Category: Book Reviews

WWW Wednesdays

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WWW Wednesday is hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words 📚 It is a book tag to broaden the reading community and help connect avid readers!

All you have to do is answer the following three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

CR: Ascension by Nicholas Binge is SO addictive! Imagine a mountain appears out of nowhere but it’s only brought to your attention because you are a physicist that is needed on the highly secretive mission to the top. Everyone who has come back from the top base camp (only 2 so far in its small history) has turned mad and been ‘changed’ from whatever they learnt/experiences/whatever happened up there. And one of those two is the main character’s ex-wife. The story is cleverly written from the past by letters the main character is holding onto for his niece. In the present time, the main character is found by his brother in a mental facility and he has also lost his mind. So we know what’s to come but how does it all play out. I cannot wait to finish this book!

RF: The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams was my recent fun and smutty read for my week off from bookselling. It was great and you can find my review here (click me romance go-er) 💖

RN: Death of a Book Seller by Alice Slater is a book I know nearly nothing about but have every desire to read from its title! How capturing and well, frightening … This book involves a true crime bookseller buff, a new employee who is not as they seem and a deadly friendship. It’s had pretty high reviews so I am keen to give it a whirl.

What are you all reading this week? Leave a COMMENT below 💬

Purchase or download your books via this link: BOOKTOPIA

Sundays in bed with … The Daily Stoic

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This blog tag was originally hosted by Midnight Book Girl and it aims to share how you’re spending your Sunday reading 🤓

This Sunday I am waking up to read The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman 🧠

Now I am new to these stoicism theories, texts and concepts. I’ve been mostly introduced to them by someone close in my life and The Daily Stoic is my first taster.

For me, I am really seeking this book out as something to read each morning, as it sets a precedent for each day of the year. For example, todays message is:

HOW TO HAVE A GOOD DAY: Here is how you guarantee to have a good day: do good things. Any other source of joy is outside of your control or is nonrenewable. But this one is all you, all the time, and unending. It is the ultimate form of self-reliance.

I don’t know about you but I really needed to hear this today. Somehow each passage daily, as humans, we can find some way of applying and resonating this with our lives and current lifestyle. I highly recommend giving this a try and maybe even keep a journal to write down your minds initial thoughts and feelings about each daily passage.

🎧 ‘Folklore’ by Taylor Swift – currently obsessed with this album, I think it is connected to the winter weather rolling in 🌧

Purchase or download your copy via this link: The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman

💫 Mini Review 💫

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The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams is your new smutty book on the block ✅

I can promise that in 48 hours, you will snavel this novel up and will be continuing on your book buying binge for ALL other Sarah Adams books. (click me and you can see them 😉)

Bree and Nathan have been best friends since high school. Nathan dreamt of becoming an NFL superstar and Bree dreamt of becoming a professional ballet dancer. Sadly, only one of their dreams came true. After having a few years apart in collage, Nathan and Bree have reconnected and their friendship is stronger than ever. It is also particularly threatening to any of the women Nathan’s chooses to dates, mainly as all of these woman can see the unrequited love between the two of them that neither care to admit.

This friends to lovers trope takes a great turn when Nathan’s celebrity stardom approves of Bree as a potential cutesy girlfriend after yet another breakup goes wrong. Que, the two of them in a fake relationship and oh how this is entertaining to read!

Okay positives and contrary aspects:

+ve’s:

  • Written as if the author is talking to you in conversation which makes the novel extremely easy to read
  • Friends to lovers trope
  • Characters are really warm and loveable
  • Dual perspective
  • Bree is so quirky and cute that she is what every girls dreams the main character is in these smutty novels (… or maybe that’s just what I enjoy reading!)
  • The whole premise of this book happens over quite a short period of time

Contrary:

  • Not a lot of depth to the environment or back story of each character. I wanted a little more historical detail surrounding Bree and Nathan’s teenage years and friendship bond back then
  • Wasn’t long enough … I was invested 🤗
  • There wasn’t a big dramatic peak as there usually is in 80% of novels in this genre. I was kind of waiting for a big secret to be exposed or a disagreement to happen over something minuscule and then have the main characters make up … but it didn’t really happen. In a way this was kind of a positive as the character’s didn’t resent, argue or disagree with one another. The novel just ended in a peachy kind way which was warm and fuzzy.

