Having connected with Anita over lockdown, I watched several of her Instagram live interviews and thoroughly enjoyed them. When she released her first book, I leapt at the chance to read and review it and loved it. If you’d like to read my review, you can follow this link: The Venice Secret.
Synopsis
Looking out over the twinkling city lights of Florence, Claire thinks of the letter that has brought her here. Written by a woman who escaped the Blitz, it holds a secret kept for a lifetime… but can Claire make the woman’s dying wish come true?
Claire arrives at her new job as researcher at a grand English country house, nursing a broken heart. But tucked into the back of a long-forgotten drawer she finds a letter written in an elegant hand. It tells of a wartime secret about the beautiful Lady Violet – whose passionate affair with an Italian prisoner of war scandalised the village and ended in tragedy.
Captivated, Claire promises to find Violet’s daughter, Tabitha, and reunite her with a priceless piece of her mother’s jewellery. With only the name of an Italian bakery, Pasticceria Mancini, to guide her, and the help of her handsome neighbour Jim, Claire travels to Tabitha’s last known location – Florence.
Winding through the colourful streets, the sun warm on her bare shoulders, a tantalising scent of freshly baked bread floats on the air and Claire’s heart leaps at the sight of an ageing bakery sign: Mancini. Although she learns that Tabitha hasn’t been there for many years, Claire refuses to give up. And as she and Jim talk late into the night over glasses of local chianti, Claire looks into his piercing blue eyes and finds herself growing closer to him…
But when they finally track Tabitha down, it isn’t the happy reunion she expected and Claire is left reeling in the wake of discovering a devastating family secret.
Violet’s story has an ending – but will the truth lead to forgiveness, or will it only bring more pain? And will Claire be forced to walk away from a chance of happiness with Jim at last?
Escape to Italy in this gorgeous story of past and present colliding. Readers of Lucinda Riley and Fiona Valpy will be utterly enchanted by this sweeping, romantic page-turner.
Review
I went into this book with high hopes, having loved Anita’s first book, and was thrilled to discover another beautifully constructed, dual-timeline story. This time, we join Claire as she uncovers the details of a wartime romance and the fallout from the decisions that were made during that intense time.
The story looks back at the wartime years and follows the life of Lady’s Maid, Margaret and her mistress, Lady Violet. Margaret is escaping the horrors of life in wartime London and takes a post at Gatley Hall. We spend a fair amount of time with ‘Mags’ and Lady Violet, and we see a certain level of friendship develop between them both. Sadly, their story leads to heartbreak, and it falls on Claire, four decades later, to keep a promise. The war years felt quite different, and the attitude to relationships felt accelerated. With the frailty of life being a daily reminder, snap decisions were made, and relationships were entered into without truly getting to know someone.
I really enjoyed Claire’s story and her determination to keep the promise detailed in the letter discovered in a drawer. Claire’s travels to Florence with her companion, Jim, were very much a source of adventure, and I was definitely invested in them discovering the secrets of the past. What I didn’t anticipate was the impact that their discovery would have on them personally.
There is quite a magical air with this book, and I was easily absorbed into both parts and totally invested in a happy ending. Anita’s writing is quite beautiful, and I absolutely adored all the elements, from Lady Violet’s clandestine affair to Claire’s discovery of Tabitha. This story packs a real punch and I can highly recommend picking it up.
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 Canaletto’s 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.
Social Media Links
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