The Italian Ballerina for me has been one of those rare discoveries that reviewing books on Netgalley has brought me. In the last couple of years I've read a lot of books that were set in Italy during the second world war, some better than others, but this one is certainly one of the best I've read in this genre.

Most of those books were in one way or other working with different timeframes and protagonists, but this book took the concept a whole step further. We follow a couple of characters through different timeframes and places:
London and rural America before the war, Venice and Rome during the war, Rome and Tivoli in the present.

Julia Bradbury is a British ballerina who, after a couple of career twists, ends up in Italy as a nurse. Here she meets Courtney Coleman, who is a medic in the US army, and his superior, A.j. Nelson and the Jewish girl Calla which they rescued from the Nazis when the ghetto was cleared.

In the present we meet Delaney, who turns out to be the granddaughter of Courtney and Matteo Santini, the grandson of Calla.
I loved the way the author brought all storylines together at the end of the book.
I seldom award 5 stars, but this time I''ll round up the 4,5*.
I thank Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

"Never open a locked door unless you're certain death doesn't lurk behind it."

I don't even know where to start with this book. I smiled, I cried, and loved every minute of it!

Kristy Cambron has a stunning way of weaving a story. Her delicate prose and exquisite setting make this story one to revisit time and time again. The beautiful depictions of Italy are making me want to book a trip there, just to see the gorgeous patios and gardens. I would love to see the inspiration for Calla's ballet garden.

Now, I know the dual timelines and constant switching won't be for every reader, but it does follow a pattern if you pay close attention. I wrote down each new timeline I came across and was able to follow the story very easily. Aside from the prologue, we have:

1943 - Court in the war
1939 - Julia's journey of how she goes from dancing in the London ballet to ending up in Rome
Present Day - Delaney's uncovering of how the families are connected
1941 - events at home that lead Court to join the war effort.
Once you grasp the purpose of each timeline, you'll find it easy to follow.

I have to say, even though I loved AJ, Julia, Delaney and Matteo, Court and Calla stole the show for me. This was their story. Court's discovery of living outside of oneself and living for another is a slow process that is satisfying to see conclude. The fact that he's a seriously flawed character but holds on to his sense of duty makes him that much more loveable and realistic.

"For the first time since all the running and fighting - and his own warring - had begun, Court started to believe the busted-up boy sitting in the pew might actually have a change at becoming a better man. ... The only thing in the world Court wanted to fight for as much as Calla in that moment was to get home and prove he could change. For those he loved, he was willing to give up everything for just one more chance to try."

My heart.

I did want to see how AJ's story might've ended, because it seems we're left wondering what happened to him, and if he took the fallout for certain actions that would've had Court and AJ courtmartialed. But I absolutely loved the author's note at the end - this is one of my favourite parts of a story, seeing where fact played into the fiction. And that last plot twist had me reeling and screaming noooo inside. How could I forget Kristy loves to play with readers hearts and break them unexpectedly?!

Suffice to say, this is not a story I will be forgetting very easily. My thanks to Kristy Cambron and her publishing team for a gifted copy of The Italian Ballerina; I am grateful for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this stunning novel! The title releases on July 12, 2022 and is available for preorder now.

#TheItalianBallerina #NetGalley

This is a story told in two time periods, the 1940's and present day. The story captured me from page one. The writing style is what Kristy Cambron, is known for in all of her books, linking the present with the past. Courtney Coleman is a soldier with a past, he believes he isn't meant to have anything good in the world. The story is told through his eyes. I really liked this book.

talian Ballerina is a dual timeline novel, that actually follows three different main characters’ stories. The historical timeline follows ballerina and British citizen Julia Bradbury as she arrives in Rome to perform for Mussolini himself, but ends up having to flee with his arrest. She, along with two American medics, end up finding sanctuary in a local hospital on Tiber Island. With the medics comes a little girl, Calla, who is orphaned by German gunfire in the streets. Julian and medics AJ and Court, quickly find themselves aiding the Italian Jews, like Calla, who come seeking refuge in the hospital—all diagnosed with a fake “Syndrome K” disease that keeps the Nazis at a safe distance. Within their quarantine ward in the hospital, Julia, AJ, and Court are able to do what they can to thwart the local SS and help their charges find safe passage out. The three of them fall hard for little Calla, and promise to do whatever they must to help her find her extended family.

