Secrets in the Palazzo

by Kathleen Reid

Newly minted artist Rose Maning is thrilled with the positive reception of her first gallery opening. Her success is empowering, yet the constant demands of work make planning her wedding to Lyon impossible. To complicate matters further, her conservator friend, Beatrice, uncovers a mysterious clue to a centuries-old mystery that involves a lost Leonardo da Vinci painting. Rose heads to the Eternal City of Rome to uncover a fierce rivalry between two of the greatest Renaissance masters: Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. The past and the present intertwine when Beatrice becomes enthralled by a street artist named Mike. He and his nemesis, Vince, create thought-provoking murals that challenge people to look at history through a different lens.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary

246 pages, Hardcover

Published June 13, 2022

About the author

Kathleen Reid is an award-winning author of three works of fiction: Paris Match, A Page Out of Life and Sunrise in Florence (2019). Sunrise in Florence won 5 Indie Book Awards in Romance and Romantic Suspense. New York Times Bestselling Author, Adriana Trigiani, said “Sunrise in Florence is a tonic for readers who love Italy, fine art and adventure.”

Her new book, Secrets in the Palazzo, just won a PenCraft Fiction award in contemporary romance. Rose’s adventures in Italy continue as she pursues a career as an artist and searches for a lost Leonardo da Vinci painting. Kathleen is a wife, mom to two girls, avid runner, and volunteer. Please see www.KathleenReid.com

Reviews

[Kathleen Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was thrilled to appear LIVE with Adriana Trigiani to talk about Secrets in the Palazzo. She was very positive about my main character, Rose, who follows her dream of buying an apartment in Italy. Rose is a woman who chooses a new path for herself apart from the one her family wants. Her passion for the life and works of the great Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci resonates throughout the novel.

I'm particularly excited that streets artists Vince and Mike create murals about social inclusion and diversity.

I'll be speaking at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts next week about Secrets in the Palazzo! What a special event.

[Prashant Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rose had quit her teaching job and she was finally pursuing her dream of becoming an Artist in Italy, the birthplace to very great Artists such as Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci. On top of that she was super lucky to meet Lyon. Her lover and her Fiancé.In the midst of her Art getting heavy recognition, it was becoming even more difficult to plan her wedding and making sure to keep the relationship between her and Lyon more intimate. Meanwhile her friend Beatrice was working on restoring some paintings as well as searching for some clues about them. She happens to find a clue which might or might not lead to some big revelation. She calls Rose to Rome to tell her about this discovery of hers.Coincidentally Beatrice happens to get immersed with a street artist named Mike and his rivalry with his nemesis Vince. Their situations somewhat mirror the past with the artistic rivalry during the age of Renaissance. Now both of these men have an interesting outlook regarding Art and they are not afraid to exhibit through their paintings. On the other spectrum will this discovery by Beatrice bring great results for both Rose and Beatrice. Or will it go completely disregarded. Follow Rose and Beatrice through this intriguing and extremely exciting journey in "Secrets In The Palazzo".
I was, of course very pleased with the book. This book is a perfect vacation for your mind. So what, if you physically can't afford that trip to the beautiful and cultural rich, Italy. You can mentally take a trip with Kathleen Reid's "Secrets In the Palazzo". It has everything you would want in your exciting vacation. Some Romance, art, mystery and lots of more exciting themes. The plot for this book was somewhat inspired by the artistic rivalry between the most famous Renaissance artists Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci. I would say I might have transported to the protagonists life as I was super involved in the storyline and I found it hard to keep the book down as well. So what are you waiting for? Save your big bucks for that trip to Italy and invest in a mini vacation with " Secrets In The Palazzo".

[Readers Choice · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝑻𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒆: Secrets in the Palazzo
𝑨𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓: Kathleen Reid

𝑴𝒚 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘:
I love reading Contemporary romance novels. Recently I got my hands on the book Secrets in the Palazzo written by Kathleen Reid. It is a very interesting story about the Leonardo da Vinci painting.

These days we are so career oriented that we don't have much time to give towards our personal life. Rose was happy after the positive reception of her first gallery opening. She felt lucky to be engaged to Lyon who captured her heart and respected her need for independence. But both Lyon and Rose are so busy in their work life that they aren't getting time to plan their wedding.

Rose's friend Beatrice works as a conservator at the Vatican laboratory in Rome. Beatrice has some information linked to lost Leonardo da Vinci painting. She invites Rose to Rome. Read the story yourself to know what's next.

This book was inspired by the real-life
artistic rivalry between Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. I enjoyed reading it a lot. Writing style of Kathleen is impressive. The story is captivating and you would enjoy it till the last page. Cover photo of the book is attractive. The author has done a wonderful job in this book. Looking forward to reading more of Kathleen's work in the future.

