Author Bio:
Siobhan Daiko is an international bestselling historical romantic fiction author. A lover of all things Italian, she lives in the Veneto region of northern Italy with her husband, a Havanese puppy and two rescue cats. After a life of romance and adventure in Hong Kong, Australia and the UK, Siobhan now spends her time, when she isn't writing, enjoying the sweet life near Venice.
Book Title: The Girl from Venice
Author: Siobhan Daiko
Publication Date: 29th June 2021
Publisher: ASOLANDO BOOKS
Page Length: 300 Pages
Genre: Romantic Historical/Women’s Fiction
The Girl from Venice
By Siobhan Daiko
Lidia De Angelis has kept a low profile since Mussolini's racial laws wrenched her from her childhood sweetheart. But when the Germans occupy Venice in 1943, she must flee the city to save her life.
Lidia joins the partisans in the Venetian mountains, where she meets David, an English soldier fighting for the same cause. As she grows closer to him, harsh Nazi reprisals and Lidia’s own ardent anti-fascist activities threaten to tear them apart.
Decades later in London, while sorting through her grandmother’s belongings after her death, Charlotte discovers a Jewish prayer book, unopened letters written in Italian, and a fading photograph of a group of young people in front of the Doge’s Palace.
Intrigued by her grandmother’s refusal to talk about her life in Italy before and during the war, Charlotte travels to Venice in search of her roots. There, she learns not only the devastating truth about her grandmother’s past, but also some surprising truths about herself.
A heart-breaking page-turner, based on actual events in Italy during World War II
Trigger Warnings:
Death
Miscarriage
PTSD
Rape
Buy Links:
Available on Kindle Unlimited.
Universal Link: mybook.to/TGFV
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3uWpgut
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/33PXR1e
Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3bzJ3In
Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/2SPVWaE
Social Media Links:
Website: https://siobhandaiko.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/siobhandaiko
Publisher Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AsolandoBooks
Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/siobhan.daiko
Amazon Author Page: author.to/SiobhanDaiko
Book Review for the Blog Tour
From Siobhan Daiko, international bestselling author of The Orchid Tree, comes an epic new novel of love, betrayal, and finding where you truly belong. Set in Italy during World War II and the present day.
Lidia De Angelis has kept a low profile since Mussolini's laws wrenched her from her childhood sweetheart. But when the Germans occupy Venice in 1943, she must flee the city to save her life.
Lidia joins the partisans in the Venetian mountains, where she meets David, an English soldier fighting for the same cause. As she grows closer to him, harsh German reprisals and Lidia’s own ardent patriotic activities threaten to tear them apart.
Decades later in London, while sorting through her grandmother’s belongings after her death, Charlotte discovers a Jewish prayer book, unopened letters written in Italian, and a fading photograph of a group of young people in front of the Doge’s Palace.
Intrigued by her grandmother’s refusal to talk about her life in Italy before and during the war, Charlotte travels to Venice in search of her roots, there she learns not only the devastating truth about her grandmother’s past, but also some surprising truths about herself.
For the most part, I enjoyed this novel, and it is very well-written from a structural standpoint. Set during the German occupation of Venice and the present time of 2010, the chapters alternate between the story of Charlotte, the main character, and her grandmother, Lidia. As a history buff, a story told from this setting intrigued me from the start instead of being just another WWII novel set in Germany. The scenery of Italy and Italian history provided a new perspective into how another part of the European continent dealt with Germany’s onslaught during the war, and I felt the author handled this quite well. Her research was evident. We often hear about the resistance fighters in France but not about the resistance groups in Italy, so I appreciated reading about this aspect of the war.
I felt really connected to Lidia’s character and invested in knowing more about each step along her journey – from the moment she has to leave Venice and is separated from her father to her heartbreaking survival skills after brutal assaults by the Nazi brown shirts. Lidia’s character is extremely well-developed, and you feel the depth of emotion behind each of her decisions. She is tender, yet determined; vulnerable, yet strong – she is the epitome of a survivor during a time when women took on roles they never imagined in their life before.
As far as her granddaughter, Charlotte, who is the second main character in the time period of 2010, I felt a little different about the storyline. After her grandmother’s death, she finds her grandmother’s Jewish prayer book, a photo of her grandmother in Venice, and some unopened letters. Charlotte is determined to discover the reasons behind her grandmother’s silence about her Italian roots. You learn that there is an estrangement between Charlotte’s mother and grandmother, but you are left with only a surface understanding of that relationship, plus all you know is that Lidia never spoke of her life in Italy as Charlotte grew up. I wish there had been more meat to how Lidia’s silence affected both her own daughter and her granddaughter. We are just introduced into the story with Charlotte’s interest in learning more about her past which leads Charlotte on a journey to Venice to discover this silent history.
The love story between Lidia and David, and between Charlotte and Alex, becomes the connecting thread between granddaughter and grandmother as the story develops and you see how the families of the past link with the families of the present. As far as the love story, Ms. Daiko did well in developing this part of the story, even showing the connection between the two ‘girls from Venice’. However, sometimes I felt that the storyline for Charlotte was just an unnecessary addition since her character’s development did not feel as strong as I thought it could be. What was the real conflict she was having? The ending of a relationship with her boyfriend in London? In comparison to what her grandmother went through, Charlotte’s reasons for change fell flat. Of course, Charlotte did not have to deal with a war, or fighting against armed men, or being assaulted, but I wish there had been more depth to her storyline. While love and finding your roots are strong reasons for change, I felt Lidia’s reasons for change came across much more powerful.
Overall, we are presented with another book on WWII, told from the Italian perspective with a little bit of history about Mussolini and his connection to Hitler, as well as the atrocities wrought upon the Jews on the Italian peninsula. From a technical aspect, this book is perfectly written and slips seamlessly from one era to the next; from an emotional aspect, it is a real tear-jerker when it comes to Lidia’s character and all she suffers at the hands of the monstrous regime; and from a constructive aspect, I felt Charlotte’s storyline just did not reach the level needed to balance the story. Also, I was really confused about why the author chose to not use the actual place names in Italy where the resistance fighting took place… why?
For the most part, though, it is a novel worth reading if only to discover Lidia’s story. She is a character to remember, and one Ms. Daiko should be proud to have created, as she represents the strong women of WWII resistance fighters whose stories need to be told. For that reason alone, I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of learning more about this part of Italian history.
The Hist Fic Chickie Book Review
Another thoughtful review.