After seeing plenty of recommendations for Kristy Cambron's books, I was eager to read one of her novels and was excited when I received an e-ARC of The Italian Ballerina. And while I don't consider myself an expert in historical fiction, after reading The Italian Ballerina, it's easy to see why Cambron is frequently recommended.

The Italian Ballerina takes place against the backdrop of WWII Italy (with the present-day timeline having the characters unravel what happened during WWII) and shows the story behind Syndrome K. But it's not a story about Syndrome K. It really is a story about the characters, whom you grow to love as you read the book. After all, Syndrome K isn't actually introduced into the plot until around the midpoint of the book. But if you're like me, you don't mind. Because you want to know the stories about these characters.

If you struggle with reading multiple story timelines, The Italian Ballerina probably isn't a book for you. Cambron juggles several timelines, some of which follow the same POV characters. But all of the timelines are needed. So just pay attention to what the year is. It can be a little confusing if you're reading too fast, but the multiple timelines let the story unfold in a unique way and help showcase the character growth. And Cambron keeps all of the timelines engaging.

Since I've already mentioned the characters, I'll talk about them next. The Italian Ballerina has three POV characters--Court, Juila, and Del-and an only slightly larger ensemble cast. All of the characters were well written and given distinct voices. I could tell when I was reading a chapter in Court's POV right away. And all of the characters struggles were also done well and made the characters relatable.

Reading about Syndrome K was super neat. I honestly don't think I knew about Syndrome K until I learned about The Italian Ballerina. Learning about new events is one of the things I love about reading historical fiction,.

The Italian Ballerina was a very enjoyable read, and I look forward to reading more by Kristy Cambron in the future.

Cautions: non-graphic war-time violence; several kisses; moderate romance; a couple has a child before they're married; brief mention of a character attempting to seduce another character in the past

Wow, wow, wow!

I've read almost all of Kristy Cambron's books and this is my favorite. What a poignant story with such engaging characters.

This is a split time story set in the present time with Delaney as the POV character, and WWII time in Italy with Julia and Court. We also get glimpses of these main characters' lives before the principal events and what they have at stake, the growth they go through.

The writing and the 3rd person deep POV are extremely well done, as well as the historical research that's weaved with fiction.

Absolutely fantastic book!

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

This is a beautiful WWII novel that follows 2 American Paramedics, a Jewish girl, and a Ballerina. It’s based on a true story and takes place in various places and times, but mostly based around WWII. It’s goes between various years such as the 1930s, 1940s, and present day. Various places such as London, Indiana, and Italy.

The story is beautiful, and extremely emotional since that was such a disgusting and horrible time in humanity. The setting comes to life with her detailed descriptions and each POV has their own romance stories and struggles to follow.
I will say, going back and fourth through the whole book between years, was extremely difficult to follow. I’d have to go back and see what year we were at last. I kept up with the multiple characters pretty well after several chapters in though. You just really have to pay attention.
I do love how it follows Delaney and others in resent day so we can see how these heros left their legacies behind them.

This novel is a must read for every Historical Fiction lover. A beautiful story told in a dual time line.
1943-Rome
A British ballerina, Julia takes refuge in a hospital. After months of touring, she is caught up in the war. She ends up helping two medics, and a young girl taking refuge in a quarantine ward. This ward is known as Syndrome K, a fake disease so Jews can seek refuge, unbeknownst to the Nazis. The little girl has seen her parents get brutally murdered, and one young medic rescues her and ends up at the hospital in the ward.
Present day-
Delaney Coleman has lost her grandfather, a small town doctor and WWII veteran. She discovers a suitcase and her grandfather’s past might be connected to an Italian woman who claims she owns the suitcase. Delaney agrees to travel to Rome, and is greeted by a charismatic man, which is the grandson of the Italian women. As they each try to find out how their paths are connected, they find themselves healing their past and a bond is formed forever.
Charming, heartbreaking, mysterious, and a delight to read. Thank you NetGalley, @Kristycambron and Thomas Nelson for this advanced copy. This novel is due out July 12, 2022.

