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

I love this author, I love the way she writes and her characters are so well developed. Santa Montefiore's books always make me smile, cry and leave me satisfied with a well written tale. This book was no exception, it was lovely, a wonderul tale of never-ending love and friendship. The fact that the twist in the book was a true story made the whole book even better for me. This was a dual sotryline book, told during wartime up to the present, of Evelia's story of heartbreak and love.

Young Evelina finds herself smitten with the son of the local dressmaker, Ezra Zanotti; it isnt long before she believes he is also smitten with her. As war encroaches upon Italy, Ezra's family doesn't believe that the hatred towards the jewish people will extend to their area, sadly, he is wrong and Ezra's family is rounded up and sent to Auschwitz. Ezra escapes and joins the resistance. When Evelina gets word that he has been killed, she moves to New York to live with her aunt and uncle. Flash foward to the present where Evelina and her family has gathered to celebrate Thanksgiving, her husband, children, family and her best friend. The twist of this story was breathtaking and left me wondering how the book would end, but the ending was so satisfying. AS usual, Santa Montefiore took my breath away with such a wonderful tale of heartbreak, loss, sacrifice and enduring love.

An Italian Girl in Brooklyn by Santa Montefiore

This novel tells the story of two young lovers, Evalina Pier Angelini and Ezra Zanotti, and the effect of World War II and different religions on their lives. It is told from the perspective of Evalina.
The book goes back and forth between modern-day New York and Northern Italy during the war. The story flowed beautifully and captured my interest from the first page to the last.

This is my first book from this author and I intend to read more of her work. If you want a cozy comfy read, this is a great choice.

Thank you to NetGalley and @simonandshuster for the advanced reading copy

This is available now as it was published on Nov 8, 2022.

I was under the impression that this was historical fiction (heavy on the history), but it's more of a pretty romance. If you're into that sort of thing, you will enjoy this. If you're not, you'll likely DNF it as I did.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for this ARC.

Following the life of Evelina between 1934 in war torn Northen Italy and New York Thanksgiving 1979.

Overall, the story was well written. Santa Montefiore does a wondering job of describing scenery and emotions.

When I requested an advance copy of this novel, I was hoping it would lean more towards historical fiction as opposed to romance.

This is an epic love story and it moved me to tears. This is not a flimsy romance, but a true story of the power of love and the many types of love that can exist if you open your heart.

Told in a dual timeline, Evelina recounts her coming of age in A small Italian town. She is confident and unafraid to stand up for herself. She laments the plight of women having a husband chosen for them, rather than being allowed to choose. A chance meeting with a boy named Ezra solidifies Evelina’s desire to choose her own husband. Only Ezra is Jewish and WWII looms.

The story switches between her life in Italy and her life in Brooklyn and secrets abound.

The characters are rich and the storytelling is evocative, emotional and heart wrenching.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF - I love the premise of this book but, I am not the target audience. I think I was hopeful, when I requested this title, that the writing would be more on the side of a thick historical fiction rather than leaning towards the romantic easy writing style of, romance. That's not to say that the book is bad; I know a great deal of people who will adore this. I simply do not want to leave any publicly negative reviews after realizing that this probably wasn't the book for me & so I am removing myself from the race. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this. I know it will be beloved.

“Thanksgiving was a time for gratitude, but gratitude never came empty handed, it always turned up with its friend, loss.”

This beautiful and emotional read showcases everything we know and appreciate about Santa Montefiore’s writing! In my opinion, it’s her best book to date.

Based on a true story and set in a fictitious town, Vercellino, in northern Italy during the 30s and in Brooklyn during the 40s and 50s, ‘An Italian Girl in Brooklyn’ features our Italian girl, Evelina Pierangelini. It’s a deeply moving book about love and loss.

Montefiore takes us on a journey with Eva to remind us that family is precious, that we need to appreciate love and not take it for granted, that we learn to value the gift of ‘now’, and that we must learn to see a glass half full instead of half empty. Readers won’t get too far into the book before they are caught up in Evelina’s nostalgia for her youth at Villa L’Ambrosiana and her first love.

Two passages were so vividly and beautifully written that I’ll remember them for a long time. The first one was comparing a tree losing its leaves in the Fall to what Evelina has given up. The second was an acknowledgement that war and loss force the world to become a place of darker shadows but it makes the light we do experience to appear brighter. I loved these thought-provoking paragraphs, especially since we are having Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend and we are noticing the leaves fall and the nights getting darker.

Evelina discovers that humans can plan until their heart’s content, but sometimes life gets in the way and plans must be shelved. How we deal with the bumps in the journey makes all the difference. My grandma used to say that adversity brings both a lesson and a blessing. You’ll need to read this spectacular book to understand how Evelina Pierangelini’s life echoes my nana’s belief.

This will be one of those books you’ll cherish and reach for time and time again.

I was gifted this copy by Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.