Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Walking across the warm terracotta tiles of her family house, the scent of roses and fresh rosemary in the air, Lucrezia feels at peace for the first time in years. But she knows that to truly feel at home again, she must tell her sisters the devastating truth about why she left…
Before she can, she discovers her father left debts that threaten to cost them the house. With nowhere for her sisters to go, Lucrezia becomes determined to save their home. And when her childhood love Vanni unexpectedly arrives soon after, she finds herself gazing into his deep brown eyes, having imagined this moment for years. Can they save her family home together?
But then one day Lucrezia glimpses a familiar figure in the rose garden, and her heart stops. Maybe she didn’t imagine what her father told her she did, all those years ago… Suddenly, there is more than one secret to uncover before she can truly return home. Is everything Lucrezia thought about her family a lie? And if it is, is she too late to heal the wounds of the past?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Tuscan Sister to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Tuscan Sister is the first in a new series from Daniela Sacerdoti which will follow the lives of the four Falconeri sisters. Series following sisters or women seems to be becoming quite popular with some Bookouture authors and I am loving it as it brings continuity to books and always leaves you wanting more. This is a modern story and was a welcome break from the abundance of historical fiction that I have been reading lately. The setting of Tuscany is fabulous and through such wonderful and detailed descriptions the setting jumps off the pages and really helps set the atmosphere and tone for the story. This was a quick and relaxing read with some very good twists and turns as the fall out from one event for a family is explored.
This book focuses on Lucrezia (Lulu) who has been in exile from the family home, Casalta, for over twelve years ever since she was only twelve years old. The vineyards, olive groves and special house had been her haven and sanctuary until terrible events turned into a place of loneliness and heartache. Her mother is found dead on the hillside and in the months that follow she has been rebelling and has become uncontrollable. It’s her way of dealing with everything and with a father who seems to care little for the four young girls left without a mother who could blame her for acting out in this manner. Her twin Bianca can’t reach her to offer comfort and solace and her younger sisters Eleonara (Nora) and Maria (Mia) themselves needing a strong figure they can do little to help. Each sister is blessed with a gift which manifests itself differently in different generations. This could have come across as too farfetched but it was woven very well throughout the plot. Lucrezia can see people’s inner emotions and thoughts as halos of colour around their body. The way Lucrezia is feeling now her halo is undoubtedly black as she is full of anger and rage at the loss of her mother.
A surprising event sees her banished from the house and to be honest I couldn’t believe that this was happening to a 12 year old and when the reasons for it are explained it very much seemed a complete over reaction and there was no way she should have been excluded from her family. It demonstrated what a cruel and callous man her father, Fasco, was. He ruled the house and his business with an iron fist and was not the loving male figure the girls needed in their lives with their mother gone. I did initially think where can the story go from here? We know why Lucrezia was banned and what else could be said about it but the author had lots in store for her readers and as the story moves to focus more on the modern day with brief glimpses into the past a fascinating tale unfolds and Lucrezia finds herself in a very difficult position.
In the present day, Lucrezia is living in Paris and is in a relationship with Claude, a famous chef. Whilst attending an event she sees something which she thought was just her eyes playing a trick on her and then she receives a phone call which changes everything. Her father has died and she must return for the funeral. The love she has for her sisters shines through here as she has not been back to Casalta since she was sent away and though tempted to leave things that way deep down she knows that she must return and in doing so hopefully she can put old demons to rest. ‘I longed for it, yet the darkest part of me also longed to see it disappear destroyed with all the awful memories it carried’.
I thought it was very admirable and brave to go back considering the heartbreak and devastation that had been enforced upon her. She has had little or no communication with anyone since she left and the reasons for this and the backstory to everything are tantalising drip fed to the reader. You become indignant at what Lucrezia was forced to endure and question why didn’t someone do more to help her? Yes she is filled with bitterness, fury, anger and resentment but yet the reader could see there is a pat of her that wants to find resolution, acceptance and forgiveness. Forgiveness on all the sisters parts for the role they played in everything. For Lucrezia, Tuscany and Casalta bring about mixed emotions but now she must confront everything and be prepared for the consequences.’ I loved it. I loathed it, I longed for it, a combination that pulled and tugged at my heart so violently, it left my head spinning’.
Lucrezia arrives at Casalta to find in some ways everything has remained the same but there are changes around the corner that will be challenging to traverse. Brief information is provided about the other sisters and knowing there are more books to come in the series I found myself trying to suss out what there stories could be about and Nora is the one whose story I am really keen to read. Bianca, Nora and Mia have been at Casalta living with their father whereas Lucrezia has seen more of the world through no fault of her own. I didn’t like the way Nora reacted to Lucrezia’s homecoming. I felt they should have welcomed her with open arms but there were a lot of secrets and things no one knew and that’s why this couldn’t have happened. Only for she loved her sisters so much I thought Lucrezia would have upped sticks and fled back to Paris when she hears some very unsettling news that places her in a very awkward position. It was almost as if her tyrant of a father was playing mind games with her from the grave. After all that was done to her you wouldn’t have blamed her for abandoning everyone as was done to her so many years ago. ’I just wanted to go back to Paris, where everything was regimented, contained, all my walls were safely up and my heart was locked away’.
There are so many things not said, plenty of misunderstandings and of course secrets that are uncovered the further the story develops. Some of them seemed to come out of nowhere and be a bit just too convenient and at one point I did find myself thinking oh of course this happened and this is just too easy. I understood the necessity for their inclusion so as to allow other things to happen but a slight more secrecy to the build up of the reveal I felt was necessary. The inclusion of the Ovali family really helped bring the story full circle but I did think the plot regarding Vani although helped me understand the bigger picture being explored, it did feel too rushed. To be honest I wouldn’t have minded if he hadn’t been included because Lucrezia and her story were strong enough without him. Lucrezia showed such grit, courage, determination and above all else strength as she waded against the tide of change. She was a remarkable character and readers will identify with her and feel great empathy for her.
In the end notes Daniela Sacerdoti said she is painting the sisters world one novel at a time and that sums up this book perfectly. There are hints that there is lots more to unravel about the sisters and after this very promising start I hope the wait for book two won’t be too long. Family and sisterly relations, secrets, the sense of belonging and so many complicated feelings are explored in The Tuscan Sister and I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. It was a really good read that left me wanting to know more about the other Falconeri sisters.
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