This story is told through dual timelines. The setting is historical. It was quite a slow burn. It had some good twists and turns.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
I have read and enjoyed books by this author previously, and love the epic sagas based around romantic fiction that she normally writes. This book begins in Italy just prior to the second world war. The story covers travel to America, and moves around the timeline between WW2 and the 1980s. There are occasions when the story moves back and forth within the time period and I did not like this, it disturbed the flow of the story for me. I do not want to reveal any spoilers so suffice to say I found Evelina's behaviour increasingly selfish, I did not feel the usual loving relationship. I note that other reviewers have not felt the same about this book so I have given it 3 stars, but this would not be a book I'd wish to reread.

Once again Santa does not disappoint. Knowing this is roughly based on a true story makes it all the more real when reading it, great book as always

I couldn't put it down! The story was amazing and completely captivating. I'd definitely recommend it.

As usual in my reviews, I will not rehash the plot...

This is an enjoyable, multi-layered story - partly set in present-day New York (ish), and partly in Italy during WW2.

Whilst the main part of the tale is a love story, there's a lot more depth to the novel than that, as it covers the effects of the war on multiple families, and the ongoing consequences for the lives of those caught up in it all. The descriptions of places, people, food and drink are so well written that you can picture them in your mind (I think it would make a great movie to be honest!).

I did guess "the twist" fairly early on, but it did not detract from my enjoyment of the story at all - if anything it lifted my spirits.

This book will appeal to those who like time-shift novels with a historical aspect and a dash of romance.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

I haven’t read a Santa Montefiore story in so long and I forgot how beautiful her prose can be.

A story about a second chance at love and dreams, full of well depicted characters with emotional moments.

I loved the descriptions of Italy even if it is set almost 100 years ago. Still feels unbelievable how time has passed on us.

Evelina doesn’t want to fulfil her father’s wish and marry a rich man. She wants to be free and live a quiet and fulfilling life. Unfortunately, those carefree days that she spends with Ezra are soon over and her family is moving to New York.

Told in dual timelines from 1934 to 1979, we get to know her as a young girl and as a married woman later in life. With lots of regrets and a chance encounter, this story is beautiful, touching and romantic.


🆓📖Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy through NetGalley

Severe lack of sleep as I had to keep reading to follow Evalinas story.

A real love develops between Evalina and Ezra during war torn Italy. Although they live in a small village, Ezra's family are Jews and they live in extremely dangerous times. Evalina is a Catholic and lives in impoverished grandeur in the old family villa relatively safe from the Nazis.

The story follows Evalina to New York when all seems lost. She is welcomed into her Aunt's family where she starts a new life with her American family.

I laughed and cried with Evalina in turn and although I anticipated parts of the ending it still had me hooked.

Santa Montefiore is a superb writer and I love her books.

Thank you netgalley.co.uk for this Arc.

This was an emotional and engrossing story that transports you back to some of the most heartbreaking times as we follow the story of Evalina - it starts at the end as we see her married to Franklin and living in Brooklyn surrounded by their children, but we get taken back to see where it all began and the journey that she has taken that led her to a life in America. And what a story she has to tell!

Beginning in a small village in Italy, she led quite a privileged life but was expected to follow rules and marry for standing and not love. Her sister had been found a prospective husband, and Evaline was sure she doesn't want the same for herself. And then she falls in love with Ezra who she has to meet in secret as he wouldn't be considered suitable for marriage. And then war breaks out and the horrors of life for the Jewish people begins to filter through and heartbreak soon follows, forcing Evaline to flee the country to join family in America.

We then follow her life in America, how she finds her purpose amongst the wealthy and how she meets Franklin and starts a whole new chapter of her life, but with the past always there in the back of mind and the what could have been.

The author has a brilliant way of story telling, and I loved how this story went from the past to the present, allowing you glimpses into how Evaline became the woman she is now, taking her through marriage to motherhood to always having that pull back to her homeland wondering whether it will bring her that peace that she seems to need.

This was an epic and beautiful story and one that will stay with me for some time.

