Kat Devereaux is a new author for me, I enjoy dual timeline historical reads so this was right up my street. We follow Stella, a young girl in 1944 who is part of the resistance in Italy and Tori
in 2019 who has just lost her Grandmother and walked away from her unhappy marriage. As a result of her inheritance, she’s moved to Tuscany and is searching for information about her grandmother’s past. Throughout the novel we discover what links both women.
This was an enjoyable Summer read. Thanks to NetGalley, Aria & Aries, Aria for the opportunity to read and review this book

This is a new author for me and I just loved this book. I have been to Tuscany for a holiday some years ago and now I have the story and places in my head I just feel need to go back., for me only a well written book can make you feel like this.
The characters the storyline and locations were just lovely and I am sure I could feel myself there with the turning of each page. The duel time line was well written and I didn’t feel lost with it as I have with some other reads. I just loved it and didn’t want the book to end.
My thanks as always to NetGalley and to Aria & Aries, Aria for the early read.

Such a touching and magnetic story told in two different times-the present and World War 2-in Italy. At the death of her beloved grandmother, Tori learns of her husband’s deceit about her grandmother’s vigil. It is the last straw for her and their marriage. Buffered by her grandmother’s inheritance, Tori leaves him for Florence, the town she and her grandmother often summered. This is the story of her first month in Florence and of her search for clues about the life her grandmother lived there during the war.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

This is a story with a dual timeline..

It’s 1944 and Stella is doing her bit by helping the resistance, along with her brother Achilles and others.

In 2019, Tori, an author is grieving for the loss of her beloved Grandmother.

As she reads the last letter she wrote her, she finds out that she’s been left some money as her inheritance, but it comes with a condition, she has to spend it on herself.

Tori goes to Florence, the place they both visited so many times together.

I loved the descriptions, the food that made your mouth water and felt like I was there.

We then find out how the two women are linked.

I highly recommend this book.

This is a good debut novel set in Italy and encompassing two timelines. The modern story has Tori, who is in a bad marriage and it opens with her attending her beloved grandmother's funeral. She hadn't seen her for some time due to the interference of her husband. With the help of a legacy from her grandmother she escapes and goes to Florence where she had visited with her gran many times when she was young.
Stella in 1944, is a young fourteen year old living in Tuscany and doing her bit for the Resistance. She passes messages and guns for them. Her parents make no secret of the fact they love her brother Achille more than her.
The story had a lot going for it but lacked something for me. The connection between the two timelines was tenuous. We get a lot more of Tori's story and while I understood her lack of self confidence, I wanted her to be a bit more decisive. She messes people about too much.
Stella disappears completely after the war and I was expecting some massive secret but the outcome was quite low key. The story sort of fizzled out rather than ended.
The descriptions of Italy and the food were fantastic and I immediately wanted to go out to an Italian restaurant.
The book left me a little dissatisfied but I'm not sure why.

Thank you to Aria and Aries and NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

Escape to Tuscany is, as the title promises, about escape. Kit Devereaux crafts a dual timeline novel, centered on Tuscany, first during the German occupation of WW II, and secondly, paired with a contemporary romance that reveals the loss and secrets discovered from that earlier time. The shifts between times are easily followed, since the author heads chapters either Stella, during the German occupation, or Toni, in contemporary Tuscany.

Both stories are set near Florence. During the German occupation of WW II, Stella story begins when, as a 15-year-old girl, she risks her life as a courier of weapons and clothing to help local partisans. Stella's story disappears after the fight for independence at the end of WW II. In the contemporary world, Toni moves to Florence, a city her grandmother taught her to love, when she flees an unhappy marriage. The plot of Escape to Tuscany is how the stories of these two different women are connected and what Toni discovers about Stella's life..

I enjoyed this novel, but it did seem to end rather abruptly. If it had not said "The End," I would have turned the page looking for more. The author promises to reveal secrets, which she does, but it does seem as if there was more to tell. It was predictable that Toni's estranged husband would show up eventually. Toni's sister underwent a metamorphosis that was too abrupt. But in spite of those few complaints, I did enjoy reading this novel and would recommend it.

Thank you to Devereaux and to publishers, Aria & Aries, for providing this ARC, in exchange for my honest review. My comments above reflect my honest opinion. Thank you, also, to NetGalley for suggesting this novel.

Thank you to Net Galley and Aria & Aries for the chance to read and review this book. The opinions expressed are my own.
This is a dual timeline story involving Sheila (who was a resistance fighter in 1944 Italy), and Tori (who is living in 2019). They are connected through Tori's grandmother. Tori moves to Florence to escape her marriage, and to learn more about her grandmother. I liked this story, but I wish the author had spent more time on Sheila's story. I thought her story was more interesting than Tori's. Other than that, it was a good story. It was well-written and it kept my interest.

