I'm a huge fan of Guy Gavriel Kay and was really happy when this ARC was approved.
I found this book amazing, full of layers and food for thought.
It's not the typical fantasy book, it's more an alternate history set in Renaissance Italy. Being Italian I started to try to match the book city and characters with the historical one and I recognized Florence, Federico da Montefeltro (Fosco, the part about the portrait is a clear giveaway) and Urbino.
The matching of the names with history made me appreciate how well researched this book.
As for the book I found it enthralling, full of complex and fleshed out characters, with a fascinating plot.
It's one of those book you start and, even if it is sometimes very slow paced, you're hooked and you start reading them as fast as you can.
I look forward to reading the next book by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.