Over the years my reading habits have changed and I no longer reach for historical fiction as much since my brain can't seem to follow along with all of the variety of characters. I do no feel like I can give a fair review for this book because of this so I am just going to move it onto my "in the future when life slows down" tbr.

This is my first read by this author. I have always enjoyed reading historical fiction and this one was no exception. If you like a well-researched and very descriptive book, then this one is for you.
The book goes back and forth between time periods explaining things happening now were caused by things happening in the past. The characters, you could really feel their emotions coming through strongly. The book is mesmerizing, emotional and uplifting as well. A compelling read you won't soon forget about once you are done with it. Though this is my first read in this series I feel the need to go back to read more of this series.

Pub Date 07 Apr 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

This book is a slow burner but you won't mind because of the lush descriptions of Tuscany. The author did a fantastic job of making you feel as if you were in Tuscany. The plot itself moved a little slowly for my taste but overall I liked it.

I love all of Angela Petch's set in wartime Tuscany and this one is no exception. Great characters, storyline and location make this a compelling read that once again I could not put down. Fosca is a great main character who's bravery shines through in her determination to find out what happened to her friend and it is a book that will stay with you. Highly recommended

This historical fiction book takes place in one of my favorite locations to read about, Tuscany. The way the author describes the beauty of the location and the ruins, it puts the readers in the book. I definitely found myself engrossed in this book from beginning to end. A definite must read recommendation from this reader.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

In 1947, war hero Richard Moorhead receives an invitation to attend a community celebration in Corbello, Tuscany. Although a pacifist, he had worked with the FAU (Friends’ Ambulance Unit) Quakers at a makeshift hospital during the war. He is constantly dogged by the needless violence of his war days, taunted by nightmares, and unable to move forward with his life, so he hops on his ex-military M20 motorcycle, a small knapsack in the sidecar, and heads for Tuscany. Arriving in Corbello, Richard, a shy, gentle man, avoids the limelight of the congratulatory citizens and doesn’t plan on sticking around, but a friend shows him the old tobacco tower that’s for sale, and he’s instantly smitten. What better than a country life in Tuscany to exorcise his ghosts? Soon after taking ownership, as he is digging a vegetable patch, he comes across a woman’s remains, that the carabiniere identify as Fosca Santino. No sooner is Richard given permission to start renovations, then a young woman arrives from out of nowhere, a small boy in tow. Her name is Fosca Santino and she’s very much alive.

Fosca’s story is told through a series of vignettes; her work as a schoolteacher, her husband’s death, her partisan involvement, her close friend Simonetta, the Nazi occupation, local politics, widespread corruption and greed. Fosca is sure the woman in the grave is Simonetta, and that Corbello’s mayor is somehow responsible. I enjoyed the book overall, but my interest waned during what felt like a contrived and hurried ending. Although part of a series, this is a standalone about the devastation of war, the fruitless waste of life, corruption and the opportunistic moment for personal gain.

The Tuscan House by Angela Petch is another wonderfully written story. Between the descriptions and the actual story, I felt like I was there observing in person.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.

Angela has a talent when it comes to writing about Tuscany. It evokes everything I imagine about it - the heat, the warm people, the landscape and oh my the food! Plus, the historical detail and richness in her books and especially ‘The Tuscan House’ is outstanding.

Richard has returned to Tuscany and in particular, a small village called Corbella, to help exorcise his demons from the war. He is a pacifist but volunteered as a medical orderly and was based in the area. He buys an old tobacco house and begins to restore it. One evening a young woman, Fosca, returns to the area with her son. She used to live in the house during the war and was part of the resistance against fascism and nazism. When a body is found on the grounds of the house she suspects it's that of her friend and fellow resistance fighter Simonetta. What follows is a story of how people cope with loss in different ways, their determination to fight for justice and peace, a little bit of hope and love.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it fully transported me to a world I don't know a lot about. I love historical fiction that can do this for a reader, but also teach them new things at the same time. I don't know a lot about the Italian resistance - my first introduction was probably through Angela’s previous books. But Angela also tends to focus on the parts of history that I love - the people, the social history of the time. It's little things like the way the women washed their clothes in the fountains, the types of clothes they wear and their fears and trials through the war. At times it's heartbreaking. There was one scene in particular that I gasped at its brutality but then you remember that events like this did happen. Although this is a fictionalised account it's based on real events not less than a hundred years ago.

Angela writes some of the best historical fiction out there and this is no exception. I thoroughly recommend this.

First of all, allow me to thank Angela Petch, Bookouture and NetGalley for granting me access to this heartbreaking, page turner novel. As a fan of Angela’s previous stories and the portraits she paints of Tuscany, I pounce on the chance to read her newest work and invest in the vivid characters she creates against the backdrop of WWII Italy.

