recreation of Venice at that time – so atmospheric. ( I am told an old map of Venice will serve you just as well now, it has changed so little.) The story features plenty of art and beauty as you might expect – but relationships are right at the heart of it.

There are terrible misunderstandings and friendship put to the severest test. We see the results of both deliberate naiveté and world-weary cynicism. The double standards of the time (which still have resonance in the contemporary world) are thoroughly explored. This might sound all a bit worthy – but Unveiling Venus definitely isn’t!

Again, Sophia Bennett has written a fully rounded story with satisfying pay off – but there’s the promise of more to follow. We’ll just have to be patient to find out when, and where . . .

***

To adults choosing for younger teens: note that Unveiling Venus does refer to opoid abuse – which was legal then. It is essential to the plot and the consequences are made clear. There is also a certain degree of violence (because of boxing) and reference to the sex trade of the time. Nothing worse than you’d come across in any Sherlock Holmes adventure, in my opinion.
A Writers View

Points to admire

knowing history so well she acknowledges deliberate changes – very professional
setting the end up so there are two possible locations to come – which one first?
approaching important issues ‘sideways’, by using another era
plenty of ‘what should she do now?’ moments
Venice. Always.

I did not manage to finish the first book in this series, they just aren’t books that click with me. But the author is great! :)

Mary Adams, one time scullery maid, finds herself flitting amongst the high society of London and Venice as alter ego Persephone. But with an ambition to rise to the top, she must sacrifice everything and betray those she trusts most.

I loved the descriptions of Venice in particular. It makes you feel like you’re there, and I enjoyed seeing the city through Persephone’s eyes as the streets, paintings and lifestyles are vividly brought to life. The lavish lifestyles of the rich and famous are also well depicted, and really help to make you fall into the time period, with sumptuous costumes and beautiful fancy homes.

The main character, Persephone, is also deeply compelling, intriguing and carries the plot well. I loved the idea of a lowly scullery maid having a glamorous alter ego. Although she’s a stereotypical ‘beauty’, and an ideal candidate for a painter’s muse. Liked her relationship with Kitty, it feels genuine and they counteract each other well with their personalities. They’re well developed, and have a range of emotional depth I rarely see in this kind of historical YA novels. I also enjoyed Persephone’s relationship with the wide range of secondary characters and servants who seem to reference her time as a scullery maid. There’s a good level of camaraderie between them that makes Persephone more endearing to the reader.

Arthur provides a worthy antagonist to the group, swooping in and stirring the pot enough to create tension between Kitty and Persephone. He’s very easy to dislike, which I often find is a hard thing to recreate in a realistic way in YA fiction. Most villains are all too often over the top and over dramatic. This wasn’t the case here, as Arthur is able to manipulate both Kitty and Persephone, and sew the seeds of doubt without resorting to outlandish plans.

I would have liked a deeper in-depth look at the artistic works described. Persephone ‘sits’ for several painters, alluding to being a subject of one rather famous painting in particular, yet we never see it, which I found disappointing. It would have been far more scandalous to see people’s reactions. I often felt that the artistic aspects of the plot fell a bit flat, and didn’t really enhance anything. The pacing was also a little off in places, and a little disjointed as we see Persephone flit from Venice to London and beyond. I think if the story had stayed in Venice, I would have enjoyed this more.

A good example of YA historical fiction, which is a rare thing. The descriptions of Venice and characters stand out in particular, but I wanted a tighter plot.

I struggled with the writing and the setting, however I found out after that it was a sequel. I think, reading the first one would help.

I loved it. The whole book kept me guessing. Although it started off a little slow I enjoyed reading this story. Amazing.

It was good to return to the scandalous world of Persephone Lavelle and the Pre-Raphaelite painters that she attracts. I was really excited by the fact that she ment to Venice because it's one of my favourite cities in the world and definitely a backdrop suitable for Persephone's style.

The story was a lot more twisted than the last book. I hated one of the characters by the end of it because of how he treated Persephone and Kitty and just everyone. He came into the book and just destroyed everything with his actions. It was exciting, action packs and just perfect as a follow up to the first book, because how can a girl like Persephone seem more scandalous to the society around her? Well here's how.