Delaney Coleman has recently lost her beloved grandfather, hometown doctor and WWII vet, Court Coleman. When a solicitor calls on behalf of an Italian woman claiming the Colemans have something that belongs to her, she goes about finding out what exactly happened during her grandfather’s wartime experience. Her research takes her across the pond to Rome, where Delaney meets the mysterious woman’s grandson, who acts as an interpreter and together they learn their grandparents war history, that neither ever shared.

As per the usual with these dual timelines, I tend to like the historical story the best. The historical timeline feels more dramatic and heart-wrenching, whereas the modern timeline came across as slightly “hallmark movie-ish” in my opinion (but hey maybe that’s your thing—just not mine).

Overall the Italian Ballerina was a fun read, the timelines crossing and multiple points of view can get tedious at times affecting the book’s fluency, but it was still an interesting story based on true events.

Italian Ballerina comes out this summer on July 12th. Thank you to Netgalley, Thomas-Nelson Publishing, and of course Kristy Cambron for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

A well written dual time story, it held my attention from the get go. I enjoyed that the historical time line was split between 2 characters and that it alternately told their stories leading up to their meeting and conclusion. It included a secondary sub-historical line that explained what launched them on their trajectory to meet. Beautifully woven into the raw and ugly (in parts) historical story is the modern storyline with the character of Del learning about her grandfather and what he had done during the war.
I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley and all opinions are my own.

Kristy Cambron’s newest novel, The Italian Ballerina, is a gripping story of love, loss, betrayal, redemption, and forgiveness, that will remain with readers long after the last page is read. Kristy is a master storyteller, able to weave both fact and fiction into one breathtaking novel. The Italian Ballerina is set in World War II in Rome, 1940’s Indiana, and present day. The dual-timelines all work together to tell an intricate story that is mesmerizing. The main characters, Court, AJ, Julia, Delaney, and Matteo all have such depth of emotion that is continuously developing as the novel progresses. Each of their lives are so intricately woven together, even across time. The selflessness of Court, AJ, and Julia to save a little Jewish girl from the hand of the Nazis defined the novel. The highs and lows that each of the characters experienced had me chuckling at times, and tearing up at others. The enormous amount of detail that was present in this novel had me feeling as though I was there on Tiber Island in Rome with Julia, walking the orchards in Indiana with Penn, or climbing the Spanish Steps with Delaney. I had no idea about Fatebenefratelli Hospital and syndrome K. I often times found myself looking up people and places that were mentioned in the book in order to read more about them. That is one mark of a good writer and author; one that makes the reader want to do more research and read other books about topics that are mentioned in the books that have been written. The only issue that I had with the novel, is the multiple timelines. It took several chapters for me to understand the places and people in their respective times as there was a lot of moving around in time. However, it did not detract from the book as whole but rather served to weave multiple stories together to show the relationship between all the characters. The Paris Dressmaker was one of my favorites of Ms. Cambron’s, however, The Italian Ballerina has topped that list! I thank NetGalley, and Thomas Nelson for the ARC of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

This book hooked me from page one—and I mean hooked me. As soon as I started reading, I knew that there was no turning back or giving in to reading slumps with this one. The writing style is amazing and I cannot wait to read more books by this author.

(also can we take a moment to appreciate that BEAUTY OF A COVER.)

I'll start by talking about the historical part.

