An Italian Secret

Daughters of Italy, Book 1

By: Ella Carey

Narrated by: Olivia Kustermans

Tuscany, 1944. As Cara runs into the grand entrance hall of the Villa Rosa, she flies to a stop. There is a gun pointing straight at her head, a Nazi staring down at her from the steps above. But even as her heart thumps so loudly she is sure it will jump out of her chest, she keeps smiling, desperately hoping that he won’t spot the precious diary she has hidden under her shirt. Because if he does, it’s not just her life at stake....

Years later, American chef Annie arrives in the tiny village in Tuscany. She is utterly heartbroken by her beloved father’s death, and his earth-shattering revelation that she was adopted. Why did he never tell her the truth? She clutches his last gift—two ancient brass keys—and directions to the stunning Villa Rosa. As she climbs through the steeply ascending hill gardens covered in fruit trees, she wonders if the peach-colored walls of the magnificent house are hiding the answers her father couldn’t bear to tell her.

Annie quickly falls in love with the crumbling villa, and with the handsome gardener, Luca, whose eyes sparkle as bright as the Tuscan sun. Searching for any clues about her past, they discover a musty diary from 1944 hidden away in the basement of an old bookstore, written by Cara Cartazzo, the wartime secretary at the villa. Back inside the Villa Rosa’s haunting main bedroom, Annie can barely breathe as she opens the first, yellowing page....

Her heart begins to race when she finds an entry about a baby, born in the villa at the end of the war. But Annie is devastated when she sees that crucial pages have been torn out. Annie and Luca try to discover more from the villagers, but no one dares speak about the Villa Rosa’s past. What happened there all those years ago? What did Cara have to hide?

Annie is certain the key to her past lies with finding the missing child—but when she discovers the truth, will she be strong enough to face who she really is at last?

An utterly gripping, sweeping pause-resister that will transport you to the olive groves of Tuscany. With a truly heartbreaking family secret from World War Two at its heart, fans of Kathryn Hughes, Fiona Valpy and Victoria Hislop will be enchanted.

©2023 Ella Carey (P)2023 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

disappointing

I almost gave up on the book, but i try to finish what i started. The narration was annoying at best

Mispronunciations Abound

First, the story has much potential. But Annie, the protagonist, seems a bit unrealistic and a bit whiny. Add to this a seemingly inexperienced narrator, who can’t pronounce Italian words well (pensione, pasta!!!!, buon giorno) and frustratingly even English words and you have a level of listening frustration that takes away from the story. She, like the character, is whiny with almost every character.

As I said, the story has potential with a few tweaks to Annie and even Cara.

Good clean story in beautiful Tuscany Italy

The Italians have such love for family and country and a joy of living . They seemed to be fierce partisans against the nazis. Even the women took active roles at times of need . It was a good story . But I’m surprised that a native English language narrator mispronounced some simple words .but I’ll continue to read this author like I have in the past

Good story

Narrator was monotone with repetitive speech patterns which interferes with a higher rating for an enjoyable story

Goid story but choppy naration

The story was very good as I love stories about WW2 and Italy
The naration was choppy at times and there were lots of pauses
But did enjoy the book