I loved it. This is a beautiful story even though my heart is wailing. I never knew what Rome endured when Nazi Germany occupied them. It was incredibly moving to read of three teenagers whose lives were horrifyingly derailed but stayed loyal to each other through it all. They each gave of themselves to help their family and community even when overwhelmed with grief. The descriptions of stunning city landmarks and appetizing pasta dishes were a welcome relief. I wish I could read more. This is one of my favorite authors

Eternal is a departure from the authors usual genre and I have to admit, I was skeptical. However, this book blew me away! I’ve heard the author describe this as a labor of love and her passion comes through so clearly throughout Eternal. This is a love letter to Italy, it’s people, and it’s culture. And it’s magnificent!

Eternal is a sweeping, emotional tale about a trio of friends in Rome as the fascist regime takes over. Anti-Semitism takes root and the Nazis occupy Rome. What follows is a tale of courage, tenacity, bravery, loyalty and love.

This book shattered me! At one point I dropped my Kindle and covered my face with a gasp. I was entirely caught up in the story and was swept away to Italy. I loved seeing this side of the story from Rome and how it affected Italians. The characters were written so beautifully, flaws and all. I’m wholly impressed by @lisascottoline and her foray into a new genre. This was a powerhouse of a story and one you don’t want to miss! 5⭐️ My thanks to @putnambooks for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

War was eternal, but so was peace.
Death was eternal, but so was life.
Darkness was eternal, but so was light.
Hate was eternal, but above all, so was love...
This is my favorite quote from this awesome, perfect, beautiful, very emotional book.

This is the story of three friends. Two boys and a girl. Best friends since forever. Marco, Sandro, and Elisabetta. Three friends who's lives will be changed forever. Who endure more than anyone should ever in a lifetime.

In Italy during the reign of Mussolini. At a time when the world is about to go to war. When Jews are being persecuted just because they are different. Or because someone wants what they have. Because Nazi's have to hate someone and they chose the Jews. Marco and Elisabetta are both Italian Gentiles while Sandro is an Italian Jew. They all three love each other completely. But when things start to change what will happen. Will they be able to remain friends or will one have to be cast aside?

This is a story that truly rips at the heart. It's so raw and emotional and full of love and hate. Evil and good. Filled with some who can kill at the drop of a dime. Others find it much harder. It's what happens when you let one person rule and decide what is best for a country. When you listen to hate speeches and lies. Made up things. When one group is selected and singled out as unworthy. Less than human. When people's hearts start to fill with hate.

Marco, Sandro, and Elisabetta try so hard to hold on to their innocence and be the friends they always have been. One will make the wrong choice. One will pay the price. One will be heartbroken. But together they may endure the hardest things life has to offer. This is a story that makes you think. Makes you wonder what you would do. Who would you choose. What would you choose.

It's so full of emotion and feelings that you may not even realize you have. It's well written and just makes you feel like you are right there. In the good and the bad. The happy and the sad. I found myself gasping in places at unexpected actions. Crying in parts where so much hatred is shown. From love, hate, caring, murder, forgiveness, this book spans a lifetime of feelings. You can imagine the smells coming from the kitchen. The garden on the rooftop. The love between a boy and a girl. The love between three friends.

This title, ETERNAL, could not have been more perfect. This is truly a great book. Well done Ms Scottoline. Very well done.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #LisaScottoline, #Penguingroupputnam for this ARC. This is my own true feelings about this book!

5/5 stars and the highest recommendation possible. Another historical fiction to rip your heart out. But also one that will make you smile too. In a few places.

Though Eternal is a major departure from Lisa Scottoline’s previous works, it is an astonishing triumph, a tale of heartbreak, love, friendship, and community against the backdrop of Mussolini’s Italy. Featuring a devastatingly beautiful love triangle, Eternal centers on the life of Elisabetta, an aspiring writer, and her best friends Sandro, a Jewish math genius, and Marco, a Fascist. This book was the perfect juxtaposition of lush Roman setting, food, and history, and I think Eternal is perfect for fans of Fifty Words for Rain as well as the blockbuster movie Pearl Harbor. Eternal releases on March 22, 2021.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the amazing historical fiction novel by Lisa Scottoline. I've said many times that I will read anything by Lisa & Francesca Scottoline but her normal genre is legal thrillers or humor. Eternal proves that she can write fabulous books in any genre - 5 stars for a book you won't soon forget!

The story revolves around three childhood friends - Elisabetta, Marco and Sandro. Both boys harbor feelings for Elisabetta as they grow older but Elisabetta can never quite choose between the two boys who are so very different except for their love for her. Marco is from a famed bike racing family who are staunch Fascists, with Marco soon making career advancements for the group. Sandro is an Italian Jew, brilliant in mathematics and excited to start his academic career. But soon nothing will be the same for any of the three as war breaks out and Hitler's reign begins.

As with most stories set around the atrocities of World War II, this story will break your heart. But it also shows the strength of character for so many just trying to survive, and proves that love is eternal. I literally couldn't put this book down - it is obviously meticulously researched and the characters and story will break your heart. It's also a love letter to Italy in terms of the people, food, culture. I couldn't get enough of this story and didn't want it to end.

