I loved this book! The beautiful narratives of 2 strong women tied together over a century was amazing and so lovely to read. Serafina's story was so heartbreaking and I truly did not see the twist at the end coming (no spoilers!). Can't wait for whatever Jo Piazza has coming next!

Title: The Sicilian Inheritance
Author: Jo Piazza
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: 4.0 out of 5

Sara Marsala barely knows who she is anymore after the failure of her business and marriage. On top of that, her beloved great-aunt Rosie passes away, leaving Sara bereft with grief. But Aunt Rosie's death also opens an escape from her life and a window into the past by way of a plane ticket to Sicily, a deed to a possibly valuable plot of land, and a bombshell family secret. Rosie believes Sara's great-grandmother Serafina, the family matriarch who was left behind while her husband worked in America, didn’t die of illness as family lore has it . . . she was murdered.

Thus begins a twist-filled adventure that takes Sara all over the picturesque Italian countryside as she races to solve a mystery and prove her birthright. Flashing back to the past, we meet Serafina, a feisty and headstrong young woman in the early 1900s thrust into motherhood in her teens, who fought for a better life not just for herself but for all the women of her small village. Unsurprisingly it isn’t long before a woman challenging the status quo finds herself in danger.

As Sara discovers more about Serafina she also realizes she is coming head-to-head with the same menacing forces that took down her great-grandmother.

This was a pretty solid read, although Sara was the only character I really liked. I was suspicious of everyone else, including Serafina. I honestly didn’t feel much of a connection to any of the characters, but the writing was solid, and the setting was appealing.

Jo Piazza lives in Philadelphia. The Sicilian Inheritance is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Penguin Group Dutton in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 5/7).

I love this book for so many reasons, first I absolutely love Sicily, second love the author and I love a book that showcases badass strong women! This book is book has all three! The author does a great jon showcasing grief as well. Highly recommend!

This was okay. I think I just came into it expecting a travel rom com witha mystery twist and I got a mob crime book with one chapter of romance instead, I’m not sure if it’s my fault or the marketing. I liked it enough to finish though I skimmed the last bit.

this was a nice and fun historical fiction/thriller combo, I think it would be a great beach or poolside read this summer, but really any time of the year. interesting connection to the author's heritage.

My take: 4.25 out of 5. I absolutely loved the female empowerment aspect of this book. All these women kicking ass whilst their husband where away. The concept of such a strong female crew/tribe is so refreshing and encouraging. At the same time it must have sucked to live at a time where women were so dependent and looked down upon as early 20th century Italy.
The part of the story that was the search for the history, the family relationships I was all in. The mafia aspect of it although I understand the necessity in a Sicilian story, I feel like it was the least successful aspect of the book, it added a thriller aspect and some excitement but a bit much maybe?.
I love how interesting and flawed the characters where. For example guisy, do we love her or do we hate her, who knows? qudos to including lyrics from Meredith Brooks I'm a Bitch

This book isn’t without some issues of quality and editing, but it’s a fun and well-paced read and I liked it a lot more than I expected to.

Generally Jo Piazza’s work doesn’t appeal to me, but the premise for this was too good to pass up, and it mostly delivers. The story moves well, and the timelines interact well with one another.

I wish there had been less dialogue and a more strongly realized sense of place, but in a general sense the setting is a good one. I liked the older timeline better than the current one, but that’s mostly down to taste and somewhat about the fact that Sara is a very tropey and not particularly likable protagonist.

Serafina is a better character, and her story feels less generic, though how Sara’s story relates to Serafina’s does work well.

There’s some editing that didn’t get done here that should have: The goofy villainy of the way the mafia is portrayed here needed work, and there are some irritating anachronisms in the older timeline (no one was using the expression “bad actor” back then.

Those things aside, I loved how this story moved, and the book (particularly in the older timeline) does a great job at slice of life history. Also, how great was Giusy?! By far the most nuanced and interesting character in the book. I loved her, and I enjoyed reading this.

Jo Piazza is reaching new literary heights with this one. A compelling family story and a mystery in one, with excellent tension and a good balance between the two storylines- with cliffhangers that keep you reading. Lush and vivid descriptions of food and place, balanced with the hardships and losses faced by Serafina in the earlier timeframe. This is an excellent book.