All in all, this smutty read is perfect for a rainy day, with a nice hot cup of tea!

Purchase or download your copy via this link: The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams

WWW Wednesdays

~ melreviewsherbooks ~ 1 Comment

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words 📚 It is a book tag to broaden the reading community and help connect avid readers!

All you have to do is answer the following three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

CR: Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin has me captivated and desperate to find out where these characters lives are at the end of the novel. I cannot wait to break down each character and my thoughts in a full review when I finish this. I have SO many thoughts on Sadie, Sam, Marx and Dov. Golly, if any of my previous encouragement has not gotten you over the line in reading this novel, this is your calling – DO IT!

RF: The Redgum River Retreat by Sandie Docker was an Australian fiction I recently finished and loved this month. As you longtime book blog followers will know, Sandie is not only one of my favourite authors but also one of my favourite people! Sandie was the first Australian author I interviewed on this blog and she was/is incredibly kind. I am beyond excited to have the opportunity to actually meet Sandie in a week as she visits my local bookstore. It was an absolute pleasure reading her latest novel (in 48hr as per usual – I ADORE them all) and to have organised a few events for her.

RN: How To Be Remembered by Michael Thompson is a perfectly modern and unique spin on The Time Traveller’s Wife and also a novel that I am half way through … meaning, I desperately need to finish it and write a review. Additionally, having the pleasure of meeting Michael recently upon my organisation of his visit to our local store, ensured my desire to finish Tommy Llewellyn’s story.

What are some novels on your TBR pile?

Book Review: ‘The Whispering’ by Veronica Lando

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Imagine a rainforest that overshadows your local town. The sounds of the leaves rustling, the swoosh of the trees moving and the crackle of branches being trodden on the damp and mossy floor which create a sort of compelling whispering.

A whispering that many young people have heard before.

A whispering that is believed to take people away, into the rainforest and never come out again.

‘The Whispering’ by Veronica Lando had an eerie, compelling and unique spin on crime fiction. I have only read one other novel similar in this spiritual/naturalist/mystical sub genre of crime fiction, and that book was ‘The Bluffs’ by Kyle Perry. It was one of my favourite books of 2021. It was a given as soon as I read the blurb of this novel, I was hooked. ‘The Whispering’ was also the winner of the Banjo Prize for Fiction in 2020, therefore I was also more inclined to start reading. This prize is awarded by Harper Collins Australia to an unpublished Australian manuscript and author with the hope of launching their writing career.

Now about the book … Callum Haffenden never believed he would return to Granite Creek. It’s a place of heartbreak, sickening memories and feelings of physical and emotional loss. In the past and as a teenager, Callum was involved in an accident that caused the loss of his leg from the kneecap down. At the same time, he also lost the girl who was his first love and she lost her elder sister. The tragic series of accidents have always been swirled with mystery and secrets. But a feeling, or a whispering of events unresolved, are calling him back now.

In the present, a local, well-known and well-loved community man has gone missing in the rainforest, around the same dangerous boulders of Callum’s accident. When his body is soon discovered, Callum’s previous journalism traits jump to action. In search of answers, Callum’s past and present collide. This isn’t the only secret that Callum begins to uncover the more questions he asks around town. You quickly discover as the reader that nobody is trustworthy and everybody has a motive to be part of this towns historical eeriness.

This was a quick but slow read. Quick because the storyline mostly flowed and the amount of dialogue included helped to move things along well. Slow because, I personally felt some aspects were disjointed. One moment I was in one place and then the next the story had moved on without a clear explanation or connection. HOWEVER, I will hand on heart admit I read a lot of this novel before bed and mostly falling asleep. This is also one the first crime book I’ve read in a while (like, 6 months a while), so my judgement could be swayed. Overall an enjoyable read for a debut fiction ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5/5 stars)

Book Review: ‘Heartstrong: Chumpy, Minnie & Me’ by Ellidy Pullin w/ Alley Pascoe

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Chumpy, Ellidy and Minnie’s story is one for the ages. Their perspective on love, life and strength is unbelievable. In particular I strongly admire Ellidy’s ability to keep living through her grief and bring Minnie into a world swirled by strong belief that she is loved, she is a miracle creation and first and foremost, that she is the daughter of Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin.

