Beautiful story on the power of relationships. Great dialogue and vivid scenery. Made me think of how I could evaluate situations to build to better decisions.

The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman (5 Stars)

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

What a delightful book! We begin in Trespiano, Italy, with the premise of the book, a curse on the second-born sisters of the Fontana family. Many, many years ago, Filomena Fontana cast a curse on her beautiful younger sister, and all the second-born sisters of the family, to a life without love. 200 years later, none of the second-born sisters have ever found love. Is it coincidence, or self-fulfilling prophecy? Three second-born Fontana sisters set out to either break the spell, or prove that it never existed in the first place.

Emilia has accepted her lot in life, and no longer seeks love. Her daily life consists of baking at her family’s deli in New York and going home to her cat. Her life is ruled by her Nonna, who raised her since her mother’s death. And Nonna Rosa is a force to be reckoned with. Rosa’s younger sister, Poppy, is the second-born sister, and Rosa has banished Poppy from the family, except for Christmas and Easter. When Poppy insists that Emilia, and her cousin Lucy, another second-born sister desperately seeking love, accompany her to Italy for her 80th birthday, Rosa puts her foot down. But Poppy has promised that she will break the spell, and Emilia defies Rosa and agrees to go to Italy.

We are whisked away to Italy, and Spielman’s writing draws you in to each setting. We can smell the canals and see the gondoliers in Venice, visualize the beautiful fields of Tuscany, imagine walking through the charming villages of the Amalfi Coast, taste each dish served. Her writing is superb! As for the characters, each distinct personality is brought to life. You will come to know and understand them well.

I don’t want to give any more away, as you really need to just let the story slowly wind its tendrils around you. While it may sound like a romance novel, it’s not. It’s a book about love in all its forms, betrayal and forgiveness, grace and kindness, and, most of all, living life to its fullest. There is some serious writing, some humorous writing, and a whole lot of wisdom thrown into the mix, mostly from Poppy. My favorite piece of advice from her:

Life is not always a circle. More often, it’s a tangled knot of detours and dead ends, false starts and broken hearts. An exasperating, dizzying maze, impossible to navigate and useless to map. But not a single corner nor curve should ever, ever be missed.

Now, go read this book!

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Lo amo I’Italia!E un viaggio fantastico !

How can you resist charm of this amazing country? Swimming in Lake Como, sipping those tasty wines at Tuscany’s vineyards, taking a gondola tour at Venice, shopping at Milano, eating amazing margarita pizzas in Napoli, saluting Pope at Vatican, giving ridiculous poses in front of Tower of Pisa as if you’re holding it not to collapse, spending hours and feeding your soul with amazing paintings at Uffizi and of course taking a yacht tour at Capri while devouring more Chianti with (not Ray Liotta’s brain pieces, forget that scene!) seafood pasta!

Mamma mia! I feel in love in Italy when I got my first European vacation tour with my family like Griswolds ( I was only 13, chubby, annoying, because I was my under my drinking age. After I meet with Chardonnay I became a lovely person!) When I returned back, I watched Robert Downey Jr. and Marisa Tomei’s “Only You” and find myself enrolling Italian Culture courses to learn this amazing language.

This book brought me all those amazing memories and my journeys around Italian cities. Many years later, I visited them with my husband and gained 6 pounds at one week because of extreme carbs consumption. It was definitely worth it!

Let’s get back to this amazing story reminded me of my beautiful memories in flashes. If you haven’t seen Italy, this book is realistic guide for your soul journey that make you feel you visit those incredible places, free your spirit and soul, open yourself new experiences. It’s heartwarming, emotional, entertaining story of sisterhood.
Emilia decides to break the family curse to be definer of her own destiny and learn more about her ancestors because she knows that if you want to achieve something concrete in your future, you have to visit your past and learn where you come from and who you are.

Emilia’s self-discovery, influenced journey starting from Venice canals, moving to Amalfi Coast made me so excited. But I also loved to go to the sixty years in the past and enjoy reading Poppy’s story, bringing back to the history of Berlin Wall.

Emilia finds more about her family secrets, lies, betrayals during the journey but she is a bigger person to forgive all of them and move on with her life. This is a hopeful, embracing, sweet, promising reading which helps you to see the stars at the darkest hour of the night and the illuminating light at the end of the tunnel.
You smile, you relieve, you cry, you resent but at the end your heart warms and you feel for all those beautiful characters.

It’s about holding your hopes and embracing the life and happiness.

OVERALL: I.LOVE.IT.SO.MUCH, Deserved my five billion stars!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for sharing this fantastic book’s ARC COPY in exchange my honest review.

I absolutely loved Lori Nelson Spielman’s The Life List and The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany may be even better!

A family curse generations earlier doomed all second-born daughters in the Fontana family to a life without lasting love. And for 200 years, the curse held strong. So when Aunt Poppy (a second daughter) invites fellow second daughters Emilia and Lucy to accompany her to Italy for her 80th birthday with a promise to break the curse, the girls defy their strict Nonna’s wishes and head across the ocean. Emilia has accepted her fate, settling into a life that’s as comfortable as the ugly wire-rimmed glasses and old sweaters she wears. Meanwhile, Lucy gives herself to any man who shows interest, hoping that one of them will be the key to breaking the curse.

