Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibañez follows Ravenna Maffei, a sculptress from Volterra with secret magical abilities. When her brother’s life is in danger, Ravenna enters an art competition to receive an invaluable boon that could free him. When her affinity for magic and witchcraft is revealed, Ravenna catches the attention of the immortal Luni family and is taken captive as their in-house artist. Supervised by the family’s eldest son, Saturnino di Luni, Ravenna must perform a miracle before time runs out. Caught in the growing conflict between the Pope and the Medici family, Ravenna must navigate noble life in Florence while also guarding her own heart and life.
I was mesmerized by the premise and the gorgeous cover of Graceless Heart and was beyond thrilled to jump in. While Ravenna is a compelling heroine and the world is lush and magical, the story introduces some really big, exciting magical ideas that don’t always feel fully integrated into the plot. The prose is lyrical and immersive, but the romance might feel rushed for some readers.
Read our full summary, review, and ending explained of Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibañez. This post contains spoilers.
Graceless Heart
Description
In 15th-century Volterra, sculptress Ravenna Maffei enters a competition hosted by a secretive, immortal family who offer an invaluable boon to the victor. Desperate to win so she can save her brother, Ravenna reveals a rare magical talent–a dangerous act in a city where magic is forbidden. Her revelation makes her a target, and she is kidnapped by the Luni family and taken to Florence, a city of breathtaking beauty and cutthroat ambition.
There, Ravenna is forced into an impossible task where failure means certain death at the hands of Saturnino dei Luni, the family’s enigmatic and merciless heir. But under his cold reserve hides a vulnerability that draws her closer than she ever intended.
Meanwhile, Ravenna’s forbidden magic does not go unnoticed. The Pope, waging war against Florence, the Medici, and magic itself, has his own interest in her abilities, seeing her as a potential weapon in his ruthless campaign.
As alliances shift and war brews on the horizon, Ravenna must navigate the treacherous line between survival and betrayal, between love and duty. With time running out and her every move watched, the choices she makes will determine the fate of not just her own life, but the fragile balance of magic and power that could unravel Florence itself.
Tropes
- Standalone
- Multi POV
- Italian Renaissance Fantasy
- Magic
- Forced Proximity
- Enemies to Lovers
- Reluctant Allies
- Historical Fantasy
Review
Overall Impressions 😊
Graceless Heart might just be the most appealing book I’ve seen in a while. From its beautiful premise, an Italian Renaissance setting infused with magic, to a prime setup for enemies to lovers, she is kidnapped by the heir of the Luni family after all, and a gorgeous cover design that is begging to be purchased and displayed. Not to mention Ravenna is a great FMC. She’s strong, talented, and beautiful, she doesn’t give off pick-me energy, which is something I really appreciated.
The prose is great. It’s atmospheric and lyrical, and you feel like you’re in Florence while reading. That said, the pacing didn’t always work for me. The first half was slow, and I found myself bored at times, mostly just wanting to finish the book. Then the second half swings in the opposite direction, to the point where I was almost not believing what I was reading. So much happens so quickly that we skip a lot of steps, and the story starts to feel rushed.
There are great magical ideas that never really bear fruit, and the first half of the book feels overloaded with worldbuilding, while the second half goes a bit off the rails. There are a few reveals that genuinely shocked me, but they eventually land on a fairly predictable ending.
Overall, this is a solid standalone fantasy with great bones, but I couldn’t help feeling it could have been much tighter and more cohesive.
Perfect For Fans Of… 🌟
At the end of the day, I think Graceless Heart is a good standalone fantasy. Despite my issues with the plot and pacing, I liked the overall story, and I found the ending satisfying.
The Florence setting is easily the book’s biggest strength. The Italian Renaissance backdrop is compelling and immersive, and I think any historical fantasy fan is going to have a good time here, especially if you enjoy lush settings paired with Renaissance-era magic.
I also liked the enemies to reluctant allies to lovers arc in theory. The tension and setup are there, I just struggled with the pacing of it. If you enjoy that dynamic but don’t mind a faster romantic escalation, this will probably work better for you than it did for me.
The writing itself is very lyrical and flowery, and at times it reminded me of Leigh Bardugo or Stephanie Garber, especially in the atmosphere and descriptions. You really do feel like you’re in this world while reading.
As for age category, this reads like new adult on paper. There is some spice, but it still felt just barely past young adult to me in terms of themes and character dynamics. If you don’t want the full doom-and-gloom of adult fantasy, this strikes a pretty good balance between the two.