Having just returned home after a holiday in Italy I decided to read this and I really enjoyed it.Lovely storyline with great characters and I loved the love story which ended happy.

We all remember that incredible feeling of first love, more than likely with rose tinted glasses, full of nostalgia and novelty. It was on my mind while reading this book, mainly that joyful moment when you realise that they actually love you too. It’s intoxicating. The first time I fell in love, I leapt in feet first and had my heart broken, but I held a candle for him for many years and held it in my mind as a perfect love. With a lot of years and a bit more wisdom, I can see it differently. However, I will always be grateful for the experience, because it showed me how great my capacity for love was. How much better could this experience be when I was ready for it? Our novel follows Evelina, a young woman living in a remote part of northern Italy. She lives with her parents, her sister Benedetta and two formidable old ladies, her grandmother and great aunt. Life is peaceful for most of the time, but as WW2 looms closer there are changes both personal and for the whole of Italy. The influence of Hitler and his agreements with Italy’s leader Mussolini, will change all of their lives forever.

The central relationship in the novel illustrates these changes most dramatically. People of the Jewish faith have lived in the village so long they are part of the fabric of the place. Evelina has never realised that their village tailors, the Zanotti family, are Jewish, so when she meets their son Ezra she can’t imagine any obstacles to the way she feels, apart from some misgivings about his ability to support Evelina. Yet, the outside world is about to come crashing in on the tentative feelings growing between these two young people. Within Evelina’s family circle, it is Benedetta’s new husband who brings the new politics into their midst. A staunch supporter of Mussolini, he is behind Hitler’s initiative to rid Europe of Jewish people. When he brings his views to the breakfast table, Evelina’s father says his views are not welcome in his home. Sadly, Benedetta then leaves dutifully with her husband bringing a rift between them. They’ve heard terrible stories, of Jewish people being taken to a prison camp in the far North of Italy before being placed on a train bound for Auschwitz- Birkenau. Friends start to plead with Ezra’s father to leave and knowing what’s coming, Ezra joins the resistance. Evelina creates a safe space in their chapel for resistance fighters to rest and replenish themselves. After a brief and family sanctioned relationship, with a Jewish girl from the village who worked for Evelina’s family, the closeness of war and the threat to his family combine to influence Ezra. He breaks his promise and comes to Evelina, assuring her of his long held love for her, despite their religious difference. He wants to be true to his emotions rather than please his parents. Thus far he had seen Evelina as out of reach, now a blissful courtship develops. As summer blooms alongside their love, they create memories neither will ever forget. So, when he is captured, Evelina’s grief is devastating. Yet, she waits until the news confirms the worst; Ezra and his entire family are dead. With the Italy she knows gone forever Evelina makes a huge decision, she will cross the Atlantic and make the voyage to New York to live with her aunty, in Brooklyn.

Evelina’s story is told across two time periods, forty years after the war in Brooklyn, then back in time to WW2 Italy as she has flashbacks. She’a now 63 and married to an older professor called Franklin, with whom she has a family. She has built a lovely, welcoming home for her family and their close friends, usually other immigrants from Italy and the much beloved Uncle Topino and her Aunt Madelina. It’s a loving environment and her relationship with Franklin is a very loving one, even though part of her heart will always belong to Ezra.

‘And their love for each other had deepened. She loved Ezra still, she would never stop loving him, but she loved Franklin too. It was, indeed, possible to love two men in very different ways. She realized now, in her wisdom, that there were many faces to love.’

This really is a sweeping epic with a central love story that really stayed with me, although I had so much respect for Evelina’s husband Franklin too. I didn’t know a lot about Italy’s role during WW2 and the background research did open my eyes to how they ended up drawn into Hitler’s plans for the future. It shows how the Nazi’s ideology broke up previously peaceful communities and even families like Evelina’s. She and her sister are very close, but she has to circumvent Benedetta’s husband to communicate with her. When he’s eventually called up to fight, the sisters are reunited and the family live together through the rest of the war. I loved the connections and help both sisters give to the resistance, both of them with relationships torn apart by war in very different ways. This was a beautiful story where familial love is concerned, but the central love story is heart rending and has a twist that will truly surprise you. I often find love stories lacking in substance, but this wasn’t one of them. It was my first Santa Montefiore novel, but I’m very sure it won’t be my last.