I loved the ending. It was the perfect way to end the story and though I think it would be a good place to leave the series, I want there to be another book. I'm not quite ready to leave Persephone's world yet.

Following Ophelia, Sophia Bennett’s first foray into historical fiction – after making her name with warm, chatty contemporary teen fiction like Threads and Love Song – was a pleasant surprise in my reading last year. Charming, confident and draped in the allure of the Pre-Raphaelites, I was pleased the book was slated for a sequel.

Flame-haired maid turned artist’s model Mary has found her way into high society – but her hold there is precarious. Her dalliance in the bohemian art world and reliance on admirer Rupert to keep herself off the streets has generated scandal in fashionable social circles, though her closest friend Kitty seems blessedly oblivious. Accepting gregarious, elegant Kitty’s invitation to join her at the family palazzo in Venice, she embraces her disguise as Persephone and indeed is referred to as such for the rest of the book.

Bennett’s accessible style and vivid descriptions return here, and Venice in particular shines. She evokes a hugely realistic sense of wide-eyed awe in the face of the city’s soaring patchwork of old buildings and extraordinary pieces of art, as well as the world-famous canals. Persephone’s brief time there is so believably rendered as that of an awed outsider that readers may perhaps feel that it acts more as set dressing than an exploration of its storytelling potential, but it’s the most memorable part of Unveiling Venus.

Bennett always manages to pack an amount of excitement and plot into her books. Much of the conflict emerges when it’s revealed that Kitty is about to become engaged to charismatic young viscount Arthur Malmesbury. His indulgent lifestyle and wandering eye prove troublesome. There are also appearances from friends Persephone met as a scullery maid, and I actually found myself enjoying some of those subplots most. There are servants Harriet and Annie, and the latter’s brother, Eddie, an Irish stableboy and boxer caught in the web of a Whitechapel gang’s match fixing. Previous love interest Felix is rather swiftly done away with through a handful of scenes in this sequel, so there’s a really likeable touch of romance for Persephone and Eddie, too.

While Persephone is briefly seen sitting for people like John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and new figure James Whistler, these moments are flourishes rather than rich canvases; the Pre-Raphaelite world which was so crucial to Following Ophelia is essentially only given lip-service here. Stripped of the mercurial underground of eighteenth century artistry, much of Unveiling Venus reads more as a conventional grand house or society story – sort of like a Regency novel that’s been left a bit behind on the times with some YA thrown in. Persephone’s somewhat spontaneous talent for sewing (so amazing it’s literally described as her ‘magic hands’ at one point) also grates, as does the disparate feel of plot events and dissatisfying pacing. Still, I’m curious to see what happens if there’s another book in the series, where it looks like Persephone will be heading to another famous city.

This was enchantingly lovely! A great follow up to Mary's first adventure.

Mary Adams, once a servant, has now firmly put aside her old life to become Persephone Lavelle– a muse for great artists and a glamorous socialite. But even someone as admired as Persephone has some skeletons in her closet. Having promised to stay away from Felix (a struggling artists) to keep her cousin and niece off the streets, Persephone has no choice but to flee from her feelings. Rather than admit defeat however, she decides to embrace her new-found socialite status. With her best friend Kitty by her side, Persephone gets to glimpse the life she’s always dreamed of– beautiful dresses, lavish Venetian masquerades and Mayfair townhouses. But when she meets a strange and alluring man dressed as the Harlequin on a gondola in Italy, Persephone must ask herself how far she is willing to go to explore that attraction. Suddenly Persephone can have everything, but it comes at a very dear cost…

Thanks to Netgalley, for allowing me to read a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I first encountered Following Ophelia at the Waterstones stall at YALC last year. It was one of those books that looks quite intriguing, but since the author was signing at the same time as a bunch of other people I wanted to meet, I decided to wait and see if the book store on site had a pre-signed copy in later that day. Thankfully, they did, and so I got to experience the wonderful world of Persephone Lavelle. I’d just come out of another historical fiction series set in Victorian London (the Dark Days series, if anyone was curious) so I was quite in the mood for something similar. Following Ophelia, with its focus on Pre-Raphelite art, seemed like the perfect book to whet my appetite. Anything that combines art and romance and pretty cities is a definite yes from me. Turns out I made a good decision- though not perfect, Bennett’s first novel in the series was enticing and fun, and I rushed through it very quickly. So it was something of a big deal when I saw the sequel appear on Netgalley. I got accepted to read an ARC and eagerly downloaded it.

