I truly wanted to like this book, really I did! Especially with comparisons to The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. And the premise was interesting, involving a woman who discovers she is related to the Juliet made famous in Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, alternating between Siena, Italy in 1340 and the present day. However, I found the storyline set in 1340 so much more interesting than the storyline set in the present day. The author obviously did her research in writing about Siena, Italy, and the landmarks located there. But there were too many "coincidences" for me to even pretend to believe the modern day storyline. I tried to suspend my disbelief and really tried to get caught up in the twists the book took but it just didn't grab me. Adieu Juliet, parting is such sweet sorrow! (Not really!)

So many books - so little time. Life is too short to waste on this historic romantic thriller. I requested this book because it took place in one of my favorite cities Siena. Yes, the descriptions of the city are wonderful. However, this Da Vinci "want to be" is filled with a predictable plot and cliche characters. Skip this one.