Siobhan Daiko's deep love and respect for Italy flow through this novel, from the first page to the last. If you've never visited Florence, you will want to after reading this and if you have been there, you'll want to return.

If you are looking for some romance, it's here but it's surrounded by the brutal fighting of the Allied Italian campaign of 1944-45. The main character, U.S. Army nurse Carrie, volunteers for the front line in Anzio. The descriptions of the constant shelling & bombing by the Germans of the hospital zone are horrendous, as are the conditions for the medical staff & patients. Even combat troops called the hospital, "hell's half acre" and preferred their foxholes.

Through Carrie, the reader gets the full Italian cultural experience as she visits different cities & museums. We also get the Italian partisan resistance efforts through Vito. The Tuscan orphan, 5-year-old Mimi, is the constant thread that pulls the story together. Although the Allied push through Italy is carefully documented throughout the book, the author never fails to illustrate what the war has done to the civilians and their homes. That is the true tragedy of war. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and I have new respect for the women who served in Italy as nurses in the U.S. Army. They were truly remarkable.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the digital ARC. All opinions and the review are my own.