Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Italy, 1943. A castle once full of love and laughter is left in ruins by the Nazis, as three sisters are torn apart by one terrible mistake…
New York, present day. Broken by the loss of her beloved grandmother Annalisa, who raised her all alone, Mia is shocked when she finds an old letter sent from Italy in her belongings. Annalisa never told Mia about the magnificent, vine-covered castle on Isola di Parissi where she spent one long summer under the Italian stars. Or that she was accused of something terrible in the darkest days of World War Two…
Arriving on the stunning Italian coast just a boat ride away from Parissi, Mia is devastated to find the island closed to visitors. Desperate to find out what her grandmother was hiding, she finds dark and brooding local guide Leo, who promises to help her sneak in.
As they explore the crumbling castle surrounded by lush olive groves, Mia begins to fall in love with passionate Leo and the beautiful country he calls home. And soon they find handwritten notes hidden in the walls, which confirm her grandmother’s heartbreaking story. Annalisa arrived on the island with her two sisters but was forced to abandon them when the Nazis invaded.
Mia soon realizes that the accusation against Annalisa might be true, and that Leo has his own reasons for wanting to dig up her family’s past. The terrible mistake Annalisa made tore apart the island community. Will it force Mia to leave Leo, and Italy, forever?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of Secrets of the Italian Island to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Secrets of the Italian Island was my first introduction to the writing of Barbara Josselsohn and boy was I impressed. This is a dual timeline story which moves between Mia in 2018 and Annalisa in 1943 as the Germans are strengthening their hold on Italy. The story is really gripping and rich in detail in terms of the descriptions and imagery used particularly when the Italian island of the title features. There is a good, solid storyline throughout which keeps the reader guessing and the fact that there is no messing around with an overly long introduction means that we get straight down to business. The premise of the story is clearly set out and off we go and what follows is an engrossing story of love, devotion and of reconciling the past with the present in order to right a wrong.
Mia lives in New York and is coming to terms with the death of her beloved grandmother Lucy. She was the woman who raised her following the death of her parents when she was very young. Mia misses her desperately but had always wondered what made her so unhappy as there was always an air of sadness around her. Mia receives a letter from someone in Italy claiming Lucy had a different name and asking after a bowl stolen from a castle on an Italian island. This is shocking news to Mia and she can’t comprehend that Lucy is perhaps not Lucy after all no matter that she would ever steal something in the first place. Mia searches for a key to a storage unit that she never knew existed. As she looks through her grandmother’s house, she discovers an exquisite wedding dress hidden in the attic and sewn into the dress is a key. Said key opens the unit and lo and behold there is the bowl in question.
So sets in motion an adventure of uncertainty for Mia and she asks herself why has her grandmother saddled her with these discoveries. Mia wants Lucy’s name cleared and faces no other choice but to go to Italy and to try and get to the island which is now privately owned, in the hopes that she will find conclusive evidence that her grandmother is being blamed in the wrong. By embarking on this trip Mia hopes to gain a deeper understanding of the woman that raised her-why did she appear cold and stilted at times? Why had she hidden so much? Everything she said and did seemed to be borne of great hurt, pain and loss? What were the roots of her problems and will this journey provide her with the answers or only cause more worry, anguish and confusion?
I did feel at the time of reading and this is the only fault I found with the book and maybe it’s just me reading it and others may feel differently but I thought there was just that little bit too much focus on the modern day aspect of the story. That it tended to dominate too much, and I wanted to get back to Annalisa’s story set in the past. Yes, the present day gave us great insight into the past, but I wanted to be back there in the past for much more of the book. That’s the historical fiction lover in me coming out and don’t get me wrong I thought both strands of the story were very well written but it was more of Annalisa I wanted rather than Mia.
When Mia arrives in Italy, I enjoyed the confusion as she finds herself part of a group that she shouldn’t have been part of as this allowed for the introduction of Leo Bonetti. Leo will change everything for Mia both on a personal level and in terms of her discovering the answers she seeks. They begin to work together and surprising things are uncovered as Mia makes it to Castello di Parissi on the island. Connections become apparent and the pair edge ever closer to the truth surrounding the mysterious bowl and they also edge closer in terms of their friendship. Well I was there for it all and loving every minute of it. I just felt completely engulfed and consumed by the wonderful story unfolding.
In the timeline in 1943 a fascinating story unfolds of Annalisa and her two younger siblings Emilia and Giuila who are secretly travelling to the island in the hopes of gaining work there in order to get closer to the reclusive, Patricio Parissi. He is the one who could save her father’s life but as the world is very unstable and the Germans draw ever closer time is running out and Annalisa has a tough task ahead of her. The island has long been revered as a haven for great minds- artists, inventors, writers, scientists and philosophers have all stayed there and it is known as a centre of inspiration and creation. The descriptions of the island were so on point and magical and the more we delve into the reasons for Annalisa deciding to journey there the more fascinated I became.
A real mystery started to unfold, and it reminded me of Lucinda Riley’s books in a way that there were so many layers that were slowly pulled back leading to a great finale. Annalisa, always had a scientific mind and finding a cure for her father was always at the forefront of her every thought and action. She went through every hoop in order to get to Patricio and I admired her persistence in doing this as he really did hold the key. I loved the development of the storyline between Annalisa and Aldo also as it fed well into the overall plot and helped bring things full circle with Mia. But as I have mentioned I would have loved even more of Annalisa and the scenes set in the past than we got.
Secrets of the Italian Island really gave me that thrilling feeling of discovering a new author and subsequently wanting to read everything they have written in the past and will write in the future. It was brilliantly placed and plotted with an air of mystery with every turn of the page and a real sense of Mia delving into the past to uncover hidden secrets and at the same time this helped her to make sense of her own situation. It’s a book that if time allows you will want to devour in one sitting. I find it hard to believe that this is the author’s first foray into historical fiction as it read like she had been writing in the genre for years as there was such a strong sense of character, plot and setting. It was clear a lot of research had been undertaken in order to do the story justice and Barbara Josselsohn certainly has. The one thing I will say is that there were numerous unanswered questions at the end and I particularly wanted to know the fate/outcome of two characters in particular but as this is the first book in the Sisters of War series, I suppose I will just have to patiently wait for the next instalment to see whether my questions will have answers or not. In the meantime, I would definitely recommend this book. It takes you on an epic and memorable journey which you won’t want to end.
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