Rix tells a good tale as usual and allows the reader to fully immerse themselves in different time periods and the warm, hypnotising atmosphere of Italy once again. This time the story follows two women, 300 years apart, both enduring their own dilemmas and the highs and lows of love and life - Anastasia in the early 1700s and Millie in 2017. The characterisation is good and encourages the reader to empathise with both women, though there is a definite pull more towards Anastasia, who shows herself to be a woman of substance, strength and passion, one who has a real battle on her hands to establish herself in a new industry, that of silk designer, whilst also battling what it is to be a woman in the face of love and marriage. Her fight to find herself and overcome real difficulties ensures she wins the respect of the reader - more so than the modern heroine of the novel, Millie, who sometimes comes across a little in the guise of a Mills and Boon character who swoons in the arms of each handsome man that comes her way and then, typically, falls instantly in love with the 'handsome Italian' - there is less to admire in her through this as the true hardships never seem to come to the fore.
This is an enjoyable summer read, one with some excellent historical and technical detail, particularly in the area of the silk and weaving trade, and the atmospheric descriptions of Verona, Venice, etc., will lull the reader into a wonderful feeling of peace and tranquility, making us all yearn to be there...
The two narratives are woven well together and the pace is jaunty, without causing any undue hardship for the reader - this is a novel that runs along apace and keeps the reader immersed in two engaging stories, telling the story of love and triumph in two very different times.

The Silk Weavers Wife is a well-written story, set in Italy and which tells of two tales set almost three centuries apart. The story revolves around 2 women, Anastasia and Millie, both strong and well crafted characters, who prove to be an inspiration for all.

Anastasia is brought up to be respectful, proper and do as her father says. Along with her younger sister and mother, they live in constant fear of her Father's moods and hate. He only ever seems to show his love to his dog and the horses. Anastasia develops an interest in art and secretly tries to pursue the same. When she is taken away from the man she loves and is forced to marry someone her father had made a deal with through his gambling, her life takes a turn for the worse. Forced to lead a life she doesn't want, she finds solace in her maid, who helps her find a way to escape the abuse and eventually find her way back to the man she loves. However, even this road is not smooth and is filled with learning and a journey of self-discovery, as well as healing. Anastasia travels across Europe and then to London where she learns to improve her art and then to apply it to the finished product of silk weaving.

Jump ahead to the current day scenario and we meet Millie who has come down to Italy to write a feature on Silk Weaving and how it has evolved over time. Ironically, this trip also proves to be one of self-discovery and developing a sense of respect of oneself. She develops a bond with Lorenzo, the owner of the villa where she is staying and his charming daughter. Millie learns to deal with her failed relationship with her boss, a married man, and as she researches more into the subject of her article, she digs up information pertaining to Anastasia.

As connections are made with the past and parallels are drawn, the author takes the reader on an interesting adventure. In many ways, the journey of the silk worm relates to the journeys led by both women they they finally discover who they are meant to be and learn to be content with their lives. The story moves across time as it unravels, going back and forth to give us a complete picture. The characters are well developed and deep, with the supporting characters playing major roles and contributing to this beautiful tale.

An inspiration, this story brings out the strength of women and how the love and support of those around them, helps them achieve wonders!

