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A review by simbareadss
The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Emilia Fontana is the second born Fontana daughter and therefore cursed to live her life alone. The family curse of second born daughters never being lucky with love and never marrying seems to ring true.
However, when Great Aunt Poppy calls with a proposition of a all-expenses paid trip to Italy with her cousin, Lucy, who is also a second born daughter to try to break the curse, neither Emilia nor Lucy can pass up the offer.
As they travel to Italy, both girls begin to think that their Great Aunt Poppy is holding on to a fairy tale. She plans to meet her great love on the steps of a church in Italy on her 80th birthday like they had previously promised 49 years ago. She tells a story of her first and only true love Rico (or Erich) the German man who escaped East Germany before the Berlin Wall was erected. She shares how she and Erich had a fabulous love that came to an end when Erich had to return home to help his ailing father and could not return because the Berlin Wall was erected.
Both Lucy and Emilia are faced with confronting their families secrets, their personal struggles with love, and navigating a difficult family dynamic.
Throughout her life, Emelia had a best friend, Matt, who showed interest in her, but she never pursued him due to the curse. Her previous ex that she loved was injured in a car accident that she attributed to the curse. From then on she resigned herself to living a small life in Bensonhurst, Pennsylvania where she was born and raised. She had an epiphany while in Italy after falling for the romantic gestures of a random Italian man (who ended up ghosting her) that she really did love Matt and decided that when she returned she would attempt to pursue him. However, when she did return she realized that her cousin who had been watching her apartment ended up falling in love with Matt. Between this and Great Aunt Poppy's stories and encouragement, She found her inner voice and power to stand up to her overbearing Nonna.
Meanwhile, her younger cousin Lucy has been trying to find love in all the wrong places in order to prove that the curse isn't real. She had been stifling her sexuality and instead deciding to sleep with any seedy man that would give her attention. Also, while in Italy, Lucy had an epiphany that she is a lesbian and fell in love with a woman who is the sister of the man Emelia slept with. She becomes much more secure in herself and after returning to Bensonhurst she decides to tell her family of her new partner. Her mother doesn't respond to this initially but overall it seems that it will have a positive outcome.
I really appreciated Great Aunt Poppy and Erich's love story being slowly unraveled throughout the book. I think it was a very beautiful, but challenging love story that I could relate to. I wished there was more!
I think how all of the Fontana family had treated their second born daughters was awful. I especially think how Rosa treated her own sister was awful, but I do understand that miscarriage can be so difficult to navigate and it may have been a response to her grief. Additionally, being a single mother during that time was also extremely challenging socially snd economically, so the hopeless feelings that Poppy felt were also heart wrenching.
No no poppy begs, Lucy and Amelia to keep the secret until after Rosa has passed. Within 6 months, Rosa does pass and the seeker can finally be revealed to everybody. Before passing, Rosa and Poppy did reconcile over FaceTime. Poppy dies 4 months after. Erich and her were together for 10 months which seems an injustice.
In the end, Lucy gets the girl and her dream job of being a barber, Amelia's father marries the lady he's been listing after, Amelia writes Poppy's story and it is on its way to being published and she believes finally that she is worthy of love. She ends up being gifted the apartment where Poppy and Erich fell in love and the lawyer that she met months ago becomes a love interest.
Admittedly, I was pretty lukewarm on the entire book up until the last 100 pages. Then I couldn't put it down! I feel like my own grandmother was more like Nonna.
"Those who cannot win hearts with love often control people with fear."
"Soft heart is a Keen observer of the truth."
"Que será, será..."
However, when Great Aunt Poppy calls with a proposition of a all-expenses paid trip to Italy with her cousin, Lucy, who is also a second born daughter to try to break the curse, neither Emilia nor Lucy can pass up the offer.
As they travel to Italy, both girls begin to think that their Great Aunt Poppy is holding on to a fairy tale. She plans to meet her great love on the steps of a church in Italy on her 80th birthday like they had previously promised 49 years ago. She tells a story of her first and only true love Rico (or Erich) the German man who escaped East Germany before the Berlin Wall was erected. She shares how she and Erich had a fabulous love that came to an end when Erich had to return home to help his ailing father and could not return because the Berlin Wall was erected.
Both Lucy and Emilia are faced with confronting their families secrets, their personal struggles with love, and navigating a difficult family dynamic.
Meanwhile, her younger cousin Lucy has been trying to find love in all the wrong places in order to prove that the curse isn't real. She had been stifling her sexuality and instead deciding to sleep with any seedy man that would give her attention. Also, while in Italy, Lucy had an epiphany that she is a lesbian and fell in love with a woman who is the sister of the man Emelia slept with. She becomes much more secure in herself and after returning to Bensonhurst she decides to tell her family of her new partner. Her mother doesn't respond to this initially but overall it seems that it will have a positive outcome.
I really appreciated Great Aunt Poppy and Erich's love story being slowly unraveled throughout the book. I think it was a very beautiful, but challenging love story that I could relate to. I wished there was more!
No no poppy begs, Lucy and Amelia to keep the secret until after Rosa has passed. Within 6 months, Rosa does pass and the seeker can finally be revealed to everybody. Before passing, Rosa and Poppy did reconcile over FaceTime. Poppy dies 4 months after. Erich and her were together for 10 months which seems an injustice.
In the end, Lucy gets the girl and her dream job of being a barber, Amelia's father marries the lady he's been listing after, Amelia writes Poppy's story and it is on its way to being published and she believes finally that she is worthy of love. She ends up being gifted the apartment where Poppy and Erich fell in love and the lawyer that she met months ago becomes a love interest.
Admittedly, I was pretty lukewarm on the entire book up until the last 100 pages. Then I couldn't put it down! I feel like my own grandmother was more like Nonna.
"Those who cannot win hearts with love often control people with fear."
"Soft heart is a Keen observer of the truth."
"Que será, será..."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage