This is a historical fiction book based in Italy.
The ending seemed a bit abrupt
An entertaining read

Apologies for the late response on this title, and apologies for clogging up an inbox on old titles.

While I am aware it's obvious, I have chosen not to read/review this title.

As always, I appreciate access to titles and look forward to the next one...which I have likely already read based on how long ago this title was published.

Thanks, again.

I really liked this historical fiction read. It had romance and suspense. I loved learning about Italy during WWII, I’ve read so many books set in France during the same period. It amazes me to think about the extraordinary things people do during wartime to protect themselves and their families.
I would have given it 5 stars, but it went on too long in certain sections. 4 stars.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really wanted to like this book, but the writing was awkward, dialogue was stiff, and the plot was not interesting. Sorry.

[Thanks Netgalley for the ebook. This review is my honest opinion but just another opinion, you should read this book and judge it by yourself] //REVIEW IN ENGLISH SOON//

De vez en cuando echo un ojo a la categoría Women's Fiction de Netgalley para ver si me llama la atención algo, que no siempre leo romántica (iba a decir que no siempre me apetece romántica, pero eso es mentira total). En fin, que miré por encima la sinopsis de este y con eso de estar situada en Italia en la Segunda Guerra Mundial y con pisto entre una joven y dos hermanos pensé que iba a ser un historión. Y no. Como tantas otras, la idea no está mal pero en eso se queda, ni lo que ocurre me ha gustado ni cómo está escrita. Es una narración muy plana, sin ninguna emoción, una sucesión de acontecimientos expuestos sin nervio alguno. Para colmo, la protagonista me ha caído mal, es la típica que siempre hace lo contrario de lo que se le aconseja (cuando claramente le aconsejan personajes que saben mucho más que ella). Creo que se han desaprovechado muchos personajes y situaciones históricas que habrían hecho el libro muchísimo más interesante. Una pena.

I was drawn in by the striking cover artwork on this novel. The setting is WWII, where a young Englishwoman who is caught in Italy, unable to return home, and caught in between two half-brothers who are very different int their personalities and loyalties. Imogen ends up involved in smuggling food and information, and though she can be frustratingly naive, you want to keep reading to find out what happens.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I would like to thank Bookouture and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. I was immediately attracted by the pretty cover of this book where we see Imogen looking at planes in the sky.

The story takes place in Italy in the 40's in Naples where the second world war breaks out. We find Imogen who works as a nanny in a large family house near the Bay of Naples. She is an Englishwoman and as soon as this war breaks out she becomes an enemy of Italy. Her employer having gone to war, she has to look after his two children, hoping to pass for a real Italian with her brown hair. But one morning she meets the famous Fabriozio, the children's uncle, and falls in love with him. As for the children's father, he comes back from the front totally changed and ready to do anything to protect his family.

Imogen will have to either join the resistance by betraying her boss or stay to save the two children.

A book read almost in one sitting, so much so that I was hooked on the story, so gripping, so moving in certain passages, so captivating, so addictive, so full of intrigue, suspense and twists and turns with very endearing characters.

I am a huge lover of Historical fiction, so this books cover and description caught my interest.
The story had so much detail and depth to it, I found it all truly engrossing from the start.
It is clear that the author has done a vast amount of research as the detail to the time in which the story is set, along with the ways in which the characters interacted was fascinating.
A definite must read for all fans of a good, well written historical fiction.

Imogen Fitzgerald, raised in an English orphan works for the Count di Trosini, Giancarlo, as his kids, Eloisa and Marco's "nanny" or teacher figure. But along the way, World War II tears through Italy and the di Trosini household. And, to add to the chaos of war, Giancarlo's half-brother, Fabrizio, stirs Imogen's life and twists and turns it for better or for worst.

Into the Burning Dawn shows the struggles of war, family, and love amidst a World War and the lines between enemies and friends. We are taken through years of Imogen's life with the di Trosini's and the struggles and hardships that she faces with the family and how she comes to show her true self.