Nobody does epic romance like Santa Montefiore. I’ve read lots of her books and not one I haven’t loved! Another uplifting and summery escape from the bestselling author. I could not look away from the pages for a second. I was completely engrossed in the story from start to finish… A must read! Left me speechless.

Whilst I have read other books by this author and enjoyed them this one left me a little cold. I liked the story but found the writing somewhat naive. It read more like a teenage essay. Disappointed

An engrossing, poignant, and gripping historical romance featuring a cast of interesting characters and the story of a woman through ages.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and loved the well researched and vivid historical romance.
It moved me and kept me reading.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Santa Montefiore really knows how to write an amazing book and this one is no exception. It will take you through all the feelings, make sure that you have tissues to hand as it is one hell of a ride. Another amazingly written book that proves why Santa is such an amazing talent to the literary world.

Set in New York in1979 and Italy in 1934 this is Evelina's story. It covers the rise of Mussolini's fascist party and what this meant for Italian Jews. It is above all a story of family and the many different forms it can take. A very moving story.

This was one of those sweeping historical romances which succeeded in bringing a tear to my eye! It was a real page turner full of wonderful well rounded characters. The two main protagonists Evalina and Ezra were so beautifully drawn that I actually felt I knew them personally.
This is a novel which slips effortlessly between several time frames- the present day of the 1970s and 80s when Evalina and Franklin celebrate numerous Thanksgivings with their family and close friends and the late 1930s and the war years when Evalina and her Italian family live in a small town in Northern Italy , firstly under Mussolini and then the Nazis.
Evalina leads a sheltered life and is home schooled by tutors in her family Villa. One day she meets Ezra who works in his father’s dressmaking shop and it is love at first sight. However there is a problem- this is 1930s Italy and Ezra and his family are Jewish.
The story moves from Italy to America and follows Evalina’s life and all the tragedies which the war puts in her way. Her love for Ezra is profound but the reader knows from the beginning that she is married to Franklin so it is clear that things have not worked out the way she had hoped.
This is a wonderful tale which is both romantic and profound. It also describes family life and family problems whilst providing a lot of historical detail.
Evalina’s sister suffers from marital difficulties after an arranged marriage but Evalina also encounters obstacles herself despite marrying for love.
This was an engrossing and enjoyable read which had me on the edge of my seat, late at night , keen to find out how Evalina’s issues could be resolved.
I definitely recommend this as a five star read to all you historical romance fans! Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for my arc.

An Italian girl in Brooklyn is a stories that spans decades; Evelina lives in a small town in Italy before World War Two. She is homeschooled and longs to be grown in up and spend time with the cloth merchant's son who has caught her eye. But as she grows up, the world changes and her love becomes forbidden, eventually resulting in Evelina searching for a new life in America.

I enjoy Montefiore 's books and this one is no exception; the historical setting giving a depth to the romance story and her usual writing style painting a beautifully clear picture in your mind.

I found this one a little slower to start in comparison to her other works, but once the story had gripped me I really enjoyed its twists and turns.

Thanks to Netgalley and then publishers for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review..

Santa Montefiore never disappoints. This book was a little slow during the first half, but the pace picked up in the second half. There was a twist I wasn't expecting and I wondered how it would be resolved. I think the ending was perfect. Wonderfully written, the scenic descriptions were excellent. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"An Italian Girl in Brooklyn" is the epic story of Evelina, one of 2 sisters who had an idyllic childhood in northern Italy. All of this changed when Mussolini sided with Hitler before and at the start of WW2. This is a book about love, family, trust and the horrors of war. As usual with Santa Montefiore the writing is sublime; great characters, wonderfully described settings and an inventive plot with a twist. Recommended.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

A truly stunning book from Santa; her books get better and better. Set in America and Italy, it beautifully written with lovely descriptions.