Characters 👥
I’ve been so annoyed by FMCs lately, and Ravenna was a breath of fresh air. I cannot read one more training sequence or another chosen queen suddenly becoming the best at everything after a single montage.
Ravenna is clever, sweet, talented, and grounded. She cares deeply for her family. She isn’t weirdly sassy or stubborn for the sake of it. She’s a survivor, and she’s genuinely fun to read about.
Her choices made sense to me, and she didn’t go through the usual “omg I can’t like him” spiral. She’s aware of her feelings and understands their inappropriateness, which felt refreshing.
Saturnino was harder for me to like. He’s the dark-haired, dark-tempered heir to the Luni family with sparkles mysterious sparkles past. He’s written as morally gray, but he often came across more like a man learning how to feel his feelings for the first time.
I did like how he handled his feelings for Ravenna overall, but the romance between them felt unevenly developed. It’s clear they’re the main characters and you know where their interactions are heading.
The enemies to reluctant allies phase worked at a solid pace, but the shift from reluctant allies to romance felt like it flew off the rails. It also wasn’t always clear when Saturnino’s feelings changed or what his motivations were, even with his POV included, and that’s one area I think could’ve been better established.
That said, the romance really worked for me by the end. I love a “touch her and die” MMC, and if a book’s romance makes me reread certain pages, usually the yearning-heavy moments, then it’s done its job.
This book absolutely did that. At the end of the day, it didn’t really matter how we got there because I genuinely enjoyed Saturnino and Ravenna’s relationship. I will always be seated for a murderous MMC turning into a cinnamon roll for his woman.
Some of the side characters really elevated the story. Fortuna was a standout for me. I can’t help it, I love a sassy female side character.
Others didn’t quite land as well. Marco, in particular, felt more like a comic book version of a character, and I’m not convinced he added much to the story overall.
At times, the cast felt rich, magical, and layered, and at others, they slipped into something shallower and more familiar, in a way that felt closer to YA.
Plot 🗺️
The overall story is pretty great. An innkeeper’s talented daughter who’s also a witch is kidnapped and forced to perform a miracle, all while trying not to fall in love with her captor. There’s Renaissance Italy, conspiracies, scheming, intrigue, and even fairy tale elements. The bones are absolutely there.
The execution, however, is clunky. There are some really deep magical elements introduced, like the stones, for example. Early on, the book explains which stone is used for what, and it gives the impression that stone magic will play an important role in the story.
Not to mention, it genuinely excited me. Stone magic is cool, and I haven’t really seen it done like this before. But in the end, it doesn’t matter to the plot. The only magic that truly matters is the nightflame, and even then, Ravenna’s magic doesn’t actually affect the outcome of the story’s ending.
I loved the double-sided spy arc. Ravenna’s clever observations about how everyone tormenting her is under the same kind of duress were some of the most compelling moments in the book. That thread worked really well for me, and I was fully immersed in Pietro and Imelda’s story, tragic as it was.
I also loved the historical cameos from Leonardo da Vinci and the Medici family. It’s a thoughtful touch that helps ground an otherwise very supernatural story in real history.
The mystery surrounding Saturnino and the Luni family was another standout. Are they vampires? Are they fae? When it’s revealed that they’re actually stone, I audibly gasped. It’s such an elegant and clever reveal, and easily one of my favorite moments in the book.
That said, I really wish the double spy arc had started much earlier. I also wanted more focus on character interactions, especially Saturnino grappling with his feelings versus his goals, and more scenes showing his dynamics with his family. That groundwork would’ve made his eventual devotion to Ravenna, including wanting to marry her to protect her, feel less out of nowhere.
The Simonetta reveal is predictable, but it’s fine for what it is. What frustrated me more is that Ravenna’s talents didn’t come into play nearly as much as I expected. We spend a lot of time explaining her magic and history, only for it to not really matter in the end.
Similarly, the courier character doesn’t add much to the story. His presence is interesting, but overall, he doesn’t meaningfully contribute to the plot.
Writing Style and Narration ✍️
The writing is the strongest part of Graceless Heart for me.
The prose is atmospheric and lyrical. You’re fully immersed in Florence in the 1500s. The art, the magic, and the historical details all work together to make the era feel alive on the page.
That said, there’s a lot of explanation. We spend a significant amount of time learning about the stone magic and how Ravenna feels about her nightflame magic. It never fully comes together how her magic works, and ultimately it isn’t very relevant to the overall story.
