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A Dangerous Bargain
A young artist who has bargained away most of his life for divine inspiration pairs up with fellow apprentice Leonardo da Vinci to infiltrate the Medici family and find out the truth about his missing brother in this Renaissance-set young adult mystery perfect for fans of F.T. Lukens.
It’s the height of the Italian Renaissance. In the golden city of Florence, art is equal to holiness—and angels walk among us, bestowing their talents…for a price.
Seventeen-year-old artist Virgil is in trouble. To support his family, he’s bargained most of his life away to an angel—only to discover that his missing brother is in danger, and nothing but magic can rescue him. Now, with just a few months left to live, Virgil is desperate enough to try the one thing he swore he would never, ever do—team up with the infuriating, annoyingly talented, and most notorious playboy in all of Florence, the charming Leonardo da Vinci.
As the two journey through Florence’s gilded streets, luxurious cathedrals, and glorious Medici palaces, they unearth dark truths beneath the city’s facade.
Those in power will do anything to keep their deadly secrets safe, but with his feelings for Leonardo giving him new life, Virgil is determined to expose their lies before he runs out of time.
Even if it might cost him his soul.
It’s the height of the Italian Renaissance. In the golden city of Florence, art is equal to holiness—and angels walk among us, bestowing their talents…for a price.
Seventeen-year-old artist Virgil is in trouble. To support his family, he’s bargained most of his life away to an angel—only to discover that his missing brother is in danger, and nothing but magic can rescue him. Now, with just a few months left to live, Virgil is desperate enough to try the one thing he swore he would never, ever do—team up with the infuriating, annoyingly talented, and most notorious playboy in all of Florence, the charming Leonardo da Vinci.
As the two journey through Florence’s gilded streets, luxurious cathedrals, and glorious Medici palaces, they unearth dark truths beneath the city’s facade.
Those in power will do anything to keep their deadly secrets safe, but with his feelings for Leonardo giving him new life, Virgil is determined to expose their lies before he runs out of time.
Even if it might cost him his soul.
384 pages, ebook
Published September 22, 2026
About the author
Erin Cotter
3 books102 followersErin Cotter writes young adult fiction. Originally from Buffalo, New York, she currently calls Austin home. When not writing she spends time with her partner and pets, eating tacos, and searching for Golden-cheeked Warblers in the Texas Hill Country.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book, in which Leonardo da Vinci is the love interest, is fantastic, everyone!
Every artist learned to create art without magic, and then, once we were good enough to be apprenticed, we decided our hands and eyes and minds weren’t good enough to create on our own anymore.
A Dangerous Bargain is about magic: how it can make everything easier, more beautiful. But there’s also a downside, even a dark side. What does it cost you? Your creativity? Or even your life?
To me, the magic felt like AI these days: how it takes away the ability to make mistakes, how everything starts to look the same, how it drains creativity. Even how it threatens us because it consumes water that’s needed for drinking. Don’t expect only a dark story, though!
I adored A Dangerous Bargain. I adored Virgil, I adored Leonardo, and of course I adored Lupo, “the angel.” The one who made me smile the most was messy, always late, extremely talented, and oh so caring, ADHD-like Leonardo da Vinci. The one with the red-gold hair that annoys Virgil so much, except in reality it’s attraction he feels.
Sometimes a book and its characters make me smile so much I just want to keep reading, and that was the case with A Dangerous Bargain. So expect a story with great themes and wonderful characters. I highly, highly recommend reading it!
Actual rating: 4.5 stars.
Thank you, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and NetGalley, for this fantastic ARC!
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Every artist learned to create art without magic, and then, once we were good enough to be apprenticed, we decided our hands and eyes and minds weren’t good enough to create on our own anymore.
A Dangerous Bargain is about magic: how it can make everything easier, more beautiful. But there’s also a downside, even a dark side. What does it cost you? Your creativity? Or even your life?
To me, the magic felt like AI these days: how it takes away the ability to make mistakes, how everything starts to look the same, how it drains creativity. Even how it threatens us because it consumes water that’s needed for drinking. Don’t expect only a dark story, though!
I adored A Dangerous Bargain. I adored Virgil, I adored Leonardo, and of course I adored Lupo, “the angel.” The one who made me smile the most was messy, always late, extremely talented, and oh so caring, ADHD-like Leonardo da Vinci. The one with the red-gold hair that annoys Virgil so much, except in reality it’s attraction he feels.
Sometimes a book and its characters make me smile so much I just want to keep reading, and that was the case with A Dangerous Bargain. So expect a story with great themes and wonderful characters. I highly, highly recommend reading it!
Actual rating: 4.5 stars.
Thank you, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and NetGalley, for this fantastic ARC!
Follow me on Instagram.
September 29, 2026
Here is the argument worth having about A Dangerous Bargain by Erin Cotter, and it is not the one the cover is selling. This is a novel about paying for your own talent. Its narrator is an apprentice painter who has traded away, by his own estimate, decades of his remaining life for a steady hand, an unerring eye for colour, and paints that never dry out. Each transaction is a black mark on his skin. There are hundreds. He is seventeen, he supports his mother and sisters on those skills, and has no idea how little he has left until somebody does the arithmetic aloud.