𝑴𝒚 𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈: 5/5

[_sassy_39 · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Secrets in the Palazzo'' is a contemporary romance novel penned by the author Kathleen Reid. Rose Maning has recently quit her teaching job in Charlottesville, Virginia. She is living a good life in Florence by following her dream of becoming an artist. She is engaged to Lyon and also succeeded at her first gallery opening. Both Lyon and Rose have been busy at work and this makes it impossible to plan their wedding.

One day, Rose got a call from her friend Beatrice who is a conservator at the Vatican laboratory in Rome. Beatrice asked Rose to come to Rome as she had discovered some information about the lost Leonardo da Vinci painting. Meanwhile, Beatrice was captivated by the artistic prowess of Mike, a street artist.

Read this book to find out for yourself will they be able to search for the lost Leonardo da Vinci painting. Writing style of the author is nice. Plot of the story is impressive. Cover photo is eye-catching. The story is fast paced and would keep you on the edge. I couldn't put this book down until I finished it. The backdrop is fantastic. Contemporary romance lovers or art enthusiasts should go ahead with this book without thinking twice.

[bookhaven__ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Secrets in the Palazzo
By
Kathleen Reid

Review:
I love art and Rome. This book will walk the readers through Rome in search of the lost Leonardo da Vinci painting.

Rose Maning is an important character in the story. She has opened her first art gallery which was a success. Rose became an artist from a teacher. She was engaged to Lyon but she needs to give her undivided attention to their relationship. Both Lyon and Rose had crazy busy schedules.

Rose's friend Beatrice thought she had got a missing clue to a lost Leonardo. She is a conservationist at the Vatican and it was her job to understand and preserve history. Beatrice called Rose to invite her to Rome so Rose could meet Cardinal Baglioni.

Characters are well developed. Pace of the story is fast and I wasn't bored anytime while reading it. There are secrets in this story that made it more exciting to read. I was on the edge of my seat while reading this. The story narration is so smooth that this book got my undivided attention. Really appreciate the author for this amazing story.

Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐

[Mindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rose is a former teacher who has moved to Italy in pursuit of a career as an artist. She is engaged to the enigmatic Lyon, a real estate agent- but they soon run into problems while planning a wedding. Meanwhile, Rose's friend Beatrice is an art conservator falling for a street artist named Mike, whose biggest competition is another street artist named Vince. In the midst of all of this, Rose has discovered some old drawings that could be by Leonardo Da Vinci himself, in the walls of her apartment, and Beatrice is working to help her uncover clues to find a previously hidden work of the great artist, somewhere in Italy.

This was NOT it. Not even a little bit.

These characters are the most childish people I have ever read about and have anger management issues- all of them.

I also had no idea what we were even trying to discover and how anything was a legitimate "clue." And a cardinal helps them break into a building??? Please.

I fully get that Mike and Vince were supposed to emulate the historic rivalry between Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci, but this was just a side story that was kind of unnecessary.

And I'm sorry...the scene between Julian and Beatrice?? Zero to 100 REAL fast and not believable.

Finally, my personal favorite ick..."And they all laughed." BLECH.

CW: infidelity

[Susanna Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a MUST-read for lovers of art history, romance, Italy, and even female prowess. The author's story transports you to the feelings and surroundings of the characters so much that I felt nostalgia at the end, eager to turn more pages to dive into the lives of Beatrice and Rose. As a reader with very little art-history background, I loved the way the author introduced the concepts and stories of Michelangelo and Leonardo in a way that I could resonate with and that transposed into the lives and stories of her current day characters. The writing, story-line, and character development is exquisite. I flew through the pages of this book and thoroughly enjoyed grasping through the numerous narratives intertwined throughout the story.

I highly recommend this book to all readers looking for the influence and sentiment of Italy, love, and culture without actually having to be in the destination itself...

[Kate Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, well researched, adventurous read

Kathleen has done a fabulous job of weaving together meticulously researched Renaissance art history with fast paced, fun and familiar romance. Each of Kathleen’s books continue to be a joy to read, especially for someone not too familiar with the genre.

[Ladybug · Rating 1 out of 5]

Can’t believe book like this could be published. Just awful!

[Sarah Dressler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second novel in Reid’s series, this one takes a more mysterious turn. Rose from Sunrise in Florence is a flourishing artist and her friend, Beatrice, is the main character of this novel.

Beatrice’s focus for this novel is Da Vinci (love the artist themes!) and she has run ins with varying popular artists in Italy during hear search for some concrete evidence re: Leonardo Da Vinci.

Of course Rose makes her appearances as well, which I enjoyed seeing her back again!