Set mostly in Italy during WWII and South America shortly after, A Girl During the War is a story about love, loss, hope, choices and consequences, especially relating to the protagonist Marina Tozzi. The author also writes about various relationships, the Resistance, trust and deceptions. Art was secreted away and smuggled to other countries by people on all sides of the war with hopes of preservation.

Shopping for anchovies in Rome may have saved Marina's life. When she returned home from her errand she discovered her father and a stranger dead in her house. She quickly made her way to the Tuscan villa of her father's friend, Bernard, and quickly became friends with neighbours Desi and Carlos. Bernard was a very prominent and influential figure in the art world and his partner, Belle, a librarian, sought Marina's help as an art expert for help in curating his massive library. But the story is more than art; more importantly, it is about saving lives. Many went missing and others were killed. Love changes courses. Some Germans fled to South America after the war which is what Marina did, a detail seldom seen in Historical Fiction.

Italy is one of my favourite countries to visit and I very much enjoyed the images of Santa Maria in Trastevere, the Sistine Chapel and evocative villages in Tuscany. Known and lesser-known artists are also mentioned which adds bits of historic authenticity. However, the characters feel one dimensional to me and emotions do not run convincingly deep. Though art is indeed a focus it would be nice to learn more and to feel tension in the adventures. I really liked the book but did not fall in love as I had hoped. But I will continue to read more by this author.

My sincere thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this book.

Saving Art

Romance, Heartbreak, War and saving the art from the Nazi's.

Marina stops to buy anchovies for her father's pasta after work. When she arrives home, she finds her father and another man dead in the basement. Her neighbor tells her that the Nazi's killed her father for harboring a Jewish Artist. Marina's father owned an art gallery in Rome, Italy and Marina was learning to run the gallery as she studied art at the university. The neighbor tells her she must leave at once before the soldier return. She flees to her father's friend in Florence, Italy.

Marina is lost without her father although her father's friend and art collector Bernard and his wife take her under their wing and treat her as family. She starts to catalog Bernard's collection while he smuggles art to Switzerland to keep it from the Nazi's.

When Marina meets Desi the girl next door and Carlos she finds friends. Carlos draws Marina into his partisan resistance activities as he seeks her art expertise. As they draw closer Marina dares to dream of a life with Carlos after the war. Then Carlos disappears and Marina fears the worst.

A job working with Art opens in Argentina and Marina decides to go there and start a new life. What she finds there is enlightening, heartbreaking and life changing.

I found the Character of Marina endearing but a bit naive as she had led a sheltered life with her father. Carlos was a charming character that took advantage of Marina for his own selfish purpose. Desi came across as a sweet young lady caught in an impossible situation and was a good match as a friend for Marina.

War is a different time, and sometimes people get caught up in the moment Horrible things happened and sometimes good things happened as well. All German people were not Nazi's and monsters, but those that were spread horrible destruction to life and property.

I did enjoy reading the book, I loved the ending and I would recommend it.

Thanks to Anita Abriel for writing another great book, to Atria books for publishing it and to NetGalley for making it available to me.

Marina Tozzi has lost much during the war. The death of her father lead her to Florence, the home of her father's childhood friend. Here she is able to continue in the work of art and helping the movement in identifying valuable art pieces. Marina develops friendships and falls in love.

I struggled with this one until the very end when Marina is given the opportunity to go South America where many Germans fled after the war. The struggle for me was the depth of character and plot. It was very one dimensional. Sometimes you just don't feel it.

Marina's character did struggle with love and during the war that can be a tricky thing. Who do you trust and how fear plays in those lines. Marina's character was fearless. However, there were others that were driven by other desires. Good desires always leads to strong courage. I did appreciate the history of art and the fight to stop the Germans. Always something to learn from that time in history.

A special thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

I enjoy WW2 Historical Fiction. I read at least four books a month that takes place during the time period to learn more. By reading stories that take place in different countries I have learned so much more than I ever did in high school or college. What is nice about reading historical fiction is that I don't expect complete accuracy by I am given direction on what to research, where to find out more. My brain just keeps absorbing more and more. Along the way I have gained favorites.

The Italian Girl (A Girl During the War) is at the top of the list. I learned so much about the struggles in Italy during the occupation through the eyes of Marina Tozzi. She lives with and works with her father who owns an art gallery. She returns home to find him and a stranger dead. No longer safe, she flees to Tuscany to stay with a friend of her father's. So much drama within this book. I became addicted. I turned page after page waiting to see what happened next. Partisans, Nazis, jews in hiding made for dreadful but very exciting story.