Let’s start by chatting about the big and colourful being that was Chumpy.

Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin was an Australian snowboarder who competed at the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics. He held the honour of carrying the Australian Flag in the opening of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. He won the snowboard cross World Championship – twice. He was an athlete. He was the musical creator and singer behind Chumpy and the Sunsetaroonies. He was a bright soul and he was Ellidy’s person for this wonderful thing called life.

On the 8th of July 2020, the life that Ellidy knew took a devastating turn. Chumpy tragically passed away in a shallow water diving blackout at the age of 33. This unfathomable accident shook those who knew Chumpy personally, had followed his athletic life and achievements, those who competed with him, those in his home town, celebrities across the globe and just ordinary people like myself who heard this on the news one morning. A fit, healthy and active man who was incredibly experienced in the water, passing away. Surely this doesn’t happen right?

A little about Ellidy – she and Chumpy met at the age of 21 and fell immediately in love. She had studied nursing, commerce and worked in a variety of jobs. Chumpy used to describe her as someone who was ‘always happy’ and ‘woke up happy’. For Ellidy to still find that light within herself and for Minnie, even now after the tragedy she’s experience, I’m just in awe and admiration. A really large part of what Ellidy’s purpose, advocacy and awareness is around shallow water diving blackouts. She also aims to shine a light on post mortem sperm retrieval, as this is how little Minnie was created.

Ellidy and Chumpy always knew they’d start a family and they’d been trying for the past 12 months before Chumpy’s accident. Luck was never on their side. They felt as if they came close a few times, but sadly never fell pregnant. IVF appointments were discussed, plans were made and then suddenly, Chumpy wasn’t there. In the hours after Chumpy’s passing, a close friend that actually brought Ellidy and Chumpy together in the first place, relayed to Ellidy’s brother this amazing procedure called post mortem sperm retrieval. Ellidy only had to hear the words, “There is still a chance you and Chumpy can have a baby” and that was enough for her to say “Yes, go, do what you need to do”, for close friends and family to jump to action. There are a number of loop holes in making a procedure like this happen, including time sensitivity after a persons passing, legal requirements and state legislations. The stars aligned and Ellidy likes to believe that Chumpy was along the journey pushing for those green lights from above.

Even through her grief, Ellidy knew that having Chumpy’s baby was something she had to do. She had her parent’s support, her brother, Chumpy’s parents and sister, as well as her multitude of close friends encouraging her to make this happen when she was ready. 15 months after Chumpy’s passing, que the creation of Minnie Alex Pullin. And let me tell you folks, she’s bloody gorgeous!

I’m so glad this heartbreakingly beautiful story was one of my first reads this year. I love watching my daily Instagram stories of Minnie, as found on Ellidy’s profile, and watching her grow surrounded by love. I encourage you to read this book, educate yourself on the power of true love and absorb the wonderful miracles that are created through modern medicine. Below, you’ll find one of the most heartwarming videos of Minnie and her dad 💫💖

💫 Mini Review 💫

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Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney was a quick, captivating and unexpected spooky crime read! I absolutely adored it 👻

Listening in on audio made this book a whole lot quicker for me to consume. With a cast of characters and repetitive events to help you recap and continue on through the story seamlessly, I was in a tight grip of waiting for events to unfold.

Who was killing everyone? How is the family riddle changing as family members die? Will Daisy Darker survive the night?

Daisy Darker is a novel about well, Daisy Darker. Daisy was born with a heart defect and due to this, her health had always been a battle as a child. With lots of scares and ongoing hospital admissions, Daisy’s bond with her reliable grandmother grew immensely. Daisy’s grandmother even went as fair as to write an award winning, and quite profitable, children’s book with a little girl called Daisy as the main character. Daisy siblings resented her immensely for this and for being grandma’s favourite.

In the present, Daisy’s grandmother is bringing all the family back together on her quirky, isolated island estate because she’d been told by a psychic many years ago that she would die at 80. Tomorrow happens to be her 80th birthday and she’d like to spend her last waking hours with her dear family … which also happens to be on Halloween.

