The Serpent and the Pearl cover art

The Serpent and the Pearl

Borgias, Book 1

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The Serpent and the Pearl

By: Kate Quinn
Narrated by: Leila Birch, Maria Elena Infantino, Ronan Vibert
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About this listen

Rome, 1492: The Holy City is drenched with blood and teeming with secrets. A pope lies dying and the throne of God is left vacant, a prize awarded only to the most virtuous - or the most ruthless. The Borgia family begins its legendary rise, chronicled by an innocent girl who finds herself drawn into their dangerous web....

Vivacious Giulia Farnese has floor-length golden hair and the world at her feet: beauty, wealth, and a handsome young husband. But she is stunned to discover that her glittering marriage is a sham, and she is to be given as a concubine to the ruthless, charismatic Cardinal Borgia: Spaniard, sensualist, candidate for Pope - and passionately in love with her.

Two trusted companions will follow her into the Pope's shadowy harem: Leonello, a cynical bodyguard bent on bloody revenge against a mysterious killer, and Carmelina, a fiery cook with a past full of secrets. But as corruption thickens in the Vatican and the enemies begin to circle, Giulia and her friends will need all their wits to survive in the world of the Borgias.

©2013 Kate Quinn (P)2013 Penguin Audio Historical Romance Thriller & Suspense Marriage Middle Ages Pope

Critic Reviews

“Epic, sexy.” (Publishers Weekly starred review)

“Deeply passionate.” (Kate Furnivall, New York Times best-selling author)

“A riveting plunge into an ancient world.” (C. W. Gortner, author of The Vatican Princess)
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I have been looking for a quality and exciting book for quite a while . It was almost time to give up before I discovered this amazing gem.
Kate is clearly a very intelligent and lucky woman who experienced true love and passion which combined with her exceptional ability to perceive the essence of things, create drama beautiful writing style and accurate depiction of historical facts makes this a must read.... there is so much more to say !
The story is fantastic. There are scenes so vivid and well written, it would be impossible to ever forget them.
Anyone giving this book lower than 5 star reviews are yet to experience what love is and how many forms it has. I have been looking for a quality and exciting book for quite a while . It was almost time to give up before I discovered this amazing gem.
Kate is clearly a very intelligent and lucky woman who experienced true love and passion which combined with her exceptional ability to perceive the essence of things, create drama beautiful writing style and accurate depiction of historical facts makes this a must read.... there is so much more to say !
The story is fantastic. There are scenes so vivid and well written, it would be impossible to ever forget them.
Anyone giving this book lower than 5 star reviews are yet to experience what love is and how many forms it has.

Very intriguing and merely stunning

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This was my second Kate Quinn novel. She has a way of weaving interesting historical facts into a captivating story. i'll be reading all of her books.

Ms Quinn writes a spellbinding historical novel

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I really enjoyed this. But I love Kate Quinn. She is a great story teller.
I was invested in all characters. Searching for a sequel?

Good listen

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Loved the 3 main characters. Their stories. The historical detail of life at that time was great

The historical detail

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I really enjoyed a previous book by K Quinn but was so disappointed by this. The narrative was very irritating especially the main character. I couldn’t listen to it. I’m returning it.

Terrible narrative

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