I’m delighted today to be helping launch the blog tour for An Italian Island Secret by Victoria Springfield, and sharing my publication day review: published today (21st January) by Boldwood Books, it’s now available as an ebook (free via Kindle Unlimited), in paperback, and as an audiobook. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my reading e-copy (provided via netgalley).
This is Victoria’s first book with Boldwood – and even if it took me rather longer than it should have done to discover her lovely writing, I was so delighted to hear she’d joined my favourite publisher. I’ve only read her last two books, but have to say I’m rather a fan – the most vividly drawn Italian settings (and who doesn’t love some sunshine and armchair travel, especially when it’s wet and cold outside?), beautifully written, with such intriguing stories and unexpected emotional depth. The first of her books I read (her third…) was The Italian Fiancé, set in Tuscany, and I thoroughly enjoyed it (you’ll find my review here) – and last year’s Invitation to Italy, set on the island of Procida off the coast of Naples, was even better, a really engaging story about fresh starts and new beginnings in the most perfect of settings (review here). And this time? I was rather looking forward to spending some time on the island of Ischia…
Escape to a beautiful Italian island with this wonderfully romantic story, threaded with secrets and intrigue.
It’s time to return to Ischia…
Alessia knows her grandmother grew up on the beautiful Italian island off the coast from Naples. But Ornella seldom talks about her life there – or why she never went back.
So Alessia is amazed when Ornella reveals that, in the months before she left Ischia, she had worked on the set of a famous 1950s movie filmed on the island. Is there a link between the film set and the tragic death of Ornella’s teenage sister?
Ornella has kept her past – and the heart-wrenching promise she made – a secret for over sixty years. She has tried not to think about the love she gave up. But now, perhaps the truth should finally be revealed…
Travelling to Ischia together, Alessia falls in love with the utterly captivating island. Meeting handsome journalist Roberto helps her dig deeper into her family’s past, too. Just what happened to Ornella’s sister? What heart-wrenching secret is her grandmother hiding?
This summer, can Alessia and Ornella put the past to rest and find the happy ending they both deserve?
A wonderfully escapist, romantic and compelling story of secrets and sacrifice, love and loyalty, that is perfect for fans of Karen Swan, Louise Douglas and Rosanna Ley.
Well, that’s another destination added to my “must visit” list – as always in the author’s books, the setting is far more than a mere backdrop, described in such wonderful detail, infused with sunshine, rich in history. And Ischia’s past as a favourite location for the burgeoning film industry – until then, it was an island touched by poverty, sustained only by its agriculture – adds a touch of real glamour and intrigue to this very engaging story.
Grandmother Ornella has never spoken about her past, although Alessia knows she left the island sixty years before and has never returned. But when Alessia unexpectedly loses her job as a seamstress, and is at a loose end for a while, they decide to travel to Ischia together for a holiday. When things go wrong with their booking, they find themselves staying with a former friend and her family – and as painful memories are revisited, long hidden events of the past slowly begin to emerge. In the 1950s, Ornella worked as a hairdresser on a film set – her story partly told in flashback – becoming embroiled in the lives of the rich and famous, but it was a time that ended in tragedy with the untimely death of her starstruck sister.
Amid the present day drama surrounding an upcoming marriage, deeply hidden secrets begin to emerge – including the promise Ornella made when forced to leave the island. Alessia finds romance through a chance meeting at the quayside – but Roberto’s also a journalist, digging into the past of the film’s stars, and that adds an intriguing extra dimension to the story. And there’s another thread to the story too, an enigmatic character choosing a solitary life because of her disfigurement, whose own story becomes entwined with theirs.
The whole story had me entirely gripped throughout, with so many well-handled twists and turns as we gradually discover the full and particularly emotional story of Ornella’s past. And the modern day story provides a nice counterpoint – things going badly wrong with the plans for the local wedding, but also the developing relationship between Alessia and Roberto – with the transitions to past events very smoothly done, the stories unspooling in parallel. All the individuals who play their part in the story, both past and present, are beautifully drawn and well developed, with more than a touch of well-written drama – and the author has a very sure emotional touch with the content, with the events of the past proving particularly heartbreaking. And the drawing together of all the threads at the end? That was so perfectly done, with both Alessia and Ornella looking forward to whatever the future may bring – the secrets of the past finally laid to rest.
The whole story is told with real warmth, matching the sunshine of its gorgeous and vividly drawn setting – very much my kind of read, and one I very much enjoyed.
About the author
Victoria Springfield writes contemporary ‘wish you were here’ evocative women’s fiction set in Italy. Her feel-good books follow unforgettable characters of all ages as they deal with love, loss, friendship and family secrets. Readers can feel the sunshine!
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