Romituzzo, 1944
Just fourteen, Stella Infuriati is the youngest member of her town’s resistance network – a secret she keeps even from her parents. She works alongside her brother Achille to relay messages, supplies and weapons to partisan groups in the Tuscan hills. Fuelled by courage and a fierce sense of purpose, Stella braves incredible danger and survives… but when peace comes in 1945, she vanishes.
Florence, 2019
Writer Tori MacNair arrives in Florence. Fleeing an emotionally abusive marriage, she’s come to build a new life in the city her grandmother taught her to love. As she digs into her family history, Tori uncovers decades-old secrets about a brave young woman who risked everything to save her world. As Tori and Stella’s stories intertwine, they reveal the power of love, community, and sacrifice across the generations.
My review: 5 / 5
Warning: This book will make you crave spaghetti carbonara. And arancini. And cacio e pepe. In fact, it’ll make you want to drop everything, move to Italy, drink negronis (I don’t even know what a negroni is but this book made me want one!) and fall in love with a handsome Italian.
I’ve just loved reading Escape to Tuscany. It’s the kind of book that makes you miss the main character, Tori, when you get to the last page.
This is a duel timeline novel with some chapters set in WW2 and told from the perspective of Stella, and some set in the present day and told by Tori. I must admit I liked the Tori chapters most, but I did enjoy the WW2 chapters, especially as it became clear how the two women’s stories were connected.
This is a wonderful novel and I can’t wait to read more by Kat Devereaux.
If you’d like to buy a copy, click here.
About the author
Kat Devereaux was born near Edinburgh, and lived in the United States, Russia, France, Chile, Germany, and the Czech Republic before finally settling in Italy. She is a writer and translator with a special focus on Italian literature.
