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This novel had a subtitle ‘Passion, longing, secrets, and a dangerous time’ and is set in wartime Italy so it sounded just like my kind of book. Yet, despite its readability, I have to admit I was disappointed. I’m not sure exactly why. I should’ve loved sensitive Rosa, and I really adore romantic books set in wartime Italy ... yet ... I think it was too long, or the writing was simply too pedestrian, or because I never got to really like either of the two men Rosa falls in love with ... too muc
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When a mysterious stranger leaves a baby girl with the sisters of Santo Spirito in Florence with a tiny silver key in her wrappings as the only clue to her identity, Rosa grows up with the nuns as her only family and has no clue who left her there or why.
When Rosa turns fifteen she has to leave the convent and is sent to be a governess to the daughter of an aristocrat and his decidedly disturbing wife. Rosa feels very uneasy living there and with Fascism infiltrating and WWII looming, Rosa’s li ...more
When Rosa turns fifteen she has to leave the convent and is sent to be a governess to the daughter of an aristocrat and his decidedly disturbing wife. Rosa feels very uneasy living there and with Fascism infiltrating and WWII looming, Rosa’s li ...more

An engrossing and interesting read. Certainly a step above the usual books in this genre. Read the full review at OurBookClub.
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Mar 31, 2010
Annie
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