One Italian Summer by Lori Nelson Spielman

 

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (30 April 2020)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0008318069
• ISBN-13: 978-0008318062

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

For generations, no second-born daughter in the Fontana family has married. Lucy desperately wants to find love, but for her cousin Emilia, their family curse is a blessing in disguise.

But then their Great Aunt Poppy declares she’ll reunite with her long-lost love on her eightieth birthday – and break the curse once and for all.

And so the three women embark on a journey to Tuscany to fulfil Poppy’s last wish. But the secrets they uncover there could change their family forever…

 

Review

One Italian Summer is the story of a two hundred year old mythical curse, family secrets and three very different women whose journey to Italy is a catalyst to prove that second daughters can find love. Emilia learnt about the curse after making a family tree for school where to was pointed out all those second sisters who never found love. Lucy has had it drummed into by her mother that she must break this curse so spends her life looking for ‘the one’. Poppy is their great aunt and black sheep of the family, and promises Emilia and Lucy that if they come with her to Italy she will break the curse. As the three women got to Venice, Florence and finally Ravello on the Amalfi Coast they learn more about their family history and that love can come in many different guises. Family secrets, lies, love and all things Italian, I just wished I was on the journey with them.

One Italian Summer has a split timeline, in the present day the story is from the point of Emilia and in the 1950’s-60’s from Poppy’s point of view. Emilia is only twenty nine but has given up any idea of love, as have her family.  Emilia turns this into a positive by not having to bother to make an effort with her looks and being able to wear comfortable clothes and shoes. Her sister Daria and her Nonna Rosa treat her terribly, running her life for her and constantly reminding her that she will never find love. Her sense of loyalty is on the surface is admirable, but with Rosa and Daria walking all over her, putting her down, telling her what to do, including forbidding her to go to Italy, I found myself wanting to scream at her to take control. She is like a caged animal, just waiting for freedom to spread her wings and live her life, and I cheered when she did. Her Aunt Poppy is the complete opposite to her, she is colourful, led a fabulous life, travelled the world and has a fabulous dress sense, I have say I was jealous of her job as a tour guide in the Uffizi, my perfect job. She maybe nearly eighty but she has the joie de vivre of a much younger person and a wonderful outlook on life.  Going back to the 1950’s we see a time when Poppy and her sister Rosa were close, a time where Poppy met the love of her life and felt the ultimate betrayal, a time before she was ostracised by the family.  Lori Nelson Spielman captures the depth of these characters, making them relatable, fun and familiar; I would love to be on an Italian road trip with them.

Lori Nelson Spielman writes with ease and understanding of her main characters, the family dynamics, their interaction with others and the constraints put on women in 1950’s Italy; a patriarchal society, where they go from the control of their father to their husband, and the importance of family. In contrast America offers them freedom, to work, although in Rosa’s case she is still at the behest of her husband. Poppy on the other hand is able to study at University and live her own life, with her own rules. The irony of this is that America in the present day is stifling for Emilia, where she is under the control of her Nonna Rosa. The Italian setting is a feast for the senses with its stunning architecture, the history of Venice and Florence, and the beauty of the Amalfi Coast and the mouthwatering food.

One Italian Summer,  with its stunning setting and family secrets and lies, is a book I got fully immersed in and couldn’t put down. At its centre is the most beautiful love story that really touched my heart, of two young people who sacrifice so much to be together. I went through so many emotions reading this book, I laughed, cried, was shocked and cheered the characters on, ultimately it left me with a feeling of happiness, what more could I ask for. Pure escapism, this is a brilliant read.

 

Thank you to Avon Books for including me in this blog tour.