Book Review: Dating da Vinci by Malena Lott

BIG THANKS to Malena and Sourcebooks for helping me get a copy of this book to review!

“Dating da Vinci” by Malena Lott

Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc.

Rating: 3.5 stars

“Dating da Vinci” is the story of Ramona Elise, who is desperately trying to cope with the loss of her husband nearly two years earlier. She worries about how the absence of a father will affect her two sons and fears that her husband may have taken certain secrets to his grave. Enter Leonardo da Vinci, aptly named after the fifteenth century visionary, because he manages to inspire exuberance and vitality from Ramona. Though Leo is considerably younger than Ramona and speaks little English, not to mention a student in her English as a second language class, Ramona finds herself falling for him. They develop a passionate relationship and Leo even manages to win the affection of Ramona’s sons. Leo helps Ramona find herself again and the pain from her husband’s death begins to subside.

Overall I had mixed feelings about the characters. It’s hard not to fall for the adorable Leo, whose broken English and naïve innocence only add to his charm. Ramona, on the other hand, was not as likeable as I would have hoped and I didn’t really find myself connecting to her. Also, the other characters seemed a little too shallow to be portrayed realistically. While I would have liked to see more depth in the characters, it did not sufficiently detract from the storyline and I still savored the characters’ successes and lamented over their disappointments.

This book has all the makings of what I envision to be a great romantic comedy and for the most part the plot does deliver. There is the romance, the ensuing drama, the eventual complications that arise and final culmination towards a satisfying ending. The book also deals with important issues of grief, infidelity and heartbreak. In that sense, it succeeds in giving readers more than the average 'woman-meets-man-and-they-fall-in -love' story.

“Dating da Vinci” is a sweet and quick read. Though the ending is predictable, I enjoyed reading the way Lott crafted the storyline and led readers to the end.

For more info, visit Malena Lott’s website