The Ledger on His Arms
The system in A Dangerous Bargain by Erin Cotter is the best thing in it, because it is an economy rather than a spell list. An angel bound to a workshop grants magic; the artist pays in blood, and in time or memory. Small bargains give good value; large ones ruin you. A day for a perfect recalled image of a snowy tree in midsummer. Half a year for paints that stay wet. Ten years in one gulp, after his brother disappears, for the ability to feel when a painting is going wrong.
Florence's wealthy compete to attract angels, so the city's appetite for beauty is an arms race, so there is always more work, so every artist has a reason to keep cutting. One apprentice swaps the memory of his grandmother's house for a party trick. A painter in an earlier generation gave away the memory of his dead wife for colour sense, and spent a year losing the ability to see colour at all. That is a very good piece of invention, and it does the thematic work without a speech.
What A Dangerous Bargain by Erin Cotter Does With Leonardo
Putting the historical Leonardo da Vinci in your romantasy as a seventeen-year-old apprentice is an enormous swing, and it mostly connects, because Cotter does not write a genius. She writes him as somebody who cannot start work to order.
He is late for everything, misses every deadline, is punished with chores, and is kept on because the things he does finish make patrons weep. He cannot draw the fresco he has been assigned and spends the day on blueprints for a flying machine instead. He needs another person in the room before his attention settles. He tells the narrator that his mind does not work like other people's, that his stepmother called this a gift, and that four years in he is no longer sure she was right. Anyone who has failed to begin a task they genuinely wanted to do will recognise the portrait, drawn with affection rather than diagnosis.
Where the Angels Actually Come From
The reveal in A Dangerous Bargain by Erin Cotter arrives in three stages, each landing harder. First: the angels are demons, and the Medici know. Second: the bargains do not cost time, or not only time. Third, and this reorganises the novel, demons do not descend from anywhere. They wear people. Florentines are killed so a demon has a body to occupy, tethered by a painted portrait, and the ruling family has spent generations supplying the bodies and calling it a holy honour.
It converts a pleasant magic system into a political one. The city's beauty runs on disposable people, the church blesses it, the bank collects, and the poor may not bargain at all. There is a superb scene in which a slum crowd, denied the magic their city is famous for, cut their own arms open in front of an angel and beg.
A Dangerous Bargain by Erin Cotter and the Girl in the Corner
Lupa is the reason to read this. The replacement angel arrives feral, filthy and furious, refuses the name a priest gave her, and accepts the one the narrator offers instead, because it means she-wolf and she likes that men should be afraid. She asks why humans eat deer but not dogs. She steals a cake so somebody can have a birthday. She has a healing scar behind her ear, which angels should not have, and magic the bargain system cannot account for.
What Cotter does with her is the novel's real achievement, and I will not spoil it beyond saying that the question of whether a predator can be judged for being hungry is asked early, answered honestly, then asked again from the other side. Her last line in Florence is a joke. It is also a plan.
Where A Dangerous Bargain by Erin Cotter Overspends
Fifty-nine chapters and an epilogue. Most end on a hook, several deliver one beat, and the middle third reads like a serial paid by the instalment.
The Medici are cardboard. The father is a sneer with magic and is never tested; the son's change of heart is the only complication, and it arrives as a single thrown object.
The voice has two moves. A self-deprecating aside, then an italic self-rebuke. Delightful for two hundred pages, mannered by four.
The narrator's illiteracy is a plot device as often as a character trait. It stops him reading the one ledger that matters at precisely the moment the story needs a delay, then goes quiet for a hundred pages.
The underworld sequence is the weakest stretch, a shame with Dante's poem sitting in the narrator's chosen name. Three obstacles, three offers of a bargain, three acceptances.
The most daring choice in the ending is under-tested, recovering most of what it costs within a single scene.
Content Notes
A Dangerous Bargain by Erin Cotter runs on blood, so expect repeated, casual self-cutting to pay for magic. A politician has his throat cut on the page while the narrator hides in the spreading blood. Several stabbings, one fatal. Suicide as a deliberate plot action: the narrator takes his own life in order to reach the underworld, and the novel frames it as sacrifice; there is also an earlier passage about standing on bridges after his brother vanished and wondering whether he would save himself. A corpse displayed as a threat. A young woman is killed so a demon can wear her, and her history of domestic violence is given. Souls are tortured, and a brother's screams are heard offstage. A father's sustained emotional cruelty and one recalled beating. Two sex scenes between the leads, not explicit.
The Last Word
The workshop detail is the quiet pleasure. Apprentices grind pigments and prep panels with glue, linen and gesso. Commissions are collaborative, so several hands touch one painting and nobody signs it. Verrocchio makes them sketch together every morning and they all resent it. A dog comes out looking like a millipede and has to be fixed by somebody better. Cotter has done the reading and uses it for character rather than texture: the narrator cannot bear to hand over his brush because handing it over admits the magic is gone.
What the book finally argues is that the magic was never the point, and the evidence is aesthetic rather than stated. The art that matters in this novel is all technically poor. A child's sketch of two foxes bought for a single coin. A lopsided homemade locket. A set of clumsy finger-paintings hung in a garden as a trail of breadcrumbs for somebody who has forgotten you. A Dangerous Bargain by Erin Cotter is too long and too fond of its own hooks, and it ends on a pun about a rebirth that I laughed at and then thought about for an hour. "A renaissance, if I may."
On the matter of bargains: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers sent this copy, on the terms the narrator never once gets offered. Nothing was taken in blood, no memory was required, and the only thing owed back was an honest opinion. In a book where every transaction leaves a mark on somebody's arm, this one left none, and the review would have said exactly this either way.
