Rachel blackmore what have you written...... one of the best novels I have ever read. My heart and mind entangled into this story, I experienced a whole range of emotions and was overwhelmed by how it unfolds. I loved this from beginning to end, a marvellous triumph of a novel. Excellent

language and imagery was beautiful but felt very heavy at times and made the read feel extremely slow. an exploration of the treatment of women which left me angry at times . Blackmore is clearly the expert of such a topic, incredibly rich and informative. just feel perhaps too heavy and this hindered my development of interest in the plot itself.

I don't have enough words to describe my love for this book! I am an art lover, so a novel based around the life of Costanza, lover of the sculptor Bernini, caught my eye. It is heartbreaking and comforting in equal measure and tells the story from the female perspective , which is lacking in the usual tales from this time.
I would definitely recommend reading the afterword and notes by the author at the end as these put even more perspective.
This is one of those books that I wish I could erase my memory of, so that I have the opportunity to read it again for the first time.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and author for the e-ARC of Costanza. I had been keen to get my hands on this one as soon as I learnt of it!!

Based on a true story, this is a delightful historical fiction read filled with love, betrayal, revenge, friendship, feminism and community. This was so easy to read, an obvious recommendation to make for anyone who enjoys historian fiction and feminist retellings.

We follow Costanza through her marriage where she finds herself restless, childless and lacking passion from her husband, as she navigates new relationships and love in 17th century society. I’ll leave it there to avoid any spoilers, expect many ups and many downs! A truly inspiring woman and portrayed so beautifully.

Based on the true story of Constanza Piccolomini who, as a married woman,, had an affair with Lorenzo Bernini the famous artist and sculptor and later with his younger brother Luigi..
This is the author’s own take on the story which takes place in seventeenth century Rome. I was fascinated with the story and the characters but so disappointed as the tale progressed! No atmosphere! Rome is one of my favourite cities but unfortunately it didn’t come alive and the characters themselves fell flat! Sorry! Did want to be lost in Rome but it just didn’t happen!

Be prepared to be really angry if you read this book. It’s amazing and so well-written but the horrendous treatment of women was rage-inducing.

This is a historical novel set in Italy and follows Costanza who has been married to her husband for four years and his reluctance to go to bed with her is causing her much stress as she’s desperate to have a child. The judgement of her family and neighbours about her not having children causes her great distress. A famous artist called Bernini takes an interest in her although it doesn’t progress to anything physical for many months when she learns the reason for her husband’s lack of interest and Bernini helps her in a time of great need. Costanza embarks on a passionate relationship with Bernini, his obsession with her growing, as does his possessiveness. However a jealous relative does something disgusting that causes Bernini to take drastic action against Costanza.

This is based on true events and the violence towards women in this is horrendous. Women are punished for things that they suffered at the hands of men. The possessiveness of men causes great harm to women, the callousness and selfishness creating great suffering. Women have very little power at this time and are victims of the great hypocrisy of the men around them. It’s not just Costanza, we see the impact on other women who have followed the rules perfectly, but still suffer, while the men have few if any consequences.

This is a passionate, beautifully written book, that’s tense, terrifying and impossible to put down.

I loved this tale of passion and forbidden love in 17th Century Rome. Its imagery was powerful and at times shocking and the characters were energetically drawn. I highly recommend this for lovers of historical fiction.

I absolutely loved reading this and discovering Costanza from a feminist point of view. I couldn't put it down and found the writing so gripping, This has reignited my love for historical fiction. Thank you so much Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book,

I really enjoy social history, trying to establish what really happened to various types of people in the past. Finding books that give a believable account of interesting people is extremely difficult.
I therefore praise Netgalley for allowing me to choose to read this wonderful book.
Lots of the storyline is difficult reading, but then again living in 17th century Rome was not easy for many people.
I learnt so many things from this book. A well written non-fiction account is as good as the reader can get to find out about things of the past, too often non-fiction accounts are by necessity one dimensional.
Not only is this story a brilliant story based upon ghosts of people descending from history, but it is written with such passion, care and understanding that parts of it bring tears to the eyes of those with the hardest hearts.
I also advise the reader to read all the way to the end of the book including acknowledgments. The author explains the why, the how and the wherefore of the books birth to conclusion.
The acknowledgment section is the best written that I have ever read.
My thanks to the author for the hours of enjoyment that the book has brought me, I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A transporting historical novel about the downfall of an artist's muse in 1600s Rome. Rich and atmospheric, well written, with a focus on finding Costanza's voice amongst the male-dominated historical record. A little slow paced at times with a fairly obvious direction to the plot, but overall a great novel.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

The cover is absolutely stunning

Based on a true story - This had me dripped from the start

Loved it

I didn't realise until I had finished reading that this is based on a true story, but that just makes Constanza's life even more extraordinary. She was a remarkable woman, progressing from quite an ordinary family, to her modest wedding and then finding her place on a different side of society, always with the determination and strength of character that marked her out as different to her peers. A delightful and engaging read that held my interest throughout.