Each family member has complex and strained relationships with one another. Daisy’s mother and father are divorced. Daisy never fit in with her two older sisters. Throw a boy in the mix, a niece and a secret accident that happened years ago and we have a recipe for messy murders.

I enjoyed going into this novel not knowing much about it and I would encourage you to do the same. I’ve tried not to give too much away in this mini review! Happy *late* Halloween reading 👻

Book Review: ‘Marriage For One’ by Ella Maise

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Do you want romantic angst? ✅

Do you want a NYC cafe setting? ✅

Do you love reading about broody incessant fictional males that are hard core romantics and not at all like real men ✅ (we can always hope)

Marriage For One by Ella Maise was recently picked up and her four romance novels recovered by Pip Watkins and Simon & Schuster UK. And man, have they found a whip smart novelist!

A fellow book store regular recommended this to me on Wednesday and from the get go, I was hooked. She said she instantly fell in love with Jack and Rose’s story. Also mentioning that this was her favourite Ella Maise book she’s read thus far. Tick, tick, tick from me.

Rose and Jack are complete strangers, or so Rose thinks. She’s currently going through hell trying to navigate her Uncle’s Estate and Will, in which Rose’s is surprised to find a hidden clause. Her Uncle states that her husband will inherit a very profitable but empty building that she had all intentions of renovating into a cafe. However, the husband label hasn’t gone quite to plan in Rose’s life. Her ex-fiance dumped her over text (very sus, more on that when you read the book), her money hungry cousins are out to get any inheritance Rose is left with and squash her cafe dreams, and NOW, she has some grumpy, non-smiling lawyer guy proposing to her?!

Jack Hawthorne was not about to sit aside and let Rose lose everything she’d dreamed of, or be taken advantage of. Meeting Rose a year before, Jack had admired her from afar. Jack is one of the lawyers that closely worked with Rose’s Uncle, therefore he was aware of the current complications with the Will. Jack founded a secret and permanent idea. He would marry Rose out of convenience. He would be her husband. He would then inherit the empty building. Rose could open her dream store. No complications – a simple marriage for one. All Jack asks in return is for her to attend dinners, charity events and closing deals as his wife, giving the image of a ‘family man’ lawyer. He insisted this was good for his branding but there may or may not have been some secrets swirling around …

Shocked by the proposal and in disbelief, Rose finds her life changing immediately. Next thing we know, Jack and Rose are moving to together as a ‘married couple’ to his apartment. Rose is working day and night to finish painting, planning and baking for the cafe … with Jack’s surprisingly quiet and brooding help. They’re going to business dinners where Jack is unexpectedly quite good at laying on the PDA and passing them as a very happy newlywed couple. In private however, Rose is struggling to have any kind of get-to-know-you conversations with Jack as he resists her closeness. I liked hearing from his perspective every so often because it allowed us as the reader to see that he was trying his best to give her space and grow to like him on her own terms. Rose was slowly getting used to his frowning, gruff non verbal responses and blunt stares when her health takes a turn.

You won’t find any spoilers here book friends BUT I will say, Jack came through with the goods as a fake husband and a real one 😉 I really liked the growth of their relationship and their humour. I liked the ever present romantic tension and do-they-don’t-they feelings. I didn’t feel like Jack was written as a coercive male figure in the relationship which was a real possibility due to the circumstances of the plot, however Ella Maise pulled it off. Some readers may disagree with me on this but hey, this is romantic fiction. We know what we’re going here to read.

Finishing this book in 48 hours, on little sleep and feelings of happiness about finding a book to devour – I gave Marriage For One ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5 stars!

Book Review: ‘The Space Between’ by Michelle Andrews & Zara McDonald

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Do you ever wonder if what you’re doing at this point in your life is right? Here’s an example;

You’re in your twenties and society tells you that this is the time to be SLIVVVING! You should be out every weekend, but still have the money to keep up with the latest trends. You should be loving the idea and options of going on different dates with different people, but so many others around your age are married with kids. You should be travelling overseas, but hold down a successful career at the same time.

There are so many implied expectations of your 20’s about who you are, what you want and what you have so far in life. But the reality is, NOBODY knows what the heck they’re doing. Hell, our brains only fully develop and construct into what health expects call ‘adults’ at 25. So that space between, yeah that, what are we supposed to do with that time.

