Review of 'The Tuscan Villa' by Ella Carey
Review of 'The Tuscan Villa' by Ella Carey
Release date: April 28th, 2026
Publisher: Bookouture
REVIEW
Another intriguing WWII novel by Ella Carey full of twists and turns and secrets! The setting is stunning with all the descriptions of this heavenly location. And the mention of roses everywhere! The Tuscan Villa opens with a prologue set in 1938 featuring sixteen year old Lucia, who gets hired as a cook at Villa Aria. This Sicilian girl is a dreamer with great imaginings of dancing out on the terrace, wearing silk and diamonds…She bends the truth about her job experience as she is so taken with the beauty of the Villa. Not only does the villa and its garden captivate her but also its’ inhabitants who immediately become the family she has craved. Little ten year old Francesca takes her hand and accepts her; as does Vivi, Nico and Emilio. She is made to feel welcomed. Nico tells her if their guests fall for her cooking, she will have no trouble being accepted in Tuscany. Her experience with this family though is a mixed one. Although she shares many good times with them, there are some bad ones, too. Some that will break her heart.
We leap ahead to year 1953 in NY with Fran now twenty five: a scene filled with fall wedding activities. It becomes obvious to Fran that her future mother-in-law, Alma, will be running her life. Fran has been subject to others making decisions about her life, too. Initially she was sent to live with Vivi’s mother, Caroline, in the USA for safety at the start of the war. But she missed out on years with her family. And when she got news that Vivi was missing, it shattered her. And even more her guardian Caroline.
In this first chapter we get a clear picture of the contrast between Caroline and Alma: old money versus new. While these two are chatting about the wedding, Fran catches the headline of a magazine cover: Grand Old Villa To Be Converted To A Modern Hotel. She is shocked and upset that her old home and Vivi’s garden will be destroyed. She remembers all that her father taught her about the earth and to nurture and make it beautiful. And those memories trigger something powerful inside her. She then changes course and decides against marrying Everett. But that’s not all. She decides to go home to Italy to fight for the villa that ‘embodied’ her past life. And to find answers of what happened to Vivi. For she cannot move forward until then. She needs some inner peace in her life. But during her journey of discovery, what she finds in her old home will shake her to the core: a letter that reveals all. What a plot twister!
The novel is written in various timelines (30s, 40s, 50s) and also told from a few perspectives: Fran, Lucia, Vivi and Nico so we get a wide range of views and thoughts and what came before, during and after events.
This Villa is in many ways a character with a huge presence. It was a place where poet’s and artists stayed under Vivi’s care before the war. They spoke of equality, something that people like Lucia dreamed about. She was someone who wanted to rise above her original station. But when something bad happens, the blame game begins and she is on the run. She feels betrayed by those she thought cared about her and sorry for believing in their rhetoric.
There are a number of love relationships in this novel and a sour reminder of the issues and pain, class structure can cause. We see and experience this through Lucia and her love for Nico.
This is another excellent and moving Daughter of Italy story. Its setting is divine, its plot heartbreaking and characters memorable. We are presented with vivid reminders of the horrors of WW2. Including the unfair treatment of women: many of which suffered abuse at the hands of the Nazis. (Just think of Anna, a young orphan girl who was grabbed and brutally beaten). This was a war that changed everyone.
5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the ARC.
