I've never read about Rose farms before or thought they'd be interesting, but Rosanna Chiofalo's writing pull me into this world, and I couldn't put this book down. I highly recommend this book

This is a favorite author of mine and I was thrilled to receive this book for review.
Rosanna Chiofalo has a talent for writing stories that touch your heart and are visually stunning, In this next book the reader is swept away to a flower farm in Italy . A beautiful place that is home to Maria and her daughter. Maria harbors a terrible heartbreak from WWII and the loss of her great love. She lets her grief guide her as protection for her daughter who she watches over and wants to protect from any heartbreak. As the sunflower farm grows into a rose farm and the seasons change Maria is not able to let go of her grief and heartbreak. Her inability to move forward affect her relationship with her daughter and soon her daughter will also have a broken heart.
I love the vivid descriptions and being swept away to a flower farm in Italy. The compelling timelines that traverse from WWII to present day are done in a pleasing way to the reader. The full effect of the complexities of Maria are foremost in this touching story, I loved it and highly recommend this book.
Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity to review this wonderful book. This is a book to read when you can savor it and not be interrupted for you will want to indulge yourself in the authors wonderful prose and the fields of Italy,

Maria had had a tough life, falling in love with a resistance fighter in the war who was killed leaving her with a baby, Annabella. She raised Annabella on a rose farm in rural Italy after leaving her home in Florence but was totally over protective of her, nor even letting her go to school and teaching her at home. So when Annabella meets the handsome artist Dante when she goes into the piazza to sell her flowers, and finds that
she is the girl of his dreams that he has been painting in the sunflower fields she is smitten...... but how will she ever get her mother to agree to the romance!

A lovely story told in different time frames so that you get the history of her mother during the war showing why she is like she is, although I still couldn't take to Maria even knowing her history, but the flow was good and I loved the description of the area and the sunflower fields

Well done dual time line, mother-daughter novel set in Italy during WWII and today. Maria fell in love with a Resistance fighter during the War. You can imagine what happened and why the effects linger in her mind today. She is entirely too protective of her daughter Annabella, who some might think should have stood up for herself at some point in her life. They sell flowers- lovely roses- and it is this aspect that makes this unique. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. There are secrets, there was trauma, there's a nice love interest...all the ingredients for a good read.

Although Annabella is in her twenties, she has led a protected life within the confines of her mother’s flower farm in Italy. When she meets Dante, everything changes, and Annabella begins to resent her mother’s overprotective ways. In alternating chapters, the story of Annabella’s mother, Maria, and her experiences in Italy during WWII help explain why Maria has been so overprotective, while their relationship continues to evolve. A bit repetitive at times, and a little drawn out, but I liked the historical background.

WWII horror memories drive the mother of Anabella to harbor her throughout her life. Signora Ferraro, in her mind, is protecting Anabella from the pain of losing all of the people she will love. It all backfires when Anabella meets Dante, a painter who has dreamed of her and painted her over and over. Theirs is a love for the ages but she finds her mother cannot accept the r=new reality of not being the only person in her daughter’s life.
This is a heartfelt story of protection going past a livable boundary and of the journey of two women to find a new normalcy in their relationship.

The Sunflower Girl is a well written novel. Great plot, characters and setting. The author is new to me and I enjoyed her writing. I recommend this book.

This story is breathtaking. Anabella is a young girl, growing up on a rose farm in Pienza. Her father passed away years earlier and her mother is raising her alone. Sunflower Girl is about this mother and her daughter, but it's so much more than that. It's about life in Italy during World War II and the courageous people who made up the resistance. The author tells the story of two young people, part of the resistance, who fell in love during this dark time. And! In this story we meet Dante, an artist, who dreams of a lovely lady and paints her into his works of art. It's about the estrangement of a mother and daughter, sunflowers, love, loss, romance, family, memories, suffering and forgiveness. A satisfying read!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Kensington Books through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book has it all..Historical fiction, love, family, heartbreak and vivid descriptions of Italy. I didn't expect to feel so many emotions while reading this book.. A great read of love and loss yet at times a little repetitive and long but a great read.. i would definitely recommend.