Creators of the super successful Aussie podcast Shameless, Michelle & Zara, share their honest thoughts, opinions and experiences in this book. I finished this book in a matter of a week because right now, it resonates with me strongly, and I have a good feeling it will/does with a lot of people after that scary pandemic thing, unemployment and finance rates rising … gahh adulthood. How is a young person supposed to flash their newest pair of exercise leggings and not have to have eaten tinned tuna for a week these days?!

Admittedly, I have not listened to a lot of the Shameless pod. I was introduced to them not that long ago by one of my besties and have found myself hooked ever since. I try to listen to one of their episodes every week and I encourage you to do the same. Sometimes they talk gossip, sometimes they talk relationships, sometimes they talk health and then once a month, they do book club! It’s great. So onto the book Mel, tell us about it. Okay, so it is split into 4 parts; Love; Ambition; Mind and Body; & Voice. It’s hard for me to pick a favourite because all of them used both Zara and Michelle’s personal experiences to bring home an idea. And I must say, near all of their experiences are relatable.

Love covers the fantastic aspects of being single, like; going on however many dates you please; a night out is always full of exciting opportunities to meet someone new; watching a whole tv series to yourself and not feeling guilty having to wait for someone else before hitting resume; and not having to share your precious bed, chocolate stash, dinner meal or time, with someone else. It also covers being the breaker of hearts and the receiver of broken hearts, in both romantic and friend relationships. The benefits and bamboozling implications of situation-ships. The space between family and their beliefs.

Ambition covers finishing uni and how terrifying going out into the big wide world is. It covers the space between our expectations of a career and what our life after having a 4,5,6,7 year uni degree in our back pocket actually means to our quality of life and happiness. In the ambition section, Mich and Zara cover their huge pivot of working for one of Australia’s top female lead media and journalism companies, to risking it all to start their own podcast. For them, if you read this book and find out, it was a matter of mental survival, professional growth and a touch of ‘What the heck are we thinking, are we crazy, will this even work?!’. The answer is yes, and they’re still taking the podcasting world by storm to this day. They encourage you to trust your gut, work hard for the times when you have that sparking feeling of hey, this could actually be something truely magical. They talk success and sacrifice. They talk unequal pay gaps and appropriate workplace treatment. They talk openly about mental health, anxiety and work-life balance. It’s relatable, raw and fantastic. (… okay maybe this was my favourite section …)

Mind & Body covers, you guessed it, all things mind and body. A checklist is included to help you differentiate if you have in-fact matured beyond the point of pasta for dinner every night ‘semi-adult’ or full blown, I have a grocery list and do not wander outside of its bounds ‘adulthood’. Mich and Zara talk about sex and the uncomfortableness that can be female pleasure. They talk anxiety and what that looks like for some people who lead a day-to-day, busy and bustling life but still cope in the face of adversity and crippling mental illness. They talk fertility, endometriosis and personal experiences with family planning. One of my favourite parts of this section was their discussion on influence – it literally made me jump on my instagram and unfollow any, and all of the female and male ‘influencers’ that felt, to me, that they were not teaching me anything. They were not bringing anything new and positive into my brain. That’s not to say I went and followed all of these inspo quote type of pages – no. I followed people like Julia Gillard and Malala Yousafzai, AND Michelle Andrews and Zara McDonald.

Voice covers the big things that we believe can’t be coffee table discussions or casual chats over a glass of wine (but in actual fact is totally acceptable) – and that is empowerment. Empowerment to tell a bloke when he’s taken a joke too far. Empowerment to disagree with someone even when you know they will challenge you and believe you wrong. Empowerment to say “No thanks” to another vodka soda when you know you’d rather spend your Sunday going for a walk, cleaning your house, Facetiming a friend, working on your side hustle or grabbing a coffee – instead of lying in bed all day hungover. Empowerment to stand up for your workplace rights. Empowerment on YOUR autonomy and allowing you to lead your own life. You’re a strong woman, you can make the right choices for you.