I fell head over heels for Court. I just...yes. So much yes. His sense of duty, his perseverance, his stubbornness...and the fact that he got injured. *cough* Maybe it also had something to do with the fact that he was a seriously flawed character and had to do what it would take to become respectable. I don't know. All I know is that Court was amazing and that he was my favorite, if you hadn't figured it out by now. I also loved Julia. Love love loved Julia. Loved her dedication, her commitment, and her courage to do what was right even when her legs threatened to give out from shaking so badly. Calla was adorable and rightly had everyone wrapped around her little finger. And then there's AJ, the sweetest guy ever, and one that will hold nearly as large a place in my heart as Court.

The plot was amazing. I mean, really—Syndrome K, two combat medics, a little Jewish girl, and a ballerina determined to make a difference just...floored me. I genuinely cannot say enough good about this plot line.

The other plot lines, though, are what docked it a star for me. Yes, I said plot lines. Plural. If it would've just been a dual timeline plot, that would've been fine; I'm not crazy about it, but if it's done well, I enjoy a good dual-timeline story. But this book incorporated three or four timelines, plus at least four different points of view. Three of those timelines are in the past; one is in the present. Honestly, it was just very confusing at first, and took me a bit to keep them all separate in my mind.

(also, Anton is a jerk and I cannot stand him.)

My favorite timeline, if you haven't figured it out by now, is when the majority of our cast of characters (aka Court, AJ, Calla, and Julia) are all together. I just...yes. *chef's kiss*

Court's point of view from pre-war was epic and gave good insight and made me love Penn and get annoyed with—yet respect—his father.

Julia's point of view from pre-war (and at the beginning of their traveling), again, gave good insight, but at this point I got sick and tired of Anton, and I was getting weary of all of the backstory. (if all of this had been put in the book in chronological order, it would've been fine, but I got sooo tired of jumping back and forth.)

The present-day POV...well...I have mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, I loved Del, and Matteo, and Italy, and everything. On the other hand, I usually found myself disappointed when I turned the page and saw a chapter with the heading "present day." We all obviously have our favorite points of view and are eager to get back to them, but I just...this one had me hooked in some places, and had me rolling my eyes at others because while I really enjoyed the characters, I didn't love the romance; I felt like the story could've been done just as well without it. (Though all the history nerds will disagree with me because of Del and Matteo's ancestors, but I digress.) I liked reading about the characters peeling back each layer of the mystery, but I also felt a sense of disappointment the original characters weren't there to tell them the story.

One last thought, though, before I end this super disjointed review: there's a plot twist at the end of the book that had me s h o o k. Like, I was NOT expecting that and IT MADE ME NOT OKAY AND I'M STILL REELING. Like...just GO READ THE BOOK SO YOU CAN SCREAM ABOUT IT WITH ME because if I talk about it anymore I'm going to give away spoilers. So.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Poignant and inspirational, The Italian Ballerina captured my heart and wouldn’t let go. Told in a non-linear style, the stories of Court and Julia in the past and Delaney in the present are woven into the life of Calla, a little Jewish girl caught in the horrors of WWII. Cambron’s extensive research is evident, but it is the individual journeys of the characters that make this book special.
— Robin Lee Hatcher, Christy Award winning author of I’ll Be Seeing You

“Regardless of age or nation or language spoken, [war] could not and never would be powerful enough to overtake love.”

I lost my heart to Calla. Even though she was never a viewpoint character, she is the one who lingers with me. And the image of that little suitcase—ivory colored with little red cherries—haunts me as I think of children facing war in the world today.

Kristy’s writing is absolutely beautiful, and she always creates very beauty characters. She brings you into the story and makes you feel apart of their world.
I enjoyed this book, but I think there were too many characters for me to feel too attached to any of them, I felt like I couldn’t follow their stories well and couldn’t invest in one while there were so many stories being told.
But It was still a beautiful story.

