Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Pub. Date: April 25,2017
Genre: Fiction
Source: E-ARC
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Set against the beautiful backdrop of post-World War II Sardinia, Sara Alexander's evocative novel is a sweeping story of star-crossed romance between an American lieutenant and a local girl.
Sometimes a family's deepest silences hide the most important secrets. For Mina, a London-based travel writer, the enigmatic silence surrounding her aunt Carmela has become a personal obsession. Carmela disappeared from her Italian hometown long ago and is mentioned only in fragments and whispers. Mina has resisted prying, respectful of her family's Sardinian reserve. But now, with her mother battling cancer, it's time to learn the truth.
In 1952, Simius is a busy Sardinian town surrounded by fertile farms and orchards. Carmela Chirigoni, a farmer's daughter and talented seamstress, is engaged to Franco, son of the area's wealthiest family. Everyone agrees it's a good match. But Carmela's growing doubts about Franco's possessiveness are magnified when she meets Captain Joe Kavanagh. Joe, an American officer stationed at a local army base, is charismatic, intelligent, and married. Hired as his interpreter, Carmela resolves to ignore her feelings, knowing that any future together must bring upheaval and heartache to both families.
As Mina follows the threads of Carmela's life to uncover her fate, she will discover a past still deeply alive in the present, revealing a story of hope, sacrifice, and extraordinary love.
Sometimes a family's deepest silences hide the most important secrets. For Mina, a London-based travel writer, the enigmatic silence surrounding her aunt Carmela has become a personal obsession. Carmela disappeared from her Italian hometown long ago and is mentioned only in fragments and whispers. Mina has resisted prying, respectful of her family's Sardinian reserve. But now, with her mother battling cancer, it's time to learn the truth.
In 1952, Simius is a busy Sardinian town surrounded by fertile farms and orchards. Carmela Chirigoni, a farmer's daughter and talented seamstress, is engaged to Franco, son of the area's wealthiest family. Everyone agrees it's a good match. But Carmela's growing doubts about Franco's possessiveness are magnified when she meets Captain Joe Kavanagh. Joe, an American officer stationed at a local army base, is charismatic, intelligent, and married. Hired as his interpreter, Carmela resolves to ignore her feelings, knowing that any future together must bring upheaval and heartache to both families.
As Mina follows the threads of Carmela's life to uncover her fate, she will discover a past still deeply alive in the present, revealing a story of hope, sacrifice, and extraordinary love.
Review:
That was such a beautiful story. The descriptions made me feel as if I were truly in 1950s post war. Mina, is a travel writer and wants to get down and uncover family secrets. In doing so, she opens up a whole beautiful world where we get to meet Carmela. A beautiful seamstress who falls in love with an American soldier.
So romantic, right? It is but there is one problem. Carmela is engaged to marry a good looking and wealthy man where she lives. Joe Kavanagh, the soldier, is married. The more and more she sees of Joe, the more she sees that her fiancé, Frank, isn't right for her. There starts a story is forbidden love, jealousies, and more important than anything, the love of family.
The author writes a rich and captivating story that feels more like a slow burn then anything else. I was engrossed with the words, the story, the characters, and the way I felt throughout the book. Poetically beautiful, I think I found a new author to read.
*Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
About the Author:
I grew up in North West London but all my summers were spent in my mother's homeland of Sardinia, specifically those dusty streets of Ozieri where I argued and fell in love with the neighbours.
Buy the Book:
I grew up in North West London but all my summers were spent in my mother's homeland of Sardinia, specifically those dusty streets of Ozieri where I argued and fell in love with the neighbours.
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