This dual timeline novel follows two women against a backdrop of small town Sicily. The first, Sara, is a butcher/restauranteur and mother, in the process of getting divorced. Her great aunt has just passed and leaves her a note asking her to bring her ashes to Sicily and claim a piece of property there. In doing so, she uncovers a mystery regarding the matriarch of the family, Serafina (protagonist of the other timeline, set in the early 20th century). While Serafina's husband left for America, she remains in Sicily, raising their children and learning from "la strega," a local healer who is known as 'the witch."

This book will appeal to fans of commercial fiction who don't mind a narrative that evolves slowly. Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sara's aunt just died and left her an inheritance involving a family secret. Already struggling with her business and marriage, Sara decides to take the chance and the plane ticket to Sicily to find out what really happened to her great grandmother Serafina and if the plot of land is hers. It splits into a dual timeline, one in the past focusing on Serafina and her journey in medicine and helping the women of the village, and the other one in the present focuses on Sara as she learns more about her family and also about herself. Overall, an interesting family mystery set in a town with a history that is still present.

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5 stars

“Astarte . . . is a way of life, a spirit, a story we pass down, a way of reminding ourselves that the only way for a woman to survive in this world is to help other women. The stories get passed down through some of the families, but they were lost for many generations.”

In The Sicilian Inheritanc,e we get to know Sara whose life is already falling apart when her beloved aunt dies. Before her death, Rosalia prepares a mission for Sara - to go back to their Sicilian roots and claim the land Rosalia had inherited and that will now be Sara’s. While there, Rosalia wants Sara to investigate the death of Rosalia’s mother, Sarafina, a hundred years previously.

Told from the POV of both Sara and Sarafina, we enter a world of organized crime, small town gossip, love affairs, and characters whose trustworthiness is questionable. I loved it! Sarafina’s reputation in the present time is one of a witchy promiscuous woman who died a heretic though her family in the US always remembered her as a saint who died of the flu.

A dual timeline uncovers Serafina’s story while Sara in the present day is also facing unknown dangers and the past and present collide and Jo Piazza leads us through a masterful web. It don’t want to say more because there are so many twists and turns that had me cheering and crying.

I recently read Did you Hear about Kitty Karr - A book that explores a network of African American women who support one another in undermining an unjust, racist, and misogynistic system. The Sicilian Inheritance had a similar thread and I am delighted to read novels that reveal the strength, creativity, and change that women working in community for a common goal can achieve though not without sacrifice. Their determination paved a way to a better life for women today and we in turn, have a responsibility to continue their legacy.

#TheSicilianInheritance #NetGalley

What a wonderful, thrilling and heartwarming novel! It literally has a little something for everyone!

This novel is for anyone looking for an escape to Italy! It has elements of family drama, historical fiction, and mystery, and was so much fun to read!

You don’t have to be Italian to love The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza! Inspired by the author’s own family history, prepare to lose yourself in the pages of this masterfully written novel. I just want to hop on a plane and fly to Sicily after reading this one.

This story blends history, suspense, and romance and it left me wanting more!

Here is the plot:

Sara Marsala barely knows who she is anymore after the failure of her business and marriage. On top of that, her beloved great-aunt Rosie passes away, leaving Sara bereft with grief. But Aunt Rosie’s death also opens an escape from her life and a window into the past by way of a plane ticket to Sicily, a deed to a possibly valuable plot of land, and a bombshell family secret. Rosie believes Sara’s great-grandmother Serafina, the family matriarch who was left behind while her husband worked in America, didn’t die of illness as family lore has it . . . she was murdered.

Thus begins a twist-filled adventure that takes Sara all over the picturesque Italian countryside as she races to solve a mystery and learn the story of Serafina—a feisty and headstrong young woman in the early 1900s thrust into motherhood in her teens, who fought for a better life not just for herself but for all the women of her small village. Unsurprisingly the more she challenges the status quo, the more she finds herself in danger.

As Sara discovers more about Serafina, she also realizes she is coming head-to-head with the same menacing forces that took down her great-grandmother. At once an immersive multigenerational mystery and an ode to the undaunted heroism of everyday women, The Sicilian Inheritance is an atmospheric, page-turning delight.