The Ledger on His Arms
The system in A Dangerous Bargain by Erin Cotter is the best thing in it, because it is an economy rather than a spell list. An angel bound to a workshop grants magic; the artist pays in blood, and in time or memory. Small bargains give good value; large ones ruin you. A day for a perfect recalled image of a snowy tree in midsummer. Half a year for paints that stay wet. Ten years in one gulp, after his brother disappears, for the ability to feel when a painting is going wrong.
Florence's wealthy compete to attract angels, so the city's appetite for beauty is an arms race, so there is always more work, so every artist has a reason to keep cutting. One apprentice swaps the memory of his grandmother's house for a party trick. A painter in an earlier generation gave away the memory of his dead wife for colour sense, and spent a year losing the ability to see colour at all. That is a very good piece of invention, and it does the thematic work without a speech.
What A Dangerous Bargain by Erin Cotter Does With Leonardo
Putting the historical Leonardo da Vinci in your romantasy as a seventeen-year-old apprentice is an enormous swing, and it mostly connects, because Cotter does not write a genius. She writes him as somebody who cannot start work to order.
He is late for everything, misses every deadline, is punished with chores, and is kept on because the things he does finish make patrons weep. He cannot draw the fresco he has been assigned and spends the day on blueprints for a flying machine instead. He needs another person in the room before his attention settles. He tells the narrator that his mind does not work like other people's, that his stepmother called this a gift, and that four years in he is no longer sure she was right. Anyone who has failed to begin a task they genuinely wanted to do will recognise the portrait, drawn with affection rather than diagnosis.
Where the Angels Actually Come From
The reveal in A Dangerous Bargain by Erin Cotter arrives in three stages, each landing harder. First: the angels are demons, and the Medici know. Second: the bargains do not cost time, or not only time. Third, and this reorganises the novel, demons do not descend from anywhere. They wear people. Florentines are killed so a demon has a body to occupy, tethered by a painted portrait, and the ruling family has spent generations supplying the bodies and calling it a holy honour.
It converts a pleasant magic system into a political one. The city's beauty runs on disposable people, the church blesses it, the bank collects, and the poor may not bargain at all. There is a superb scene in which a slum crowd, denied the magic their city is famous for, cut their own arms open in front of an angel and beg.
A Dangerous Bargain by Erin Cotter and the Girl in the Corner
Lupa is the reason to read this. The replacement angel arrives feral, filthy and furious, refuses the name a priest gave her, and accepts the one the narrator offers instead, because it means she-wolf and she likes that men should be afraid. She asks why humans eat deer but not dogs. She steals a cake so somebody can have a birthday. She has a healing scar behind her ear, which angels should not have, and magic the bargain system cannot account for.
What Cotter does with her is the novel's real achievement, and I will not spoil it beyond saying that the question of whether a predator can be judged for being hungry is asked early, answered honestly, then asked again from the other side. Her last line in Florence is a joke. It is also a plan.
Where A Dangerous Bargain by Erin Cotter Overspends
Fifty-nine chapters and an epilogue. Most end on a hook, several deliver one beat, and the middle third reads like a serial paid by the instalment.
The Medici are cardboard. The father is a sneer with magic and is never tested; the son's change of heart is the only complication, and it arrives as a single thrown object.
The voice has two moves. A self-deprecating aside, then an italic self-rebuke. Delightful for two hundred pages, mannered by four.
The narrator's illiteracy is a plot device as often as a character trait. It stops him reading the one ledger that matters at precisely the moment the story needs a delay, then goes quiet for a hundred pages.
The underworld sequence is the weakest stretch, a shame with Dante's poem sitting in the narrator's chosen name. Three obstacles, three offers of a bargain, three acceptances.
The most daring choice in the ending is under-tested, recovering most of what it costs within a single scene.
Content Notes
A Dangerous Bargain by Erin Cotter runs on blood, so expect repeated, casual self-cutting to pay for magic. A politician has his throat cut on the page while the narrator hides in the spreading blood. Several stabbings, one fatal. Suicide as a deliberate plot action: the narrator takes his own life in order to reach the underworld, and the novel frames it as sacrifice; there is also an earlier passage about standing on bridges after his brother vanished and wondering whether he would save himself. A corpse displayed as a threat. A young woman is killed so a demon can wear her, and her history of domestic violence is given. Souls are tortured, and a brother's screams are heard offstage. A father's sustained emotional cruelty and one recalled beating. Two sex scenes between the leads, not explicit.
The Last Word
The workshop detail is the quiet pleasure. Apprentices grind pigments and prep panels with glue, linen and gesso. Commissions are collaborative, so several hands touch one painting and nobody signs it. Verrocchio makes them sketch together every morning and they all resent it. A dog comes out looking like a millipede and has to be fixed by somebody better. Cotter has done the reading and uses it for character rather than texture: the narrator cannot bear to hand over his brush because handing it over admits the magic is gone.
What the book finally argues is that the magic was never the point, and the evidence is aesthetic rather than stated. The art that matters in this novel is all technically poor. A child's sketch of two foxes bought for a single coin. A lopsided homemade locket. A set of clumsy finger-paintings hung in a garden as a trail of breadcrumbs for somebody who has forgotten you. A Dangerous Bargain by Erin Cotter is too long and too fond of its own hooks, and it ends on a pun about a rebirth that I laughed at and then thought about for an hour. "A renaissance, if I may."
