The Renaissance Club
By Rachel Dacus
Fiery Seas Publishing
January 23, 2018
Time Travel Romance
May Gold, college adjunct, often dreams about the subject of her master’s thesis – Gianlorenzo Bernini. In her fantasies she’s in his arms, the wildly adored partner of the man who invented the Baroque.
But in reality, May has just landed in Rome with her teaching colleagues and older boyfriend who is paying her way. She yearns to unleash her passion and creative spirit, and when the floor under the gilded dome of St Peter’s basilica rocks under her feet, she gets her chance. Walking through the veil that appears, she finds herself in the year 1624, staring straight into Bernini’s eyes. Their immediate and powerful attraction grows throughout May’s tour of Italy. And as she continues to meet her ethereal partner, even for brief snatches of time, her creativity and confidence blossom. All the doorways to happiness seem blocked for May-all except the shimmering doorway to Bernini’s world.
May has to choose: stay in her safe but stagnant existence, or take a risk. Will May’s adventure in time ruin her life or lead to a magical new one?
Review:
I have been to Italy many times and especially Rome in particular, and The Renaissance Club took me there once again!
Full disclosure, the Renaissance era is my favorite when it comes to art, thus the reason I have visited Rome so often. Not too much the other parts of Italy, with the exception of Tivoli which is my second favorite place there. If you have not been and are planning to, highly recommended.
So now you know, that I did not go into the book totally objectively. I was expecting magic, and I got a bit of it!
Writing this, I am trying to think of how many time travel books I read and it would be safe to say not a lot and that I can pretty much count them on the fingers of one hand. So yeah, I was looking forward to this baby…
The Renaissance Club follows a group of teachers (mostly older teachers) coming to Italy to visit all the sites, so it is a big trip for them and I would say a first for all of them. So from there, I thought they would be really excited about the whole thing, but the atmosphere amongst the group was subdued and it really stood out for me. That did not change throughout the book at all… I mean I know and I can tell you that there were things going on in the background of some of the characters that may take away from lets say happiness levels, but I did not pick up on people super happy and excited doing this trip.
Like at all…
It could be because the book was slow paced, I could not tell you…
Now the time traveling happens to actually 2 characters in the book (spoiler alert!!) to May and Bernini and to someone else with one of my favorite artists ever! Not telling! You have to read!
Here too, I mean May meets Bernini and like nothing, no major reactions what so ever! If it was me meeting let’s say Leonardo Da Vinci (He is not in the book) I would have had a massive internal freak out and after the event likely would not shut up about it! But then that is me…
How would you react if you walk somewhere and a historical figure you admire starts talking to you?
You see what I am saying?
I may be too harsh here, but honestly that really bugged me because I loved the originality of the storyline, there were some really good twists and actually some good solid characters, I would like to hand a special mention for George for being a true original and Art as the amazing hubby he is…
Am I super crazy excited, OMG where have you been all my life about it?
No…
Am I disliking it?
No…
It is simply not what I thought it would be… Again, I love the story and how original it is, it just failed me (because I have my preferences in terms of pace and action) on the execution. That does not mean that you would not love it. Remember we all like and favor different things in a book.
So here you have it troops! Enjoy!!!
Buy Links
ISBN: 978-1-946143-41-9 ~ eBook ~ $6.99
ISBN: 978-1-946143-42-6 ~ Paperback ~ $16.99
Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Kobo ~ iBooks
~ Praise for The Renaissance Club ~
Enchanting, rich and romantic…a poetic journey through the folds of time. In THE RENAISSANCE CLUB, passion, art, and history come together in this captivating tale of one woman’s quest to discover her true self and the life she’s meant to lead. Rachel Dacus deftly crafts a unique and spellbinding twist to the time-traveling adventure that’s perfect for fans of Susanna Kearsley and Diana Gabaldon. — Kerry Lonsdale, Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author
The Renaissance Club is a beautifully written story about a woman torn between two worlds—the present and the distant past. This time-travel adventure kept me guessing until the end about which world May would choose, and if that choice would be the right one. Highly recommended for lovers of time travel fiction or anyone looking for a compelling story about a woman trying to find happiness. — Annabelle Costa, Author of The Time Traveler’s Boyfriend.
The Renaissance Club shimmers with beauty, poetry, and art. Author Rachel Dacus sweeps her readers away to Italy with her, lifting the senses with the sights, sounds, and tastes of that stunning country; imparting her deep knowledge of Renaissance and Baroque art while immersing the reader in a gorgeously romantic story. This book is time travel at its best! — Georgina Young-Ellis, author of The Time Mistress Series
About the Author:
Rachel Dacus is the daughter of a bipolar rocket engineer who blew up a number of missiles during the race-to-space 1950’s. He was also an accomplished painter. Rachel studied at UC Berkeley and has remained in the San Francisco area. Her most recent book, Gods of Water and Air, combines poetry, prose, and a short play on the afterlife of dogs. Other poetry books are Earth Lessons and Femme au Chapeau.
Her interest in Italy was ignited by a course and tour on the Italian Renaissance. She’s been hooked on Italy ever since. Her essay “Venice and the Passion to Nurture” was anthologized in Italy, A Love Story: Women Write About the Italian Experience. When not writing, she raises funds for nonprofit causes and takes walks with her Silky Terrier. She blogs at Rocket Kid Writing.