Stella Infuriati is a teenage school girl when she joins the resistance in the village of Romituzzo, she attends high school in Castelmedici and it’s the perfect cover. The Germans have made it very clear, anyone caught helping the resistance hiding in the hills of Tuscany will be jailed or killed and including women.

Her parents have no idea what Stella is doing, they adore her brother Achille and he’s their favorite child. Stella’s father is a mechanic, Achille and his friends are communists, he disappears on his motorbike and is most likely off in the hills fighting the fascists and Germans. Despite the danger, Stella continues transporting notes, weapons, medicine and with help from father Anselmo. As the war gets closer to Romituzzo and men have to hide because the Germans are sending them off to work in Germany or hunting down any they assume are involved in the resistance.

The dual timeline debut historical fiction novel is set in central Italy between 1944 and 2019 and told from alternating the points of view of the two main characters Stella and Tori.

Victoria McNair lives in Scotland and is devastated when her beloved grandmother Margaret passes away. Her husband Duncan was fine when they first got married, but slowly over time he’s became controlling, and he dishes out hurtful verbal abuse. After her grandmother’s funeral, Tori decides her marriage is over and she travels to Florence. Tori and her Grandmother used to visit the city together when she was a child, her Italian is a little rusty and she wants to find two of her grandmother’s friends.

Tori needs to hire a lawyer to sort out her tenancy agreement, work permit and to put in her application for permanent residency. Marco is really helpful and handsome, he discusses Tori’s situation, and he will help her with the mountains of paperwork than needs to be filled out and submitted over the next couple of weeks. Tori is a freelance writer, after speaking with her agent, and they come up with an idea about her writing a novel set in Italy? In her search for information about her grandmothers past and idea's for her book, Tori uncovers hidden secrets, about what happened to Achilles and why his sister Stella disappeared at the end of the war and the connection they both had to her grandmother!

I received a copy of Escape to Tuscany by Kat Devereaux from Aria & Aries and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It was interesting reading about the war in Tuscany and it's Providences, the different sides, and how women made perfect carriers for the resistance, they hid items in bags, prams and even in their hair. The narrative focuses on relationships, both of the main characters didn't get along with their mothers, were subjected to verbal abuse and Tori's growing attraction to Marco. My favorite characters were Stella, Tori, Marco and father Anselmo. A great way to start of her writing career by Ms. Devereaux and I love stories set in Italy and about women overcoming difficult situations life throws at them and five stars from me.

A dual-timeline (1944 Romituzzo; 2019 Florence), this centered around Stella, a 14-year-old who provides help to the resistance network around her home during the war and Tori, a modern-day writer who discovers her late grandmother’s letters and connection to Stella and her legendary brother Achille.

I really wanted to like this one more, but the Tori story frustrated and irritated me. She was too immature and indecisive in her relationships, and while yes, she had suffered some emotional abuse, I sometimes had a hard time relating enough to her character as a victim.

Good writing and nicely descriptive of the area. But while I did enjoy Stella’s story more, overall there just wasn’t enough connection to the characters for me.

My thanks to NetGalley and Aria & Aries/Aria for providing the free early arc of Escape to Tuscany for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

An enjoyable easy to read novel. Escape to Tuscany is a historical fiction with a dual timeline following the story of two strong women. A book of love, new friendships, dreams, love and life. Kat Devereaux did a wonderful job describing the beautiful settings of Italy.
I would like to thank Aria & Aries, NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this complimentary copy for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

1944 and young Stella should is helping the Italian resistance by working as a partisan courier. Along with her brother Achilles and his friends, she is doing vital work
2019 and author Tori is mourning the loss of her beloved Grandmother, reading the last letter she wrote her, Tori discovers she's been left some inheritance money but her Gran has one condition, she spends it on herself and visits Florence, a city they travelled to many times together.
This wonderful dual timeline novel is very evocative and descriptive, I found myself salivating over the food and imagining myself in the many beautiful settings of Florence ( definitely a trip for my ever growing bucket list) the 2 years merge seamlessly into each other as we discover what links the 2 woman.
A lovely story to match the beautiful cover

When Tori's grandmother dies, she is left £30K to spend on herself.... realising at the funeral her Scottish husband has lied to her about a wake the night before the funeral she realises she can no longer live with him and departs to Florence - a favourite holiday destination of her youth with her grandmother.

Tori was writing a book about the life of a Laird's wife and realises that after leaving Duncan she can no longer complete the book despite receiving an advance. She contacts her agent and with the publisher she decides to write a book about her grandmother.... the first 1000 word outline a disaster. Tori who has a difficult relationship with her sister and mother, persuades her sister to send her all of her grandmother's papers. While searching with her new friend and lawyer Marco, she discovers a world her grandmother lived in and her love of her life from the 50's.

The book actually follows Tori's story and that of Stella, the sister of Archilles the love of her Grandmother.

Excellent read, but I did feel it ended rather abruptly.

Escape to Tuscany by Kay Devereaux

A perfect summer read that makes you want to take yourself off to Italy and even more so Tuscany. The way the author writes about the place you can imagine sitting in a cafe watching Tori going about her day Loved it.

