Fool's Gold (Order of Darkness, #3) by Philippa Gregory - OPTIONAL

Gregory, Philippa  Fool’s Gold (Order of Darkness, #3), 366 pgs.  Simon Pulse, 2014.  $19.99  Content: PG (3 swears); Mature Content: R (descriptive talk of sex); Violence: PG.  

Luca, Isolde, Ishraq and Freize are headed to Venice on orders by their unknown Lord to determine where the gold saturating the market is coming from.  Luca and Ishraq come upon an alchemist and try to determine if he is making the gold or if it is real.  Luca loves Isolde and they find themselves in a frustrating situation with an older courtesan who is interested in Luca.  

This being the third book in the series, the characters are already developed, so it’s necessary to read the other two books in the series.  The Luca and Isolde situation made the book seem more adult that the other books in the series.  Philippa Gregory writes good historical fiction and this had interesting science as well, but it just felt like it was intended for an older reader.  There is a line of questioning in the book that is very sexual and descriptive-making it rated R.  This book, as opposed to the other two books in the series, actually had supernatural elements, so it's not just historical fiction.  

HS-OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.