In The Italian Ballerina, author Kristy Cambron takes us back and forth in time between WWII and the present day. We learn the story of two US Army medics, a British ballerina, a young Jewish girl, and how their story is uncovered two generations later by a couple of their descendants.

It took me a while to become invested in the story. The timeline jumps felt erratic instead of consistent, and this made the characters difficult for me to distinguish from one another at first. We weren’t merely jumping back and forth in time but from war-year to the present to pre-war year in no certain order. After probably a third of the book, I found myself caring for the characters and wondering what would happen next. Some of the plot didn’t feel entirely cohesive to me. For example, nearly the entirety of the novel is building suspense about the contents of a mysterious suitcase that serves as a thread connecting the present-day characters to their grandparents/the WWII narrative. Matteo’s family flies Del all the way from the United States to Italy with the suitcase to get it back to his grandmother, and I couldn’t help but feel that the suitcase as a narrative device felt a bit forced. After all, it would not have taken much effort for any one of the characters to simply… open the suitcase. But this story couldn’t have existed if they had. It felt at times like the author was trying to cram puzzle pieces into the story that just didn’t fit.

I was fascinated by the (true) story of the hospital and Syndrome K, and I enjoyed the narrative imaging what it might have been like. I enjoyed the main characters whose points of view we jump between. I liked the depiction of present-day Rome and the relationships we see grow between characters. It’s a heartwarming story that lovers of historical fiction and WWII-era romances will enjoy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Too much jumping around of characters - I just couldn't get into it. I cut my losses at 50 pages in. Life is too short to read books I am not enjoying.

The Italian Ballerina takes the reader through the war years in Italy. The reader is guided through the story when Delany Coleman returns a suitcase to Italy after the death of her grandfather, Courtenay Coleman. He never talked about his time during the war. His family knew nothing of the suitcase until they were contacted about the suitcase. The owner was ready for it to be returned. What else could Delaney do but go and check out the story and just maybe discover something about her grandfather.

The reader is honored to go on the journey of discovery with Delaney. She finds herself; as she finds a part of her grandfather in Italy. Calla, the little girl saved by her grandfather, is now at the end of her days. She is finally ready to share her story. She is finally ready to share the story of her second family, the ones that saved her.

The reader gets glimpses of WW2 through two army medics, AJ and Court. As medics wearing Red Cross Bands, they were not allowed to get involved. But when Court witnessed the atrocities in the Jewish Ghetto in Italy, he couldn't not get involved. He couldn't ignore the little girl left standing in the road. Disobeying orders, and not for the first time, Court saved the little girl holding a tiny suitcase. Saving the girl and getting injured was not the plan.

Some would say God was on Court's side. Others would say the conscience of the Italian Resistance saved them. It was the brilliance of doctors that kept jews safe in a hospital swarming with Nazis that kept Court, AJ and Calla alive. They ended up at the hospital that was so much more. The resistance works in mysterious ways. Save havens can be found if you look, and sometimes when you least expect them.

Within the walls of the church and hospital is Julia Bradbury, hiding in plain sight. As a member of the Royal Ballet, she had been manipulated to tour Europe. Her dancing partner, Anton always seemed to get his way. He would be their downfall. Julia refused to crumble, making the decision to help the father and doctors in any possible.

Court may have rescued the little girl, soon to be called Calla. Julia kept her alive. Julia brought her out of her broken shell. The connected through dance. Julia, prima ballerina, and a little girl at the beginning of her lessons.