I downloaded The Silk Weaver's Wife a little unsure about whether I would really enjoy it. I love historical fiction but tend to be drawn to darker novels. However, the dual narrative in this tempted me to give it a try and I'm very glad I did. This is a beautifully evocative novel, the two stories complementing each other as the connection between them is touchingly revealed as the book progresses.
The 2017 setting features Millie, an award winning journalist whose career success isn't matched in her personal life. A long affair with a married man has left her with little more than 'soulless white china.' When she is asked to go to Italy to write a feature on an initiative to reinvigorate the silk industry there she doesn't only uncover a mystery about an unknown woman in a portrait, she also discovers what it is she really wants from life. If this book was just about Millie I possibly wouldn't have picked it up, I'm not really a big reader of romantic fiction. That said, it is a lovely, emotional story. There aren't any big surprises but then romantic novels aren't about big, dramatic twists, they're about wanting a couple to fall in love and enjoying the journey to the perhaps inevitable but no less satisfactory conclusion. And The Silk Weaver's Wife does that very well. Millie is a believable, relatable character. She may be the other woman in an affair, but she is self-aware and likeable and it's not difficult to hope she ends up with the right man.
For me though, the real strength of The Silk Weaver's Wife is Anastasia's story. I was gripped from the start by the chapters set in the early 1700s. Anastasia's father is a vicious, brutal man and it's thanks to his horrific actions that she finds herself trapped in a controlling, abusive marriage. Anastasia's treatment in the early chapters mean this part of the book isn't an easy read, nevertheless it is compelling. I was willing her to escape, there are scenes here of genuine nail-biting tension. Anastasia is a character with a tenacious spirit, readers will be desperately hoping she eventually has the life she deserves.
The Silk Weaver's Wife is divided into three, the name of these parts mirror the arcs both Anastasia and Millie experience; the Silken Thread of Part I applicable both to Anastasia's obvious entrapment but also to Millie's affair with Max, which has seen her trapped in what has become a stagnant relationship; the Metamorphosis of Part II sees them both having to learn to accept the changes in their life leading to their Regeneration in Part III when they eventually realise what it is they want from their lives. Their progress from beginning to end is sometimes frustrating, often moving and ultimately a touching, absorbing read. Debbie Rix has interwoven an emotional story of love and loss with fascinating historical details. I doubt I'm the only one who will be moved to want to learn more about Italy's silk history. I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of some real life historical figures which really added to the novel's authenticity. The book is a love letter to Italy too, this beautiful, romantic country is brought vividly to life. I can definitely see The Silk Weaver's Wife being a popular holiday read this summer, the warmth of the Italian sun is matched by this captivating and heartwarming novel.
My grateful thanks to the publishers for inviting me to read a copy through Netgalley.

A beautiful story of a 1700s Italian silk designer and a modern day British journalist. Millie unravels the beautiful, talented Anastasia's passion for art, her talent as a silk designer, her love and life story and finding her own story on the way.

All reviews can be found on my blog at https:// bookblog.gjmccarthy.co.uk/

Thank you, Bookouture, for inviting me to read this fabulous book: The Silk Weaver’s Wife by Debbie Rix.

I really enjoyed this authentic portrayal of silk weaving history meeting silk weaving present. The author does an amazing job of interweaving the related stories to make this an emotional and entertaining read.

I highly recommend that you take a moment and read this wonderful book, which transported me to the past and then brought me back to the present in a thought provoking and memorable way.

The Silk Weaver’s Wife is set in two different time periods – silk weaving in 1704 and 2017. Anastasia is the main character in 1704 and her family is headed by a very difficult father with a gambling problem. She has fallen in love with Marco but it appears that her father has different plans for her and forces her to marry someone else, who treats her very badly. Her story is absolutely devastating but attests to her strength of character. The author incorporated lots of fascinating historical facts relating to travel, silk weaving, and fabric design as well as art, which lends interest to the chapters relating to 1704.

The chapters of 2017 speak of Millie, who is the main character. She is a journalist, who finds herself in an unsatisfactory romantic relationship with her married boss. She is given the opportunity to write a feature in Italy, exploring the silk weaving history of a particular area. A little romance wouldn’t go amiss either…
Debbie Rix is skilled at interfacing the past with the present throughout this storyline and I really enjoyed waiting for the stories to unfold chapter by chapter. I was sorry when the story came to an end as I was enthralled from start to finish.

This is an extremely well written, emotive, fascinating and authentic historical read, which I’m sure that you’ll enjoy as much as I did. I LOVED this book!

I’ve definitely found a new favourite author! Thank you, Debbie Rix and Bookouture for introducing me to this great author!

This fantastic book deserves 4.5 stars.

I LOVED this book. I'm not sure what all I expected when I requested it, but it wasn't what I read. What I got to experience through this book was so much greater than my expectations.

In the year 1704, Anastasia is planning to marry her sweetheart in secret in an attempt to escape her violent father. After her attempt is thwarted, however, she is forced to marry an older silk weaver and begin a new life, against her wishes, in Venice. Not content with swapping one abusive life for another, she plots her escape. In 2017, another woman, Millie, is also experiencing relationship problems. When her affair with married boss Max is abruptly ended, she is happy to travel to Italy to write an article for work, where she meets, and falls in love, with Lorenzo. She soon becomes fascinated by the silk making process and is determined to identify the mysterious woman in a portrait she has seen.

