Title: Stars in an Italian Sky
Author: Jill Santopolo
Publisher: Putnam Books
Genre: Historical + Romance
Don’t try to put this book in a box and I think you will absolutely love it! What do I mean by that? Well, some readers are going to pick this up expecting the author’s usual contemporary chick lit. And others are going to pick it up expecting to read historical fiction because that’s what it’s billed as in a lot of places. But, while it certainly dabbles with both, read this for a beautiful immersive Italian story full of love, culture, light history, family, drama, heartbreak, coming-of-age, and stronger themes of different socioeconomic backgrounds and immigration.
Author Jill Santopolo is a genius with a dual POV + dual timeline. With short chapters she has you turning the pages quickly waiting to see the moment these timelines intersect. The aha moment!
Genoa Italy 1946 - Right after the war, as families are rebuilding their lives, Vincenzo and Giovanna fall in love quickly at twenty-one. It was love at first sight! But they come from different worlds . . . He is the son of a count and she is the daughter of a tailor. It’s during the period Italy is voting on should they abolish the monarchy and become a Republic. When women can finally vote!
“She wove her fingers between his, and they started to walk, but all she could think about was the bomb that now lived in her heart. And how destroyed she would be if their relationship ever exploded.”
New York 2017 - Cassandra and Luca are madly in love! Luca comes wealth and Cass a humble background. They have always felt like a perfect match, but things feel complicated when they get engaged. And things really get complicated when artist Luca has his grandfather and Cass’s grandmother sit for a painting. You simply must read!
Rating: 4.25 How’s that for concise!? This feels better than a four, but not quite enough to make it to four and a half. I think in the 2017 timeline I really would’ve love some more of the chapters be from the grandmother’s POV. My mother’s family is Italian so I love all books that take place in Italy and they are extra special for me. FYI, I don’t get super emotional with books and this is the only author that gets me! The ending will move you.
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