Stars in an Italian Sky
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4.1 • 46 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Light We Lost comes a sweeping story of two star-crossed lovers in post-World War II Italy, and a blossoming relationship generations later that will reveal a long-buried family secret.
Genoa, Italy, 1946. Vincenzo and Giovanna fall in love at twenty-one the moment they set eyes on each other. The son of a count and the daughter of a tailor, they belong to opposing worlds. Despite this, the undeniable spark between them quickly burns into a deep and passionate relationship spent exploring each other’s minds, bodies and their city, as well as Vincenzo’s family’s sprawling vineyard, Villa Della Rosa—until shifts in political power force them each to choose a side and commit what the other believes is a betrayal, shattering the bright future they dreamed of together.
New York, 2017. Cassandra and Luca are in love. Although neither quite fits with the other's family, Cass and Luca have always felt like a perfect match for each other. But when Luca, an artist, convinces his grandfather and Cass’s grandmother to pose for a painting, past and present collide and reveal a secret that changes everything.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
For this moving, intergenerational tale, Santopolo (Everything After) skillfully weaves two love stories in which passionate and idealistic young couples contend with class differences, tension between their personal desires and familial obligations, and the ongoing ramifications of decisions made by earlier generations. In 1946 Genoa, Italy, Giovanna, a tailor's daughter, and Vincenzo, a count's son, fall in love despite disapproving family and friends, on the eve of a political referendum that will decide the fate of Italy's ruling class. In contemporary New York City, two Italian Americans, Cassandra, a marketing director from a modest Long Island family, and her fiancé, Luca, an up-and-coming artist and grandson of Italian winemakers, invite her grandmother and his grandfather to pose together for a painting, leading to a startling discovery and a late-in-life second chance at love. Soon, two sets of wedding plans become fodder for interpersonal and intergenerational conflict. All wrestle with regret, doubt, and hope, seeking guidance from Catholicism, family traditions, and the wisdom of their own hearts. The story toes the line between romance and women's fiction, with equal focus on romantic and familial love. Santopolo's flawed yet endearing characters are sure to tug at readers' heartstrings.
Customer Reviews
A Great Book Club Pick!
Stars in an Italian Sky is a dual timeline book that follows the lives of two couples, Vincenzo and Giovanna, just after WW II, set in Genoa, Italy and Luca and Cass, present day, set in NYC.
Vincenzo and Giovanna are faced with the aftermath of WWII and the effects of the current political climate in Italy. Vincenzo’s family has different political views than Giovannas’. Will their families’ political beliefs and different social classes affect their relationship?
Luca is an artist and Cass works in the fashion business in NYC. When Luca and Cass learn about the other’s family, what secrets will be revealed? How will this affect their relationship?
Both time lines have similar parallels with their careers, relationships, and differences in family social classes! Will their families support them and will love be enough to have a long-lasting relationship that will lead to marriage?
These love stories will have you turning the pages to find out their fate and how they are connected!
A great book club pick that explores how political climate, family values, and social classes can affect love, loss, 2nd chances, and life in general.
A true masterpiece!
Bravo Jill Santopolo! Another masterpiece from the author of "The Light We Lost."
Set in Italy, "Stars in an Italian Sky" chronicles two pairs of lovers, seventy years apart. While (spoiler alert!) it is apparent that newly-engaged Luca & Cass have a family connection through their grandparents, it was just beautiful seeing the love story of the elderly couple unfold. The victims of war, social class & timing, Vincenzo & GIovanna are torn apart by all of the factors working against them. But when their grandchildren miraculously find each other decades later & end up engaged, they are brought back together by fate.
A simply stunning story from Santopolo, with so many facets woven together. I loved her description of Cass's fashion marketing job, the vivid descriptions of the Italian countryside, the use of the Italian language, the inclusion of the Catholic faith and of course, the beautiful life/love stories of the two families.
Curl up with this one & you're sure to finish it in one sitting. Buona lettura!