Out now, get it!

Sara Marsala is at a sad crossroad in life. Her marriage and restaurant have failed. Her great aunt Rosie has died but Aunt Rosie has plans for Sara. She leaves her the deed to the family ancestral property in Sicily, She wants Sara to go on a grand adventure and find out about the property and to find out the story behind the mysterious death of Rosie's mother Serafina. Did she have an illness or were the whispers of her being murdered true? Aunt Rosie was a lot more devious than Sara even knew! Sara definitely has that grand adventure full of mystery, history, trouble and danger. The cast of characters she meets along the way are so great. Guisy, the hotel owner, is so much fun!

What happened when Serafina sent her children to America to be with their father but never showed up herself? Was she the witch they all called her?

it is also a very interesting look at what the Italian women had to deal with being of the female gender and being along as the men sailed off to the new world looking for work.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Dutton for a copy for review.

Jo Piazza is a new-to-me author and I really enjoyed this tale that would appeal to a wide variety of readers, as it encapsulates family sagas, mystery/suspense, historical fiction, and romance, all set in Italy! I also thought it was really cool that the author explains at the end that she was inspired to write this novel based on the real murder of her Italian great-grandmother!

The story vacillates between present-day Sara, reeling from a divorce and career failure, who travels to Sicily after she learns that she has inherited land from her recently deceased great-aunt. To claim the land, she must prove that she is a rightful owner of the land by looking into her family history, including the suspicious death of Serafina, her aunt's mother. This moves Sara into dangerous territory, uncovering long-buried secrets that others would wish to remain hidden. The chapters alternate between Sara and Serafina, who guide us through unraveling the mystery.

Read this one if you like:
*Dual timelines & POVs
*Gorgeous, exotic locales
*Morally grey characters
*Strong female protagonists
*Women supporting women

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for an advanced copy of this book to read in exchange for my honest feedback!

Phenomenal 5 star read!! Piazza did a wonderful job of marrying Italian history feels with a romantic twist.

Sara Masala has created an award-winning restaurant at the cost of her husband, her five-year-old daughter as well as her beloved Aunt Rosie who raised her after her parents were killed in a car crash. She regrets that all the plans she and Rosie had been making got lost in the race to grow her business. Out of the blue, she is delivered an out from Rosie’s will in the form of from money to pay for a trip to Italy and see if the family property could be sold to bale out her business.

The book is told in the present and also the past. Rosie challenges Sara to see if she can uncover the mystery of her mother Serafina’s death. As economics tighten, men are leaving to find work in America and the women take over the business of running their town. For readers of historical fiction.

I did something with Jo Piazza's "The Sicilian Inheritance" that I rarely do for a digital book: I read it one weekend.⁠
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My first inclination is to call it a mystery, but it really is so much more: it's historical, it's women's fiction, it's a romance, it's about self-discovery and change, there's some food and wine, and, of course, it's definitely a book with a great sense of place.⁠
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In fact, this is one I would highly recommend for anyone interested in Sicily. I lived in Sicily for two years--many years ago--and I found myself both identifying with certain parts in the book (nodding my head because something was described exactly as I remembered it) and being surprised because I learned something new and fascinating about this island.⁠
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And it was just a good story--interesting characters, an enticing mystery, and a powerful story about women.⁠
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Told in dual timelines, "The Sicliian Inheritance" tells the story of American chef Sara Marsala who has lost her business, her marriage, and her beloved great-Aunt Rosie who travels to Sicily to hopefully cash in on some family land. It's also the story of Sara's great-grandmother, Serafina, a Sicilian woman in the 1900s dealing with an absent husband, young children, a loss of her dreams, and a reputation as a witch.⁠
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When she arrives in Sicily, Sara realizes there is much more to her great-grandmother's story than just a piece of land...Sara needs to figure out who is responsible for Serafina's death. (The mob? The absent husband? The bitter best friend? The traditional townspeople against the "witch"?)⁠
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It was a quick enticing read with a great sense of place. Fantastico.⁠
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*I was given a version of this book for free in exchange for an honest book review--thank you to @netgalley and @duttonbooks.

This book was fantastic! It was everything I want in a family mystery and history. Add in the feminist angle and you had me hooked. This will be on my best of list for sure!