In some ways, it might have worked just as well, or even better, if Ravenna were simply a truly talented sculptress without magic at all.
I did like the multi POV structure. The additional perspectives worked well as small interludes and helped break up the story without feeling overwhelming.
Overall, the writing is fantastic and exactly what I wanted from a magical story set in Renaissance Italy.
Synopsis
Ravenna’s Magic and the Sculpting Competition
Ravenna is the eldest daughter of an innkeeper in the late 1400s in Volterra, near Florence.
When Ravenna is thirteen, her aunt, who is a single woman, takes her to pick up alabaster because Ravenna wants to learn how to sculpt like she does. During their visit, Ravenna falls into a tunnel. When she tries to help someone who has been injured in the accident, her magic is exposed and she accidentally turns someone from young to old.
Magic is forbidden, and the Pope becomes involved. After that, Ravenna is forced to hide her magic for the rest of her life.
Years pass. Ravenna helps her family at the inn and keeps trying to be the perfect daughter while also trying to control her magic. She still sculpts, but most of her time is spent taking care of the inn.
When Ravenna’s brother is arrested, she decides to enter a sculpting competition for the Luni family. The Luni family are the rulers of the nation, and they are rumored to be immortal. No one is really sure what their powers are, but they are definitely not mortal.
When the Luni family comes to town, Ravenna plans to enter the sculpting competition in order to earn a boon and ask for her brother to be released.
At night, even though there is a curfew, Ravenna sneaks out to see her brother, who is being held in cages. On her way, she runs into a tall, handsome stranger. He is speaking to one of the captains and tells Ravenna to run along.
She ignores him, goes to see her brother, and tells him she is going to enter the sculpting competition. Despite her brother’s protests, Ravenna enters the competition the next day.
She finishes a bust of the man she cannot stop thinking about. During the final touches, she embeds nightflame where the heart would be. Nightflame is one of the rarest kinds of magic, and most people who have magic are not able to touch it.
The judges announce that Ravenna has won.
The man she sculpted turns out to be Saturnino, the eldest son of the Luni family.
Ravenna is told she will travel to Florence with the Luni family. She does not get to say goodbye to her family, but she does get her brother released before she leaves. Even so, it feels like she is being kidnapped.
She travels with the Luni family. Their father and mother are cold and cruel. The sister, Fortuna, is vain. Marco is cruel. Saturnino is distant.
They clearly need Ravenna for a task, but they will not tell her what it is.
That night, they stop at an inn. Ravenna has guards outside her door and cannot get any questions answered. She tries to run, but Saturnino captures her and brings her back. There is an obvious attraction between them, and Saturnino makes comments about being immortal, but he still refuses to explain anything.
They arrive at their massive home in Florence. Ravenna is shown five statues with gemstones embedded in them. Her task is to remove the gemstones.
She asks Saturnino why she was not asked before being brought here. He tells her it is easier not to deal with humans. He also says that his family is on the wrong side of magic, and despite hating humans, they need one.
Ravenna realizes she has one month to remove the gemstones.
The Luni Family, Nightflame Statues, and the Medici
There is an interlude where the Pope is searching for five statues with gemstones embedded in them, which are implied to belong to the Luni family.
At the Luni home, Ravenna is given quarters in what feels like an Italian piazza within the palazzo. She is assigned a maid, who tells her that Saturnino is the most cruel of the family.
Ravenna is kind to the household staff. She is taken down into a lower level to see the five statues embedded with nightflame, but she is told she will begin working on them the following night.
She returns upstairs and goes to bed.
The next morning, Saturnino escorts her to begin work on the sculptures, but before that, there is a formal dinner with the family.
Ravenna decides that she wants to help Volterra by negotiating with the Medici family. Because she has been exposed as a witch, she needs to get back into the city’s good graces before she can ever return. She makes a demand that, in exchange for helping with the nightflame statues, she wants a meeting with the Medici family.
Silvio Luni, the father, initially finds this demand preposterous. Eventually, with Saturnino’s encouragement, he agrees.
Later, Fortuna pressures Saturnino to simply seduce Ravenna and be done with it. Saturnino is clearly attracted to Ravenna, but he does not trust humans and resists acting on it. Despite this, they flirt back and forth. Ravenna asks him to stop, but he tells her he cannot.
Eventually, Ravenna goes down to the basement dungeon and attempts to work on the stones. She sees the tools of other sculptors and asks what happened to them. Saturnino tells her that they either went mad or were executed for their lack of progress.