My favorite aspect of The Italian Ballerina by Kristy Cambron is the cover. It is eye catching. I love having the heroine with her back to the audience as German planes fly overhead to show the audience the time period the novel takes place in. For the plot structure, this plot was organized a lot like Cambron's previous novel, The Paris Dressmaker. She jumps from 1939 to 1941 to 1943 to 1944 and to the present day throughout the whole novel. Not in chronological order at all. A couple of times, I had to flip back and see what time period the current chapter was in, and then flip to the story's perspective, so I could understand what was going on. This makes it really confusing to follow along. It takes about forty percent of the novel before the different time period clicks into place. I do not understand why the story can not be told in chronological order with the past, then flip to the present like most time-slip novels. Anyways, the idea of the World War II story was fascinating, once I figured out who was actually going on. I liked the story of the little girl. I enjoyed the present tense story and seeing how it actually solves many mysteries from the past. Would I say this is one of my favorite Cambron novels? No. The timeline makes it really hard to enjoy. Of course, the romance happens in both time periods and settles with a pretty little bow at the end of the story. Overall, The Italian Ballerina by Kristy Cambron had a out of time timeline, so it is really confusing to follow what is happening for a long time.

I received a complimentary copy of The Italian Ballerina by Kristy Cambron from Thomas Nelson Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

A novel of WWII the novel has three timelines to follow. The core of this is a story of how a team consisting of two US Army medics and one British ballerina save a little Jewish girl. They become her second family after she loses her first one in the war. However, what happened during the war affects the remainder of the book. As there is more to read with each timeline and many characters, we focus on the main protagonists, their interaction. The characters that make up this novel offer so much...their courage, their love of humanity, the risks they take, the list goes on and on. The research was excellent as was the writing. In fact, there is something new to learn as I have in all the reading of HF WWII stories I have never head of the Syndrome K disease, It is not the focus of the book but mentioned as part of the story. Highly recommended. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
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Kristy Cambron is one of my favorite authors and I was quite excited to be awarded an ARC. I’ve lived in Italy, which makes this book extra attractive and it’s a dual timeline, great! The research is impeccable as always, true historic events are woven into the story and the time and place feel authentic. Kristy is a superb author and draws the reader in immediately. After the first page, I’m completely engrossed in the story…. until I start a new chapter which takes place before the events I’ve just read, but with the same people. O.k., time to shift gears. Next are new characters but on a different continent. More new characters in present day time are introduced before we jump back to earlier times with yet more new individuals. At that point I am starting to wonder if I am just getting too old to keep track, or maybe my Covid addled brain isn’t able take it all in, or is there indeed a lot of jumping around? I want to finish the book and decide to take notes on what happens in each chapter complete with characters, places and dates. It isn’t until about 70-80% that I am able to keep it all straight. I hope the format of this book is a trial that will not be repeated. As another reader already observed, the word nonna must have double n. Every time I saw it, it hurt my eyes. Would I recommend it? Yes, it’s a great story if you’re willing to put in the effort. Thank you Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for making an ARC available to me.

I am a huge fan of WW2 novels and, while this one had a very nice idea, the constant change in the time-line was confusing and I found it rather frustrating. I mean, the Prologue starts with the year 1944, then chapter one is set in 1943, chapter two happens in 1939 and then chapter 3 jumps to present day and it just keeps shifting from war years, present days and pre-war years, with every narrative line. I liked seeing the 3 separate and yet united stories, but it wasn’t something I've read lightly.
Something I liked was the Italian background, since most WW2 novels are set in France.
P.S. The cover is gorgeous.

The Italian Ballerina set in 1943 Rome and present day.
This book is very well written. The description of what went on during these times is very well researched. Kept my interest until the end. I encourage you to read the author's notes at the end. Another great book by Kristy Cambron.. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.I just reviewed The Italian Ballerina by Kristy Cambron. #TheItalianBallerina #NetGalley
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This is a book which takes multiple points of views (some taken at different points of time) to create one big story. While at times I had to concentrate to ensure I wasn't confused, I felt that the end story was worth the read and that all three stories made sense.