First of all, I have to say how much I like Persephone. She’s a breath of fresh air in the Victorian era of women always caring about social decorum, and I loved seeing what kinds of reckless adventures she would get up to. She can be a little annoying at times– she’s just as selfish as she is bold, just as flighty as she is adventurous, but I felt this was a good balance to her character. Part of it is that she also always seems to be thrown into impossible rock and hard place situations. I felt pretty sorry for her, as much as I eagerly anticipated what she would eventually choose to do, wondering if she would make the same decisions I would make in her place. Most of the time she didn’t, and I would sometimes wish I could yell at her through the pages of the novel: what are you DOING? NOOOOO. But hey, that’s the sign of a good book. High levels of reader angst is exactly what we crave, even as we’re busy lying about how relaxing reading is. Anyhow…. poor Persephone. I do think she’s really hard done by in some respects, even as she’s busy preening about how pretty she looks, and sort of sponging off other people. Like, I get that she doesn’t have much of a choice, and a lot of the time her reputation is at stake, but it did get a bit old when she kept using people as benefactors to fund her lifestyle. But again, that actually seemed like a real flaw in her character, so as annoying as I found it, I also quite liked it.

Also, if you’re a bit of a travel nerd, you definitely have to read this book. Seeing Venice through Persephone’s eyes was simply amazing. I felt like I was bobbing around on a gondola myself, being whisked around from glamorous location to glamorous location. Bennett does a stunning job of describing London too. Even if you’ve visited these cities before, you definitely feel like she’s bringing something new to the table. Same as her approach to art– I loved seeing how Persephone’s love of paintings shone out through the page, and I was pleased at myself for recognizing so many of the names of painters and artworks mentioned in this series. The way she describes the paintings is definitely my favourite thing about these books, and I would love to see some of them having now read about them.

One of the few flaws I found in Unveiling Venus was the sameness of it. It doesn’t really deviate much from the plot of book one, which was essentially create a load of chemistry with a potential romance, then put the protagonist in an awkward position, make her choose to betray people she loves in order to get the guy and the life or make her lose her chance at love, then when she’s stuck and friendless, get some random male acquaintance to swoop in and save her. This time is a little different, since it’s less about her wanting the romance so much as the safety of a rich husband, but it still feels like the whole plot is just book one but tweaked. If there’s a book three [the book ends with one of those ambiguous endings which could be a conclusion or could be the start of another book] I hope there’s some shake up to the plot that makes it more interesting. I’ve been a high school girl before, and I’ve known people who have gone through that awkward I-am-single-again-I-must-not-be-alone-ahhh-now-I-love-this-person drama. It gets old pretty fast, and it just makes the book drag in the exact places it should be most interesting.

Overall, I really liked this book, and I would happily pick up potential/hopeful book three in the future if I knew I was going to be getting something fresh in the plot. Otherwise, Unveiling Venus is a stunning sequel, full of art and history and culture, and definitely worth picking up in stores!

7/10 for me.

I felt this book was trying to be too many things. This undermined its credibility and believability. It was part period, part romance, part mystery, part drama. Set in London and Venice, our heroine is so beautiful (although other than her red hair, I don't have a clear picture of her) that she was able to reinvent herself as first an artists models, and later a companion to a wealthy girl, Her beauty also captivates this girl's "intended" which makes the situation rather awkward. The story follows many unpredictable twists and turns which should make it exciting but overall feels unrealistic. I did enjoy the gorgeous descriptions of Italy!