Ravenna realizes that if she does not complete her task, she will be executed as well.
That night, Ravenna decides to escape using one of the exits her maid showed her. When she reaches the stables, she encounters a wizard carrying a staff. He gives her a letter from the Pope.
The Pope demands that Ravenna spy on the Luni family and observe their progress. If she refuses, her entire family will be ruined. Ravenna has no choice but to agree.
When Ravenna explains that she cannot make progress on the statues, the wizard tells her to use her magic.
The next day, Ravenna touches the statues again, this time using her magic. Blue light spreads from her, and she is able to begin chiseling the nightflame out.
As a reward, Saturnino takes her to meet the Medici family.
Ravenna meets Lorenzo de’ Medici and demands that he remove the curfew from Volterra and provide restitution. The Medici are shocked by her boldness, but they eventually agree to ease the curfew and punishments placed on Volterra.
Ravenna is not finished. She also demands that the city know it was her who secured this relief, so that she can regain the goodwill of her home. Lorenzo is amused and agrees.
Back at the villa, Ravenna enters a gallery filled with magical creatures, including mermaids and vampires. She realizes that the Luni family is not entirely human. Saturnino pretends to be human to lower her guard, which Silvio disapproves of.
Saturnino encourages Ravenna to remove the nightflame quickly so they can get rid of her.
During her meeting with the Medici family, Ravenna also meets Leonardo da Vinci, who is building war machines for both the Medici and the Luni families. He is working on a mechanical dragon meant to fight against the Pope.
After the successful meeting, Saturnino invites Ravenna out to celebrate. They spend time together, and Ravenna notices moments of humanity in him. She continues to remind herself that she must not fall for him.
When they return to the palazzo, Ravenna continues working on the statues, but she can only make progress by using her magic. Saturnino encourages her to embrace it. Although she is afraid, she begins to make progress.
Later that night, Ravenna finds a letter on her bed summoning her to meet the courier again.
Spying for the Pope and Divided Loyalties
Ravenna meets with the courier, who tells her she needs to start giving him information about the Luni family. Ravenna tries to resist because she is beginning to care for the family, especially Saturnino.
The courier threatens her. If she does not cooperate, he will ruin her family and destroy their lives. He also promises that if she succeeds in helping the Pope, she will be granted absolution. This matters deeply to Ravenna, because as a witch, she believes her soul is doomed.
Ravenna agrees to spy.
On her way back from the meeting, Ravenna is attacked by men who attempt to take advantage of a woman walking alone at night. She kills one of them with her magic. The second attacker is interrupted by Saturnino.
During the fight, Ravenna realizes Saturnino is not human when he is struck and bleeds silver-blue blood.
After the fight, Saturnino realizes Ravenna is safe, but he also understands that she has been hiding things from him. Ravenna tells him part of the truth, that the Pope has threatened her family and forced her into acting as a spy. She does not tell him that the Pope wants the nightflame for himself.
Saturnino reluctantly agrees to help her. They make a bargain. Ravenna will tell him what she can without endangering her family, and she will continue working on the statues. In return, Saturnino will protect her from his family and keep her betrayal hidden.
Ravenna asks if Saturnino is fae. He tells her no.
Saturnino takes Ravenna to his room and demands that she find out the courier’s real name within three days. She is unable to do so.
Later, Ravenna returns to the dungeon to work on the statues. The stones seem to sense that she has used her magic for harm and refuse to cooperate with her.
Imelda and Pietro, who work in the house, escort Ravenna through a secret passage overlooking the city. They reveal that they work for the Pope and that Ravenna’s meetings with the Medici and her closeness with Saturnino are threatening their positions.
They nearly kill her, but ultimately let her live, telling her she will receive further instructions.
Desperate and shaken, Ravenna goes to the grotto and swims without considering who else might be there. Saturnino is there. He sees the bruises on her throat and becomes furious.
They kiss. Ravenna does not tell him everything, and she leaves afterward.
The next day, Ravenna receives a letter informing her that the Duke of Milan will be attending an upcoming banquet. She is instructed to manage him and lure him away to a private location.
Before the banquet, Ravenna finds a cat trapped in a tree and being tormented by boys. She and Saturnino rescue the cat.
At the banquet, Ravenna meets many powerful figures from Florence, including Lorenzo de’ Medici’s wife and the Duke of Milan. She learns that Saturnino convinced Lorenzo to ease restrictions on Volterra.
Ravenna dances with Saturnino. They flirt, but when she presses him about his feelings, he withdraws again and accuses her of hiding things. Ravenna rejects him.
The Duke of Milan interrupts them and draws Ravenna away. Ravenna pretends to be unwell and follows him into the dark.
The Assassination Plot and Saturnino’s Secret
Outside, Ravenna overhears Saturnino, Marco, and Silvio de Luni discussing their plans. They speak about starting a war with Rome and mention that Leonardo da Vinci’s war machine is nearly ready.
They also discuss Ravenna’s progress on the statues. Saturnino tells them she is not advancing as quickly as they want and that he is searching for a replacement.
This enrages Ravenna. She returns inside, unsure of what to do.
The Duke of Milan approaches Ravenna again and asks her to dance. Instead, she insinuates that she would rather go somewhere private with him and lures him onto a bridge.
They travel by carriage. The Duke makes advances toward her, which she carefully deflects. When they reach the bridge, Ravenna asks to step out for a walk.
Three priests appear. One of them shoots an arrow into the Duke of Milan’s chest, killing him.
One of the priests is revealed to be Ravenna’s brother, Antonio, the same brother she had been trying to save earlier. They share a brief reunion.
Saturnino arrives and kills two of the priests. He is then struck by multiple arrows and falls into the river.
Ravenna jumps in after him. Both of them are drowning as she struggles to keep him afloat. Saturnino dies, then comes back to life. He dies again, then revives once more. This cycle continues until they reach the shore.
Ravenna refuses to leave him until it is over. This moment makes it clear how deeply she cares for him, even that she may be in love with him.
Marco arrives and accuses Ravenna of being a traitor. Saturnino intervenes. Marco pulls Ravenna’s hair and bruises her, but Saturnino sends her away, claiming he will deal with her himself in order to protect her.
As Ravenna leaves, she sees Marco and Saturnino fighting, likely over her treatment.
Ravenna returns to her quarters, where Imelda confronts her. Imelda pressures her, accusing her of failing and mishandling everything. It is also revealed that Imelda is sleeping with Marco to gather information, though Marco does not know her true allegiance.
Saturnino arrives and interrupts the confrontation. Ravenna is wearing only a bathing robe, which Imelda criticizes. Saturnino dismisses Imelda, stating that he now knows there are other spies in the house.
When they are alone, Ravenna and Saturnino confront each other about their lack of trust. Saturnino reveals that he has been searching for a replacement sculptor so he can save Ravenna’s life, not because he wants her gone.
He admits that being around her puts her in danger. Ravenna realizes this has been a pattern all along. He is attracted to her but resists it because she is human.
They kiss and nearly have sex, but Saturnino stops. He tells her the truth.
He is a statue brought to life.
He opens his chest and reveals nightflame where his heart should be. He is under a spell that lasts one hundred years, and the spell will end in seventeen days, which is also Ravenna’s deadline.
Ravenna cannot complete the spell to save him because she is not a witch powerful enough to do so. They cannot be together. When the spell ends, he will die.
Ravenna promises to help him anyway. Saturnino insists she leave because her presence distracts him and puts her at risk.
He sends her away.
Betrayals, Nightflame Extraction, and Escape
Juno de Luni, the mother of Saturnino, Marco, and Fortuna, becomes concerned about the theft of a statue of Pluto from the banquet the night before. The family begins to worry about Ravenna.
Saturnino claims that Ravenna was with him the entire night.
The family accuses Saturnino of falling in love with Ravenna when his task was to make her fall in love with him instead. Saturnino brushes off the accusation.
Fortuna reveals that plants have been removed from her garden, meaning someone has been stealing herbs as well. The family questions several servants, but nothing comes of it.
Pietro takes the stolen statue of Pluto to his father. His father tells him to come home and work with the family rather than trying to save Imelda, who disgraced them by attempting to run away with a stable boy.
The Pope meets with the courier and learns that the five statues stolen from him belong to the Luni family. He is pleased. The Luni family has long been a thorn in his side, and this gives him the opportunity to take revenge. He is also still searching for Simonetta, the woman who escaped him, and wants to inflict pain on those involved.
The next morning, Ravenna decides she needs to help Saturnino. She goes down to the dungeon and finally accepts her magic fully.
This time, her magic does not feel destructive. It feels like a part of her.
Stronger than ever, her magic breaks through the shield on the first statue, allowing her to extract the first nightflame. Ravenna is exhilarated that she has finally made progress.
Imelda and Pietro realize that Ravenna has chosen Saturnino’s side and attack her. Ravenna fights them off until Saturnino arrives.
