Review: Fiorenzo by Sebastian Nothwell

Title: Fiorenzo

Author: Sebastian Nothwell

Length: 534 Pages (print)

Category: Romantasy

Rating: 4 Stars

At a Glance: Every component of this book—the characters, the attention to detail, the romanticism, and the eroticism—comes together to make for a deeper dive into a lovely read. And the last sentence packed a real wallop.

Reviewed By: Lisa

Blurb: Fiore has a plan. Find a wealthy elderly gentleman, delight him until the end of his days, and retire on the resulting inheritance. It’s the best outcome a low-born courtesan in the city of Halcyon can hope for.

And it seems a perfect scheme… until a mysterious masked man upends it.

Banished from university after a disastrous duel, Enzo wanders the city searching for scraps of the affection he’s lost. His public mask conceals private agonies. A single night in the company of a courtesan, however, balms his wounded heart, and he finds himself returning again and again to Fiore, revealing more of himself than he’s ever dared before.

Furthermore, and more astonishing still, Fiore finds he returns Enzo’s affections.

But while Fiore wears no mask, he nonetheless has secrets of his own. And when the ghosts of their pasts return to haunt them, only the bond of trust between them will carry them through.

Review: The city of Halcyon is not quite as untroubled as its name would suggest. Not for Fiero and Enzo. The trials Sebastian Nothwell puts his characters through are on-brand for him, meaning Fiore and Enzo carry their scars both outside and in-. Both of these men endured and survived more than many ever will, and it’s the mystery and secrets they are loath to entrust to each other upon their first meeting that tweaked my curiosity. It was their charm, sensitivity, compassion, kindness, and sincerity that won me over, and I fell gladly into a world Nothwell draws with a romanticism that is overt, intentional, and succeeds in seducing the imagination.

Fiorenzo is a romantasy, deliberate to its core in fostering the relationship between its heroes. Fiore is a courtesan by trade, an occupation that puts him in Enzo’s path, not intentionally but most fortunately. The warmth of their connection is immediate, unmistakable and, in time, will become a balm to soothe their souls as outside forces seek to do harm. It takes some time, however, for them to grasp that they are each more than enough individually to own the life they deserve together.

There is some rightful attention given to their divergent social statuses, which is overcome manifold as Fiore proves time and again he is Enzo’s perfect match in every way, and vice versa. The challenge to their happy ending, apart from the ills they survive and conflicts they face, is Enzo’s own family. The matriarchy is strong in this story, which I appreciated as a departure from the expected, and Fiore has some tests to pass before Enzo’s sisters and mother will declare him a worthy partner.

Fiorenzo was crafted meticulously, with special attention paid to the details of time and place, the clothing and, perhaps most evident, to the eroticism. The sexual connection between Fiore and Enzo is as worshipful as it is essential. Halcyon’s beauty is in the mental picture Nothwell draws for his readers of a city that brings to mind a Venice of old. Every component comes together to make for a deeper dive into a lovely read. And the last sentence packed a real wallop.