For my second post of the day I'm pleased to welcome you to my stop on the blog tour for dual timeline novel The Florence Letter by Anita Chapman. Thank you to Jess from Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book.
About the book:
Looking out over the twinkling city lights of Florence, Claire thinks of the letter that has brought her here. Written by a woman who escaped the Blitz, it holds a secret kept for a lifetime… but can Claire make the woman's dying wish come true?
Claire arrives at her new job as researcher at a grand English country house, nursing a broken heart. But tucked into the back of a long-forgotten drawer she finds a letter written in an elegant hand. It tells of a wartime secret about the beautiful Lady Violet – whose passionate affair with an Italian prisoner of war scandalised the village and ended in tragedy.
Captivated, Claire promises to find Violet's daughter, Tabitha, and reunite her with a priceless piece of her mother's jewellery. With only the name of an Italian bakery, Pasticceria Mancini, to guide her, and the help of her handsome neighbour Jim, Claire travels to Tabitha's last known location – Florence.
Winding through the colourful streets, the sun warm on her bare shoulders, a tantalising scent of freshly baked bread floats on the air and Claire's heart leaps at the sight of an ageing bakery sign: Mancini. Although she learns that Tabitha hasn't been there for many years, Claire refuses to give up. And as she and Jim talk late into the night over glasses of local chianti, Claire looks into his piercing blue eyes and finds herself growing closer to him…
But when they finally track Tabitha down, it isn't the happy reunion she expected and Claire is left reeling in the wake of discovering a devastating family secret.
Violet's story has an ending – but will the truth lead to forgiveness, or will it only bring more pain? And will Claire be forced to walk away from a chance of happiness with Jim at last?
Escape to Italy in this gorgeous story of past and present colliding. Readers of Lucinda Riley and Fiona Valpy will be utterly enchanted by this sweeping, romantic page-turner.
Buy link: https://geni.us/B0CWVFP5GMsocial
About the author:
Anita likes to read journals and diaries from the past, and one of her favourite pastimes is visiting art galleries and country houses. Her first published novel, The Venice Secret, is inspired by her mother taking her to see the Canalettos at The National Gallery in London as a child.
The Venice Secret was published in March 2023 and spent six weeks in the overall Amazon UK Kindle Top 100, reaching number thirty-eight. The Venice Secret has had over four million Kindle Unlimited pages read and received more than 3000 Amazon reviews since publication.
Since 2015, Anita has worked as a social media manager, training authors on social media, and helping to promote their books. She's run several courses in London and York, and has worked as a tutor at Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College.
My Review:
The Florence Letter by Anita Chapman is a beautifully written dual timeline novel where the past collides with the present in a romantic saga that once started you will not want to put down.
I love a book with a dual narrative and this one did not disappoint. We have two main characters: Margaret (Mags) during World War 2 and Claire in 2015. The narrative moves seamlessly between the two, both timelines holding my attention equally as the author weaves a gorgeous tale of romance and devastating family secrets.
In 2015 Claire is working as a researcher at a grand country house. Suffering from a recent heartache, Claire throws herself into her work. But then she finds a letter, written in an elegant hand. It tells the story of Lady Violet, who had a secret affair with an Italian prisoner of war that ended in tragedy.
Enthralled by the story, Claire promises to track down Violet's daughter, Tabitha, to reunite her with a piece of her mother's jewellery. With the help of handsome neighbour Jim, Claire travels to Florence, Tabitha's last known location.
As the beauty of Florence and the warm sun on her shoulders begins to work its magic, Claire finds herself losing her heart to Jim and his piercing blue eyes that seem to look deep within her soul. But then they find Tabitha and the meeting isn't anything like she thought it would be, leaving Claire reeling as she discovers a devastating family secret…
In the second timeline, Mags is Lady Violet's maid and her story is every bit as fascinating as the present day one. As the past collides with the present, there is finally an ending to Lady Violet's story, but is it one that will bring happiness or only more pain?
Beautifully written, The Florence Letter is a captivating historical novel that's filled to the brim with interesting characters, romance and family secrets. I loved it!
Highly recommended.
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