I got much more than I bargained for when I began reading this novel. Taking place in Rome in the spring of 1493 - the age of Christopher Columbus and Ferdiand & Isabella of Spain. Europe is in the Age of Exploration and on the cusp of the Renaissance period. The Catholic Church is in disarray as forces from within & out of the church threaten to destroy the newly installed Pope (Borgia) Alexander VI who is as greedy & thirsty for power as anyone on the thrones of most European countries/empires. As a university student, I had studied this time period of Western civilization and was no stranger to the controversies that had arisen at the time regarding the Catholic Church, yet this novel gave me a real inside view into the actual workings & involvement of church leaders and royal families of the time.

Borgia is no angel & many might wonder why he would be pope - the answer lies within the storyline: he is perhaps the lesser of the other evils who might otherwise assend to that particular throne. As it is, he has enemies everywhere (even w/in his own family, it seems) and, due to his actions and, shall we say, lack of morality he seems to be a monarch much the same way Ferdinand of Spain was. Borgia really does no favors for Francesca, I believe in employing her as his "poisoner" or de-facto assassin. Francesca thinks little of herself - believing herself to be evil and Borgia seems to use that towards his own ends - the selfish beast!

I wanted to see Francesca end up with Rocco, one of the few who truly thinks well of her and has no selfish reasons to befriend her. I also warmed to Lucrezia, Sophia, Vittoro, David, Benjamin, & even Alfonso as the story progressed as they seem to have her best interests in mind.

This is a story of early western religion, political intrigue, friendship, and redemption that surprised me with its depth. However, there were a few passages that made me realize that I could not recommend it to younger (teenage) readers unfortunately. As Francesca is the mistress of Cesare, there was a bit more of the graphic sex than I would be comfortable with my teen reading.