Aunt Poppy is full of wisdom for both girls… but will she be able to break the curse? She says the love of her life will meet her on the steps of the Ravello Cathedral on her birthday, but is this just a recipe for disappointment?

Emilia Antonelli is a single 29 year old who is constantly bossed around by her Italian family. Her family has a supposed curse where the second-born daughter never marries and she happens to be the second-born daughter.

The family dates the curse back to Trespiano, Italy where Filomena Fontana and her younger sister Maria’s story takes place. Filomena was always jealous of her younger sister’s beauty. Cosimo, Filomena’s boyfriend made unwanted advances towards Maria. Maria rejected them and despite this, Filomena warned her that if she took Cosimo away from her she would forever curse all second-born daughters in the family. One day Cosimo trapped Maria down by a river, where he thought he wouldn’t be seen. He forced a kiss from her and Maria pushed him away. Filomena saw only the kiss and she threw a rock at her sister hitting her in the eye. Maria lost her sight in that eye and it drooped. Maria never got married. The family believes since the day Filomena issued the curse, not a single Fontana second-born daughter has found “lasting love”.

Emilia lives in an apartment that is owned by her grandparents and works as a baker alongside her grandmother at her family-owned store Lucchesi Bakery and Delicatessen. Her father works at the deli and her sister is the cashier. Her mother died from leukemia and her Nonna Rossa (her grandmother) took over the mother role, raising her and her sister Daria.

Being the second-born daughter, Emilia doesn’t search for love or bother to give her best friend Matt a second look even though he is interested in her romantically. Her family uses her as a childcare provider and as a worker. When her estranged great Aunt Poppy (Nonna Rosa’s sister) contacts her about going on a trip to Italy with her to celebrate her 80th birthday, Emilia despite protest from her family, decides to say yes to her Aunt Poppy and finds herself on a trip to self discovery as well as revisiting a hidden family history that could shatter everything.

At first I thought, another love story? But as I read on I became really engrossed in the novel. The descriptions of Italy are fantastic and I felt like I was there. The characters come to life and I came to realize it isn’t just a romance story, it is about finding your voice, your true self, family, and the bonds that hold it together. I was completely blown away by the emotional journey this novel took me on.

Emilia is a devoted daughter and granddaughter, always doing what her family demands and never questioning if it is too much. She is the second born daughter and in her family the second born daughters have been cursed to never marry or find love. But is the curse real? When her estranged Aunt Poppy, another second daughter, invites her to go to Italy with her Aunt Poppy promises to break the curse. Will Emilia go on the trip with Aunt Poppy or will she be the good daughter and let the curse continue? A story of the power of family expectations and lore and the strength it takes to find your own way.

I really enjoyed this inter-generational family story. Even though I guessed the "big" twist, I happily continued reading. The main character's growth and personal transformation was very believable and natural. So glad I took a chance on this novel! Would make a good book club book,

Having lived in Italy before, I loved to read all the great descriptions of the area and of course the amazing food! The complex family dynamics, with great cultural and family crazy interaction...such a fun read. Highly recommend!

The Fontana women are cursed, the second daughter for generations has been cursed to never marry or find lasting love. For some, like Emilia the curse is convenient, she doesn't have to worry about being noticed or care about her looks, she knows she's never going to find love so why bother? For her Lucy, it is a burden, since she was a little girl she was told that she would be the one to break the generations old curse. Everything changes however when Emilia's estranged great-aunt Poppy invites her and Lucy on a trip to Italy to break the curse. Poppy claims that she will break the curse on her 80th birthday, when she meets her true love, and Emilia and Lucy must be with her to witness it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley/Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. I can unabashedly say it was charming.

I loved the characters, the settings and the story. I love how the main plot line of the book was interspersed with a subplot line of the past that explained what happened that led up to the present time frame of the main storyline.

Without reveaing any of the plot that would require a spoiler, a rift exists between Rosa (Nonna) and her sister Poppy but we don’t know why. Rosa refuses to let anyone in the family have anything to do with her sister – who did her wrong so many years ago…and no one has dared cross her as she rules the family with a fear based on this silly family curse of second daughters in the Fontana family never marrying over many generations. It’s a curse that Emelia and Luciana are hoping – both as second daughters – to break. When Aunt Poppy offers Emelia the opportunity for a trip with her to Italy, it is the chance of a lifetime to create change. It is up to her to decide if she can defy Nonna Rosa to make the trip.

I found the writing, the scenery, the characters and story line to be very well done and compelling to read. I couldn’t wait to see how the story unfolded and find out what happened. I liked how the author paced the story by alternating the chapters so you had to wait to find out what happened in the history sections.

Highly recommend the read.

This is a lovely and lively portrayal of Italy along with family secrets that are unearthed to the benefit of second-born daughters. The characters are well-portrayed and the plot line is entertaining.

A two hundred year old curse is wreaking havoc on the second born daughters of the Fontana family. Emilia and her cousin Lucy have different opinions, with one thinking it’s baloney and the other believing it’s the real deal. When they get a call from their great aunt asking them to return to Italy, where the 80 year old matriarch will meet her true love and the curse will be lifted once and for all, the girls can’t say no. The beauty, mystery and heritage of Italy come to life in this lovely novel