On the matter of bargains: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers sent this copy, on the terms the narrator never once gets offered. Nothing was taken in blood, no memory was required, and the only thing owed back was an honest opinion. In a book where every transaction leaves a mark on somebody's arm, this one left none, and the review would have said exactly this either way.
September 23, 2026
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher. This has not influenced my review.*
A historical setting mixed with fantasy, trading away bits of your life in deals with supernaturals, art, mystery, sibling bonds, romance, what a great combination of things!
This was one of those books that was full of tension and mystery, where you’re not sure exactly what’s going on or going to happen, but you know it’s something. That was my favorite thing about the book, the mystery of the (somewhat creepy) angels and Lupa’s unusualness and the missing brother and the Medici family. It made me want to keep reading. I feel like a few things in the plot were sort of waved off and just happened without a real explanation, but I think all of the mysteries were addressed, so not a huge deal.
The romance relied a lot on feelings they already had before the book started, even though Virgil hadn’t realized exactly what those feelings were, but we weren’t shown much of that, so I just didn’t really feel the strength of their feelings. That being said, it was still a sweet and touching romance.
All the main relationships were sweet, actually. The relationship between Virgil and his brother relied on the past too, but that one worked for me, I feel like we were shown the bond between them well in Virgil’s memories. And I really liked the protective friendship and care formed between Lupa and the boys, especially Virgil.
Virgil, Leonardo, and Lupa were all easy to like. But I especially liked Lupa, with her childlike naivety about the human world, making mistakes but wanting to help.
There’s an interesting comparison to be made here between making deals to be a better artist and using AI to make art. The book obviously doesn’t state that directly because there’s no AI in the setting, but it does hint at it in its message.
The cover art is beautiful, and the hardcover book itself under the dust jacket is a gorgeous red color.
Overall, the Italian Renaissance setting was fun, the plot was mysterious, and the friend, sibling, and romantic relationships were all sweet.
*Rating: 3.5 Stars // Read Date: 2026 // Format: Ebook via TTS / Hardcover*
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes YA, historical settings with a fantasy twist, sibling love, a lot of mystery, and a bit sweet m/m romance.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
A historical setting mixed with fantasy, trading away bits of your life in deals with supernaturals, art, mystery, sibling bonds, romance, what a great combination of things!
This was one of those books that was full of tension and mystery, where you’re not sure exactly what’s going on or going to happen, but you know it’s something. That was my favorite thing about the book, the mystery of the (somewhat creepy) angels and Lupa’s unusualness and the missing brother and the Medici family. It made me want to keep reading. I feel like a few things in the plot were sort of waved off and just happened without a real explanation, but I think all of the mysteries were addressed, so not a huge deal.
The romance relied a lot on feelings they already had before the book started, even though Virgil hadn’t realized exactly what those feelings were, but we weren’t shown much of that, so I just didn’t really feel the strength of their feelings. That being said, it was still a sweet and touching romance.
All the main relationships were sweet, actually. The relationship between Virgil and his brother relied on the past too, but that one worked for me, I feel like we were shown the bond between them well in Virgil’s memories. And I really liked the protective friendship and care formed between Lupa and the boys, especially Virgil.
Virgil, Leonardo, and Lupa were all easy to like. But I especially liked Lupa, with her childlike naivety about the human world, making mistakes but wanting to help.
There’s an interesting comparison to be made here between making deals to be a better artist and using AI to make art. The book obviously doesn’t state that directly because there’s no AI in the setting, but it does hint at it in its message.
The cover art is beautiful, and the hardcover book itself under the dust jacket is a gorgeous red color.
Overall, the Italian Renaissance setting was fun, the plot was mysterious, and the friend, sibling, and romantic relationships were all sweet.
*Rating: 3.5 Stars // Read Date: 2026 // Format: Ebook via TTS / Hardcover*
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes YA, historical settings with a fantasy twist, sibling love, a lot of mystery, and a bit sweet m/m romance.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
October 7, 2026
RTC
Thank you to Simon Teen for the advance copy!
Thank you to Simon Teen for the advance copy!
October 3, 2026
{3.75}
If you told me there was a queer YA novel set in Renaissance Florence featuring angels, demons, and Leonardo da Vinci as a love interest, I would've questioned the stability of the plot. Though somehow, Cotter managed to make it work.
I also loved the relationships throughout the story. While the romance was sweet, I admittedly found myself more attached to the friendships and sibling relationships. Virgil's love for his brother felt genuine, and I especially adored Lupa. Her curiosity about the human world and fish-out-of-water mannerisms made her incredibly easy to root for.
One thing I found particularly interesting was the book's commentary on art and what people are willing to sacrifice in pursuit of perfection. Reading it in 2026, it's hard not to draw comparisons to ongoing conversations about AI-generated art and creativity. The artists in this story can essentially bypass the struggle that comes with creating by making bargains for talent and skill, but in doing so they lose pieces of themselves; they also rely on bargains so heavily that when they're gone they struggle to create art. It raises an interesting question about whether creating something quickly is worth it if the passion and humanity behind the work are missing. As someone who wanted to pursue art, I couldn't help but find this to be a fascinating topic.
