Book Review of
The Maestro’s Daughter
The Maestro’s Daughter by Catherine Thrush is set in the heart of Tuscany during the 1700s. Francesca DiCesare watches from the shadows as her father trains noble sons in the art of the blade. In the 1700s, sword fighting belonged to men only. Francesca’s dream of becoming a fencer seems impossible.
An English noble arrives at her father’s fencing school, and Francesca thinks she has found the perfect opportunity. She strikes a dangerous bargain where lessons by moonlight are exchanged for a forbidden friendship.
This YA book is about family, betrayal, love, and tragedy.
Lynn's Review
The Maestro’s Daughter by Catherine Thrush is a YA historical fiction book that was published in 2025.
The Maestro’s Daughter caught my attention because I was looking for a quick book to read. I saw it was on Kindle Unlimited and realized that it was YA, so it would fit my goal of reading one YA book a month this year.
It is the first book in the Lady’s Blade series.
This book is set in 1700s Italy. The author did a great job of making you feel like you were there in 1700s Italy. The people and places were so well described.
I enjoyed the main character, Franseca, who was not content to fit the norm for what a girl should be and do in the 1700s.
This book addresses some tough topics, and I thought the author handled most of them well.
I will say that this book, to me, reads very much like a YA book. A lot of YA books are enjoyed by both adults and YA readers. In fact, a lot of modern YA books are written more for adults than for YA.
This book, though, I would definitely put in the YA category. There were several times I found myself thinking how ridiculous something was or how immature the main characters in the book were acting, but then I had to remind myself they are teens, acting like teens.
I liked this book for a clean, YA historical romance, but it definitely won’t be on my list of favorite YA books of the year.
About the Author
Catherine Thrush is an artist and writer. She has written over thirty fiction books. Her love of fencing inspired The Maestro’s Daughter.