Highly recommended!

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana

It will be a challenge to see if I can write about this book without starting to sob again. This is one of those stories that just burrows into your mind and soul. I've had books that really touched me, but not quite like this in a long, long time.

This book, a stand-alone, is by Lisa Scottoline. She usually writes thrillers, but this story is a departure for her. It takes place in Rome during the rise of Mussolini and Hitler. Elisabetta, Sandro and Marco are the best of friends growing up. Elisabetta wants to be a novelist, Sandro is a Jewish mathematics whiz, and Marco is a bold son in a family of cyclists. Both young men fall in love with Elisabetta and want to win her heart.

Sounds trite the way I put it, doesn't it? It's not, though. It was a lovely, heartfelt and gut-wrenchingly heartbreaking story. We know history; we know what's coming. Seeing it through the eyes of these young people really brought it to life, however. You feel the dread building, but you also see the love these friends have for each other. Not only do we see the lives of these young people, but we also meet their families and friends and see how Elisabetta, Sandro and Marco are being shaped by them.

It's obvious Ms. Scottoline did her homework on Rome, Italy and history. Though the three main characters are fictional, many of the other people were based on actual people, and some of the names are real. We are reminded just how cruel, beyond belief, people can be. But we also see the angels who will do anything to help their fellow man. The author made this time period in Rome come to life.

I've been to Rome, but I didn't really see anything except the Vatican and the Coliseum. I was not aware of the Jewish Ghetto, nor of the round-up of Jews that happened in Rome; I'm more familiar with the history in Eastern Europe. I have been to Auschwitz; it should be seen by everyone. Man's inhumanity to man is beyond comprehension. These days political parties, both sides, throw around the terms Fascists and Nazis with impunity. No matter your political beliefs, we must remember the words of George Santayana. This MUST NOT ever happen again. Thank you, Ms. Scottoline, for that reminder.

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

I reviewed the audiobook of “Eternal” and think print might have been a better choice. It’s very long. Scottoline — I’ve read and listened to a lot of her books — loves description, and of course she doesn’t hold back for this, her passion project about the Italian Holocaust. It’s an impressive piece of work, but in the end a bit too much for my ears despite the fact that it’s well read. I loved narrator Edoardo Ballerini’s Italian-accented delivery. — as I said in my newspaper review, I’d happily listen to him read the Olive Garden menu.

This is a great story about three people in love with each other. Each character was well developed both alone and when they came together. Having read Lisa Scottoline for years, this was a nice change from her usual genres. She grabbed me from the start and keep my interest all the way to the end.

Spanning over two decades (1937-1957), Eternal is the story of Elisabetta, Marco and Sandro, who have been friends since they were little. Now, as teenagers, Marco and Sandro both fall in love with Elisabetta, but how will she choose one and not lose the other? Eternal is also the story of Italy on the brink of World War II and Mussolini’s rule and subsequent fall from power.

The historical fiction market is flooded with WWII novels and I have read a lot of them. This one, however, is told from Italy’s perspective and that’s one I haven’t read before, so I learned a lot.

I went into this book thinking I was getting a love story during the war, but what I actually got was a war story with a love story on the side, and there is nothing wrong with that. I felt like the middle of the story was bogged down with war details and I wasn’t as connected. The last 20-ish % was fast-paced and overall, I would recommend this book to fans of WWII historical fiction especially ones looking for a setting in Italy.

I could not put this book down, the story of three families in Rome starting in the 1930’s as Fascism makes its way across Italy. Elisabetta is a young woman who has just started to see her two best friends in a different way. Marco is the handsome, daring and brash one, while Sandro is the loving intellectual. Marco’s family is Fascist, supporting Mussolini prior to his alliance with Hitler and the Race Laws he subsequently put in place against the Jews. Sandro’s family is Jewish, but sees themselves as Italian first, disregarding his sister’s prescient warnings. The relationship between the three grows and changes as the worlds around them becomes more dangerous. The fate of Rome’s Jews as the Nazis invade will keep you at the edge of your seat. I highly recommend this book and thank NetGalley for the ARC.

I've read a lot of WWII history novels, but I haven't read the Italian holocaust happenings. It was fascinating to read of Mussolini and his support of Hitler. The combination of the 3 high schoolers and their respective backgrounds and their parents was very interesting in the political goings on.

Eternal is the first book I've read by Lisa Scottoline. I'm aware that this novel is different from her usual work but it has certainly made me want to read some of her other novels. Eternal has a lot of stories we would expect from a historical fiction war novel - changing friendships, family drama and romantic love. I particularly enjoyed the Italian language and references as well as the three families who we come to know. Although there were some plot points with which I disagreed (that felt implausible to me) and some character behaviors with which I had trouble (but who is to say how people may behave in times of stress?). This is a solid work of historical fiction and I did enjoy it!