The romance didn't hit quite as hard for me as some of the other aspects of the story. Because a lot of Virgil and Leonardo's feelings stem from their history prior to the start of the novel, I sometimes wished I'd gotten to see more of that connection develop on the page. There was also my personal pet peeve where one of them was seemingly in love with the other the whole time but continuously slept with a bunch of others. That said, I was still rooting for them and enjoyed their relationship, though I wish we got a little more of them together.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Tags/Warnings
.
.
.
Tropes: 'rivals' to lovers, hate to love, opposites attract, crushes
Triggers: homophobia, murder, vomiting, memory loss
Third act break-up: (Spoiler) One loses their memory, though they do get back together
OM/OW: Yes. Nothing explicitly on page, but Leonardo sleeps around a lot. Once they officially get together, there's no one else, though.
If you told me there was a queer YA novel set in Renaissance Florence featuring angels, demons, and Leonardo da Vinci as a love interest, I would've questioned the stability of the plot. Though somehow, Cotter managed to make it work.
I also loved the relationships throughout the story. While the romance was sweet, I admittedly found myself more attached to the friendships and sibling relationships. Virgil's love for his brother felt genuine, and I especially adored Lupa. Her curiosity about the human world and fish-out-of-water mannerisms made her incredibly easy to root for.
One thing I found particularly interesting was the book's commentary on art and what people are willing to sacrifice in pursuit of perfection. Reading it in 2026, it's hard not to draw comparisons to ongoing conversations about AI-generated art and creativity. The artists in this story can essentially bypass the struggle that comes with creating by making bargains for talent and skill, but in doing so they lose pieces of themselves; they also rely on bargains so heavily that when they're gone they struggle to create art. It raises an interesting question about whether creating something quickly is worth it if the passion and humanity behind the work are missing. As someone who wanted to pursue art, I couldn't help but find this to be a fascinating topic.
The romance didn't hit quite as hard for me as some of the other aspects of the story. Because a lot of Virgil and Leonardo's feelings stem from their history prior to the start of the novel, I sometimes wished I'd gotten to see more of that connection develop on the page. There was also my personal pet peeve where one of them was seemingly in love with the other the whole time but continuously slept with a bunch of others. That said, I was still rooting for them and enjoyed their relationship, though I wish we got a little more of them together.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Tags/Warnings
.
.
.
Tropes: 'rivals' to lovers, hate to love, opposites attract, crushes
Triggers: homophobia, murder, vomiting, memory loss
Third act break-up: (Spoiler) One loses their memory, though they do get back together
OM/OW: Yes. Nothing explicitly on page, but Leonardo sleeps around a lot. Once they officially get together, there's no one else, though.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
ARC received in exchange for an honest review.
Dante’s Inferno meets The Picture of Dorian Gray, with Leonardo da Vinci as the love interest…and it’s one of the most breathtaking Renaissance fantasies I’ve ever read. Virgil and Leonardo’s love burns slowly before bursting into flame inside a burning Florence, and the origins of the city’s beneficent angels feel like something that could have been part of the artists’ rebirth. I’m also discovering I love stories set in the Medicis’ Florence, which is an oddly specific niche I’m very happy authors seem excited to fill.
A Dangerous Bargain’s commentary goes hand in hand with the current discussions surrounding generative AI. Virgil and the other artists bargain away their memories or their time to vicious angels in order to paint quicker, better, more perfectly, but they lose the passion behind their art. Many creatives have said that “artists” or “authors” who give ChatGPT a prompt can’t claim the title, because it’s not their own work. They may have spent time tweaking the prompt, but they didn’t research the subject of their piece or lose hours of the day to get the shading just right. And besides…is it even really worth it if there’s no soul behind the finished product? Virgil remembers the joy of true art by the end of the book, and I’m hoping that any generative AI fanatics that pick this story up are able to see themselves and discover a real passion for their chosen mediums.
Cotter is a fantastic writer, and I’ll definitely be picking up her other books as I come across them. I can’t wait to get lost in more of her worlds!
Dante’s Inferno meets The Picture of Dorian Gray, with Leonardo da Vinci as the love interest…and it’s one of the most breathtaking Renaissance fantasies I’ve ever read. Virgil and Leonardo’s love burns slowly before bursting into flame inside a burning Florence, and the origins of the city’s beneficent angels feel like something that could have been part of the artists’ rebirth. I’m also discovering I love stories set in the Medicis’ Florence, which is an oddly specific niche I’m very happy authors seem excited to fill.
A Dangerous Bargain’s commentary goes hand in hand with the current discussions surrounding generative AI. Virgil and the other artists bargain away their memories or their time to vicious angels in order to paint quicker, better, more perfectly, but they lose the passion behind their art. Many creatives have said that “artists” or “authors” who give ChatGPT a prompt can’t claim the title, because it’s not their own work. They may have spent time tweaking the prompt, but they didn’t research the subject of their piece or lose hours of the day to get the shading just right. And besides…is it even really worth it if there’s no soul behind the finished product? Virgil remembers the joy of true art by the end of the book, and I’m hoping that any generative AI fanatics that pick this story up are able to see themselves and discover a real passion for their chosen mediums.