The Nazis didn't leave quietly as the war was ending. Explosions and thefts riddles the countryside. Marina has lost everyone she has loved. When an opportunity comes available in Argentina there is no one keeping her in Italy. Marina has always been about the art. It belonged in museums. It belonged with the actual owners. Helping with the recovery of items taken to Argentina will bring secrets out, breaking Marina all over again.

Grab The Italian Girl and prepared to have you mind blown. Thrills and chills will have you hooked on Marina's survival during the war. Desperation will have you flipping pages to see how they survive and if they survive.

I just have one question, but if I voice it I will be spilling a situation that will completely blow the reader away.

The war takes its toll on Marina. She loses her father and her home. Luckily, she has friends to help her. She moves to Tuscany and works in a fantastic collection. I liked Les ring more about Bernard and Belle.
I also ,like the setting of Italy since most of WWII historical fiction is located elsewhere.
Marina eventually ends up in South America and learns some shocking news.
I also liked les ring a bit more about South America.
It’s a good book.

Just finished this historical fiction novel, The School for German Brides by Ami K. Runyan and looooooved it. I'm a sucker for a WW2 story and this one does not disappoint. You see Germany through the experiences of two women, Tilde and Hanna. Tilde is Jewish and Hanna comes from a prominent Nazi party family. Both women, experiencing the war from two very different perspectives, are forced to make difficult decisions under the most impossible circumstances. I feel like most of the books I've read this year celebrate the inner strength of women and this book does just that. I was sad to see this book end and highly recommend it.

Thanks to #NetGalley for access to review this book.

Marina has been enamored with art her entire life. Her father owned a gallery in Rome and she hoped to one day run it herself. One day, the Nazis March into the city and everything changes. Her father secretly hides a Jewish artist in their basement and she comes home one to find them both shot to death. She then finds her way to Florence where she spends her time getting to know new people and cataloging a huge library of valuable art and writings so that it can be smuggled to safety in Switzerland. But…everyone has secrets during the war and they sometimes come at the expense of other people.

This was just okay for me. I actually got to the point where I was ready to turn the last page. When I saw the description of saving art from the Germans during the war…I expected that to be the main story, but it wasn’t. There were just too many plot holes for me though I am grateful because when there was talk of art…it was very interesting and I wanted more of that

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Anita Abriel for early access to this story.

Fabulous! Anita Abriel has written another wonderful story that was hard to put down. The storyline and characters engulf you and pull you into Italy during WWII. Love and loss, hope and despair, & friendship and betrayal are all woven together in this beautifully written story. I would definitely recommend this book. 5 out of 5 stars! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

If WWII historical is going to continue being a thing it's nice to see new setting such as Italy as I don't think I've seen much WWII fiction set in Italy in the past, its' mostly been England, France and German and the American Homefront. So this book was a nice change.

A Girl During the War by Anita Abriel is a great WWII-era historical fiction that spans countries, continents, and produce a story that held me captivated from beginning to end.

I have enjoyed the author’s previous books - The Light After the War and Lana’s War, so I knew I had to read this one.

I really enjoyed the fact that she chose the locations to take place in Italy and then in Argentina. Both are beautiful countries with stunning landscapes, history, and classic landmarks. Both are also underserved when it comes to shedding light on all of the activities and tragedies that involved both countries during and after the war. The author did a great job creating a narrative that had history, realistic fictional additions, and creating a visual landscape for the reader to feel as if they were first-hand within the action.

I loved the main character, Marina Tozzi. She is smart, feisty, and like her younger age would suggest at the beginning, she has a lot to learn. Unfortunately, she experienced such tragedy at the beginning of the book and begins to form a connection of friendships, passions, ideals, and a moral compass as she seeks out direction, sees what is happening around her, and makes mistakes in the process, all the while trying in her own way to right the wrongs that she sees unfolding around her.

This book has romance, suspense, intrigue, history, wonderful descriptions of art and artifacts, true historical figures peppered within, mystery, and a definitely satisfying conclusion. I loved the twists that took place and all is certainly not what it seemed to the reader as the story went on.

I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone that loves historical fiction.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Atria books for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to NG only at this time and will post it to my GR, Bookbub, Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 3/8/22.

A beautiful story with a strong and courageous heroine. I couldn't put this down! Beautiful writing kept me turning the pages!