Lost in the City of Flowers (The Histories of Idan #1) by Maria C. Trujillo

Lost in the City of Flowers (The Histories of Idan #1) Reviews

• 
  ♏ Gina Baratono☽

  I loved the premise of this book: a young girl with her father for her best friend and a deep desire to be an artist, is transported back in time and meets the likes of Leonardo da Vinci of all people.
  
  On Viola's birthday, her father takes her to the home of an old woman she doesn't know, who is a great collector of art. He leaves her there to visit with the woman, who invites her up to view her vast collection. She allows Viola to view the works at leisure, and tells her to make very sure she looks at the painting at the end - the one under the red blanket. Viola does as she is told and finds the painting also has a lock on the side. Upon opening it, she is drawn into a long, dark corridor.
  
  Coming out into the light, she has been transported 544 years back in time. She faints at the sight of a woman being hung in the city, and she is rescued by a member of the very wealth Medici family, who carries her to the home of woman he trusts. Medici is also drawn to Viola's youth and beauty (she is 14 at the time). She is nursed back to health, and desperate to get back to her own time. People are dirty, the streets are filled with filth, and the food leaves a lot to be desired.
  
  Armed only with Idan (a mysterious pocket watch that ticks at odd times, and no one else seems to hear it), Viola must figure out how to get back to her own time, her own father. In the mean time, she must stay safe and under cover, even though she arrived in, of all things, Converse tennis shoes.
• 
  Denise Castro

  A tale that feeds your soul and imagination! Viola changed the way I look at life. I cannot explain why I fell in love with this character, perhaps its because we share similar life endeavors in travelling to foreign lands not knowing what to expect. Her courage is essential to the narrative and guarantees a page turning experience full of unexpected surprises. Give it a read, it is totally worth it!
  Lost in the City of Flowers
• 
  Italo Italophiles

  Lost in the City of Flowers is one of those modern young-adult novels in which the only thing young-adult in it is the protagonist. The writing is complex, and the themes and events are quite grown-up. The teenaged female protagonist is transported back 544 years to Renaissance Florence, Italy, when young girls were sexual toys for men.
  
  The writing in Lost in the City of Flowers is lyrical and prosaic, but not really convincing as a first person narration by the fourteen-year-old Violet. The reader just needs to suspend their disbelief and go with it.
  
  Violet encounters historical personages: Leonardo da Vinci, Giuliano de' Medici, Lorenzo de' Medici, Botticelli, Verrocchio, Salai (out of his real time), Perugino, Lippi.
  
  There is much in the book for fans of historical fiction. The era's philosophy, geography, politics, customs, fashions, food come to life. For fans of art history there are references to well-known stories relating to famous Italian Renaissance artists.
  
  The book is divided into three parts, each part charting a major event for Violet. As the danger for Violet grows, she gives into temptations of ego and comes face to face with powerful people in the past. Powerful people wish to control and dominate, and Violet's exciting adventures come because of them.
  
  Violet encounters romance and adventure in the past. She also makes friends and experiences great sadness and some trauma. The ending comes too quickly, so we cannot explore how her experiences have changed her, or how they have helped her grow up. For a coming-of-age novel, that is strange. The stage is set at the end for more time-traveling adventures in what the author calls the History of Idan Series, so perhaps we will see Violet's growth in the next book? I hope so.
  
  Please read my full and illustrated review at Italophile Book Reviews.
  
  http://italophilebookreviews.blogspot...
  
• 
  Li

  Upon first completing this book I was left like...
  
  
  
  Now that I've had time to gather all my feels and regained the ability to form a coherent thought, all I have to say is "WOW!"
  
  I love YA series but this is my first time reading a historical fiction and I can definitely tell that Ms. Trujillo did her research. She did an excellent job painting the picture of Florence and all its people during the renaissance period. Also, she included a map of the town at the beginning and a glossary of italian words and characters at the end of the book which was very useful to me while first starting to grasp the idea of Florence in the late 1400's.
  
  I found the fourteen-year-old female lead, Viola, to be headstrong and witty but still vulnerable which made her character all the more relatable. The scenes of banter between Leonardo and Viola were my absolute favorite.
  
  The storyline was never dull and always kept me guessing. Every time I thought I had it figured out, it would shift in a different direction! It was frustrating in a very entertaining way and now I JUST REALLY NEED THE NEXT BOOK!!!!! OKAY!?
  
  
• 
  Anna

  The first time I heard about this book I just felt I needed to read it. I love art, but more than this because of the fact that I used to live in Firenze (Florence) and wanted to feel like those days ten years ago. But, is another Florence, the one that we can still see but I did not manage to do it in 10 months. The author did such an amazing research that now I feel I need to come back to go to many places and revisit them and just walk in the streets and see them from another point of view, the true and historical one. Also, is really a fictional book. All characters, the historical ones and the fiction ones, are really well described and have own life. I really felt attached to the plot and thought: you do not need to love art to love this book, you just can stop reading to know what's going to happen to Viola and how she struggles with everything.
  I already recommended the book to all my friends. Is really one of those books that will keep you awake reading without realizing which hours is.
  Can't wait to read more of Maria C Trujillo
• 
  Kim

  I won a copy of this book from the author through goodreads.
  
  I really enjoyed this book about art, time travel and Renaissance Italy. It is incredibly well researched and well written. There were a lot of twists and turns for 14 year old Viola to navigate when she travels back in time. While in Florence she is befriended by a young Leonardo da Vinci, meets very distant relatives and is courted by a member of the powerful Medici family. There is quite an adventure at the end and several glimpses of da Vinici's genius not to mention the wonderful descriptions of Renaissance life and art. I look forward to the next book in this series.
• 
  Megan Porter

  I won this book through a goodreads giveaway. The synopsis sounded so intriguing and the book really delivered. The main character, a teenager named Viola, finds herself transported back into Renaissance Italy. The characters in this book are well developed and likeable. And the story line had several smaller plots which were all very well developed and kept me engrossed as the main story continued. I enjoyed the conclusion of the novel and felt like everything wrapped up wonderfully. I would recommend this book.
• 
  Lori Peterson

  A good time travel/ historical fiction that gives a nicely built story that reads well
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  Karuna Srikureja

  Lost in the City of Flowers was a delightful read. The friendships are heartwarming, the dialogue is snappy, and the adventure just pulls you in. The protagonist, Viola, is a strong but believable role-model for young girls-- she’s principled, clever, and passionate, but is still growing into herself and is not quite comfortable enough to live up to her full potential. For me, however, the very best thing about this book is the world. The author paints such a beautiful and believable picture of Florence during the Renaissance, never sugarcoating the very harsh realities of life at the time while still allowing it to feel enchanted in some way. As an art lover myself, I particularly appreciated all the details the author threw in about innovations in painting and workshop practice at the time! Through Viola, you get to become friends with some of the great masters of European art, which was a special treat. It was a fun, quick read and I totally recommend it! Ideal for younger readers--I thoroughly enjoyed it as an adult, but I can’t help but imagine what 13-year-old me would have felt! I would have been obsessed.