I have only previously read one of Cambron's novels but I will relook at reading more after enjoying this one. I will be ordering this for my library. I got this in exchange for a honest review. My advice is to concentrate when you read, aware of the different points of view and you will enjoy Cambron's excellent story telling.

I very rarely do this, but I'm afraid this will be going in my DNF pile. I was really intrigued by the story description, and as someone living for years in Italy, I'm always drawn to an Italian story. Compliments as well to the stunning cover design.

The writing is excellent, it's the story that didn't draw me in. While I do like dual timelines, I had a hard time getting into the triple timeline in three different geographic locations and a huge cast of characters. I kept at it because I was certain the storylines would merge and I would be more engrossed in the characters' journeys.

But at 40% in, I'm not interested enough in two of the three storylines to continue. The one that did intrigue me is the story of Julia, the ballerina of the novel, but even elements of that felt disjointed and I wasn't able to grasp a real sense of place with the Italian setting. I see I am an outlier, however, and Cambron's writing is excellent, so I would try another of her novels.

One error that must be changed before publication, however, is the mistaken use of "Nona". I would have overlooked this had it been slipped in once or twice, but since it is used many times in the story, it would be better to correct it. Nona=ninth(9th) in Italian, whereas it is clear you want to use Nonna=Grandmother..

The Italian Ballerina by Kristy Cambron
This historical fiction novel travels between the present and World War 2, intertwining the stories of Private Courtney Coleman and his granddaughter Del, with Matteo and his aging grandmother, the Italian ballerina.
I enjoyed the unusual slant this story took on World War 2, seeing it through the eyes of both a rising ballerina and a medic in the army. Studded with well-written characters and laced with a mystery, this story keeps the reader on her toes.
I appreciated several things about this novel. The romantic elements of the story were plausible and well within the boundaries of Christian fiction. The plot was constantly unfolding but the mystery wasn’t solved until near the end of the book. The characters’ development kept me interested as I learned more of their past.
I did find the time shifting in the plot a bit confusing.
Readers who enjoy historical fiction with a bit of romance and mystery will enjoy this book. I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and was not obligated to write a favorable review.

The Italian Ballerina is a beautiful tale of love, loss and survival. Set in the US and Italy, the narrative shifts to and from the Second World War and the present day.

Del Coleman is back at her family home to mourn her grandfather’s death. She least expects a gorgeous stranger from Italy to lay a claim on a suitcase among her grandfather’s belongings. Del travels to Italy to find out more about this part of her beloved grandfather’s life.

Calla Santini is in the grip of dementia and has episodes of distress when she calls out for her friend, her Salvatore. Matteo will go to any extent to help his Nona, even if it entails reaching out to strangers.

Back in the 1940s, prima ballerina Julia Bradbury is detained in war-torn Italy while on a tour. Along with Sergeant AJ Nelson and Private Courtney Coleman, Julia dons a new role to save a little girl (and her people) from the Nazi soldiers, putting her own life in danger.

A well-written novel with memorable characters and setting. With the right pace and tone, The Italian Ballerina might very well be my favourite World War novel to date.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the ARC. I look forward to more works by Kristy Cambron.

I found, in the beginning, I was having a little trouble keeping up with the storyline dates and places changing frequently. Once I took my notice of the dates and places, at the start of each chapter, I settled into the book and it became clearer and easier to understand.
A very sad story but with the touch of love and determination the story unfolded beautifully and in the end I wanted more.
If you give this book a chance, you will not be sorry.

"The Italian Ballerina" by Kristy Cambron was extremely well written, expertly changing between woven timelines and POVs. There were beautiful romances in each, and poignant stories of war and sacrifice. I struggled at times keeping track of all the story lines, but that is probably due to my busy schedule and overtired brain rather than any failing on the writer's part. In all, I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good, clean romance story with a lot of depth and history. I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion and review.