Cotter is a fantastic writer, and I’ll definitely be picking up her other books as I come across them. I can’t wait to get lost in more of her worlds!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
It’s January of 1469 in Florence, Italy. Seventeen-year old burgeoning artist Virgil is an apprentice in the same group as Leonardo da Vinci. Virgil can’t stand Leonardo’s effortless talent, always showing up late to classes, and never having to bargain away pieces of his life to enhance his artistic abilities. Angels living in Florence often make such bargains with artists, exchanging time off their lives (or taking one of their memories) in exchange for skills. Virgil has made lots and lots of bargains following his older brother’s disappearance, leaving him to provide for his sisters and mother. When an opportunity to make a lot of money on an art project for Florence’s most elite family comes about, Virgil and Leonardo have to overcome their rivalry to bring stability to Virgil’s family. As they spend more time together, their relationship turns them from rivals to friends, to more. They also begin to unwind the mystery of why Virgil’s older brother disappeared, how the angels’ magic really works, and how power is maintained by the elites around Florence.
The premise of this book is unique, I haven’t read any other queer historical romances like this, especially drawing on a real historical figure. This book is engaging and will keep readers’ attention until the end. Virgil and Leonardo both present as white Italian men. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...
The premise of this book is unique, I haven’t read any other queer historical romances like this, especially drawing on a real historical figure. This book is engaging and will keep readers’ attention until the end. Virgil and Leonardo both present as white Italian men. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...
October 1, 2026
2.5/5
Honestly think I might be in a sort of reading slump, I don't feel like I'm enjoying the books I've been reading as much lately.
With out MMC, Virgil, I liked his character growth throughout the story, but I wish there would have been more urgency with finding his brother. I really did also enjoy Lupa's character. I will say that the romance in the story for me felt like there could have been more in the middle, because when the certain scene happens towards the end, I found it to be kind of in a weird spot.
Ok so I loved the idea of the book (also giving some love to this beautiful cover) with the magic system I was really excited to see it play out in the story, but I felt like the angel vs demon route that was taken maybe went too far? Where the climax ended up, it wasn't where I thought it was going to go and got to be a lot going on in a short amount of time. With the setting of Florence, I felt like in the beginning especially, there was a lot of imagery that was used that I really liked, but towards the end the language started to thin out, which made the story not as immersive to me.
Honestly think I might be in a sort of reading slump, I don't feel like I'm enjoying the books I've been reading as much lately.
With out MMC, Virgil, I liked his character growth throughout the story, but I wish there would have been more urgency with finding his brother. I really did also enjoy Lupa's character. I will say that the romance in the story for me felt like there could have been more in the middle, because when the certain scene happens towards the end, I found it to be kind of in a weird spot.
Ok so I loved the idea of the book (also giving some love to this beautiful cover) with the magic system I was really excited to see it play out in the story, but I felt like the angel vs demon route that was taken maybe went too far? Where the climax ended up, it wasn't where I thought it was going to go and got to be a lot going on in a short amount of time. With the setting of Florence, I felt like in the beginning especially, there was a lot of imagery that was used that I really liked, but towards the end the language started to thin out, which made the story not as immersive to me.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Leonardo da Vinci, angels in Florence, the Renaissance, and life-stealing bargains? This is a one-sitting sort of book and I loved it. We move from Virgil's workshop, where he's an apprentice alongside rival Leonardo da Vinci, to his family's home, to luxurious Medici properties (illegally). Virgil is a fun character to explore, guided by a desire to find his brother, and Leonardo is like a golden retriever. By far, though, my favorite character was Lupa, the workshop's new angel who's named she-wolf for a reason. And the glimpses of Dante's Inferno as a motif throughout the book felt like a golden thread. I had so much fun reading about Virgil, Leonardo, and Lupa's (again, kinda illegal) adventures through Florence. I felt so immersed in the world and couldn't put down this book. And that epilogue? AH! Would read a thousand times over.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This book was not anything I was expecting, but oh wow, it was absolutely fascinating and wonderful and heartbreaking and such a good read.
In the age of the Italian Renaissance, angels walk among the people and bargain their lives for artistic talent, but there's a dark truth to Florence, and Virgil will do anything expose their lies, even if that means teaming up with Leonardo da Vinci. The two of them work together to uncover the mysteries of their beloved city, find Virgil's missing brother, and realize there's more to the annoyingly talented Leonardo da Vinci than he thought (and that he might actually be in love with him, who would've thought).
The cover is gorgeous. The story is charming. The characters are lovable. This book is perfect for people who love queer spins on historical events/classic stories.
Thank you, Simon Teen, for the eARC of A Dangerous Bargain!
In the age of the Italian Renaissance, angels walk among the people and bargain their lives for artistic talent, but there's a dark truth to Florence, and Virgil will do anything expose their lies, even if that means teaming up with Leonardo da Vinci. The two of them work together to uncover the mysteries of their beloved city, find Virgil's missing brother, and realize there's more to the annoyingly talented Leonardo da Vinci than he thought (and that he might actually be in love with him, who would've thought).
The cover is gorgeous. The story is charming. The characters are lovable. This book is perfect for people who love queer spins on historical events/classic stories.
Thank you, Simon Teen, for the eARC of A Dangerous Bargain!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thank you Simon Teen for the physical arc! The cover is just beautiful!
Wow, this book was exceptional! I absolutely loved the setting in 1469 Florence, Italy during the Renaissance Period. As an art history fan, this book was made for me. I found the angels so interesting. The risky bargains with the angels added a layer of stress as Virgil is searching for his brother. There were several plot twist that shocked me and a few moments that had me yelling “no!” at my book. The sweet romance between Virgil and Leonardo was everything, and I felt the ending was especially touching. This was such a quick and addictive read! I loved everything about it.