1947/..English veteran, Richard, is suffering from his traumatic time as an medical orderly in war torn Italy. Hoping to find some peace and healing, he returns to the town of Corbello where he falls in love with an old tobacco factory. In renovating the property, he stumbles upon not only a dead body but a young woman and her son with a story of her to tell. These two women are connected but the how and why is a mystery. As the woman, Fosca, begins to tell her story to Richard…the past resurfaces and Fosca is determined to find out why her friend died. Does is have to do with their ties to the resistance or to the shady town mayor who deceived and entire village because of his own greed. As Fosca shares her story, she and Richard begin to heal together and are finally able to see a future ahead of them rather than dwindle in the nightmares of the past.

This book grabbed my attention from the very first paragraph. Angela has a way of doing that with her writing and I instantly wanted to find out more about these characters and about their war…because it was different for everyone. The mystery around the death of the young woman makes this story even more of a page turner. The “who did it” and “why” may or may not ever be revealed and coming to terms with that is quite difficult for Fosca. It’s a reality that she needs to make peace with before she can move forward and begin to live again herself.

One thing I absolutely love about this story is how Italian cuisine and drink are laced throughout. Even Fosca says in the story that food plays a huge part in Italian life…from the preparation to the savoring. More than once…I wanted to dial up one of the Italian restaurants in town and order take out because not only did the references to food make me hungry but it felt like it should be a part of this reading experience!

I highly recommend this book along with any of Angela’s other trips to Tuscany! They won’t disappoint

Angela Petch’s The Tuscan House is a powerfully written historical novel that will captivate and enthrall readers.

In 1947, Fosca Sentino is a desperate young mother in dire need of refuge. When she accepts sanctuary from reluctant British war hero Richard, she sees it as the only way that she can keep her little family safe from harm and protected – especially given all she had sacrificed and lost during the war. As a spy on Nazi commanders who would pass on information to the Resistenza, Fosca had risked everything fighting for what’s right, but when a heartbreaking betrayal had resulted in her best friend Simonetta’s disappearance, Fosca and her son had been treated like pariahs by the community who were still recovering from the devastation of war.

Fosca is grateful to Richard for giving her and her family a roof over their heads yet she cannot help but be wary of him. Slowly, the two of them begin to get closer and closer and she starts to feel safe in his house, but this peaceful sanctuary is irrevocably shattered by the discovery of a silver brooch she immediately recognises as Simonetta’s. Having always been adamant that another member of the Resistenza had betrayed her, Fosca is determined to uncover what really happened to her friend. Is Simonetta still alive? Can Fosca prove once and for all that she had paid a bitter price for someone else’s sin? And just how did Simonetta’s brooch end up in Richard’s house?

With a dangerous enemy hiding in the village willing to do whatever it takes to keep their secrets hidden, Fosca and her son are in the line of fire yet again. Can Fosca find a resolution to a mystery that has haunted her for so long? Or is she about to lose everything all over again?

Angela Petch has the storyteller’s gift and creates vivid and atmospheric stories spiced with exquisite period detail, emotional intensity and heart-pounding intrigue. In The Tuscan House she has penned a stunning a page-turner that is beautifully written and told with plenty of flair and panache. Fosca is such a wonderful heroine – she has been through hell and back, but remains resilient, determined and willing to do whatever it takes to discover what really happened to Simonetta.

A beautifully layered historical novel, Angela Petch’s The Tuscan House is an evocative, poignant and heartfelt tale fans of Lorna Cook and Ella Carey will love.

I haven't read many books that are depicted during WWII. But this book caught my eye. It's descriptions of Tuscany are so vivid that I can easily picture the story as it is written.

Fosca Sentino, a former spy accepts refuge from ex-British soldier Richard to keep her family safe. Fosca’s best friend Simonetta betrays and disappears without trace. Wary of this handsome stranger at first, Fosca starts to feel safe as Richard plays with her son. But a silver brooch is found in the garden, and she realizes it belonged to Simonetta. Richard and Fosca will work together to discover is Simonetta is still alive and clear her name.

Another spectacular read set during WWII and the occupation of Italy, the work of Mussolini and the Germans and how ordinary Italians did their bit in saving their country from the invaders and just survived.

Fosca and her very young son landed in Corbello and seek refuge with Richard (who is escaping his life in England) as the only means of keeping safe. She just wants to keep her head down, find a way to protect her boy and live to keep him safe. She did not think she would get involved with the Resistance in Italy and work as a spy for their little group of saboteurs in Corbello. Working right under the eye of the Germans was tough, but Fosca pulled it off.