I admit that I did not know what to expect when I started to read this book as romantic fiction is a genre out of my comfort zone. I do enjoy dual time-frame books, however, and I was intrigued by the mystery concerning the subject of the painting. When I began to read, I started to have reservations as Millie’s story did not really grab me. A soon as Anastasia’s story kicked in, though, I found myself reading at a much quicker pace, desperate to know how she would escape from her husband. As the book progressed, and there began to be cross-overs between the two time-frames, I started to enjoy Millie’s story much more and was keen to know how their respective stories would end.

Of the two main characters, Anastasia was, by far, my favourite: a strong woman who overcame her fears and tragedies to achieve a fulfilling and rewarding life. Millie, on the other hand, I wanted to shake at times for allowing Max to railroad her into decisions that she did not really want to make. I found it interesting that the more independent woman was the one from the eighteenth century, a time when women had fewer rights than their twenty-first century counterparts.

It is obvious that the author has done a tremendous amount of research to merge fact with fiction, providing a fantastic historical account of the silk trade in eighteenth century Italy. Debbie Rix has painted an evocative picture of the book’s locations, whether it be Venice, Amsterdam or Spitalfields and truly transports you back to the eighteenth century.

For any fans of historical fiction or, indeed, any Italophiles, The Silk Weaver’s Wife is a great read.

I really enjoyed this book, one of the reasons I like to read historical novels is in the hope that I can learn something new. This book ticked the box on that one, the research that Debbie Rix has done is obvious. She has explored the silk manufacture process from moth to cloth, there is not an overload of information, but has used her characters well to explain, as her characters learn things, then so does the reader. I found Debbie’s writing to be very readable and well set pace, there are a lot of stories within stories in this book, but they have been organised and well laid out so as not to confuse the reader at all. Also included in this are actual artists, designers and weavers there is a very handy section at the back that lists the fact and fiction characters as well a note about how Debbie weaves the two together.

This is a wonderful book written across two-time lines, 1704 and 20017. In 1704 we are introduced to Anastasia and her family from near Verona in Italy. In 2017 we meet Millie on a break with her sort of boyfriend Max.

Millie, a journalist, has been asked to write an article on the regeneration of Italy’s silk trade. She stays at the House of Cocoon, or Villa di Bozzolo, it has been part of the silk trade for many generations and has a deep history. The she meets owners Lorenzo and his sister Elena, they run the villa as a Bed and Breakfast guest house. Lorenzo provides her with much information for her article and is her contact for meeting various other people in the silk trade. She finds Lorenzo very easy to get along with, and has her questioning her life with Max, Lorenzo is her age, attractive and a widow.

Anastasia and her sister Mariette live under the iron rule of their father, their mother doesn’t have the strength to stand up to him so they all live under the threat of a beating from him. Anastasia has two loves, Marco and painting, both are things that her father will not allow, if he knew. He believes painting is not a thing a woman should do, he is of thought that they should be at home doing productive things.

As Millie discovers more about the history of silk manufacture process, Anastasia’s journey runs alongside with her journey into the world.

I would recommend this book to readers of historical fiction, womans fiction and romance. I wish to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for my copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

This is my first Debbie Rix novel that I've read but it won't be the last! The author has a wonderful writing style that really transports you to the places she writes about, and the level of detail to historical facts was also really impressive.

It is set over 2 periods in time - now and back in 1704. In 2017, Millie has a successful career but doesn't seem as successful in love as she's having an affair with her married boss. She knows it is wrong, especially as he has children, but she thinks she's in love. When the chance to travel to Italy arises for her to write a piece in Italy she jumps at the chance and is soon in love with more than the country! But Max is still in the background - and this is where I got quite shouty at the character as she couldn't see what was right for her!!

In 1704 we follow the story of Anastasia and her family. Her father is an evil brute and makes them all live in fear. Anastasia plans to run away to marry her love, but soon finds out she is promised to another - and one brute gets replaced by another. Despite the glorious setting of Venice, she is put through an awful time after her wedding and her only thoughts are those of escape.

I loved the two timeline settings - both characters had so much going on in their lives that there was always something happening. The silk weaving/farm side of the story was also fascinating and I loved the mystery of the painting that linked the 2 timelines.

Happily recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction.

Okay I have a confession to make. Although I have Debbie’s books on my ever increasing ‘To Be Read’ pile, ‘The Silk Weaver’s Wife’ is the first of her books that I have actually read. On the strength of this book, I am definitely going to make reading her other books one of my top priorities.