More than once a book's cover has already persuaded me to read it even if I have not read the synopsis at all. Unveiling Venus was a book like that. The beautiful cover attracted my attention the moment I lay my eyes on it. Turned out the book itself was not disappointing either, not at all.

Unveiling Venus follows Persephone Lavalle, no longer a maid but now a muse for painters, a girl with a keen eye for fine arts and now a frequent visitor to fancy affairs with London's high society. Set in the Victorian Era Persephone joins her friend Kitty and her family during their stay in Venice. At first, Persephone is eager to escape from certain individuals in London. In Venice, she is captivated by the finesse of their architecture, culture, and art. But soon a meeting with a mysterious Harlequin stirs things up A LOT.

Unveiling Venus was a perfect read to start the year. Even though I was slightly irritated by the number of times the name of our charming main character was mentioned in this book (it seemed as of it could not be repeated often enough), I grew to love her. Rarely have I read a book in which I could connect with a character as much as I could with Persephone. That might sound strange if you read the initial description of her situation, but I imagine she would be a very relaxed and trustworthy friend to have? She does not make (much) stupid decisions, which is very refreshing.

The amount of detail in this book is astonishing. Whether it is art, fashion, or character, Sophia Bennet knows a way to bring it to life in this book. It was so beautiful and I adored her descriptions of, well, basically anything! I NEED MORE.

5/5 stars.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are entirely my own. My review is susceptible to changes in the final copy of this work.

A suitably boisterous return to the world of Persephone Lavelle and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

The sequel sees our heroine shaking off the privileged shackles she was bound in at the end of Following Ophelia, and journeying to Venice at the request of Kitty, who has fallen deeply in love. There Persephone meets the Harlequin, and it soon becomes apparent he's not the hero he seems to be...

It's a fitting second part to the saga, a fun, lighthearted read that will appeal to readers of romance, and those who can take their history with a liberal pinch of salt. But if you're looking for light-hearted, escapist romance set in a world of art and intrigue, you're sure to adore it!

This was such a lovely and enjoyable continuation to Persephone's story! I didn't think it would be possible to enjoy the sequel as much as I did Following Ophelia, but here we are! There's passion and scandal and, of course, art. What's not to like?

It's split into three distinct parts and I definitely loved the first where she went to Venice the best, because the description was so vivid. Sophia Bennett's got such a great eye for detail and bringing costumes, paintings and settings to life. This is also where the biggest plot thread occurs, where Perspehone's best friend's fiance admits that he loves her rather than Kitty. It's a powerful and compelling resistance that reminded me of the rakish figures I've encountered reading women's writing from the eighteenth century.

I loved getting to meet the characters from the first book again and see how they were doing. Of course, I wanted happy endings for them all, particularly Persephone's cousin, who's just the sweetest. Rather than just being a muse, Persephone becomes a hero, rescuing her friends from unjust situation. This girls-helping-girls theme that followed the final section of the book was a pure delight. It was reminiscent of the final book in the 'Hetty Feather' series by Jacqueline Wilson and I was here for it.

The ending was really sweet and filled me with all of these warm feelings. Just like the first book, this ended with such potential for a sequel, and I hope I get to read more about Persephone's life in the future! I need more about her romance, as she has two different love interests in both books, so I'm fascinated to see who she chooses and whether she'll be able to get a certain painter out of her mind...

If you like historical fiction that gives you a deep sense of place and livelihood, I couldn't recommend this more. Rather than just adding token street lights and horse-drawn carriages, Sophia Bennett's 18th century feels rich, just like her characters. I'm giving this sequel 4 stars and I've got my fingers crossed that her story continues!

Just like "Following Ophelia", "Unveiling Venus" is beautifully written and both the characters and the plot were interesting and sucked me right in.

I enjoyed the first part of the novel, with its descriptions of Venice, a little better than the second part set in London simply because the descriptions of Venice were so engaging and the London plot was tied up a little too neatly for my tastes.

Still, I think that "Unveiling Venus" tied up the remaining plot threads from the first part in the series rather well and furthered the characterization of Persephone.

Overall, this is a really good book and I hope there will be a part three which continues Persephone's story.