Synopsis – The Tuscan Diary
As she gazes at the lights of Siena glowing in the dusk, Jessica flips through the yellowing pages of the diary that led her here. Written by her grandfather during the war, it holds the answers to a family secret that might just change everything…
When Jessica’s grandfather left for war, he promised to keep a record of each day he was apart from her grandmother. The diary was lost along with him – until now, when a mysterious, handsome Italian man named Alessandro shows up at Jessica’s door with the diary in hand.
Immediately enchanted by her grandfather’s accounts of Italy’s glittering golden hours, Jess decides to spend a summer in Tuscany before she’s due to take over at her family’s farm. She hopes she can visit the places her grandfather once did – and finally find out what really happened the night he died…
In the historic city of Siena, she finds a job as companion to the glamorous Sofia – Alessandro’s grandmother – whose stories of Italy during the war are captivating. And as Jess spends more time with Alessandro, she begins to fall for him with each lingering look into his deep-brown eyes.
Together, Jess and Alessandro visit her grandfather’s resting place. But the more Jess learns about her grandfather’s time in Italy, the more she’s forced to question whether everything about her family’s past is a lie…
Jess came to Italy in search of answers, but time is running out. She can’t shake the feeling that the diary that has stolen her imagination is merely a work of fiction. And if it is, will the truth about her family inspire her to turn away from the path she thought she was destined for, and towards the life she truly wants?
Let yourself be swept away to Italy in this beautiful story of family secrets and past and present colliding. Readers of Lucinda Riley and Fiona Valpy will be utterly enchanted by this wistful, escapist and romantic page-turner.
Author Bio
Anita likes to read journals and diaries from the past, and one of her favourite pastimes is visiting art galleries and country houses. Her first published novel, The Venice Secret, is inspired by her mother taking her to see the Canalettos at The National Gallery in London as a child.
The Venice Secret was published in March 2023 and spent six weeks in the overall Amazon UK Kindle Top 100, reaching number thirty-eight. The Venice Secret has had over four million Kindle Unlimited pages read and received more than 3000 Amazon reviews since publication.
Since 2015, Anita has worked as a social media manager, training authors on social media, and helping to promote their books. She’s run several courses in London and York, and has worked as a tutor at Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College.
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My Review
The Tuscan Diary by Anita Chapman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The Tuscan Diary is my second book by Anita Chapman (previously read The Florence Letter). Both books involve beautiful descriptions of Italian towns and countrysides.
The premise of this story was immediately engaging – A unknown American shows up with a diary written during WWII. The diary will bring family secrets to light.
The book is readable and I did want to see what transpired. However, the story fell flat for me in several places. The reading of the diary was slow and the diary itself did not play as prominent a role in the story as I had been expecting. I feel as though the love story that was being told did not need the diary and that it ended up feeling forced.
The main character was quite immature and I found myself checking several times how old she was supposed to be.
Overall, the story was ok but it did not blow me away. However, if you are a fan of women’s fiction and especially those told in multiple points of view and in multiple timelines then you should give this one a try.
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