Ebook: 428 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: 25 March 2024 Bookouture
Source: NetGalley - My Kindle
First Sentence: The nights were darkening earlier now that autumn was well and truly here, but the trees were still in leaf and provided cover for the woman slinking past, carrying something clasped close to her chest.
Review Quote: Had me riveted from start to finish… Had me reading deep into the night with only a few hours' sleep before I put the kettle on again to finish… I cried… I simply couldn’t put it down.’ Goodreads Reviewer.
Setting: Italy
My Opinion:
A new to me author and a title that I decided to read because of my love of Italy.
Written in the popular dual time-line style with in this case the prologue setting the scene. It is 1945 and in London a young mother abandons her baby although she had only intended it to be temporary. The first story line is set in the 1970’s and the protagonist Sadie discovers that she is adopted. The second story line tells us of the wartime adventures of Betty a young Yorkshire lass. The vividly described Italian backdrop appears in both timelines as the two women’s stories gradually merge.
If you find romance intrigue and Italy appealing in your choice of reading material then I feel you will find this an agreeable read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:
1945. The tiny bundle in her arms barely stirs as she hurries out into the dark street. Remembering Villa Teresa, a thousand miles away in sun-soaked Italy, Betty thinks of the letter she had to write to stop the bombing and save Gianni. Instead it cost her everything… And she will never see her beloved again. Now, letting her little baby go will tear her apart, but she knows it is the only way to keep her child safe…
Naples, present day. With nothing but the name of crumbling palazzo Villa Teresa scribbled on the page, Sadie clutches the scrap of a letter she desperately hopes will help her find her birth mother. It’s her only clue to go on. But with the heady scent of fresh lemons carrying on the breeze, and handsome local guide Luca by her side, she knows in her bones this is the right place.
Then, lost in the local newspaper archives, the pair makes a shocking discovery about the woman Sadie believes is her mother… How she did something terrible during the war. Shattered, Sadie must ask herself if she should continue searching for a woman who did her best to disappear.
Deep down, Sadie knows she can’t give up. But what really happened in that beautiful palazzo all those years ago? What led a mother to give away her baby? And will uncovering this devastating secret destroy Sadie’s heart for good?
Author Profile:
Courtesy of Goodreads
The following passage is from her official website
About Rose
Rose has had more careers than is probably strictly necessary, including TV producer / director making programmes for all the major broadcasters, freelance feature writer for publications including The Guardian and secondary school English teacher, not forgetting cocktail waitress, melon picker and interior designer.
Writing a novel is, however predictable the line seems, the realisation of Rose’s childhood dream and the result of finally finding ‘a voice’. The triumph is that the voice was heard above the racket created by her three children plus rescue cat (tabby white, since you ask). Rose likens the experience of penning Garden of Stars, a multi-layered love story,
to another recent achievement of learning to ice-skate: progress is two-slides-forward-one-back; insecurity, self-doubt and despondence reign supreme; onlookers laugh, mock or even worse, smile indulgently.... But the finished manuscript, polished and pristine, is like the perfect pirouette performed on freshly raked ice. (Rose can’t do pirouettes yet, obviously, they just made the best simile.)
Rose is currently working on several new projects including a novel based on a relative’s true story of an epic journey as a ‘flüchtlinge’, fleeing the vengeance of the rampaging Red Army as Nazi Germany collapsed.
Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:
Author Official Website Goodreads Profile Page. Rose Alexander - Facebook Profile
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