Stella Infurianti is only 14 during the occupation in WW2 but she does her but and joins the resistance.
When the war is finally over there is no trace of Stella.
Tori McNair has escaped her bully husband and come to a place where she used to stay with her grandmother who has now passed.
A lovely dual timeline story , a wonderful setting and a fabulous storyline. Perfecto .

Please see the LoveReading.co.uk link below for the full review of Escape to Tuscany by Kat Devereaux.

I love a book with dual time lines, especially if WWII is involved, and this one ticks both boxes well. Tori McNair has finally had enough of her overbearing husband, the final straw being her missing the last days of her beloved grandmother Margaret’s life due to some underhand behaviour from him. She decides to go to Florence, where she and her grandmother spent some wonderful holidays. With the help of her lawyer, Marco, she digs into Margaret’s past, and finds more than she expected.

Stella Infuriati is the youngest member of her small towns resistance movement, acting as a courier, moving supplies, all the while knowing if she was captured she would be shot. At the end of the war, she seemingly disappears without a trace. To Tori it seems as if Margaret and Stellas’ lives are connected, and she’s determined to find out how.

I really enjoyed this book, I found myself engaging with all the main characters, except maybe Toris sister. The descriptions of the Italian countryside really made me long to go there, sit in the sunshine outside a small cafe and have a Negroni or two. The Resistance details have obviously been well researched, and are very believable. The only downside for me was the ending, I could have done with a couple more loose ends tied up. Apart from that a perfect summer read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I was drawn to the gorgeous colours on the cover and thought I'd give this a try.

This felt like the kind of book that I would choose if I wanted to escape for a while. It was a feel-good story, and the characters came to life in the setting. I think this is the type of book that I would typically enjoy once, as an alternative to mysteries. I wouldn't read it again, but I enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

In Kat Devereaux’s Escape to Tuscany, Tori receives an inheritance from her recently deceased Granny and she leaves her husband to return to Florence, Italy where she spent many vacations with her. Living off the memories of days gone by and the search for the haunts they would visit together, Tori meets new friends who help her discover who the new Tori is, while her editor pushes her to put the new Tori into her writing and turn her Florence excursion into something sexy and witty.

While going through the boxes of papers her Granny kept, Tori stumbles upon a racing hero that her Granny knew back in the day who tragically died young. Proposing to research and find out the story of Achille Infuriati, Tori looks to her friends, Marco and Chiara, to help her sort through the information and find out more. Tori finds that Achille’s sister, Stella, has no documentation of her existence and it intrigues her to find out what really happened to her. As Tori dives deeper into Achille and Stella, she is determined to bring to life the heroism both displayed in differing ways.

Written with strong female characters who have their own challenges to resolve and grow from, Escape to Tuscany paints this picture of Florence and neighboring villages that makes one want to hop a plane and see the sites for themselves. This book is a great summer read with more present day timeline than historical, but it is woven magically to seamlessly tell the story. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria for the advanced copy. Opinions expressed are my own. This book is set for publication on July 6, 2023.

#netgalley #arc #bookstagram #katdevereaux #escapetotuscany #aria

An incredibly interesting and powerful story about the atrocities that occurred during WW2 in Tuscany and what it was like to live in fear yet also be part of a resistance. I loved that this shined a light on parts of history we don't really hear about anymore/learn about in school and it was told through realistic and likeable characters you want to root for .I think this will be a hit for any historical fiction lovers if you love beautiful scenery, dual timeline, strong female leads and a mix of romance.

What a wonderfully powerful story. This had me hooked from the first chapter. The main storyline, whist being about fictional characters and areas, the backdrop is true. The atrocities of World War II were bought to life here and intermingled with the present day. It had me reading into the small hours as I struggled to put it down. Italy is a beautiful country and this contained all of those wonderful elements.

An enjoyable world war 2 historical novel with a present day romance thrown in, set in Tuscany in both the 1940s and 2016
Tori moves to Italy to escape a bad marriage, trying to come to terms with her beloved grandmother’s death. She has wonderful memories of the country , having spent time there on holiday with her grandmother as a child.
In the 1940s Stella is a messenger for the communist resistance in her home town, near Florence. Gradually their two stories are told and the connection between the two women becomes clear.
I liked reading about the bravery of both the men and particularly the women of the Italian partisans. Stella’s story was particularly interesting. It showed the pressure many women were under in such difficult times and was especially poignant as Stella was still a schoolgirl being only 14 at the time.
As Tori goes about rebuilding her life and even meets someone new she begins to plan her research and write a story about her grandmother’s Italian life in the 1950s.
I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions of Florence and the Tuscan countryside and I found the characters likeable and believable. My only complaint would be that Tori’s husband seems rather two dimensional and the ending itself was a bit rushed.
All in all an enjoyable read which was both entertaining and informative.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc.