Review: The Blackened Mirror

The Blackened Mirror by Jo Graham is a genre-bender, skirting through sub genres I read regularly, and some I do not.  My monthly Unusual Historicals posts focus specifically on historical romance, and the best way to describe this book is probably Unusual Historical Adjacent - because it truly is an amalgamation.  It's historical fiction set in Renaissance Italy, for sure. But there's also political intrigue, suspense, fantasy (specifically dark magic), and sex.  I mean, the book is centered around the Borgias - of course there is sex. 

Giulia Farnese is a teenager at the start of this book, certainly old enough to marry and certainly old enough to have experienced loss in her life - having nursed family members through the summer pestilence, only to have lost her father and a younger sibling.  Her older brother, whom she is closest too, is studying in Pisa and Giulia, while smart, clever and obsessed with learning, is stuck in a country estate they're barely hanging on to and keeping up appearances as noble travelers stop along the way.  The latest such traveler is Virginio Orsini, Lord Bracciano, Gonfaloniere of the Papal Armies.  He's kind of a big deal.

Bracciano isn't in their home for long, but it's still long enough to ferret out Giulia's secret.  She sees things. In mirrors - and no not just her reflection.  Soon a marriage is arranged between Giulia and Orsino Orsini, who happens to be close to Giulia's age and Bracciano's cousin.  Honestly, it's a better match than Giulia could have possibly hoped for with her limited prospects and paltry dowry.  Plus she gets to go to Rome!  She doesn't know Orsino, has never laid eyes on him in fact, but hopefully over time they'll come to care for each other and....Rome!  

Of course none of it goes the way Giulia hopes.  Oh, they get married - but her groom is a dunderheaded milquetoast with no curiosity or ambition.  And worse?  He refuses to bed her.  Why?  Because Lord Bracciano has stated quite clearly that Giulia is to remain a virgin.  Why?  Yeah, remember that seeing things in mirrors stuff?  Bracciano has ambitions and to aid in his quest for power he's summoning a demon and practicing dark magic.  He needs Giulia's abilities to communicate with the demon, and for her to do that effectively?  The Dove needs to remain untouched.  Complicating matters is that the man standing in the way of Bracciano's ambitions is none other than Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, another relation of the Orsini family by marriage and whose precocious young daughter, Lucrezia, is living with Orsino, his mother and now....Giulia.

Giulia is young, intelligent, pretty and desperately unhappy in her new marriage - so really, it doesn't take long for her head to get turned by Cardinal Borgia.  She's drawn and attracted to him, but under the thumb of Bracciano who is using her powers to brings Borgia down - by any means necessary.  Nothing is off the table, including death.

What I liked the most about this story was watching Giulia grow over the course of it. She's a country girl with amazing abilities thrown into the vipers nest of Vatican and Roman politics. And our girl is a quick study. The moments in the story where her spine stiffens and she cuts someone (usually Orsino) to the quick with her words caused me to guffaw a few times.  The action scenes are also really well done - the demon summoning scenes, the scenes where Giulia or Cardinal Borgia are in danger, all good stuff and it kept me flipping the pages.

That said, the pacing did lag for me in stretches - especially when the dialogue turns philosophical, with Giulia and Borgia talking about ethics, language, mythology, yada yada yada.  It does certainly demonstrate that Giulia is a smart girl and that the pair are attracted to each other - but when compared to summoned demons and assassination attempts, well these sections lag by comparison.

There is sex (eventually) and Giulia and Borgia do end up "together" - but is it a romance?  Wendy says no.  For one thing, he's a Cardinal.  For another he's Rodrigo frickin' Borgia. But it is a historical fantasy with some PG-13 rated sex in it - not spicy enough to be erotica, but certainly you can consider sexual awakening as part of Giulia's growth arc.

This is historical fiction featuring characters who existed in real life, and if you're interested in Renaissance Italy and the Borgias' specifically, I highly recommend this.  Lucrezia in all her precocious 9-year-old glory is a true delight.  And since it is the Borgias, you're getting all the political intrigue, scandal and shenanigans one should (and did!) expect from that family.  No, it's not a romance, but it has all the trappings of a historical soap opera - and there's plenty of room for potential books to be added to create a series.

Final Grade = B