I gave Into the Burning Dawn 3.5 stars, enjoying the aspects of hardships that Imogen had to go through during World War II in Italy. She came face to face with people she could trust and people she must call enemy. I found that her relationship with half-brothers, Giancarlo and Fabrizio, were fascinating and how in some ways, that helped dictate her actions a bit throughout the story.

War, as per usual, holds a great deal and in Into the Burning Dawn, we can see how much Italy is affected by WWII, especially the di Trosini household. I love learning about WWII and how it affects different countries so I jumped at the chance of reading this book, but, I found that Into the Burning Dawn just didn't hit the right checkpoints for me.

Throughout the story, Imogen goes from a somewhat naive nanny/teacher and grows to be a headstrong woman that dives headfirst into dangerous situations. I found that the times where she should have learned her lesson, she simply didn't learn or didn't realize it. Yes, she had a lot of character growth from beginning to end, but, it just seems that throughout she doesn't learn her lesson when it comes to the people she surrounds herself with. In my opinion, it just doesn't seem that she grew mentally as a character when it comes to reading people and what their true natures can be.

The di Trosini family definitely had its faults but I found that Into the Burning Dawn captured how strong family ties to war can truly be. The plot and the aspects of World War II are the main interests that I found were the strong suits of Into the Burning Dawn. The romance was a little lackluster but the plot more than made up for it.

Thank you again to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review

What a wonderful book. The story had me gripped from beginning to end, the twists and turns of Imogens life kept me second-guessing the story the whole read. Sometimes books can be a little lean in the story and description but this was not the case here, we had a meaty story that just kept on giving, very atmospheric and page turning not just a boy meets girl love story - I didn't` want it to end.
Set in Italy in the WW2 we had a more complicated look on the war with the infighting of the Italian people, but we also saw the toll that the war bore onto the people both in the town and countryside and how they dealt with this. I thoroughly recommend this book.

I have read quite a few fictional novels based on WWII but they have all been based in either France or the UK and have rarely come across books that give a glimpse on the effects the same war had on the people of other countries who were also caught up in it.

Into the Burning Dawn is a WWII fiction based in Italy about a young British Imogen Fitzgerald, nanny to the children of Count Giancarlo Trosini, who not only finds herself in the midst of the war in a country who considers her an enemy but is also caught up in the political intrigue and resistance activities against the Fascist regime of the country spurred on by Fabrizio Bardi, the illegitimate half brother of the Count whom Imogen loves. Caught between the two brothers and their differing idealogies and the political unrest in a country she has come to love, it takes Imogen years to realise that not everything is at it seems and not everyone is who they say they are. The book was a bit long and I felt the ending was quite abrupt... I was really looking forward to a final showdown between the Count and Fabrizio which didn't happen. But overall I liked it.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture and the author Natalie Meg Evans for the e-Arc of the book. The book was published on 22nd September 2020.

Rating:⭐⭐⭐✨💫

I love Historical Fiction and appreciate all the work that goes into writing a story you weren't even around to witness. But with a lot of research also comes a lot of information and at times i felt there was "too much" going on. And the WWII was just a back drop, an excuse as to why the children's father needed to leave and why the Uncle came around.
Having been raised in an orphanage herself young lady Imogene sees to it Ginacarlo's children don't suffer the same fate. But oh course it is not that easy. The conflict of the people involved in the novel run parallel with the terrors of war.
I would have given 5 stars had the story moved faster and been streamlined a little more.

Oh this book annoyed me. Whilst the concept was good I found the main character one dimensional and to a large extent, unlikeable. I wanted to shake her and tell her not to be so stupid. Disappointed as normally I love a NME book.

It certainly is an absolutely stunning and evocative historical read as it claims. The research that's gone into producing such a book is fantastic, such detail is incredible about a terrible time in history. Families betrayed families if you supported the wrong side.

I did not know a great deal about the Fascist state in Italy during WW2 but NME has educated me and given me a better insight into what life was like for people living in it.

