This week

I'm reading

Bongiorno!

My reading over the last week has a very distinct pattern. 

I read The Lost Garden by Angela Petch which is a WWII novel set in Italy, and now I am reading  Daughter of Genoa by Kat Deveraux which is a WWII novel set in Italy. Fortunately, it is different parts of Italy but still. I reviewed The Lost Garden last week and the review for Daughter of Genoa will be up later this week. I do have another review book to read but that is a contemporary novel set in France.


I'm watching


We like to go and watch at least one movie during each of the international film festivals that are held at my favourite movie chain. This time it is the Italian Film Festival which is on, so we went off to seea movie called Diamonds.

It was an interesting movie, almost a movie within a movie. It starts with a producer inviting all of the favourite actresses he has worked with over the year to come for a big lunch where he asks them to read a script. We do come back to this scene a couple of times within the movie. 

All of a sudden it then switches to being the movie from the script which is about a group of women working in a costume makers house where they make the gorgeous and extravagant costumes for movies and theatres. We get to see glimpses of the lives of the women who own the business and the women who work for them. 

It is only at the end that we see why that particular movie within a movie structure is necessary. Here's the trailer

Life


It hasn't been a good weekend for us sporting wise. Well, I say us. Really I mean me.

In Australian Rules Football I am a fan of the Adelaide Crows. This year, my team was flying and finished on top of the league which was amazing given that last year we were 15th. However, on Friday night, they played Hawthorn (which is my husband's team) and we lost. We didn't get to watch the game as we were out watching my nephew play his basketball grand final, which they lost. And then my other nephew lost his football final on Saturday as well. 

It has been a busy week. I had a two day offsite for work which included an evening event, then went to the movies and to watch basketball, I am looking forward to a few nights at home this week. I do feel much more settled now at work than I haved previously.

On Saturday we had a whole group of people around for an open house because my step daughter went back to England on Sunday morning. We will most likely see her again next year, but we will see I guess. It was so lovely having some time with her over the last week. Robert took a couple of days off work so he could take her out to lunch. 


Posts from the last week


Top Ten Tuesday: V is for....
Blog Tour: Winter Nights at the Bay Bookshop
The Briar Club by Kate Quinn
Blog Tour: The Lost Garden by Angela Petch
Afternoon Tea Diaries: Ritz Carlton Melbourne
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: August statistics


I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

Top Ten Tuesday: Historical Fiction

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week is a genre freebie, so I am choosing to share the last ten Historical Fiction novels I have read.

Escape to Tuscany by Kat Deveraux - A dual timeline WWII novel set in Tuscany (review)

The Girl from Venice by Siabhon Daiko - A dual timeline WWII novel set in Venice (review)

The War Nurses by Anthea Hodgson - Another WWII novel, but this time it is not dual timeline and is set in the Pacific theatre

The Book Binders of Jericho by Pip Williams - Not even WWII! This one is a companion book to The Dictionary of Lost Words

The Girl Who Escaped by Angela Petch - A novel set in WWII Italy. There's a bit of a theme happening this year apparently (review)

The Forgotten Palace by Alexandra Walsh - This is a dual timeline set in Crete in the late 1899s (review)

My Father's House by Joseph O'Connor - a mystery set in WWII Italy - really good read!

The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan - This is a WWII novel about 4 women competing in a cooking competition on the radio (review)

The Flame Tree by Siobhan Daiko - Another WWII novel, this time set in Hong Kong (review)

The Proxy Bride by Zoe Boccabella - The story of an Italian woman who migrates to Australia just before WWII and her descendants.

It would appear that I am reading a lot of books set in Italy and WWII books, as well as women in red dresses on the cover!! Have you read any of these books? What's the last historical fiction book you read?

Blog Tour: Escape to Tuscany by Kat Devereaux

 

When Tori MacNair's husband Duncan stands in the way of her getting to farewell her grandmother it is the last straw. She takes her inheritance and flees to the Italian city of Florence, a place that holds cherished memories of trips with her grandmother.

Tori needs to spend times healing from her emotional wounds from her marriage, and on a more practical level she needs to get back to work as a writer. She has a book contract to write about her life in the Scotland but that's going to be difficult given that she doesn't even live there anymore. She needs to find a new story to pitch to her impatient agent and publisher...and fast.

Going through her grandmother's papers she comes across some letters which lead her to the story of a famous racing car driver who died back in the 1950s. How can the tragic story of this man be connected to her family? And can Tori find the people who her grandmother always used to visit whenever they came to Florence. Maybe they will help her put all the pieces of the puzzle together.

Tori is an interesting character to read about. Sometimes it is difficult to read as she is very damaged. Her marriage has left her without any confidence in herself, having been denigrated and undermined for years. And if her own sister will not believe her when she tells her how unhappy she was, why would anyone else? She needs to find her self belief, and to believe that she deserves to be happy. As she meets people in her new life, can she allow herself to take a chance at happiness. 

