I received a free copy of Michael Angelo and the Stone Mistress from Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. All opinions are my own.
About Michael Angelo and the Stone Mistress:
“A time-slip mystery thriller!”
Michael Angelo Thomas had a bad habit of falling in love with every model who poses for him. And though he makes it a rule to never sleep with them, he’s not good at following rules. Five hundred years earlier, young Michelangelo Buonarroti is struggling to complete his first major commission, the Pietà.
New York, 1994
Michael is New York’s most sought-after fashion photographer. His unorthodox techniques uncover the radiance of each model who steps before his camera.
When a Vogue magazine cover model is found dead from a drug overdose in his NYC apartment after a late-night photography session, he gets sent to Italy on assignment before he can be deported or takes his own life in his overwhelming guilt.
Rome, 1498
Michelangelo works day and night in anguish. He is determined to unlock the statue he can see hidden inside a four-ton block of pure white Carrara marble that dominates his slovenly hovel.
His patron demanded “the most beautiful work of marble in Rome no living artist could better.” While demons of illicit desire torture Michelangelo, he strives to find the ageless face of the mother of God, the Virgin Mary never once stained by lascivious thoughts.
“Each word in the book has you feeling the emotions.”
Michael and Michelangelo
These two men driven by their art but separated by time, are brought together by a young Italian woman. Paola is an art historian assigned to assist Michael photograph the world’s top fashion models at the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence where she has just begun her new job.
In the shadows of Michelangelo’s greatest triumphs, Michael discovers a secret that changes his life, while attracting deadly enemies and the love of a woman worth dying to save.
About the Author:
I have always been drawn to passion and creativity in all its forms. I am equally fascinated by the mechanics of the universe and the characters of history. I have a special affection for the power of music which I believe is the universal language of human emotion.
My writing journey started in journalism, public relations and advertising then continued into software development. For the last few years I have been writing time slip novels and stories. My first series, Song for a Lost Kingdom is an historical fantasy trilogy.
The follow-up is the Michael Angelo trilogy, featuring some of the key characters from Song for a Lost Kingdom. I also co-authored a biography on the life of Pyotr Tchaikovsky and contributed to a set of short stories called Seven Deadly Pens.
I grew up in London, Ontario (Canada) and also lived in Pompano Beach, Florida as a teenager. I moved to Ottawa and attended Carleton University and now live just south of the city with my wife, our two dogs and a garden full of possibilities.
Visit my website stevemoretti.ca for the latest news, or email me at steve@stevemoretti.ca anytime!
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Michael Angelo and the Stone Mistress
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My Opinion:
I will start off by noting that I am a big Michelangelo fan (the 15th century artist as opposed to the hero of this novel 🙂 ) so I was immediately intrigued by the concept of this book. The husband surprised me for my 39th (yeah, don’t get why the 39th either) birthday with my dream trip to Rome and Florence and I was able to see some of his most famous works in person. I was in heaven.
This book took me back in a way but it was far more suspenseful than my travels. The main character is a photographer named Michael Angelo and he is known for his ability to bring out the soul of his subject in their photos.
One night a photography session ends in disaster as one of his subjects dies of an overdose. He is whisked away to Rome to avoid self harm and legal problems until things can be sorted out. There he finds he has a connection of some sort to Michelangelo (the artist) as he finds he is channeling the thoughts of the Maestro as he worries about what will be one of his most iconic sculptures – the Pieta.
What happens next will keep you turning the pages wanting to know how it all ends. I know I did as I finished the book pretty much in a burst of reading over two days.
Rating:
4.5