I was so frightened for Imogen being English in that country at that time for fear of being betrayed. She was so brave and had such courage despite the family she worked for having such an intense and bitter relationship. The brothers Fabrizio and The Count were so different with different values

I have read all Nmes books, enjoyed them all and will look out for the next one.

Thank you Netgalley.

I really enjoyed this book. It was beautifully written and really drew me in. Evocative and atmospheric I highly recommend.

Posted on Chicks, Rogues and Scandals blog

This is a powerful story of endurance, of determination, of courage in the face of so much evil. I am a massive fan of WW2 fiction, especially those which revolve around the resistance the stories that come out of such atrocities about brave men and women doing their all for freedom and justice is inspiring. Into the Burning Dawn is just that, it’s heartbreaking, haunting and a beautiful nod to those who risked everything for hope and love.
I’ve not read any of Natalie Meg Evans’ books before this and I seriously think I have been missing out on something very special indeed, I adore her attention to detail, her creative and passionate writing. It’s obvious that Natalie has a real love of this era, that love for the story comes through as you read and become so emotionally involved with the characters. I have already added some of her backlist to my wish-list, they all look amazing!
Set during the onset of the second world war, English governess; Imogen is in Italy right at this moment, she is the governess to the children of an Italian aristocrat. She loves little Marco and Eloisa like they were her own, their father; Giancarlo is off fighting with the fascists and act that can bring so much danger to their door, but she refuses to leave the life she has built for herself just become the country she calls home is now embroiled in this deadly war. She stands firm and stays, with her dark colouring and native sounding Italian she can easily pass as an Italian, but if people should find out who she really is she, Imogen is in deep danger. Imogen is a brave young woman, a little naïve to the world around her but I really liked and admired her courage in the face of so much danger, she wants to do right, she wants to help but she may have made a few mistakes along the way.
Imogen grows increasingly close to Giancarlo’s brother; Fabrizio who as different from his stern older brother as night is from the day. Imogen relies on Fabrizio, she trusts him like she trusts no other and the more they spend time with each other; albeit secretly under the cover of the Lemon grove she soon finds herself not only falling for the handsome man who tells her tales of the resistenza but she admires his courage. Their secret relationship is forbidden, but as we all know forbidden liaisons often become the most passionate, but in this case, there is a far more important thing’s happening. Imogen is seeing the unjust and the wrongs that are happening all over the country, she is hearing the most awful stories and wants to help, she is soon involved with the resistenza from supplying food to information.
But, she soon becomes torn as Giancarlo returns home wounded and completely changed from the man she had thought him to be, has she accused him wrongly? Did she really do the right thing when she was passing all those secret messages about him to the resistenza? I won’t spoil it but I will say that the brothers aren’t what they seem, it’s neither black nor white with them, what we thought may not be how it seems and this is exactly what Imogen discovers as the story moves steadily towards the climactic finale.
I was completely torn between the brothers just as Imogen was, at first I wasn’t a huge fan of Giancarlo he was far too rigid and stern for my liking, but when he returns home we see that he is a noble, honourable, intelligent in a way I felt a little sorry for him as he was looked upon in certain ways and judged too harshly. I think all he did was for his family and for his country, and yes I was drawn to him a little more he intrigued me.
Where-as as the younger brother stole my attention and my breath away the moment he first appeared, he is charismatic, cheeky, devil may care, he reminds me a little of James Dean; there is a certain rebellious twinkle that makes the heart aflutter – not to mention riding around the Italian countryside on that old motorbike. Yup, this Italian stud is a heart-breaker! And yet as we soon learn and as Imogen soon learns we should never judge a book by its gorgeous shining cover, there is more to this man.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, it’s a little long and drawn out at times but the story is story immersive and engaging you can easily look past those long-winded chapter’s. If you love the likes of Clara Benson, Alison Richman and Andie Newton then you are going to devour this one.
Overall, Into the Burning Dawn is a mesmerizing, poignant, emotional, gripping, passionate and compelling novel, the writing is powerful and evocative, the plot stuns and enthrals and the characters are intriguing. I cannot recommend this enough.

