Title: Dating da Vinci
Author: Malena Lott
Published in 2008 by Sourceboooks Casablanca Romances
Genre: Contemporary Romance
ISBN 10: 1-4022-1393-X
ISBN 13: 978-1-4022-1393-9
It was sudden, it was totally unexpected, and it left Ramona Elise Griffin with two kids to raise, a ton of grief, and a broken heart. What was once a spotless house in which she took great pride became mush less, clean but no longer the tidy and well kept place her mother nagged her about. She gained weight, not a whole lot, but enough it showed, was tired much of the time, and stayed at home probably more than she should. In spite of her mother’s match making attempts, she remained sequestered, far apart from the madding crowd, the people who walked with quiet steps and talked in low voices around her. She did the mom things required, but her heart was no longer in it. She still loved the kids, but the joy in her soul died, and she found it hard to be very enthusiastic when they were not around. The one thing she did was strictly as an extra-curricular exercise to try to keep her mind sharp, and because she needed the distraction, was teaching a class for immigrants learning English. Where she had always loved the job as a linguist and teacher, this was about the only outside remnant of her former life she hung on to just for herself.
Elise had been devastated by the premature death of her beloved husband, and the depression she suffered afterward lingered on. Two years later and Ramona Elise is still suffering, and in all honesty, her mother’s nagging about finding someone, and her attempts to set her up just aren’t helping. Neither are her self-centered sister’s nosy innuendos and her braggadocio. All she wanted was her life back, and that wouldn’t happen. She was starting a new class for the immigrants who had visas, some were students, some were hoping to become citizens, and some were just wanting to learn better English to make their lives in America easier. AS the class started, she noticed one student was not there, and she wondered if the name was a typing error. She was familiar with Leonardo da Vinci’s work, the Mona Lisa was in a sense what or who she had been named after, but few knew that particular piece of trivia. As she looked down the list and greeted the students in their own language, she wondered about the missing one, what he looked like, what he sounded like, and tired to guess his age. Probably older, maybe a touch of gray at the temples…
Leonardo knew very little English, the class was supposed to help him in that regard, but it seemed his trip did not go well. He was late, delayed by a dozen different things and yet he finally got to the school. He was hoping to get a place to stay, he had a little money, and he had no transportation, but he was determined to get all ready to start his studies in the American College come fall. When he walked into the classroom, he was immediately taken by the teacher, her manner, her voice, something called to him. After class, he tried to express his needs to her, and she promptly solved part of his problem for him. He was fortunate, felt very lucky she had a place to rent him. He knew deep inside the apartment would probably be worth a lot more, but he was grateful and his honour would allow him to do no less than make up the difference to her in some way. That he would work on figuring out, but for now, he was just happy to be settled.
Malena Lott’s book, Dating da Vinci, is a study in life, death, and the sometimes terrible aftermath and the struggle to get through it all. Told in first person, it is a chronicle about Ramona Elise Griffin, and her struggle after the death of her husband. Dealing with well meaning relatives, a mother-in-law just as stricken as she, and a self-involved sister were at times almost too much. The entrance of Leonardo da Vinci, a young Italian student into her life was an omen, a shock, and unbeknownst to Ramona Elise, a turning point. Here, in this younger man she finds a means to overcome her grief, her debilitating depression, and the strength that always resided inside. Through their relationship, she finds a new reason to live, a new reason to face the world, and to finish something that was interrupted at her husband’s death, her doctorate degree in languages.
In Malena Lott’s Dating da Vinci, as Ramona Elise Griffin dusts off her dissertation, her research, and her life, she discovers she can live again, and do it well. She also discovers love has not left her in the lurch, and that she has more to go around than she thought. The book is well written, the character is well portrayed, and the hero is luscious, and if you want a good read, Malena’s book could be just what you are looking for in that Dating da Vinci is the story of her finding the true meaning of la dolce vita, and being helped by a man with the name of an ancient, Leonardo da Vinci, a man who she’d always admired. Ramona Elise quickly learns that this young man has a lot to teach her, but will they stay together or part ways? To learn the answers to this and many other questions you may have, go to Sourcebook's Casablanca Romances and pick up a copy of Dating da Vinci by Malena Lott.
Yours in good reading,
Rose!
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