Maddalena and The Dark by Julia Fine Review

Title: Maddalena and The Dark

Author: Julia Fine

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Publisher: Headline

Pages: 304

Release Date: 13 June 2023

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Hello fellow booklovers! Today I'm sharing my review for Maddalena and The Dark by Julia Fine. Addie LaRue meets The Last Tale of The Flower Bride in this decadently rich and atmospheric tale of desire, ambition, obsession and betrayal that slow-burn, gothic fantasy lovers are sure to enjoy.

Synopsis

A darkness takes shape beneath the waters of Venice ...

Venice, 1717. Before Maddalena arrived at the Ospedale della Pietà, Venice's most illustrious music school, fifteen-year-old orphan Luisa has only wanted one to be the best at violin. Luisa is good at violin, but she is not the best. She has peers, but she does not have friends. Until Maddalena.

Sent to the Pietà until her noble family can find her a husband, Maddalena is cunning, passionate, and unlike anyone Luisa has ever met. Maddalena can promise the world to Luisa, and when she does, their fates intertwine.

But Maddalena has made a dangerous wager and, for both girls, there will be an unimaginable price to pay.

Review

If you’ve followed my reviews for a while, you’ll know that I’m a sucker for a good gothic (or gothic adjacent) novel, so couldn’t pass up the chance to read Maddalena and The Dark—especially when the setting is as lush, and darkly lyrical as this was.

The slow burn intensity and evocative nuance that we explore through Madeline and Luisa’s relationship, as well as the imbalance of power that we see slowly shift between them was intoxicatingly gripping.

Maddalena, our spoilt and calculating noble was probably the most fascinating of our protagonists. Flawed, motivated by selfishness, and eager to preserve the trappings of her incredibly privileged life— I absolutely adored the morally grey pragmatism of her initial schemes, and for a time was actually rooting for her.

Ultimately, though it was the naïve (and far too trusting) Luisa that I came to love the most. As an Orphan who’s lived at the conservatory for most of her life, Luisa’s ambitions are small: to gain the first violin spot and train with Vivaldi. But thanks to Maddalena’s influence, we see Luisa finally grow into her own confidence and self worth, and finally strive for something she’s never dreamed of before—her own happiness. Making the aftermath that results from their magical bargains even more poignant.

Overall, a satisfyingly eerie read with sapphic undertones that’s perfect for fans of historical fiction and magical realism—just don’t go into this expecting a happy ending.

Also, a huge thank you to Headline for the finished copy.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5

About The Author 

Julia Fine is the author of The Upstairs House, winner of the Chicago Review of Books Award for Fiction, and What Should Be Wild, which was shortlisted for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior First Novel. Her third novel, Maddalena and the Dark, is forthcoming in June 2023. She teaches writing in Chicago, where she lives with her family

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