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themaritimereader14's review against another edition
5.0
I was antsy to get my hands on this much-anticipated book! I very much enjoyed several of her previous novels and I'm leaning into historical fiction in a big way lately. I absolutely loved this book!!! I listened to most of it on audio via LibroFM and was also so delighted and thankful to receive a paperback copy in the mail from a friend as part of a gift swap :)
This book follows two magnificent and resilient characters in Italy during World War II: Antonina, a young daughter of a Jewish doctor who is nudged into posing as a wife to Niccolo, a kind, Christian man who was training to be a priest and who is able to protect her by bringing her home to his family's farm. Understandably, many difficulties lie ahead for these two characters and my heart wrenched at various parts of this story as events unfolded on the pages but amidst the pain and suffering, there is hope and joy to be found in this story as well.
"I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine."
100% recommend this title to anyone who loves historical fiction with a love story and hardships of war in the plotline. The Italy setting was refreshing after so many WWII stories I've read set in France and England. The story in these pages is not one often told. The supporting characters, including Nico's family, Stella, and Father Bernardi all wormed their way right into my heart. The narration of the novel on audio was also exceptionally performed and brought the Italian accents and phrases to life in my ears.
This book follows two magnificent and resilient characters in Italy during World War II: Antonina, a young daughter of a Jewish doctor who is nudged into posing as a wife to Niccolo, a kind, Christian man who was training to be a priest and who is able to protect her by bringing her home to his family's farm. Understandably, many difficulties lie ahead for these two characters and my heart wrenched at various parts of this story as events unfolded on the pages but amidst the pain and suffering, there is hope and joy to be found in this story as well.
"I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine."
100% recommend this title to anyone who loves historical fiction with a love story and hardships of war in the plotline. The Italy setting was refreshing after so many WWII stories I've read set in France and England. The story in these pages is not one often told. The supporting characters, including Nico's family, Stella, and Father Bernardi all wormed their way right into my heart. The narration of the novel on audio was also exceptionally performed and brought the Italian accents and phrases to life in my ears.
notinjersey's review against another edition
4.0
I have shied away from historical fiction lately, especially surrounding the Holocaust, but when this one came across my radar, I picked it up. It had a slow start, but was quicker in the middle section. It featured a fake marriage put together to protect a Jewish woman in Italy. This book does contain imagery and descriptions from Concentration Camps and can be difficult to read in parts. The overall story had me wondering about trauma and recovery for those involved in the war, including the non-Jewish partisans. There were two issues I came across with regards to portrayal of Judaism in this book, both which are small overall but made me wonder if the author had a Jewish person look over her included details.
haleybeck's review against another edition
1.0
I barely ever read popular books, but this was for a book club so I powered through. It was a good reminder to me to not pick up anymore popular modern books. From the first page I noticed that the writing was awful. (Especially after [a:Elizabeth Musser|187026|Elizabeth Musser|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1638220124p2/187026.jpg] fabulous writing.)
The descriptions were so over-the-top and cliche. The hero was literally the stereotypical perfect man. The heroine never did anything wrong.
Although the epilogue states that this author did a lot of research for this book, the writing makes it feel like she doesn't know what she's talking about. Like the fact that the Jew's and the Catholic's only hope is to just "bear through it." Yes, they don't have the true hope of the Gospel, but it seems like they would say something a little more substantial than "you'll get over it."
You get halfway through the book and boom- ridiculous bad language. One closed door scene. The story was pretty boring except for a few major drastic things that happen. 100% would don't recommend.
The descriptions were so over-the-top and cliche. The hero was literally the stereotypical perfect man. The heroine never did anything wrong.
Although the epilogue states that this author did a lot of research for this book, the writing makes it feel like she doesn't know what she's talking about. Like the fact that the Jew's and the Catholic's only hope is to just "bear through it." Yes, they don't have the true hope of the Gospel, but it seems like they would say something a little more substantial than "you'll get over it."
You get halfway through the book and boom- ridiculous bad language. One closed door scene. The story was pretty boring except for a few major drastic things that happen. 100% would don't recommend.
abowlen's review against another edition
4.0
Some WWII fictions don’t touch on the horrors of the times and therefore end up being boring or unbelievable. This one was a good balance of a love story and history.
My 4 stars is solely because I doubt the legitimacy of the reunification at the end of this story. Not the author’s fault that I’m a realist. Haha.
Also I feel like the ending was a good setup for a sequel - if so I’ll definitely be reading it.
My 4 stars is solely because I doubt the legitimacy of the reunification at the end of this story. Not the author’s fault that I’m a realist. Haha.
Also I feel like the ending was a good setup for a sequel - if so I’ll definitely be reading it.
makennama's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
mpaoli's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
problemreader's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this everything about this story. Soooo good!