Wow, this book was exceptional! I absolutely loved the setting in 1469 Florence, Italy during the Renaissance Period. As an art history fan, this book was made for me. I found the angels so interesting. The risky bargains with the angels added a layer of stress as Virgil is searching for his brother. There were several plot twist that shocked me and a few moments that had me yelling “no!” at my book. The sweet romance between Virgil and Leonardo was everything, and I felt the ending was especially touching. This was such a quick and addictive read! I loved everything about it.
Read
September 13, 2026*Spoiler Free*
Selling parts of your soul to an angel as if they were a demon is quite an interesting concept. A young artist who is constantly irritated by a young Da Vinci was equally interesting.
I made it to about page 178 before calling it quits. The Da Vinci love triangle was giving me more of an annoying little brother vibe rather than romance. I also felt as though the storyline was dragging and extremely slow.
I really wanted to love this one, sadly it just wasn’t for me but I’m sure someone else will love the atmospheric story telling. I’ve placed this in my little free library for someone else to enjoy.
Thank you Simon Teen for letting me try out the ARC. 🙂
Selling parts of your soul to an angel as if they were a demon is quite an interesting concept. A young artist who is constantly irritated by a young Da Vinci was equally interesting.
I made it to about page 178 before calling it quits. The Da Vinci love triangle was giving me more of an annoying little brother vibe rather than romance. I also felt as though the storyline was dragging and extremely slow.
I really wanted to love this one, sadly it just wasn’t for me but I’m sure someone else will love the atmospheric story telling. I’ve placed this in my little free library for someone else to enjoy.
Thank you Simon Teen for letting me try out the ARC. 🙂
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Rating: 3.25/5 stars
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.
The concept was super intriguing and I was very excited to read. But, unfortunately, I just think the directions the plot took didn't quite work for me. I expected MORE, I think. But the majority of the plot was a lot of sneaking around. Plus, Virgil and his 1st person POV narrative irked me at times. I wish I liked him more. I understood him and the way that he was, but his personality and habits mixed with the 1st person POV brought a sort of whiny tone to the story.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.
The concept was super intriguing and I was very excited to read. But, unfortunately, I just think the directions the plot took didn't quite work for me. I expected MORE, I think. But the majority of the plot was a lot of sneaking around. Plus, Virgil and his 1st person POV narrative irked me at times. I wish I liked him more. I understood him and the way that he was, but his personality and habits mixed with the 1st person POV brought a sort of whiny tone to the story.
Review of advance copy
A historical mystery, plus soul-stealing angels "with pointy teeth" and queer romance.
In fifteenth century Florence, 17-year-old Virgil enlists help from his fellow art apprentice and rival, playboy Leonardo da Vinci, to learn why Virgil is no longer able to make bargains with their workshop angel--and learn that the angels are not what they appear to be.
The ending feels like the set-up for a sequel.
In fifteenth century Florence, 17-year-old Virgil enlists help from his fellow art apprentice and rival, playboy Leonardo da Vinci, to learn why Virgil is no longer able to make bargains with their workshop angel--and learn that the angels are not what they appear to be.
The ending feels like the set-up for a sequel.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
A gorgeous, lush visit to Renaissance Florence featuring a hot, funny, sweet romance filled with yearning. Everything about this book was so much fun and just such a pleasure to read. I devoured it. The world and the magic system was extremely cool, and the characters were so endearing. I was yearning right there along with the characters in the romance. Highest recommendations and I'm immediately going to check out Erin Cotter's other work.
August 1, 2026
3.5 ⭐️!
I enjoyed this book so much! As someone who recently visited Florence for the first time, it was amazing to read a book that took place there so many years ago! I loved the banter between Virgil and Leonardo. The magic system was great and the mystery with angels and demons was interesting to read. Lupa surprisingly ended up being my favorite character! I also really loved the found family vibes with her, Leonardo, and Virgil!
Thank you so much to Simon Teen for the advanced copy!
I enjoyed this book so much! As someone who recently visited Florence for the first time, it was amazing to read a book that took place there so many years ago! I loved the banter between Virgil and Leonardo. The magic system was great and the mystery with angels and demons was interesting to read. Lupa surprisingly ended up being my favorite character! I also really loved the found family vibes with her, Leonardo, and Virgil!
Thank you so much to Simon Teen for the advanced copy!
September 26, 2026
Thank you so much to Simon Teen for the e-ARC!!
I’m not a big history person at all, but it was so cool how the author used popular figures like Leonardo da Vinci and the Medicis to transform them into such magical and three-dimensional characters. The plot swept me in and I never really felt bored reading this at all. I also really liked the writing style of this book! Overall, this was such a great queer fantasy!
I’m not a big history person at all, but it was so cool how the author used popular figures like Leonardo da Vinci and the Medicis to transform them into such magical and three-dimensional characters. The plot swept me in and I never really felt bored reading this at all. I also really liked the writing style of this book! Overall, this was such a great queer fantasy!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Set in the Italian Renaissance, where artists sell their souls for a drop of divine talent, following two rival artists with witty banter and fierce but achingly tender chemistry? YES. This was so good, so well done, so devastatingly beautiful. Virgil and Leonardo have my WHOLE heart, and Lupa! My feral angel! I love them all so much. You won't regret picking this beautiful book up!
