I’m over the moon to be on the book tour for Escape To Tuscany by Kat Devereaux. Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources and Aria Fiction for my gifted copy of the book to bring you my honest review.
‘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
This is a debut historical fiction novel. The cover to this book is just gorgeous. I was almost like Gollum with this book when it dropped through my letterbox!
I love historical fiction and dual timelines, so this book just had to be read. In 1944, we meet Stella, a fourteen year old girl. The youngest member of Romituzzo’s Resistance network, in Italy. She does everything she can with her brother to help them. Then 1945 comes with the end of the war, and Stella isn’t seen again.
Fast forward to 2019, Tori goes to Florence to escape her abusive marriage. Her grandmother’s inheritance helps to get her there. She takes it upon herself to dig into her family history and, along the way, begins to unearth secrets that have been hidden for decades. As both women’s stories weave together, the power of sacrifice, love, and togetherness span the years.
Historical fiction set around the Second World War always captivates and educates me. I always soak up any facts that I don’t already know. It makes a book much more than just a story to me. It brings the past alive, and I am grateful for authors like Kat Devereaux. The Second World War needs to be kept alive in the memories of all, and Escape To Tuscany is one fine example of a book that can do exactly that.
Stella was a teenager with the determination to help the Resistance no matter what. Her character was
well drawn, and I could imagine her fear as she delivered important messages for them.
Kat Devereaux’s detailed settings allowed me to see Florence in my minds-eye as I followed both women’s journeys through the years. As the pages flew by, so did the time, and I was loathe to put the book down. It took me all my willpower to actually stop reading until the next day. I was enjoying it that much. I hope to see more books from Kat Devereaux, I, for one, would be happy to read them.
Purchase Link
Author Bio
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.
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