As usual I don’t want to write too much about the storylines as I have an unintended but nasty habit of giving away far too much about books I have enjoyed. I certainly enjoyed this one. The story takes place over two separate periods of time. In present day 2017, Millie has been having an affair with her married boss but it comes to an end. Millie is offered an assignment in Italy to write a feature about silk weaving and she gladly takes it because she needs to get away. Whilst in Italy, she meets Lorenzo, who is the owner of the villa she is staying in. Together, they piece together a story that has been handed down and threaded through generations of silk weavers. In addition to this Millie becomes determined to ascertain the identity and history of a woman in a painting. The other strand takes place in eighteenth century Italy. We meet a lady called Anastasia in 1704. Anastasia is desperate to escape her home life because her father is a tyrant and a bully. She has a boyfriend and is determined to marry him in secret. However all does not go to plan and she finds herself trapped in Venice as a wife of a silk weaver. Anastasia is determined that she is going to change her fate. Will Anastasia change her fate and get the life she has dreamed off for so long? Will Millie find true happiness? Well for the answers to those questions and more you are just going to have to read the book for yourself as I am not going to tell you.

I really empathized with the character of Millie. She is a hard working woman, who has been having an affair with a married man. Despite the fact that he is married with a family, Millie has believed everything he has told her- that he loves her, he has to be with her, she makes him happy, he doesn’t love his wife etc. Once she realises that he will never leave his wife for her she reluctantly breaks off the affair and heads to Italy to help her heart heal. Even there the married boss won’t leave her alone as he sends her messages saying he misses her, he needs to talk to her etc etc. It’s as if he wants his cake and eat it without caring about Millie’s feelings. Millie knows that she needs to give herself time to heal and I think as time goes on she will find that she is worth more and that she does deserve happiness but not necessarily with the man she thought she would be with. Millie is determined and once she has decided on a course of action, she is not easily dissuaded. Millie is nosy too and the journalistic side of her comes out when she goes to Italy and she is determined to ascertain who the lady in the picture. I totally sympathized with Anastasia too. She lives within a domestically violent household and her father does not hesitate to use methods of control or his fists. As he is so volatile, Anastasia hides from him that she is going to get married as she wants to marry the man she loves and not who her father says she has to marry. Things don’t work out that way and her father still manages to control the situation. Anastasia is taken from one domestlcally violent situation and put into another. I had to admire Anastasia’s determination to fight and escape. She just doesn’t accept that this is the way things have to be and she resists any attempt to force her to accept the situation. Anastasia is one brave, ambitious, determined, feisty and honest woman. Much the same as Millie is. I have to say that I did want to jump into the pages of this book and bop a couple of people on their nose ends or hit them across the face with a wet flip flop. Mainly the characters of the married boss and of Anastasia’s father. Their behaviour and actions made my toes curl and my fists start to itch.

I think that ‘The Silk Weaver’s Wife’ is really well written. The author uses such vivid and descriptive language that I could actually picture myself there in the midst of all the action so to speak and experiencing all of the emotions that go with it. The two time periods work really well and interweave to tell the story. I have to say that I am not usually a fan of eighteenth century history although I absolutely love history and in particular the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty first centuries. However, this book made the eighteenth century come alive as well as catch my interest and set my imagination running wild. It also made me more determined to find out more about the period. You can tell that the author really cares about her characters and this shines through in her writing. This care makes the characters come alive and makes them seem more realistic. Consequently, I found that I cared about the vast majority of characters and what happened to them. At times it almost felt as if I knew them and I wanted to leap to their defence if things were not going their way. By the time I had finished this book, I did feel as though I had been through a rollercoaster of emotions from happiness to sadness, from fear to feeling safe, from hope to despair and so on and so forth.

In short I really did enjoy this book and I would definitely recommend it to others. I can’t wait to read Debbie Rix’s next book but in the meantime I will content myself with reading her previous books. I would give this book 4* out of 5*.

I love historical fiction and so enjoy reading when I have overloaded with other genre's. This is a stunning book. So amazingly researched and took me to an era I was not familiar with along with an education on a fascinating industry that still thrives. Set in both the 1700's and today the story follows two women - one with a horrific start to her young adulthood and the other getting over a breakup. Both stories are based in Italy along with other European destinations. This had made me feel I would like to visit Italy very soon and experience some of these locations - some which will have not changed too much over the hundreds of years. A beautifully written story with wonderful characters - fictional interwoven with real historical people. I shall be looking at Debbie Rix's previous books to read based on this book.

