
Book Synopsis:
Callie, a lonely small-town waitress, is still reeling from the discovery that she’s adopted when she arrives in Montevino, Italy in search of answers – the keys to the stunning hillside villa she has just inherited clutched tightly in her hand. Inside the rusted gates, and through a large wooden front door dripping with sun-kissed flowers, Callie can’t decide if she’s more astonished by her new home or her first encounter with the mysterious young groundskeeper, Tommaso.
Wandering the villa barefoot at night, Callie finds a diary belonging to a woman named Elisa, wrapped in faded blue ribbon and hidden in her birthmother’s antique wardrobe. Page by page, Callie is swept away by its story of love, passion, heartbreak and betrayal as she reads how Elisa married her childhood sweetheart in secret before fleeing to the woods to join the resistance. They vowed to find each other again when the war was over, but history had other plans.
Callie is certain that her and Elisa’s lives are somehow connected, and that the truth about her family is hidden somewhere within the diary’s crinkled yellow pages. It gives her the courage to start asking questions around the close-knit village until, at long last, she feels her closed-off heart begin to open. Perhaps even enough to let someone in…
But when a devastating betrayal in the final pages of the diary unlocks a heart-breaking secret about who Callie’s mother really is, the chance for a new life shatters in front of her. Can she persuade the locals to forgive her past and accept the truth about her identity?
This unforgettable story of love, loss and secrets by the author of million-copy Amazon No 1. bestseller, Watch Over Me, is perfect for anyone who loves Fiona Valpy, Lily Graham, or The Letter by Kathryn Hughes.
The Italian Villa is available in ebook and paperback now. The ebook is currently only £1.99. You can purchase your copy using the link below.
My Review:
I’m a huge fan of this authors Seal Island books so I was very intrigued to read her first standalone historical fiction book too. I pleased to say that I absolutely loved this book and thought it was a brilliant read full of atmosphere and mystery.
Firstly the setting of this novel is incredibly vivid with the descriptions of the mountain town allowing me to feel like I was actually there too. I felt completely drawn into the story with all lovely feeling of community that the author has captured and all the little rituals of the town which made me feel further included in their lives.
The two main characters are wonderful creations and I loved following them throughout the book. I found I liked both timelines equally, which meant I flew through the book as I wanted to find out what was happening next. There is lots of intrigue and secrets being revealed which I wasn’t expecting and kept me fully absorbed in the story. It’s definitely an emotional story and the village’s haunting history was a bit of shock when you contrasted with the wonderful community spirit that is there in the present day. I felt incredibly sad to leave the village and the characters behind at the end which is always a sign of an amazing read.
Huge thanks to Kim Nash for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Bookouture for my copy of this book via Netgalley.
About The Author:

Daniela Sacerdoti is a phenomenon. Over one million copies of her novels have been sold in eBook, her debut novel Watch Over Me was the eighth bestselling Kindle book of all time in 2015 and she was also ranked as the eleventh top-selling Kindle author.
Daniela writes beautiful, haunting and bestselling fiction for adults (the Glen Avich series), young adults (the Sarah Midnight trilogy) and children. Her novels have been translated in twelve languages.
Daniela was born and raised in Italy. She studied Classics, then lived in Scotland for fourteen years, where she married and taught in a primary school. Daniela’s children’s book Really WeirdRemovals.Com was shortlisted for the Scottish Children’s Book Awards. She has also written for the BBC.
Daniela, her husband and their two sons make their home in a tiny village in the Alps. To discover more about Daniela and her world, visit http://www.danielasacerdoti.com.


Lovely review xx
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