It’s a real pleasure today to be joining the blog tour for Escape to Tuscany, the debut novel from Kat Devereaux: published by Aria Fiction on 6th July, this lovely book is now available for kindle and in paperback via Amazon in the UK and US. My thanks, as always, to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading e-copy (provided via netgalley). As this is Kat’s first published book, and all I know about her is what I’ve read on her website, I don’t have any little anecdotes to share ahead of my review (as, you’ll know by now, I usually do…!) – but as soon as I saw that beautiful cover in one of the publisher’s tweets and then read this book’s synopsis, I knew it was pointless to resist…
A rich and engaging vision of life gone by and a lust for one woman’s future, rolled into one. And now I want to move to Italy!’ Mandy Robotham
A gripping and moving debut novel about two women, decades apart, whose fates converge in Florence, Italy. Perfect for fans of Patricia Wilson, Mandy Robotham and Lucinda Riley.
Romituzzo, 1944
Just fourteen, Stella Infuriati is the youngest member of her town’s resistance network – a secret she keeps even from her parents. She works alongside her brother Achille to relay messages, supplies and weapons to partisan groups in the Tuscan hills. Fuelled by courage and a fierce sense of purpose, Stella braves incredible danger and survives… but when peace comes in 1945, she vanishes.
Florence, 2019
Writer Tori MacNair arrives in Florence. Fleeing an emotionally abusive marriage, she’s come to build a new life in the city her grandmother taught her to love. As she digs into her family history, Tori uncovers decades-old secrets about a brave young woman who risked everything to save her world. As Tori and Stella’s stories intertwine, they reveal the power of love, community, and sacrifice across the generations.
‘A glorious read full of rich detail that made me ache to be back in Italy. I loved the characters and the story.’ Liz Fenwick
‘Conjures Tuscany so beautifully that I felt I was taking a holiday there whilst reading it. The spirit and atmosphere of Italy simply sizzle from its pages. A true escape!’ Fiona Walker
‘This moving page-turner is a love letter to Florence – past and present – and filled with all the juicy elements that hist-fic lovers will celebrate: love, passion, history, courage, secrets and second chances.’ Lisa Barr, New York Times bestselling author of Woman on Fire
‘A poignant, emotional novel about love, loss, and new beginnings.’ Christine Wells, author of Sisters of the Resistance
This was a beautifully written dual time story, set in Tuscany, present day and wartime threads equally strong and engaging – and one I very much enjoyed.
Prevented from attending her much-loved grandmother’s pre-funeral vigil by her controlling husband, Tori’s inheritance enables her escape – to flee to Florence, securing an apartment, reliving the memories of their many visits together. A writer, she finds herself unable to deliver the book she’s contracted for – about her life in the Highlands – and plans instead to write an account of her stay in Tuscany and any detail she can uncover about her grandmother’s past. With the help of lawyer Marco – and despite the unwelcome and far too frequent interventions from her family, urging her to return – she slowly uncovers the past, and her grandmother’s links with a notable racing driver, famous far beyond the small town of Romituzzo where he grew up, uncovering a wider and intriguing story of hardship and bravery in occupied Italy.
1944, and at fourteen, Stella Infuriati – like her more favoured brother and many of her friends, and without the knowledge of her parents – risks her life daily by carrying ammunition and supplies for the local partisans. Her first person account alternates with Tori’s – with particularly well written and dramatic accounts of day-to-day bravery and the atrocities she experiences. But as the war draws to a close, she disappears – something it’s particularly difficult to do given Italian bureaucracy – and the rest of her story, along with her connections to her grandmother, are for Tori to uncover.
The setting, in both wartime and present day stories, is vividly drawn and beautifully described – and while this might not be a true story, it’s clear that the story draws on extensive research around the Tuscan wartime experience to give Stella’s account a particular feeling of authenticity. And the pre-Brexit experience of moving to Italy is nicely done too – the mountain of paperwork and barriers to be negotiated, with the help of the lovely Marco. The storytelling is excellent, the threads of the story nicely entwined and slowly disentangled – it’s a compelling mystery, with some present day drama too, an ending I found entirely satisfying, accompanied by some well-handled emotional touches and a welcome and convincing developing romance.
If you enjoy a well-written dual timeline story, as I do – and who wouldn’t enjoy a book set in this beautiful part of Italy, and to learn a little more about its difficult past – this is a book I’d thoroughly recommend.
About the author
Kat Devereaux was born near Edinburgh, and lived in the United States, Russia, France, Chile, Germany, and the Czech Republic before finally settling in Italy. She is a writer and translator with a special focus on Italian literature.
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