#BlogTour-‘An Italian Affair’ by Caroline Montague

My thanks to Orion Books for having me along on the blogtour for the stunning ‘An Italian Affair’ by Caroline Montague

About the book…

Love. War. Family. Betrayal.

Italy, 1937. Alessandra Durante is grieving the loss of her husband when she discovers she has inherited her ancestral family seat, Villa Durante, deep in the Tuscan Hills. Longing for a new start, she moves from her home in London to Italy with her daughter Diana and sets about rebuilding her life.

Under the threat of war, Alessandra’s house becomes first a home and then a shelter to all those who need it. Then Davide, a young man who is hiding the truth about who he is, arrives, and Diana starts to find her heart going where her head knows it must not.

Back home in Britain as war breaks out, Alessandra’s son Robert, signs up to be a pilot, determined to play his part in freeing Italy from the grip of Fascism. His bravery marks him out as an asset to the Allies, and soon he is being sent deep undercover and further into danger than ever before.

As war rages, the Durante family will love and lose, but will they survive the war…?

This stunning debut opens with a tragic death which leads to momentous decisions, life changing acts and the unveiling of secrets.

I was completely engrossed in this part of the world and part of history about which I know very little-the between war period in Italy when Mussolini and his Fascist Revolutionary Party came to power.

It was an absolute pleasure to engage myself with the lives of Alessandra, Diana and Robert, I could not begin to imagine the decisions that Alessandra had to make, by taking one child to her inherited Villa, whilst leaving her other one behind.

‘An Italian Affair’ is best enjoyed with an sparkling Italian wine, and as such, devoured wholeheartedly. An affair in more ways than one, it is a sweeping family saga,historical fictions and emotional rollercoaster which was just a joy to read.

My heartfelt thanks to Orion Books and Caroline Montague for sweeping me away from a miserable Welsh winter and basking me in Tuscan charm and stories!

About the author…

Caroline won her first National Poetry competition at 10 years old and from that moment dreamed of being a writer. Her life, however, took a different turn.

At 18 she began a law degree but left after a year to marry a country solicitor. When juggling motherhood with modelling assignments became too much, she founded an Interior Design Company working on many projects in the UK and abroad.

Her second marriage to the widowed Conroy Harrowby brought four stepchildren into her life, giving her a wider audience for her imaginative bedtime stories.

As a family they all live at the Harrowby ancestral home, Burnt Norton, which famously inspired T S Eliot to write the first of his “Four Quartets”. At last Caroline has the time to fulfil her dream of becoming a full time author.

Twitter @CMontagueAuthor

@orionbooks