Being perfectly honest, I wasn't sure what to expect with 'The Silk Weaver's Wife' as, whilst I have heard of Debbie Rix, I had never read any of her novels before this one. To begin with, it took me a couple of chapters to warm up to the storyline as there was a lot of information to digest, and the pace was quite slow. When I reached halfway, I felt like bowing to the slow pace as it is such an important part of the overall novel structure, which is severely misunderstood. 

Set during two different times, The Silk Weaver's Wife explorers silk weaving in 1704, and 2017. In 1704 our main character is Anastasia, she has fallen in love yet her father seems to have different plans for her love life. It's either his way, or the high way. Anastasia was forced into a lifestyle which compromised her safety, dignity, and independence. Reading Anastasia's story was absolutely devastating. Whilst the character came across incredibly strong and independent, she was actually quite fearful and longed for her own life back. During the chapters of 1704, Debbie Rix takes us on a journey through time, an eye-opening one at that, especially when the storyline took us to different countries. Planes weren't invented then, so how do you think the characters managed to get to those different countries? Imagine the length of time it must have taken them! I was in awe. I adore history. Debbie Rix has incorporated some wonderful historical facts alongside her fictional work - all of which blew me away. 

During the chapters of 2017, the main character is Millie, a journalist who's love life isn't exactly above-board. That aside, Millie was given the opportunity to write a feature in Italy, exploring the history surrounding silk weaver's as a whole. Well, she also got to explore a certain local Italian stallion....

I adored watching the past and present come together throughout the storyline, finding out the history behind the silk weaver's, as well as seeing certain items from the past in the present chapters. Outstanding!

I absolutely LOVED this book! Yes, it was a little heavy in some parts but, due to the nature of the storyline, it just meant that I had to take my time over the storyline. Not really a hardship! Debbie Rix has blown me away with her enchanting and flawless writing style. Honestly, I have never read anything like it before.

Debbie Rix is an outstanding storyteller with such beautiful and iconic writing, which captured my heart and soul. The historical features in The Silk Weaver's Wife, were written impeccably. The fictional parts of the storyline were written in such a mesmerising, and addictive manner; I was excited to change each page. Put the two parts together, and you have one memorable and alluring novel.

I believe I have found a new favourite author, and a new set of books to buy online. I need more of Debbie Rix on my bookshelf after this. 

The Silk Weaver's Wife is an authentic portrayal of silk weaving history meeting silk weaving present, whilst also being entwined with the authors distinctive and outstanding writing style. Overall, I cannot recommend this book enough, you must read this one!

Thanks Bookouture.

I've read and really enjoyed the first two books published by Debbie Rix, Secrets of the Tower (now called The Girl with Emerald Eyes) and Daughters of the Silk Road, and now she is back with her third story The Silk Weaver's Wife. I love how Debbie weaves historical facts into a fictional story while still having a modern day aspect in place as well. The dual narrative has worked very well for Debbie but in the case of this new book I felt the modern story set in the countryside of Verona, Italy, was not as strong as in previous books. That's not to say I didn't enjoy this story, I did, after a significant period of settling into the read, but the scenes set in the present day just didn't grip me as they had before in Debbie's previous books.

Told from two perspectives The Silk Weaver's Wife follows Anastasia ( Ana) in Italy in the early 1700's and Camilla (Millie) Caparelli in Italy in the present day. Normally in books of this nature with the two storylines running concurrently there would be an eventual connection between the characters. When all would be revealed I would feel a deep sense of satisfaction at the truth uncovered but here it just seemed too weak and all too obvious too early on. For certain Ana's story was far stronger than that of Millie's and I found myself more eager to return to Italy in the past rather than read about what was happening to Camilla. There was more depth and substance to Ana's story where as I felt the reader was very much an observer of Millie and there was a lack of excitement and thrill of uncovering past secrets that I normally love with books of this genre.

The Silk Weaver’s Wife is split into three distinct sections with their own sub headings – silken thread, metamorphosis and regeneration. To be honest as I, was reading I didn't pay much heed to the section headings. It was only when I finished reading I realised how clever the author had been in separating the book into three parts and I understood then where she had wanted to take Ana as a character. I suppose when I stop and think about it the two main female characters even though separated by hundreds of years did have a connection and similarities in their lives but it was really Ana who I became more interested in reading about. It's not that I disliked Millie as a character it was more a case of her story didn't grab me early on and hold me in it's thrall as much as Ana's had.