August 26, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC copy of this novel.
This was just a gorgeous YA novel set in Renaissance era Florence. The introduction of angels and magic to go along with the art boom during the era was fascinating and gave the whole novel an ethereal feel. I love how Erin Cotter takes a familiar name, book, or trope and turns it magical and queer!
This was just a gorgeous YA novel set in Renaissance era Florence. The introduction of angels and magic to go along with the art boom during the era was fascinating and gave the whole novel an ethereal feel. I love how Erin Cotter takes a familiar name, book, or trope and turns it magical and queer!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to #netgalley for getting access to this fun ARC. I dont always like historical fiction but this really worked fir me. The authors writing was fun and engaging and kept me turning pages while the setting was well described.
Also it can be hit or miss when an author uses an actual historical figure in fiction but this worked for me. I enjoyed the read!
Also it can be hit or miss when an author uses an actual historical figure in fiction but this worked for me. I enjoyed the read!
Did Not Finish
September 17, 2026DNF @ 12%
The cover is literal perfection. The synopsis is so creative and clever. I do think that this would be appreciated a bit more by adults rather than young adults due to the historical context surrounding the time period of the story. I think this has so much potential however I found the magic system to be confusing.
The cover is literal perfection. The synopsis is so creative and clever. I do think that this would be appreciated a bit more by adults rather than young adults due to the historical context surrounding the time period of the story. I think this has so much potential however I found the magic system to be confusing.
Did Not Finish
September 24, 2026DNF 20%
I think the overall concept was really unique, but I don't think there was really great explanation on the angels in this world. It felt a bit confusing and I became disconnected from the story almost immediately because there was no explanation. The writing itself also felt a little off to me but that is totally a me thing.
I think the overall concept was really unique, but I don't think there was really great explanation on the angels in this world. It felt a bit confusing and I became disconnected from the story almost immediately because there was no explanation. The writing itself also felt a little off to me but that is totally a me thing.
October 7, 2026
The cover stole my heart, and the writing ran away with it. This was a phenomenal read, where Virgil bargains his life away to be able to support his family. His brother goes missing and he ends up needing to team up with Leonardo da Vinci, who is a playboy. (Which makes me snort)
This is a well-played story, where I didn't expect to enjoy Leonardo da Vinci as a romance partner.
This is a well-played story, where I didn't expect to enjoy Leonardo da Vinci as a romance partner.
September 22, 2026
Arc review
Kept me interested and invested the whole story! So unique and lovely!
Had me in tears near the end but love that they get to know each other all over again and got to grow old together with their workshop.
Beautiful story.
Kept me interested and invested the whole story! So unique and lovely!
Had me in tears near the end but love that they get to know each other all over again and got to grow old together with their workshop.
Beautiful story.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
4.5 stars
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
While I loved the concept, I found it difficult initially to get into the characters and flow of the story. Once it picked up, though, it kept me hooked until the end. A solid book!
October 1, 2026
I loved this book! The characters are so easy to fall in love with, the setting is rich and the unique plot hooked me from the start. I also loved the commentary on human art felt very timely.
October 2, 2026
Very unique and fun
September 25, 2026
I adored the concept of this book, but felt like it was missing something. It was set in the 1400’s, so I was maybe expecting a little bit more background & setting to feel as if I was really there. The last 20% of this book made it difficult to be put down, & the “angels vs demons” being put to play was so interesting! I wish there was more tension & yearning with the MMC Virgil, but overall, a fun read!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
4.25 - Who would’ve thought I’d read and love a book where Leonardo da Vinci is the love interest.
A Dangerous Bargain is a historical fantasy set during the Renaissance Period in Florence, Italy. In a world where artists bargain with angels to improve their work, artists Virgil and Leonardo get roped into a world of uncovered secrets the Church is willing to protect at all costs. Filled with artistry, divine beings, and corruption of power, this book was something to savor.
This was such an interesting read for many reasons. For one, the atmosphere was immersive and paired with the plot, kept me glued to the page. The story itself could have easily been butchered with its many layers, but was executed in a way that kept me hooked. The concept of the magic and bargains was so refreshing to read and kept evolving as the story continued in such a shocking way, I didn’t want to put the book down. I won’t say anything due to spoilers, but did it get insane. The biblical fantasy was stunning and was definitely what roped me into this story so strongly. And of course, the romance was also something I was a fan of. I just loved this book and will now be shoving it everyone’s faces.
Thank you Simon Teen for the review copy!
A Dangerous Bargain is a historical fantasy set during the Renaissance Period in Florence, Italy. In a world where artists bargain with angels to improve their work, artists Virgil and Leonardo get roped into a world of uncovered secrets the Church is willing to protect at all costs. Filled with artistry, divine beings, and corruption of power, this book was something to savor.
This was such an interesting read for many reasons. For one, the atmosphere was immersive and paired with the plot, kept me glued to the page. The story itself could have easily been butchered with its many layers, but was executed in a way that kept me hooked. The concept of the magic and bargains was so refreshing to read and kept evolving as the story continued in such a shocking way, I didn’t want to put the book down. I won’t say anything due to spoilers, but did it get insane. The biblical fantasy was stunning and was definitely what roped me into this story so strongly. And of course, the romance was also something I was a fan of. I just loved this book and will now be shoving it everyone’s faces.
Thank you Simon Teen for the review copy!
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