The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman โ€“ 400 pages

ARC from Berkley and Netgalley for an honest review.

Book Blurb:

Since the day Filomena Fontana cast a curse upon her sister more than two hundred years ago, not one second-born Fontana daughter has found lasting love. Some, like second-born Emilia, the happily-single baker at her grandfatherโ€™s Brooklyn deli, claim itโ€™s an odd coincidence. Others, like her sexy, desperate-for-love cousin Lucy, insist itโ€™s a true hex. But both are bewildered when their great-aunt calls with an astounding proposition: If they accompany her to her homeland of Italy, Aunt Poppy vows sheโ€™ll meet the love of her life on the steps of the Ravello Cathedral on her eightieth birthday, and break the Fontana Second-Daughter Curse once and for all.

My Review: 4 stars

Click here to order on Amazon

The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany was the perfect escape when the lockdown was just about to tip me into madness. Not only did I get to revisit Tuscany through lush description and rich detail, but I also got a story of hope. Had the world been in a more positive status, I may not have reacted as favorably, as this is not my usual type of book. Often predictable, yet never disappointing. Note, the review is being posted now as the release date was significantly delayed due to the pandemic.ย 

When a legendary โ€œcurseโ€ on middle daughters is passed down from generation to generation, itโ€™s hard to not bend into the prophecy. Emilia would like to believe itโ€™s as fake as faux but still hasnโ€™t found โ€œthe guyโ€ while her cousin, also a middle child, thinks itโ€™s written in stone. So much of how they react to the idea of the curse is based on how they grew up and their individual family situations. When the black sheep of the family, Aunt Poppy, begs to take the girls to Venice, they go against their families wishes as well they should. Seriously, who passes up an all expensed paid trip to Italy.

Itโ€™s here that the girls find their true selves through experience, communication and listening to the stories from their beloved Aunt Poppy. Sheโ€™s a bucketful of wisdom after suffering her own drama and heartbreak. Family, marriage, LGTBQ+, curses, spite, guilt and forgiveness are at the heart of this story.

Quotes I liked:

(From an ARC, and may be altered in finished copy.)

Love in all its forms makes the difference whether life is a gloomy black and white drawing or a colorful oil painting.”

โ€œMy sister added love like a possession. To me, Iove is more like a lending library. To keep it, we must continually renew it. Otherwise we pay a hefty fine.โ€

โ€œFor me, love is like books in a library.ย They don’t belong to us and we have to be careful with them.ย If we don’t, we’ll pay a high fee.โ€

โ€œBeing lost is where the beauty lies. Lost in a book. Lost in someoneโ€™s eyes. Lost in a symphony so sweet it brings you to tears.โ€ She smiles. โ€œLost in a beautiful floating city on a starry night. This is magical, yes? Itโ€™s being found thatโ€™s the disappointment.โ€ย 

โ€œEach time you loveโ€”be it a man or a child, a cat or a horseโ€”you add color to this world. When you fail to love, you erase color.โ€

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