Ana is the daughter of a silk weaver living in the Italian countryside near Verona. Her father rules the family with a firm fist and abusive words. Ana, her mother and sister Marietta live in a world of fear rather than comfort and happiness. Her father controls all aspects of their lives but Ana has one love she wishes to keep for herself and that is her love of painting and nature and in particular the finer detail of plants. Ana's also other deep love is for Marco, the son of a neighbouring farmer and she wants with all her heart to marry him but her father has other plans. Well it's more a case of his hand is forced due to circumstances, Ana is to be sent away to marry Anzolo Zorzi, a silk manufacturer living in Venice. What a horrible situation to be in. I felt Ana's desperation at the course of her life being taken out of her hands and I was cheering her on when she took matter's into her own hands but alas it was not to be.

The first half of the book I'll admit I found quite repetitive and difficult to get into. Ana is imprisoned more or less by the husband who was forced upon her and there was just endless descriptions of the days she spent incarcerated with nothing much happening. Yes I felt all her pain and upset but the story really did need to get going. Through one thing and another Ana escapes but what has occurred between the four walls of her prison has deeply affected her and she is not the same person who returns to the family farm. Ana knows now her fate is in her hands. I wanted Ana to escape the room because the story couldn't have gone on in the same vein it was going in due to nothing much happening but then on the other hand I was thinking where can the book go if she achieves freedom far too early on.

Thankfully this was only the focus of the first section of the book and the later two parts took the reader on Ana's journey which saw her undergo a transformation comparable to that of the silkworm which plays a dominant role in the story for various reasons. Ana has to do a lot of soul searching in order to find the outcome and answers she needs in order to accept fulfilment and true happiness. I enjoyed reading her story and her personal journey but behind it all I was hoping for a certain outcome and that she would make the right choice. She needed to get away from what had happened to her, to come to terms with it and then place it in the past before she could move forward in a positive way into the future. Ana's metamorphosis was a joy to read about but I hoped she would come to realise what was right before her eyes and as well as finding professional satisfaction, personal happiness would also follow.

Millie in some aspects was quite similar to Ana in some of the things they go through and in the fact she does go through a metamorphosis of sorts maybe to call it a realisation would be more apt. I don't think I gelled as well with Millie as I did Ana and that's partly because I really didn't like the situation she was in. I felt it was of her own making and I just despise people who do that to others. Millie works for a newspaper and she is commissioned to write about the Veneto region in Italy and their hopes to reinvigorate the silk industry which saw a rapid decline and then collapse. Hence the connection between the past and the present, that of silk. I did find all the descriptions of the silk industry and the process absolutely fascinating and also the descriptions of Italy, the food, the countryside, the architecture, the various cities and that's where Debbie Rix does excel in creating such vivid, wonderful, imagery in your head.

There were quite some dramatic scenes featuring Ana which I had such a clear image of that really brought the story alive. But what annoyed me about Millie was that for several years she had been in a relationship, one that wasn't good or beneficial for anyone for many reasons. I know it happens to lots of people day in and day out but I can't stand it and it gave me a picture of Millie that I really couldn't warm to. Yes I could sense she was beginning to see the wood for the trees and she felt soulless but she really should have known this from the start. Nothing good would ever come of the precarious situation she was in and I would have had far more respect for her if she had been more assertive and pushed someone very firmly to the kerb. The change she so badly needed was being given the opportunity to visit Italy and I hoped it would have the desired affect and basically make her wake up.

Millie stays in Villa Di Bozzolo with Lorenzo and Elena Manzoni. The brother and sister run a bed and breakfast along side their vineyard and also tend to the many mulberry trees which are needed to feed the silkworms. Lorenzo is a widower with a nine year old daughter Bella and over time and as she undertakes her research Millie becomes good friends with the Italians apart from Elena who maintains a distant and a cold persona and maybe she was right to. Whereas Ana had spirit, courage, strength and devotion I think Millie for the most part lacked these traits in full measure. I believe they were there waiting to emerge but she was entrenched in a situation she kept coming back to because she couldn't take the bull by the horns and just make a final decision. She was a prime example of her heart ruling over head when the opposite really needed to be the case. If Millie's story hadn't have been in The Silk Weaver's Wife I would have been perfectly happy with that. I get it was to show comparisons between the two main characters and to have the dual timeline but it didn't work for me and I wasn't engrossed in Millie's outcome. The element of surprise and searching back through the past just didn't come across as strong as it should have. Even if the beginning and closing chapters had just featured Millie that would have worked perfectly fine.

