Graceless Heart

I’ve been enjoying Isabel Ibañez‘s books since Woven in Moonlight in 2020. This year she released her first adult novel: Graceless Heart, part of her new series, the Spellbound History Quartet. Set mainly in 1478 in Florence, Italy, this romantasy blends together a wide palette of themes. Magic vs. Catholicism, art and beauty vs. machinery and war, and immortal beings in need of a powerful witch. Ravenna is the sculptor that the dei Luni family chooses (ahem, kidnaps) in order to complete an impossible task. But as Ravenna starts to fall for her captor, Saturnino dei Luni, she’s also forced to play both sides when the Pope demands that she spy on the family. Dark secrets and dark magic collide as an unlikely romance unfolds.

What I Liked:

• 1400s Florence. I love the way this book shows Late Medieval Italy, from the architecture and art to the political and religious themes. I felt immersed in the time and setting, which is always a treat! It made the whole book feel vivid and alive.
• Multiple POVs. I was expecting only Ravenna and Saturnino’s points of view, but I was happily surprised to get chapters from other characters, as well. What are Saturnino’s family members plotting? What is Ravenna’s maid up to? How does the Pope play into all this? For a novel with this many different pieces at play, I enjoyed getting a kaleidoscopic look at it all. It can be a lot and could feel confusing at times, but I think it actually worked well for the story.
• Magic and witch hunts. For a few centuries, fear of and trials for witchcraft actually happened, mainly fueled by the patriarchy and the church. Here, the magic is real, but the attack against so-called witches is still the same. Ravenna must hide her abilities in order to keep herself (and her family) safe. Then there are fae and immortals. It’s a supernatural world, but one that the church is still fighting against.

What Didn’t Work for Me:

• I couldn’t get behind the romance. Dark romance isn’t my jam in general, and here, I didn’t like where things started with Saturnino. Kidnapping and death threats? No thanks.
• It reads rather YA. Isabel Ibañez’s first five novels were all YA, and while this marks her adult debut, it still felt like it was written for a younger audience, at least in the first half. As it progresses and gets darker, the tone shifted towards a more adult style. But still, the writing early on didn’t match the themes of the story.
• Pacing. Some events in the first chapters of the book went by too fast or were simply introduced awkwardly (like the short-lived sculpting competition). Later on, the pacing felt a lot slower. It made for an uneven reading experience.

Audiobook:

Beatrice Grannò narrates Graceless Heart. I liked her Italian accent, which made the book more immersive to its setting. But in all honesty, I didn’t like her narration much otherwise. Her voice was whisper-soft, like she was telling a bedtime story. Or it sounded like she had a cold and slight laryngitis. Her inflections also frequently sounded wrong; for example, she’d tick up a word like a question when the sentence wasn’t a question at all. The narration here wasn’t a dealbreaker, but I wouldn’t seek her out for future audiobooks.

Final Thoughts

Graceless Heart was hit and miss for me. There’s much that I enjoyed, but also a lot that didn’t work for me or left me wanting. Nonetheless, I liked Isabel Ibañez’s previous books, and I’m still curious to continue this series. The Spellbound History Quartet continues with Witch Dance, set in 16th-century Strasbourg. It’s due out in March 2027.

Special thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy Graceless Heart here – it’s available as a hardcover, ebook, and audiobook.

Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibañez
Series	The Spellbound History Quartet
Audiobook Narrator	Beatrice Grannò
Audience	Adult
Genre	Historical Fantasy
Setting	Italy
Number of Pages	488
Format I Read	Audiobook & Ebook (NetGalley ARCs)
Original Publication Date	January 13, 2026
Publisher	Saturday Books

Official Summary

#1 New York Times bestselling author Isabel Ibañez makes her adult debut with a gorgeous, historical, and romantic fantasy perfect for fans of One Dark Window and Ever After. A lush tale full of enemies-to-lovers tension, whimsical magic, villain romance, and slow-burn desire, set in an enchanted, perilous Florence where forbidden power could ignite a war.

“Truly radiant.” Rachel Gillig, New York Times bestselling author of One Dark Window

LOVE IS THE MOST DANGEROUS MAGIC.

As a sculptress, Ravenna Maffei has always shaped beauty from stone but she has a terrible secret. Desperate to save her brother, she enters a competition hosted by Florence’s most feared immortal family, revealing a dark power in a city where magic is forbidden.

Now a captive in the cutthroat city of Florence, Ravenna is forced into a dangerous task where failure meets certain death at the hands of Saturnino dei Luni, the immortal family’s mesmerizing but merciless heir. But as he draws her closer, Ravenna realizes the true threat lies beyond Florence’s walls.

The Pope’s war against magic is closing in, and Ravenna is no longer just a prisoner but a prize to be claimed. As trusting the wrong person becomes lethal, Ravenna must survive the treacherous line between a pope’s obsession and the seductive immortal who might be the end of her ― or surrender her power to a city on the brink of war.

“This book will carve itself into your heart and never let go.” Adrienne Young, New York Times bestselling author

Read if you love:
· Enemies to lovers
· Forced proximity
· Villain romance
· Whimsical, atmospheric magic
· Slow-burn tension
· Moral grayness

This stunning luxe edition includes a gorgeous cover printed over foil with a custom two color map endpapers, pink gilded ends, and a full foil custom case stamp. While supplies last!