I enjoyed this one so much!!! At times the story felt very slow paced, which is why I took off a star, but the writing was done so well. It is apparent Rachel Blackmore did extremely in depth research into the life of Costanza Piccolomini and the time period (1630s Rome). The story was rich in description, I felt like I was totally transported to that time period. Costanza's story was also fantastic - her suffering and abuse at the hands of the Bernini brothers is just another tale on a long list of the plight of women since the dawn of time. I loved the themes of sisterhood in this story, and women lifting other women up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this wonderful ARC!

Constanza is immortalised in marble by the exquisitely talented Bernini, who aged 23 sculpted The Rape of Proserpina, (On display in Rome's Villa Borghese). Author Rachel Blackmore explores the passionate affair between Constanza and Bernini, his growing control over her, and his profound act of violence when he believes himself betrayed. What makes this such a complex and fascinating story is the way Blackmore draws us into Bernini's world and the world of men who are above the law, and gives Constanza her voice to tell us this story. 17th century Baroque Rome is captured in the light, smells, textures and sounds in this visually satisfying read. Rome, with it's double standards is a perilous place for women and I valued the resilience, wisdom and kindness of many of the women in this book.

Historical fiction has to be my favourite genre and I am very much here for the current trend of retellings that finally give women a voice. This is an excellent example.

Costanza Piccolimini, judged a fallen woman by history for her affair with sculptor Lorenzo Bernini finally gets a voice. This is a beautifully paced exploration of Costanzas life and their love affair threaded through with themes of female friendship, jealousy and oppression.

The writing and language is sumptuous and sensual evoking the flirtation and passion between Costanza and Bernini as well as the opulence of upper class Roman society and their gatherings.

Thanks to Dialogue Books and Netgalley for the chance to read an early copy.

Constanza is based on real events with a sprinkle of creative fiction. The story centres around the love triangle of Constanza, Gian Lorenzo and his brother, Luigi Bernini.
When Gian Lorenzo discovered that Costanza was having an affair, he ordered her to be disfigured as punishment; leaving her forever marked and ostracised.
Constanza’s strength and resilience make her a compelling character, however, it’s a bit of a gloomy read.
Recommended for fans of historical fiction

This was really good. I really enjoyed it and I hope that the writer writes more in this style. Thank you to the writer, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.

4.5 stars rounded up

'When you hold on to the hatred, the resentment, you allow him to live," she taps at her skull, with her finger, the knuckles of which are painfully swollen. 'You give him space in your mind... Paying no dues.'

She really said, "You're letting this dick live in your mind rent free."

I am shocked to see that Blackmore has only written recipe books prior this this because the writing is stunning. Sumptuous and evocative, brilliantly setting a sense of place and the time period without being so historically accurate so as to become unreadable. The only thing that tripped me up slightly was that this was almost entirely written in first person with Costanza as our narrator but occasionally slid into third person with a few other points of view. I think this works ok if the POV change occupies it's own chapter and announces itself, but this sometimes happened in between paragraphs which was a little jarring. Not a big deal though and not enough to damage my enjoyment of the book.

This was a difficult read in terms of subject matter. It's a story about a time period in which women were controlled by the church, made to feel guilt over basic needs, even things that would save their lives, and given so little power and autonomy that women who's husbands died often found themselves in prison for simple lack of options. I found Costanza to be a pretty easy MC to be in the head of, if a little frustrating in her naivete. This was very much the thrust of the plot though, that Costanza was a young, impressionable woman, easily manipulated by those around her, primarily the men that used and then discarded her when she no longer met their needs.

The thing that really elevated this one for me was the exploration of the power of female friendship in the final part, particularly the way we can uplift, support and believe each other when no one else can. Books like this unfortunately remain timely despite the historic time period as violence towards women for simply existing is continually perpetuated. This one is particularly inspired by an attack and murder of a woman in the UK by a police officer. A police officer that was known to be violent by his colleagues. How often dangerous men are known to be dangerous and still protected, allowed to live with their freedom and rights while women suffer. That is really the overall point of the book. Maybe the message got a little heavy handed towards the end but I like a book that knows what it's about.

While Constanza is a work of fiction it’s based on historical facts. A sculptor who instructed his slave to slash his mistress’s face. Leaving her forever marked as a whore.
A beautifully written book of love and betrayal. Friendship and heartbreak.
As the book came towards the end I was disappointed that Constanza would not have closure with Lorenzo (the sculptor), however having read the author’s notes it provided a lot of food for thought.
I Highly recommend this novel for fans of historical fiction,

I enjoyed this story of 17th century Rome. I have visited the city several times and could imagine some of the scenes which was an extra plus. I felt that i was able to engage with Constanza as she changes her life with inevitable consequences.
It is definitely a story enhancing women’s strength and many different roles, and the weakness of the men in her life! In spite of their power,
I felt the end was a slight anticlimax but it was also inevitable.
Recommended