When a body is discovered in the premises of the tobacco house where she lives, Fosca is convinced it is that of Simonetta who she feels was betrayed by someone within their community and she sets about finding out who and how this happened, knowing that she is putting herself in danger.

The story may be just another one set in the emotional background of the War, but it is very descriptive of the natural beauty of this part of Italy. Part of a series but very good as a standalone.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary advance reader copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

This is a standalone book in the Tuscan series by this author, I have read all of the series and loved every single book. This book is no exception, the characters are vibrant, the scenery, so visual and the storyline stunning as always. Angela Petch has a real knack for writing in this area and this timeframe, her stories are haunting and beautiful, full of history and love and most of all hope.

This is the story of Fosca, from her childhood at the nunnery to her time as part of the partigiani doing her part to help free her homeland to her now as a young mother, who seems to be unwelcome in her hometown after the war has ended. She goes to the place she lives during the war and finds an Inglese living there, Richard. Richard who is a pacifist, but during the war was a part of the Friends Ambulance Unit. When she discovers that he has unearthed a woman’s body while working on the land and everyone in the village thought it was her, she believes she knows who it was, Simonetta, a friend from the partigiani.. As she tells Richard her story over the following months, he agrees to help she figure out the mystery. As they get closer, there is a darkness from the past that keeps haunting her.

I love the way this author writes and enjoy every book of hers that I have read. Cannot wait for more.

For those that like historical fiction/romance, any book by this author is a safe bet. She's very experienced and knows how to tell a good tale. This is a well told emotional story with great characters. Recommended.

Thanks very much for the review copy!!

The Tuscan House is a very well written historical romance with a beautiful Tuscan setting. If you enjoy historical books this will not disappoint.

This book was like nothing I expected and at first I found it a bit slow but please persevere as it's a wonderful story. As you can tell by the title it is set in Italy and through the authors writing it is brought to life. The terrible toll WWII had on the country and its people and the sacrifices they made, but it is also a story of after and of hope and love found in unexpected circumstances.

Angela Petch has written a very well researched piece of history and tied it into the hardships and loss of the time but also bought to life the characters that enrich the time after the war. Long held secrets are heartbreakingly revealed sometimes too late and also tales of lost gold are revealed as well.

A truly captivating story that I thoroughly enjoyed. This is my first book by Angela Petch but will not be the last. Superb writing and story.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I had trouble getting into this book but it is so well written that I will be looking for an audio copy to finish it. I will be purchasing a copy for the library as I know plenty of patrons that would like this book.

A historical perspective of how a town assumed a lady behaved during a war based on word of mouth.
Fosca Sentino is placed in a horrendous position to keep her child in a safe environment and in order to do so she also honors her child’s father for giving up his life for the protection of him and the country against tyranny of Hitlers Regime.
Fosca herself ends up joining the resistance with her friend Simonetta to only find out later someone betrayed them and killed her. To aid her and find this killer is a war hero from Britain who feels he is nothing but anything but that, Richard is only back in Tuscany to put his demons to bed, not to aid a damsel in distress or is he?

The storyline has a lot going for it, but it is missing something in the middle to pull it together for me for some reason. It just seems to fall flat and the ending is just rewards, but not quite what it seemed. It was all an anti-climax.

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

In 1947 Richard returns to Italy following the end of the war that saw him working as a medic rather than fighting due to his pacifist beliefs. He buys an old house and when clearing the garden discovers a buried secret. But then Fosca arrives back at the house with her small son in tow, searching for her wartime friends. Can the wounds of the past be healed?
The Tuscan House is an historical novel set in the 1940s. We are introduced to Richard and Fosca in 1947 but also see glimpses of Richard's life in England in the early years of the war. Richard is a hugely likeable character and both his pacifism and grief are easy to relate to.
Fosca's war years are presented in the first person as she describes her circumstances to Richard. She is a single mother following the death of her lover Silvio and struggling to feed herself and her baby so turns to the nuns who raised her for support. She meets the brave Simonetta who encourages her to fight the German occupiers and Italian collaborators.
The Tuscan countryside and the Blitz spirit in London are vividly described and give an authenticity to the plot. The ambiguity of human behaviour and the juggling of morals is an interesting theme that runs through the book. Characters make choices to save others, to protect themselves, to fight the enemy and to wreak revenge but the right and wrong are not clear cut. The juxtaposition between Richard's pacifism and Fosca's resistance is fascinating.
The Tuscan House is a rich historical novel that doesn't shy away from the brutality of war.

Really intense great read!! Tuscan villages, the Resistance, Finding lost ones after the war. A must read for all who enjoy stories of life during and after the war.