Author Cambron moves across time and countries in this thoughtful novel that has most of the characters searching for meaning. It begins with American medic Courtney Coleman being wounded in the Allied invasion of Italy in 1943. He and his superior, A. J. Nelson end up in Rome fleeing from the Nazi and Italian officials. As they are noncombatants, they shouldn't interfere with the Nazi round up of the residents of the Jewish ghetto. However, Coleman breaks the rules when a young girl holding a locked suitcase witnesses the murder of her folks, and he tries to take her to safety. He wakes up in the Fatebenefratelli Hospital after surgery with Nelson and the young girl there and meets Julia Bradbury, a ballerina turned nurse aid during the war. The story then moves to present day Indiana where Delaney Coleman, who has just lost her grandfather, is staying to help her folks. While there, she discovers a family named Santini want a specific suitcase that belongs to Calla Santini that could be in her grandfather's things. Delaney goes to Italy, meets Matteo Santini and together they learn many things about her grandfather and his grandmother and the other people around them during the war. Ms. Cambron mixes fact and fiction seamlessly and the Fatebenefratelli Hospital still exists and did shelter Jewish people by faking a contagious, deadly disease. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a fan of Kristy Cambron's since her debut novel back in 2014, The Butterfly and the Violin. Each of her books is so well-researched and exquisitely written. I have always appreciated how historically rich Kristy's books are - it really feels as if you are stepping back in time for each one of them.

I was eagerly expecting The Italian Ballerina after a whole year without a KC book, and every premise of this book intrigued me, even before I got my hands on it. After visiting Italy in 2019, I fell in love with the historicity, hospitality and beauty of the country. I was excited to step back into Italian culture and history via The Italian Ballerina. Italy + ballet + historical romance + Kristy Cambron, and I was hooked!

I liked The Italian Ballerina, I really did. Cambron never disappoints with her rich research, prosaic storytelling, and lovable characters. The setting and premise of this book was just as lovely as expected. However, there were a number of things that left me feeling disappointed. For starters, in contrast to Cambron's other books, the 'Ballerina' aspect of this book felt more like an add-on than a central part of the plot. I was expecting Julia's ballet career to take more of a front-seat spot in this story, and instead it felt like more of a backstory. That was disappointing. As many other readers have mentioned, it was also extremely difficult to follow the multiple plot lines running through The Italian Ballerina. I typically struggle with even a dual-plot historical novel, and this one had five plots running throughout: Julia and Anton, Courtney and Penn, Julia and AJ, Courtney and AJ and Calla, and Matteo and Delaney. This was frustrating to follow and admittedly difficult to care about any of the characters, as it felt like we spent so little time with them before we moved on to the next. The timelines within these plots also moved around a good chunk, which was confusing to follow chapter to chapter with dates/geographical locations/etc.

With that being said, I really enjoyed learning about Syndrome K throughout the reading of this novel and I was surprised in doing my own research after how little information there is available about this amazing moment in WW2 history. I will absolutely keep reading Cambron's novels and will recommend The Italian Ballerina to anyone asking. But it wasn't one of my favourites from her.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Italian Ballerina in exchange for my fair and honest review.

This sounded like an amazing book but I just couldn’t get into it. I really wanted to read it but it didn’t hold my attention

I like the story, but it's pretty confusing at first...a lot of different back and forths to a whole bunch of different times. It took me a while to figure it out. Very interesting history, though, especially if you read the notes at the very end of the book! Great characters and plot, once I got it all straight.
Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley, and the author for the advance e-copy of this book. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

I love historical fiction, especially WWII-themed fiction. This is an emotionally gripping story about love and sacrifice.
While I enjoyed each individual's story, there were a few times when I had a hard time keeping up with following all of those characters and timelines.
Aside from this, I still truly enjoyed this story. I felt that the characters were well developed and the plot well-paced.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you Netgalley and Thomas Nelson--FICTION.

What a lovely story. The backdrop of WW2 Italy and a young Jewish girl. What a life this young girl had experienced and the amazing men and woman who helped her through it.

The characters were well developed, the history documented. The time was very hard to comprehend, but well written. The time hopping was a bit difficult at first but got better as the bok progressed.

This was definitely a journey worth taking.