If you’re like me, you enjoy different genres of books. But I have recently found that even within a genre, there can be different approaches. I know that seems obvious but bear with me for a minute.

Take historical fiction, for example, and let’s use WWII. There are some books that set the action smack dab in the middle of the war, and others that use a dual storyline of modern day to historical, tying threads together. Of course, there are multiple approaches, but those are two of the most common that I have come across.

Then there are books like Into the Burning Dawn, that use the war more as a backdrop. Now, I know there’s more to this book than that, but I found the perspective of an English nanny in Naples pre-WWII during the rise of Mussolini (and further into the war) to be fascinating and informative.

It was apparent that the author already had a background in this era or had completed copious amounts of research, because the details of the region were plentiful and well-described. In the early pages, I could practically smell the lavender and garlic as well as the sea air.

Actually, the amazing descriptions continued, but later on it became petrol burning, smoke, and dust. That’s how talented this author was when it came to creating full scenes.

In the beginning, I also got a definite “Sound of Music” vibe, with the young nanny brought up in a convent, seeing to the kids of a stern, older landowner. There were more parallels as well. Imogene’s war with herself over who and how to love, her care for children even at the peril of her own life, and her desire to do the right thing all felt very “Maria-ish.” That’s not a bad thing.

I found the juxtaposition between the two brothers to be interesting as well. Fabrizio was the dashing, dangerous cad, while Giancarlo was the level-headed leader of business. I do think Imogene was blinded by “bad boy” vibe of Fabrizio (which is logical, given her upbringing). (There was a touch of Captain Von Trapp in Giancarlo as well).

I did find Imogene to be inconsistent at times. In the early days of the war, when people referred to the British soldiers, planes, and ships as “her Army/Navy/etc.” she made a distinct point of correcting them and saying that they weren’t “hers.” But at the same time, she thought of them as hers.

I suppose that would be logical confusion given the climate and culture, but it made her seem a bit weak-minded. Which is actually interesting, because I think she saw herself the same way a lot of the time. But she still managed to persevere and survive. And it wasn’t at all easy for her at any point.

Out of all of the secondary characters, I especially liked Annabella. She was down to earth, but also practical and realistic about situations. There were times when it seemed like she was Imogene’s conscience.

I’m not going to tell you how everything turns out, because that would ruin the story for you. Suffice to say that the author continues her realistic portrayal of war and the path of havoc it wreaks all the way until the last pages.

For an epic story of family and loyalties and accurate retellings of wartime, look no further than this one – you’ll be engrossed from beginning to end.

Great book I loved all megbooks I grap from the first page loved the story great character that become your friends so easy to loved the paste the book when at a good read I recommend to you all love it

Natalie Meg Evans is one of my favourite historical fiction authors. I have particularly loved her books set in Paris but now she turns her attention to Italy and how the second world War affected people’s lives there. The cover for this new book Into the Burning Dawn is just amazing, the colours chosen just lend themselves to this air of mystery and intrigue that the cover gives off. I’ll admit straight from the outset that unfortunately I found this book took a very long time to get into and that for the first part of the story nothing much seemed to happen at all. But then that moment finally came and something just clicked with me and there was no stopping me until I reached the end. I’m glad I persisted with it as I have already said that I really do love this author’s writing and wouldn’t like to give up too easily on a book. If like me you find the beginning and some of the middle too long winded, stick with it and you will be rewarded with a very dramatic and edge of your seat second half.

June 1940 and Imogen Fitzgerald is living and working in Italy for Count Giancarlo di Trosini and his family as a tutor and nanny of sorts to his daughter Eloise and son Marco. Giancarlo runs a local factory and earns good money but times are changing with the onset of war and the rise to power of the Fascist movement. I couldn’t make head nor tail of Giancarlo for the majority of the novel, OK he was missing from alot of the story, as he does join the army and leaves to fight in Africa, but when he was present I thought he blew very hot and cold and I think Imogen felt the same way about her employer. She feels uncomfortable in his presence and doesn’t know how to read him. The family history of Giancarlo having tragically lost his wife to a drowning still has such deep lasting effects on the household and Imogen is really not sure of her place. There are a lot of layers to all the characters that are pulled back very slowly as the chapters pass and it’s when I reached the end that I realised that what I had taken to be as just pages that were there as fillers in were in fact vital cogs to the overall wheel and truly the author was writing a very good story with lots of surprises.