Ravenna asks Saturnino to grant them mercy. After Ravenna reveals that Imelda is just like her, trapped under the Pope’s control, Saturnino spares Imelda.
Pietro attacks Ravenna with a knife. Saturnino kills him.
Saturnino tells Ravenna that the more time she spends around him, the more danger she is in. He asks her to leave.
Ravenna refuses at first, but eventually agrees. She leaves and decides to find her brother.
She meets the courier again, who tells her that her brother is long gone. Ravenna refuses to believe him and goes to find her brother anyway.
Her brother has become a full zealot. Ravenna is taken hostage by him and his fellow priests, who beat her.
Afterward, Ravenna is left captive while the priests leave.
The next morning, the courier returns and helps her escape. He reveals that he is also under the Pope’s control and is protecting someone of his own.
They go to a church during Easter Mass. Ravenna sees Saturnino there. Assassins attack, slaughtering members of the Medici family.
A riot breaks out.
Saturnino fights Marco, who is trying to kill Ravenna. Ravenna’s brother is killed in the chaos.
Saturnino helps Ravenna escape and takes her to a hidden apartment in a medieval tower.
There, he helps her bathe. They have sex.
Ravenna tells Saturnino that the nightflame she extracted is meant for him.
The next morning, they discover that Ravenna’s name has been listed as a conspirator.
Ravenna sees her brother’s body. She breaks down and cries.
After she calms down, Saturnino tells her he wants to marry her so she will not be alone once he is gone.
Ravenna agrees, and they marry. Saturnino tells her he will take care of everything.
Ravenna sees the courier outside. She introduces him to Saturnino. Saturnino distrusts him, but they realize the courier is a vampire who lives by a strict code.
The courier offers to create something that can destroy the Pope’s chainmail so he can be killed.
Ravenna agrees to use her magic to drain the Pope’s life once the armor is broken.
Graceless Heart Ending Explained
Ravenna and Saturnino return to the Luni palazzo and speak with his family. The family is struggling. They believe Ravenna is a traitor, and they are anxious because they are nearing the end of their spell and will soon turn back to stone.
Ravenna tells them she can kill the Pope and wants to break the spell binding them. She is worried but determined.
The Medici family announces a jousting tournament, meant as both an apology and a way to lure the Pope into the open.
Preparations begin.
During the tournament, Saturnino competes in the joust. Marco is tasked with escorting Ravenna to the Pope’s tent.
Once there, Marco reveals that he betrayed the family. In exchange for the Pope keeping him human, Marco has given the Pope a nightflame. The Pope is holding Ravenna’s family hostage and threatens to execute them if anything happens to him.
Ravenna strikes the Pope’s chainmail with a mallet, breaking it as planned. However, she cannot finish the job.
Before the fight can continue, chaos erupts.
The black cat appears.
The cat is revealed to be Simonetta, the woman the Pope has been searching for. She is the daughter of a fae king and a witch, and she has been cursed to live as a cat for one hundred years.
As Simonetta transforms back into a woman, the Luni family turns to stone.
Simonetta confronts the Pope and turns him into a snake.
The battle ends.
Ravenna asks Simonetta to turn Saturnino back into a human. Simonetta initially refuses, saying she can no longer meddle in human affairs.
Seeing how deeply Ravenna loves Saturnino, Simonetta changes her mind and helps her anyway.
Saturnino is turned back into a human.
Simonetta reveals that she wants to reunite with her son, who is Lorenzo de’ Medici.
One year later, Ravenna lives in the piazza with Saturnino. Her family is about to arrive for a visit. Ravenna is pregnant.
She speaks to the statues in the garden. She is working as a sculptress, taking commissions, and living happily ever after with Saturnino.
Spicy Chapters
How Spicy is Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibañez: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
- Chapter 31
- Chapter 37
- Chapter 40
Ready for immortal families and dangerous magic? Grab Graceless Heart 🖤🔥
Graceless Heart is a good standalone fantasy with a gorgeous Italian Renaissance backdrop. While the pacing and underused magic made it feel like it didn’t quite come together, the characters and the setting made it an enjoyable read for me. It’s got great bones.
If you enjoyed this review and want more fantasy reviews, full spoiler synopses, and ending explanations, make sure to follow us on Instagram for daily bookish content.
You can also sign up for our newsletter to get new reviews, reading guides, and fantasy deep dives straight to your inbox.
Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you in the next one. 📚✨
Leave a Comment