If you’ve read this book review to the end, I hope you can feel through my words just how passionate this book made me feel. It helped me and if you pick it up because you’re feeling a little lost and hopeless – don’t worry, it’s got you xx

‘The Space Between’ by Michelle Andrews & Zara McDonald

Book Review: ‘The Marriage Portrait’ by Maggie O’Farrell

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My, oh my, oh my! Now you all know how much I ADORED and have RAVED about ‘Devotion’ by Hannah Kent (CLICK HERE to read my review). If you have met me in the bookstore, I can guarantee I have put any and all of Hannah Kent’s books in your hands. For me to say that THIS BOOK – ‘The Marriage Portrait’ by Maggie O’Farrell, comes in as a close contender as one of my favourite books of 2022 is big. It’s BIG people!

‘The Marriage Portrait’ by Maggie O’Farrell is well paced novel curated to intrigue and explore the devastatingly controlled life of Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara. By the age of 15 she was married to a Duke for the purposes of political and land gain. By 16 she was dead.

Set in the mid 1500’s, our opening scene introduces us to Lucrezia and her husband Alfonzo, as they dine for the very last time together before he supposedly, *as history believes* poisons her. This scene is chilling as we’re in the mind of a 16 year old girl who is contemplating what her life has come to and what to expect will come next. We then flash back in time to Lucrezia’s birth and the disconnected relationship she has growing up within her Medici family.

Lucrezia is the somewhat middle child Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Eleanor of Toledo. If you know your Italian history, you’d know that the Medici lineage is one of the most infamous and long ruling families/Italian royalty. The marriage of Cosimo and Eleanor was a loving one, yet Eleanor’s expression of love towards Lucrezia was never the same compared to her other children.

Lucrezia had a milk mother (or wet nurse as the role is more commonly known), of whom was lower class. Lucrezia’s early life was spent in the cook room, playing with her milk mother’s daughter and not learning the skills of her royal family. This resulted in her being somewhat of an outcast with her siblings and also when it came to linear education. Her art was how she expressed herself from a very young age and it followed throughout her short life. She also has an unusually calm connection to animals.

Lucé’s connection to animals comes to the forefront of the novel when there is a piercing scene with herself, her siblings and her father, Cosimo. It was hard to remove this picture from my mind throughout the rest of the story. Maggie O’Farrell brings so much truth to Lucé’s story and it was actually rumoured that in real life, Cosmio held a collection of exotic animals in the basement of the Palazzo Vecchio. The fictional scene follows Lucrezia as she witnesses the arrival of a new animal, a tiger. She is possessed by its beauty, power and its inability to fit in with the other animals. She feel connection and comfort with this animal. They speak the same emotional and mental language. As she falls behind the group, she reached her hand in the tiger’s cage and awaits its presence. Slowly, the animal comes to her and connecting with her hand is the animals fur. It sees Lucé, it feels her, it knows her. They are two creatures but their feelings are that of one. Her Father, terrified to turn and see this animal near his daughter, seeks to destroy the animal immediately. This is ultimately a turning point in the novel.

I believe this pivotal scene mimics Lucé’s future courtship and marriage with Alfonso. He sees her as beautiful, powerful and caged. He takes advantage of this young, innocent and disconnected creature. His pure use for her is to produce heirs, yet down the line we learn that this is something that does not come easily for him.

I was seized by this story immediately and I believe you will be too. I wanted to learn about how this young girl had experienced a life completely out of her control. The 1500’s time period is one I have not explored a great deal before and Italian history is always something I will jump to read considering my own heritage. I am now adding all of Maggie O’Farrell’s books to my TBR because her writing was just spectacular. I don’t think any other author I’ve read before has made me feel the way she has. Perhaps Hannah Kent would truly be the closest. The ending of this novel was also the perfect way to close the fictional story of the beautiful Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara. I am still thinking of this novel months after reading a prerelease copy – I am glad to finally place it in book lovers hands this September.

Lucé’s love for art is her saviour at different times throughout the novel. Yet, when it comes to her famous marriage portrait arranged by Alfonso, she is taken with how the different forms of art can depict a scene or moment of a person. Her own portrait is created by a collection of specialsed artists, one of whom is selective mute – or so we think. His name is Jacopo. Jacopo will go on to play an important role in Lucé life, whether that be fictional or true – I do not know.