Imogen arrived in Italy thinking that she was going to work in Ireland but a sister from the orphanage she grew up in put paid to that and now she has found herself in a setting she never dreamt possible. She was like a fish out of water and for most of the book I thought she was so naïve to what was going on around her that rather she was led by her heart rather than her head and common sense. She was so tied to morality and her upbringing that I think even though things were going on right under her nose she perhaps chose to ignore them until a little bit too late. There were numerous times that I wanted to give her a right shake and say start acting like an adult instead of a child and make some decisions for yourself that you know are right and stick to them. What really blindsided Imogen was this infatuation she had with Giancarlo’s half brother Fabrizio. It was like she had this slavish blind devotion to him and his charm, humour and manipulation were working his magic on her.

Without doubt Fabrizio is the stand out character of this book. He constantly rubbed Giancarlo up the wrong way and there was no love lost between them and the tension and hostility just kept increasing. As Imogen is English when war breaks out her position is precarious as she is seen as a spy which couldn’t have been further from the truth. But it’s Giancarlo who gets her sorted with papers to make it safe for her to stay seeing as her ship literally sailed away. Why wasn’t Fabrizio doing any of this? Surely he wasn’t blind to the fact that Imogen was head over heels in love with him and she would have done anything he asked of her and he could use her to do things for him. In the later half my opinions of Fabrizio as a character swayed back and forth. On one hand I thought oh maybe he is reciprocating what Imogen feels for him and then with the turn of a page he seemed to have done a complete 360 and it was like I was reading about a different man altogether and not one I particularly admired nor cared for.

The Stella Nouva, a group set up by anti- fascists which Fabrizio and the Marchessa, who was the sister of Giancarlo’s wife, play a crucial role throughout the story as they do their best to aid those who need help as the war further strengthens its grip. Imogen finds herself totally out of her comfort zone as she becomes a member but I wondered was she doing this just to please Fabrizio and try and keep him on side so he would fall for her? I found the workings of the group and what they were trying to achieve as a whole fascinating and this set up provided lots of surprises within the story which when they came in the later half they did so thick and fast. This made up for the slow start and I thought coming towards the end events became even more visual than they already had been.

From the beginning the descriptions of the cities and the countryside that Imogen and the family live in were brilliant. When bombing raids occur I could see it all so clearly in my head. Such wanton unnecessary destruction causing such damage, deprivation and trauma. The later scenes were tense and as I have said visual and events were leaping off the page as connections began to be made and some startling revelations were thrown into the mix for good measure. It was edge of your seat stuff and right until the very last page the reader is left in suspense as to what will happen. Which is really how every good book should be.

Imogen certainly undergoes a transformation in this book. Initially I found her to be weak and to be honest a bit too straight laced and dull but when push came to shove she grew up and accepted her responsibilities especially in Giancarlo’s absence and she showed her true worth. As the blurb mentions, when that pivotal point is reached is it too late to save both herself and the children from the horrors of war? To discover the answer to this I would recommend you read Into the Burning Dawn as it is a very good read which once you reach the half way point really gives something to get stuck into and has you thinking about all the possible scenarios that occur and their possible outcomes.

A brilliant historical book that has you entranced from the very first page.
It is a love story but also a coming of age story as well.
Imogen a young orphan arrives in Italy from Ireland to be a tutor to Eloisa the daughter of widower Giancarlo the Count di Trosini just before the beginning of the Second World War.
Immediately She becomes attracted to the step brother Fabrizio which inevitably causes issues between the two brothers that become even more in trenched with the onset of war.
Natalie Meg Evans is a brilliant author in the historical genre and I can’t wait to read more of her books