Dark secrets and hidden sorrows abound in Santa Montefiore’s spellbinding new novel set in war-torn Italy and the streets of New York.

‘Nobody does epic romance like Santa Montefiore’ JOJO MOYES
 
New York, 1979. 
 
It is Thanksgiving and Evelina has her close family and beloved friends gathered around, her heart weighted with gratitude for what she has and regret for what she has given up. She has lived in America for over thirty years, but she is still Italian in her soul. 
 
Northern Italy, 1934. 
 
Evelina leads a sheltered life with her parents and siblings in a villa of fading grandeur. When her elder sister Benedetta marries a banker, to suit her father’s wishes rather than her own, Evelina swears that she will never marry out of duty. She knows nothing of romantic love, but when she meets Ezra, son of the local dressmaker, her heart recognises it like an old friend. 
 
Evelina wants these carefree days to last forever. She wants to bask in sunshine, beauty and love and pay no heed to the grey clouds gathering on the horizon. But nothing lasts forever.  The shadows of war are darkening over Europe and precious lives are under threat…

Review:

Thoughtful, moving, and immersive!

An Italian Girl in Brooklyn is a poignant, tender tale set in Northern Italy during 1934, as well as New York in 1979, that takes you into the lives of Evelina Pierangelini and Ezra Zanotti, two young lovers from different backgrounds and religions whose lives are unimaginably torn apart and changed forever when their homeland adopts and enforces Germany’s antisemitic regulations during WWII.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are brave, selfless, and resilient. And the plot is an exceptionally touching tale about life, loss, family, secrets, separation, desperation, forbidden love, tragedy, friendship, and the consequences, repercussions, and horrors of war.

Overall, An Italian Girl in Brooklyn is a beautifully written, sweeping saga by Montefiore that tugs at the heartstrings, makes you think of all those what-ifs, and ultimately reminds you that life is complicated, things often happen for a reason, and love is powerful and everlasting.

This novel is available now.

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