Eternal, marking the entry of author Lisa Scottoline into the genre of historical fiction, is a sweeping epic that spans Italy’s pre-WWII years through the liberation. Told from the perspective of three childhood friends, this is a story of challenge and choice, darkness and light, and the triumph of love over all. The writing captures how quickly life can change from the seemingly trivial challenges of youth to choices that determine life or death.

I found myself holding my breath as I read, simultaneously captivated, hopeful and horrified. This book captured and conveyed the reality for the Italian population of survival during the years of WWII. I found myself wondering just how easily any country and its people might find themselves in a similar circumstance given the extreme factions that are at play today. This book was haunting yet hopeful, and I look forward to the author’s next book in this genre. (I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy and all opinions are my own.)

Elisabeta, Sandro and Marco have been best friends from childhood. As Hitler gains power in Europe and Mussolini joins forces with him, the threesome and their friendship will never be the same. What is first a love triangle turns much darker as Marco turns to the fascists, Sandro's Jewish family starts to lose everything and Elisabeta is torn between the two. Beautifully written and meticulously researched this is a great addition to the historical fiction genre.

In this captivating book we have Lisa Scottoline's first foray into historical fiction & we read about Elizabetta & her friends Marco & Sandro. These three are childhood friends until the war test's their friendship, their homes, & changes their lives forever. Can their friendship survive the war?


I enjoyed Lisa Scottoline's first foray into historical fiction.  Which proves that she is great at whichever genre she chooses. I highly recommend this book

Eternal is a sweeping love story filled with heartache, devastation, and grief caused by the Fascist rule in Italy and the Nazi regime during WWII. However, it is also a story of friendship, love, resilience, and beauty in the midst of so much atrocity. There is a love triangle between three best friends, mouth-watering descriptions of Italian food made in family-owned restaurants, and struggles between brothers and their father. All of these things blend together to make a story for the ages. I was hooked into the plot line from the very beginning and I loved every page.

I have read a number of books by Lisa Scottoline, always enjoying her writing style. Eternal, her newest book, is very different than the others I have read, breaking into Historical Fiction. Scottoline obviously did a lot of research into what life was like in Rome during Fascism and into the 1940's. I have read many books which take place during WWII, but not in Italy. I thoroughly enjoyed her storytelling.

Elisabetta, Marco and Sandro were childhood best friends. As they enter their teen years, romance sprouts and they work to keep up their friendship while Marco and Sandro both vie for Elisabetta's love. Marco joins the Fascists and starts climbing the ranks. Sandro is Jewish and his family starts on a downward spiral that progresses over the years. Elisabetta has to fend for herself as she deals with an absent mother and a drunk for a father.
Eternal follows the three and their families from the late 1930's through the end of WWII. As you can imagine, life was not easy and there is a lot of tragedy.

If you enjoy Historical Fiction, I can highly recommend this book. If you have ever visited Rome, you will appreciate her descriptions of the city with all the street and neighborhood names. Having never been there, I could have done without all the streets.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy for this review.

This was my first Lisa Scottoline and it definitely won't be the last! She writes with such precise and flowing detail, it is as if a movie is playing before your eyes across the pages. I love the relationships between Elisabetta, Marco and Sandro. The setting was beautiful and breathtaking, I felt as if I was there. I was intrigued by the aspect of WWII and the dynamics of the political movement that played into these character's lives; and Scottoline really did her research on this novel in that regard. I will be recommending this one to all of my fellow historical fiction readers!! What a gem to add to your shelves!!

Even though it as not what I expected from Lisa Scottoline it appeared it was going to be a great story. Two best friends (one is Jewish) are in love with same woman.. She also loves both of them. The boys are not in a battle over her but respect each other and want whatever is best for her. The story is about the families of these three young people and what they endure during the war and holocaust. It is a bittersweet story that gives your heart a putt for these families and the choices they make. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

1937: Elisabetta, Marco, and Sandro are three best friends living in the heart of Rome, about to graduate and embark into adulthood. Unfortunately, nothing rocks your childhood quite like being thrust into World War II. One minute they are playing by the river, and the next they are on opposite sides. Marco and Sandro are both hopelessly in love with Elisabetta, and though their friendship can survive healthy competition, it may not survive one joining the Fascist party when the other is Jewish.

1957: Elisabetta sits with her thirteen-year-old son. It is finally time to explain who is father, his real father, is. Elisabetta knew she had to wait until he was old enough to understand and now is the time. After years of grappling with the events of her youth, she feels ready to convey the complicated and painful story to her boy.

I am not usually one for the lovey-dovey war stories, but my goodness, this one has so much HEART. The bond between Elisabetta, Marco, and Sandra is simply amazing. And on top of everything else they are all experiencing -- death of family members, job/food/housing insecurity, and so many other obstacles -- I long to have friends like that. It is their friendship that really sucks you in, making you want to know more; to learn everything about them.

I am not an emotional person, but this one had me on an emotional rollercoaster. You are feeling the highest of highs and the lowest of lows right alongside the characters. Like I said, this has so much heart. You can tell how much the author cared when writing this. This story lived in her bones for a while, until it finally poured out onto the page (incredibly well-researched and written).