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Take a trip into the past with Medici Heist. Back into Italy in the days of the Medici brothers and political upheaval, where revenge, friendship, and family are all put to the test. Secrets abound, and difficult situation raise ugly heads, and through it all, a bit of history is revealed. Medici Heist keeps you on your toes wondering who will win out in the end.
General Info for Medici Heist
Title: Medici Heist
Author: Caitlin Schneiderhan
Publisher: Square Fish
Pages: 432
Intended Audience: grade 9-12, 13-18 years
Genre: Renaissance Historical Fiction, Young Adult, LGBTQ, Historical Romance
Available formats: Kindle, Hardcover, Audio, Paperback
Received: ARC Paperback
Reviewed for: Raincoast Books
Author and the Story
Ms. Schneiderhan loves Terry Pratchet books and grew up on them as a 13 year old. They remain as part of her adult library (I don’t blame her at all). She’s also an writer for the TV show Stranger Things.
In Medici Heist she brings us into the world of Florence in 1517. The Medici brothers rule Florence getting richer while the poor get poorer (with the church taking part in the wealth distribution). Into this world of opulence and intrigue drops in Rosa Cellini, a con woman with a mission. She wants to steal the money back! She assembles a rather motley crew of skilled misfits including a tinkerer, a fighter, and a master of disguise. Artist Michelangelo even plays a role. But the Medici’s have their own crew, and this crew has it’s own problems. What will happen? You’ll have to read to find out! 🙂
Taking a Closer Look
Mystery presented to us within the historic world of the Medici brothers in Florence, Italy. We know the Medici brothers are wealthy, and wanting to become more wealthy and getting more money through the church would be helpful to them. Helping the church sell indulgences may be part of their biggest pay out yet!
But we have a small problem. There’s a lot of political unrest, more guards are needed to keep the people under control, and unbeknownst to the Medici brothers there’s a lady out for a payout of her own with… just a touch of revenge mixed in. She’s assembled a crew and as the story progresses we get to hear them all.
Clear up warning… some of the stories are hard to listen to. Brutality and hardship abound in the lives of the crew. Pain is managed and not always talked about, until it is.
Character Development Pivotal
Relationships within the crew are flexible and not always as clear cut as one might wish. Same gender relationships are part of the mix. I was admittedly surprised by one of them.
Good character development and lots of history is included. One can well imagine being in the heart of Florence in 1517.
I do have to admit I didn’t quite get all of the Michelangelo stuff. He was an important figure but I had too many unanswered questions about him. Part of that is of Michelangelo’s historic relevance right? You expect bigger things and more details about him and his work. It’s kinda hard to explain, but of all the characters, I found his development the weakness.
Ms. Schneiderhan’s writing style is easy to read, with a compelling desire to find out how the story ends. Will Sarra’s prediction that her tinkering skills will be needed with the wagon? Khalid’s past… will it catch up to him in a solidly bad way for him? Does the life Giacomo lived through prevent his future from becoming a reality? Will Rosa get her revenge or will that desire jeopardize everything? These questions will fuel the desire to finish the story. You need to know the answers eh? 🙂
I received an ARC copy to review, so I don’t know if the greyscale artwork will remain as such in the final review copy. There are three distinct parts of this tale with the artwork remaining consistent for each part.
Should you read it?
Other than the one surprising to me same gender relationship that kinda spoiled the ending for me, I enjoyed this read. I loved the history, the mystery, and the interplay between not only the main characters, but the little add-on ones as well.
As a former homeschooler I would want my highschooler to see just how accurate the author was in depicting Italy and the Medici brothers in 1517. I don’t know my history well enough to tell you how accurate it all is. 🙂 But the sights and sounds feel historically accurate.
I enjoyed the story of Medici Heist, the stories of the crew drew me in, then the events they were going through swirled around me. Their life stories brought the struggles and dangers they were to life in a tangible way. Well-written and interesting.
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