The Silk Weaver's daughter was a mixed bag for me. I was disappointed in the modern day story but as time went by I was enthralled and really understood Ana's side of the story. This was a good book but certainly not my favourite by the author but I having said that I will read what she writes in the future as I know judging on her first two books what a talented author she is.

expect to enjoy this book when I requested the book from Net Galley. What  I did not expect is to be half the night in the middle of my work week reading the book from cover to cover.  The two women who span centuries could not be more different and yet each one fascinated me in her own unique way.
I enjoyed the detailed background and research almost as much I enjoyed the story itself.  Like many of you out there I thought China dominated the silk industry only to learn all about Italy and England and the mark they left on silk weaving techniques and designs. Born in 1704, Anastasia survived the horrors of a daily life under an abusive father and a short sojourn as a wife under a brutal husband.  During this time her solace and sanity comes from pursuing a forbidden love of painting.  Fortunately for her when she wins her annulment from the Italian church in Venice, she is able to travel to pursue her love of painting and weaving.  Her journey from her home in Verona takes her through the alps to Amsterdam for a brief sojourn with renowned artist and  botanist in Amsterdam and onwards to London where she learns the art of silk weaving.  Finally healed she's able to return home and pick up the threads with her childhood love and eventually lead a happy fulfilled life.
In 2017, Millie a well known journalist arrives at the villa which was once home to Anastasia in pursuit of a story about the silk trade in Italy.  Millie is at grieving from the ending of her long standing love affair with her boss. In Italy, Millie quickly finds herself attracted to the owner of the villa, Lorenzo and loses no time in falling into bed with Lorenzo even as she learns about the silk trade in modern day Italy and its origins.   In a hidden corner of the villa, she finds a self portrait of a beautiful woman with a Venetian backdrop.   Who is this mysterious woman and what relationship does she bear to Lorenzo and his sister who are the current owners of the villa? As I already told you all I could not stop turning the pages until I finally was at the end.
Of course Millie's story is just as complicated as Anastasia as all her wishes come to true only to leave her at a cross roads between what she once wanted and what she now has.  Isn't that a truth we can all attest to at some point in our own lives; "Be careful what you wish for. It might come true." Fortunately this is fiction and Millie's story has a happy ending.
This is my first book by the author and I assure you that it won't be my last.

4.5*

I've read and enjoyed both Debbie Rix's previous books, so when I was offered an ARC of her newest one 'The Silk Weaver's Wife' by the publisher, I couldn't wait to start reading it.

As in her other books, the author's beautiful, evocative prose and vivid descriptions have swept me off my feet and taken me on a mesmerising unforgettable journey back in time, bringing locations and characters from a bygone era back to life in stunning vivid colour.

Told over two different lifetimes, the story revolves around two women, three centuries apart but bound together by an ancient trade and a land of divine art, architecture, culture and wine... Italy.

"There is no escape for you Anastasia."

Veneto, early 1700s. Young Anastasia Balzarelli is forcibly married by her father to a rich silk weaver against her will. She's taken to his house in Venice and imprisoned in an upstairs bedroom overlooking the magnificent Grand Canal, where she's forced to endure her husband's abuse and cry for her true love, Marco. With no hope of getting out of there and nothing else to do, she spends her long days practicing her talent of painting and drawing. She's trapped inside her room like a silkworm in its cocoon. Will she ever be able to metamorphose like the moths she paints and fly away from her desperate situation?

UK and Italy, present day. Escaping from an unhappy love affair, Millie, a journalist, is sent to Italy to write a report on the regeneration of the silk industry in the Veneto region. There she stays in a beautiful old country villa. Lorenzo, the owner, is a charming widower with a young girl, who's more than happy to show her around the silk farm, explaining the process of silk production and the whole weaving process. There Millie feels at peace and calm. An old portrait at the villa showing a girl in a room overlooking Venice catches Millie's attention and intrigues her. Who was that girl? And what's her connection to the villa? No one knows, but Millie is determined to find out.

