Amy Maroney

The Girl from Oto). (The Miramonde Series). Amy Maroney. 2016. I was so interested in the plot of this book, I didn’t notice that it was a series until I downloaded it, I hate the way it leaves you hanging like an old adventure series we saw at the Saturday morning movies! During the 1500s, in a castle deep in the Pyrenees Moutains, the Duke of Oto’s wife gives birth to a boy and a girl. Because the duke’s family only sires boys, the girl, Mira, is hidden away in a monastery. As she grows older she shows a talent for drawing and is encouraged to draw and paint by a traveling monk. Now it is 2015 and, Zari, an art historian is studying a portrait at Oxford when she realizes, that portrait may the work of a different artist. This leads her on a trek throughout Europe. And this is the story of Zari discovering Mira. I enjoyed the information about art restoration and Renaissance painting as well as life in 16th Century Spain including the information about the Camino de Sanitago! The books moves back and forth between the story of Mira and Zari and it is fascinating.… (more)

This historic mystery tracks a 16th-century female artist from Scotland to Spain. The story moves between Mira, the Renaissance artist, to her modern-day counterpart, art historian Zari Durrell. Most of the action of Mira’s story takes place in the Pyrenees, along the pilgrim’s route of Camino de Santiago. There is plenty of action, an enticing setting, and the interesting notion of women artists forgotten to history.

The Girl from Oto is a real page-turner and would be a great holiday gift for anyone who likes a story to get lost in. The second book in Maroney's Miramonde Series, Mira's Way, and a prequel novella, The Promise, are also available and Book Three, which will conclude the series, comes out next year.… (more)