This is a dual timeline novel and the historical part of the storyline focuses on a young woman named Stella.  She is a young girl of 14 when we meet her during World War II. She is secretly risking her life by working as a courier for the resistance. Her brother Achille also is part of the resistance organisation and knows the risks she is taking but her parents are blissfully unaware. Through her eyes, we see the techniques used to smuggle arms, illegal newspapers and more. We also are with her in the midst of fighting where Stella is called onto provide medical assistance to her fellow resisters. One of the interesting things is that Stella disappeared from the records in 1945. Will Tori be able to find out what happened to her?

I am going to put it out there that I enjoyed this book. It was an easy read and I read it in a day, or should I say night.  This is the author's debut novel and I will be looking for the next book from her, which will also be set in Italy. Having said that, I did wonder about the indirectness of the link between Tori and Stella in telling the story. It felt kind of forced, or maybe a better way to say it is that it lacked some cohesion. Then again, maybe the fact that it is not as direct as a lot of these books are is a point of difference.

Recently we had a friend around for lunch. The deal was that he would give us some handy tips about travel in Hawaii as we have recently book flights for later in the year,  and we would do the same for him following our recent trip to Southen Italy. Part of the conversation was about whether it would be worth visiting Florence. My advice was absolutely, and reading this book definitely reiterated that for me. 

I am sharing this review with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy.

Rating 4/5

About the book

Escape to Tuscany

'A rich and engaging vision of life gone by and a lust for one woman's future, rolled into one. And now I want to move to Italy!' Mandy Robotham

A gripping and moving debut novel about two women, decades apart, whose fates converge in Florence, Italy. Perfect for fans of Patricia Wilson, Mandy Robotham and Lucinda Riley.

Only fourteen, Stella Infuriati is the youngest member of her town's resistance network during World War II. Risking imprisonment and death, she relays messages, supplies, and weapons to partisan groups in the Tuscan Hills. Her parents have no idea, consumed instead by love and fear for their beloved son, Achille, a courier and unofficial mechanic for a communist brigade fighting the fascists.

Then, after 1945, Stella seemingly vanishes from the records, her name and story overshadowed by the tragic death of her brother - until a young writer arrives in Tuscany in the spring of 2019, uncovering long-buried secrets.

Fleeing an emotionally abusive marriage and a lonely life on an isolated estate, Tori McNair has come to Florence, the beautiful city her grandmother, Margaret, taught her to love, to build a new life. As she digs into her family history with the help of Marco, a handsome lawyer, Tori starts to uncover secrets of the past - truths that stretch back decades, to a young woman who risked everything to save her world....

'A glorious read full of rich detail that made me ache to be back in Italy. I loved the characters and the story.' Liz Fenwick

'Conjures Tuscany so beautifully that I felt I was taking a holiday there whilst reading it. The spirit and atmosphere of Italy simply sizzle from its pages. A true escape!' Fiona Walker

'This moving page-turner is a love letter to Florence - past and present - and filled with all the juicy elements that hist-fic lovers will celebrate: love, passion, history, courage, secrets and second chances.' Lisa Barr, New York Times bestselling author of Woman on Fire

'A poignant, emotional novel about love, loss, and new beginnings.' Christine Wells, author of Sisters of the Resistance

Purchase Links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Escape-Tuscany-Kat-Devereaux/dp/1804549851/

https://www.amazon.com/Escape-Tuscany-Kat-Devereaux/dp/1804549851/

 

About the author –

Kat Devereaux was born near Edinburgh, and lived in the United States, Russia, France, Chile, Germany, and the Czech Republic before finally settling in Italy. She is a writer and translator with a special focus on Italian literature.

https://www.katdevereaux.com/

Social Media Links –

Publisher social media handles:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AriaFiction

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AriaFiction

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headofzeus/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headofzeus

#EscapeToTuscany

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Winter to Read List

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the them

e is Books on My Summer 2023 to-Read List but it is winter here so this is my winter to read list.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus - I have read quite a bit of this but I had to put it aside in order to read review books so I want to finish this. 

Happy Place by Emily Henry - I have a couple of hours left of the audiobook. I really want to finish it.

The Drifter by Anthea Hodgson - This is going to be my next audiobook.

The French Chateau Dream by Julie Caplin - Have had this author on my list for a while now!

Escape to Tuscany by Kat Deveraux - I am all about Italy right now!

Second Chances in Bellbird Bay by Maggie Christensen - The next instalment in the Bellbird Bay series

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy - This has been on my wishlist for a while so I was pleased when we were given it at a leadership event recently.

Homecoming by Kate Morton - My next read on a theme bookclub theme is Australian Authors so maybe this might be choice.

Food Americana by David Page  -  The next Cooking the Books collection.

Lost Luggage by Samantha Tonge - I had this out from the library and then realised that I already own it!

Have you read any of these?