Let me start by saying I absolutely ended up loving this book; however, I was super confused in the beginning by all of the jumping around in time. The more I read about how the Jewish people were treated by the Germans, the more I am flabbergasted. It’s heart-wrenching. This story is no exception, but at the same time it’s all about love and sacrifice and choosing the right way—which is not necessarily the easy way. Well done, Kristy Cambron. Five stars.

"Never open a locked door unless you’re certain death doesn’t lurk behind it." This is only just the opening line of a tale of war, mystery, deception, grief, loss, love and life-long gratitude.

What takes historical fiction one step ahead? A story that also stretches to the present day and lets us see the descendants' life in the free world in the way that their ancestors hoped for. Another little twist in here is the non-linear story-telling. Yes, it can get a bit overwhelming initially but once you get a hang of the characters, you cannot wait to know everyone’s story and complete the puzzle.

This is a story of how two US Army medics and a British ballerina come together to save a little Jewish girl and become her second family after she loses her first one in the war. We see how one person has an impact over another’s life and how one decision has the power to completely change everything for everyone. Transcending nationalities, religion and language, this one is bound to tug at hearts everywhere.

This absolute gem of a book will be out in July this year, so definitely keep an eye out. I feel extremely lucky having received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and I cannot thank the publisher and the author enough for this approval. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

"War was a leveler. Regardless of age or nation or language spoken, it could not and never would be powerful enough to overtake love."

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson--FICTION for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own. This starts with the order in 1943 to empty the Jewish Ghetto in Portica of Octavia. Some 1,600-2,000 were taken on trains to Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland to be killed. Only 16 returned after the War. This WWII novel had me struggling a bit from time to time. I felt like it dragged on and kept covering the same material. The four different timelines and the characters took me a bit to get used to. I honestly stopped reading a few times but decided to finish. The redemptive quality of this book is the development of the characters and their self journey to love and home, both physical and within themselves. I give it a 3.5 rating.

The Italian Ballerina is now my new favorite by Kristy Cambron. I highly recommend it for readers who enjoy reading WWII novels. I know many will love it as much as I did. Five stars.

4.5 STARS

What a powerful story!

It has been sooo long since I truly enjoyed a romance novel. I thought romance genre was forever lost to me. Guess, I just have been swimming in the wrong waters. This Christian historical romance novel was exactly what I needed. Profound and emotional, it made me teary on multiple occasions. War descriptions felt realistic to me and I loved it.

All main characters grew on me pretty quickly and I really liked all three POVs. I knew from the beginning that this was romance novel, but what I did not expect was three separated romantic lines. All three narrators got their own love stories and I enjoyed them equally.

However, constant switching between time periods was a bit disconnecting. Hence why I didn't give it full 5 stars. I love when we have past versus present chapters in novel. But in this case, chapters were sporadically jumping from present, to war time than to pre-war time and so on in no order whatsoever. And it slowed the flow of the story a little bit.

But otherwise I had no other complaint and I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. If you like war time historical romances, do not miss this one!

The first thing I will say about The Italian Ballerina is that it is extremely difficult to follow three different characters back and forth in the books with four (plus!) timelines. Even halfway through the book I was trying to piece together the story. Each of the three main characters stories do eventually weave together into a beautiful story as a whole, but it is written in a rather confusing way. That being said, the writing is well done and the story of discovering one’s purpose is worth the read. Court enlists as an army medic to try and prove his worth to his girl back home and fights to stay alive on the battlefield. Julia, a prima ballerina, struggles to do more for the suffering Jews in war torn Italy. In modern times, Delaney is struggling with the recent death of her grandfather and a mysterious summons to Italy. All considering, I would give 3.5 stars.

I will preface this with I love historical fiction so this book was right up my alley. Having read so many historical fiction novels, I feel like it does typically cause me to be a bit more critical as I’m reading them but this surpassed my already high expectations! I found it intriguing and emotionally gripping. I thought the two timelines were really well done and complemented each other. On top of that, the storylines were fascinating! I always enjoy learning more about a certain period of time and appreciate the work and research that went into writing it. Would highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.