Well Debbie Rix has done it again. She has written a beautiful story that I found interesting, intriguing and gut-wrenching at the same time. It is an enchanting journey into the ancient tradition of silk-weaving. A story featuring some real historical characters and in which fiction is exquisitely and intrinsically weaved around true facts. Even though chapters alternate between past and present, the story is never confusing.

All characters are very true to life and the dialogue realistic. I could feel their anguish, pain and terror, but also their hope, love and determination. My heart went out to Anastasia. I really wanted her to be all right and wished she could escape her husband's clutches and live a happy life.

It's evident that a lot of research was required to write this book. Through her characters and storylines, the author gives an in-depth account about the history of the silk industry and the delicate silk-manufacturing process and how it has changed over the centuries. I was so interested that I ended up googling some of the characters and even 'silk-weaving' to learn more.

A couple of years ago I visited Verona, Venice and Lake Garda, the area where this story is set, and reading this book I was transported back to this enchanting part of Italy. Through her prose, the author paints a living, breathing picture of that region as it was in the past and as it is now. It was as if I was there. I could clearly visualise the lake shimmering in the sun, the gondolas and galleons going up and down the Grand Canal in Venice and Villa di Bozzolo with its outbuildings and vineyards stretching far into the distance.

Art, nature, history and love are the main pillars of this brilliant story. If you, like me, love good, well-balanced historical fiction novels based on true facts, then I highly recommend 'The Silk Weaver's Wife'.

With thanks to Bookouture for approving my request to read and review this book through Netgalley.

Wow! Debbie Rix is one of my favourite historical fiction authors and with this book, she has surpassed herself! Beautifully researched, the research is skillfully woven into a fabulous story, each thread, the past and the present interweaving beautifully, culminating in a dramatic and immensely satisfying finale. I felt for both women, I became them, experiencing their dilemmas. Through her beautiful words the author brings to life for us a time long gone, allowing us to experience life in Italy of the 1700s. She transports us to a world that no longer exists and I did not want to leave it, come back into the present - this for me is the hallmark of a great writer. I absolutely adored this amazing story and I cannot wait for more from this author. I will happily go wherever she chooses to take us next.

The author creatively takes both Millie and Anatasia on a journey that gives each character more depth. And, as readers expect, Italy is the quintessential place for romantic interests. When you mix companionship in a villa, with silk weaving, art, gondola rides and family history, you have a quick read...where fate triumphs.

I've just spent the most luscious three days cocooned in this novel which details the interwoven stories of two women across the centuries and tied to the silk trade in some way. Right that's enough of the silk related puns but it's hard not to do as this novel just oozes and evokes everything about the magical history of such a fascinating theme.

There's some really emotional scenes in this book too - harm and suffering of both women with one going to great lengths to escape her situation. There's lots going on here, lots of emotions and edge of the seats moments where the chapter ended jumped to the other story at just the right, end of the bridge moment before splash the next chapter comes along.

The evocative writing is just gorgeous - the scene setting has as much flourish as a gondolier trying to entice you onto the Grand Canal.If ever there was a novel I'd like to step inside, this is it.

There is such detail about the silk trade here too - what a fascinating history and story to this! - but this weaves seamlessly into the plot (sorry there's another silk reference again). I particularly loved the story set in the past and how many real life characters in the silk trade were placed alongside the fictional ones.

Oh and the locations! Italy the lakes, Amsterdam, Spitalfields Market in London...!

Seamlessly written and researched. Rix weaves magic and more. The locations are lusciously Italian and the story twists and turns like the ragged mountain roads past the calm flowing lakes to the bustling city of Venice and beyond. Evocative and captivating barely do the book justice

Thanks Netgalley, Bookouture and the publisher. If you enjoy historical fiction you will definitely enjoy this one. I just couldnt put it down. Definitely one I recommend.

In 18th century Italy, a woman does not control her own fate, and Anastasia finds herself married off to a man she does not love. Marooned in Venice with her silk weaver husband, Anastasia dares dream of a happier life. Over three hundred years later, journalist Millie, is very much a 21st century woman. When her love affair with her boss ends, she decides to travel to Italy to write a feature story. Ensconced in a beautiful villa, she falls for the owner, Lorenzo. Millie is fascinated by the portrait of a woman there and wants to uncover her story. Working with Lorenzo, they tease apart the story of centuries of silk weavers, their craft and their tempestuous lives. Rix transports her readers to Italy, both past and present in this sweeping and sumptuous tale