Outstanding book. Thoroughly enjoyed the Italian storyline to the plot and the history that surrounds it. Learnt new things about the work of the Italian Resistance and the occupation of Rome, not something that features in any other books I have read.
Have to admit to skim reading some of the Gina storyline as it related to Cancer and having lost close family members and others fighting it at the moment I find this too upsetting and scary to read. I wasn't even sure if it was needed as the Nonna storyline was strong enough without Gina being ill.
Will certainly look for more historical fiction books by this author and would recommend this book to others.

Amazing, fabulous book but I always really enjoy this Author’s books. There are two stories in this book. The way they are tied together is nothing short of miraculous. Read this book. I highly recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley, Montlake and the Author for the privilege of reading and reviewing this book.

This book has two stories, it's narrated by Zara in the present and Isabella in the past.

In the past Isabella is a seamstress during WW2, helping to hide Jewish people and pass information to the Padre. She lives in a home with Mia. Mia is a party girl having a romance with a German official.

In the present, Zara is called back to help with her Nonna, whom her sister says is in poor health. Nonna wants help to find a journal that's in the attic.

The two stories intertwine, but I'm not going to explain much here. I highly recommend this book. There are quite a few revelations.

I almost lost interest in the book. I say almost because after picking it up again the third time to finish what I started, I found myself embroiled in everything that was happening in the book. I enjoyed the characters so much. i could be friends with. This was a very enjoyable read!

This story is told in two time periods. In the past we have Isabella's journal of Italy in the war. in the present we have Zara, her sister Gina and their grandmother Nonna. Zara is a hospice nurse and she travels to each patient with her dogs. She heads home because she is told Nonna is dying. Nonna is 93 and sounds amazing. All the people in this book really came to life for me. I could "see" Isabella in Italy avoiding the German soldiers as she walked to work. This was really good. and exactly what I expected from Mary Ellen Taylor.

The first book of Mary Ellen Taylor's that I read, I really enjoyed. In my opinion, this was a good book, but I had a harder time to get into it. I loved the plot line and the characters, but I feel it is missing something. I loved the historical fiction side of the book. Any book involving spies during the 1940s, typically grabs my attention fast. I think the present day side of the story was lacking and needed more depth to it.

The story is set in two different time periods. Jumping back in time during the war in Rome, Italy in the 1940s, as well as present day in Virginia, USA. Isabella is a seamstress living in Rome in 1943. Isabella tries to help a friend and colleague, Mia, during and after her pregnancy and losing her baby. After the tragedy, Mia starts going out more and ends up becoming the lover of a high-up German official. Isabella does not approve of the relationship, and tries to discourage the relationship. Isabella forms a relationship with an individual of her own, Mia's brother, Riccardo. Both Isabella and Mia find themselves involved in the war trying to help rid Rome of the Germans. Fast forward eight decades to present day to Zara, a hospice nurse who has been called home to help take care of her dying grandmother. While taking care of her grandmother, she asks Zara to take care and clean out the attic to find some momentos from when her grandmother was younger. Along the way, Zara finds a journal detailing Isabella's life during her time in Rome during the war. Zara tries to ask her grandmother about the journal and the other items, but she will not answer her. While Zara is there, she finds also finds out a secret that her sister, Gina was trying to hide from the family. Trying to deal with taking care of her grandmother and rebuilding a relationship with her sister, she figures out what matters in life.

A really emotional book with an emotional begginin and ending. You have to have a good focus to keep up with the events that are taking place. The details in this book made it even better when talking about events that took place or are taking place with the war. I like the relationship in these stories because they seem so genuine and real life like.