About the Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Light We Lost comes a sweeping story of two star-crossed lovers in post-World War II Italy, and a blossoming relationship generations later that will reveal a long-buried family secret.
Genoa, Italy, 1946. Vincenzo and Giovanna fall in love at twenty-one the moment they set eyes on each other. The son of a count and the daughter of a tailor, they belong to opposing worlds. Despite this, the undeniable spark between them quickly burns into a deep and passionate relationship spent exploring each other’s minds, bodies and their city, as well as Vincenzo’s family’s sprawling vineyard, Villa Della Rosa—until shifts in political power force them each to choose a side and commit what the other believes is a betrayal, shattering the bright future they dreamed of together.
New York, 2017. Cassandra and Luca are in love. Although neither quite fits with the other’s family, Cass and Luca have always felt like a perfect match for each other. But when Luca, an artist, convinces his grandfather and Cass’s grandmother to pose for a painting, past and present collide and reveal a secret that changes everything.
My Review
One of the best books I’ve read not only this year, but in a while. Be prepared to feel all the emotions while reading about heartbreak and loss, but also about true love, family and a romance that stretches beyond decades. I fell in love with each and every character, from Cassandra and her fiancé Luca preparing for their wedding in 2017, to Vincenzo and Giovanna and their love story that began in 1946. The book brings us from Italy to New York, with powerful writing to show the true turmoil of Vincenzo and Giovanna and how their families would not want them to be together, to Cass and Luca feeling the strains of uniting their very different families in a more modern era. The ending had me about falling to pieces, and I cried all over my Kindle in the last few chapters. I learned a lot about Italian history, the settings were vibrant, but the emotion was what stood out to me the most. I don’t have a lot of novels that can make me feel like this one did, and I highly recommend you read this.
5 stars
