And…how is she going to find out anything about her grandmother with the few clues she has from the box...a recipe for a chocolate dessert and the name of a theater, La Scala Academy. Stilletjes nam ze zich voor om er voortaan nog beter op te letten hoe ze eruitzag. Ze moest de hele tijd gelukkig lijken. Niet alleen wanneer ze danste, maar ook wanneer ze nieuwe mensen leerde kennen. Ze drukte haar nagels in haar handpalmen en voelde dat ze boos werd. Als deze jongen het al had gezien, hoe dacht ze dan iemand anders voor de gek te kunnen houden?”

Terwijl je heen en weer springt tussen het heden en het verleden leer je de kleurrijke personages steeds beter kennen, ga je met hen meeleven omdat je hun verschillende emoties voelt, kom je achter lang bewaarde geheimen en word je helemaal meegenomen dit verhaal vol (verboden) liefde, persoonlijke ontwikkeling, doorzettingsvermogen en twijfels, passie, verplichtingen, herinneringen, verdriet, hoop en mysterie. De personages worden realistisch en levensecht neergezet, ze dromen, hebben ambitie en willen het liefst hun gevoel volgen maar worden daarin nog wel eens tegengehouden door traditie, verwachtingen, ultimatums of zelf opgelegde toekomstbeelden. Ze zijn krachtig en stellen zich open, al is dat door eerdere ervaringen niet altijd even makkelijk, ze moeten een aantal moeilijke beslissingen nemen en Soraya Lane schrijft met veel liefde over hun beroepen, waardoor ook die onderdelen van het verhaal echt gaan leven. Lily couldn’t believe it. She also couldn’t believe that her grandmother may have been adopted and was a Prima Ballerina. In this first novel, in present day we meet Lily who is called to a Lawyers office and given a box with a programme from La Scala theatre in Milan and a recipe in it. What connection does this have to a grandmother she didnt realise had been adopted. Having accepted a seasonal job at a vineyard in Italy she sees it as the perfect opportunity to investigate further. In 1946 we meet Estee and Felix, forbidden lovers who have known each other since Estee was a young child auditioning to join La Scala as a ballerina. But Felix is betrothed to someone else and Estee refuses to be his mistress. Do they have a future together or ate they meant to be apart.When Lily arrives and shows the recipe to the surviving members of the family, it is clear that she has unearthed a tragic love story: of a young girl named Estee and a boy named Felix. Of a childhood friendship which developed into a passionate love affair. Of a family torn apart by wealth and of two young people who were prepared to sacrifice everything for love. De schrijfstijl is heel meeslepend want zowel bij Lily als bij Estee leef je mee met de personages en kun je hun emoties goed aanvoelen. De karakters worden doorheen het verhaal steeds verder uitgediept waardoor ook de verschillen in opvoeding en leefomstandigheden duidelijk naar voor komen. De tijdsgeest is ook totaal verschillend en heeft de auteur perfect overgebracht. Dat maakt dat beide verhaallijnen geloofwaardig overkomen en de lezer aangrijpen. Ook de Italiaanse landschappen en de wijngaarden, de mooie villa’s en de pittoreske dorpjes worden schilderachtig beschreven.

She and Felix, the son of a baker fall in love. However Felix’s family wants him to marry into a prominent family and has arranged his marriage. Want to find out the connection between the recipe, the bakery owner, and La Scala and why the bakery owner was not happy? THE ITALIAN DAUGHTER has all the answers for you. The food at The Italian Daughter is as authentic and amazing as any you will find this side of Sicily. The made-from-scratch menu focuses on handcrafted pasta, stone fired pizzas, seafood, veal dishes, and new twists and tastes on Italian classics. Roasted Potato and Rosemary Pizza.

Publication Order of River Ranch Books

The Italian Daughter is book one in the The Lost Daughters series by Soraya M. Lane. I was fully enthralled with this story and could not put it down. I got this ebook also as an audiobook which was expertly narrated by Zoe Mills. Listening to this book brought both sadness and joy, and the narrator did a fabulous job helping my emotions to ride that roller coaster of all the feels. This wonderful story wrapped up with a wonderful conclusion and now I cannot wait for book two in this series, which I believe will be The Sugar King's Daughter. That second book will also be in dual timeline fashion. When parents say I love you to their daughters and other children, they use the phrase Ti voglio bene.

When restaurateur Melissa Maggiore Meyer was a guest on the AZ Big Podcast, one of the themes that ran throughout the conversation was “family” and the importance of food when it comes to family — especially Italian families. Their respective love stories were also just as exhilarating despite all that held them apart from loving and breathing freely. Although, I wish it was a bit more justified why Estee fell in love with Felix and Lily fell for Antonio. In the present day timeline, we meet another lost daughter who is trying to find her way in the world after her dad’s death and her mother’s new relationship. After studying winemaking in Australia, Lily agrees to help with harvesting at the Martinelli winery in Lake Como. Lily is one of the women who’ve met with the London lawyer and she hopes to uncover more of her grandmother’s secrets while she is in Italy. Estee, I bought this ring the day after I saw you on stage at La Scala, all those years ago. You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved.” Estee wanted to see it so badly, but instead she reached for Felix’s hand and gently closed it over the box. “No,” she whispered. “I want you to propose only when you’re truly free.” No soy muy fan de este tipo de novelas. Ni, de Lucinda Riley tampoco, pero es que esta autora por mucho que intenten compararla, no tiene color. Es una forma burda de incrementar ventas y de que lectoras que disfrutan de la sra. Riley, caiganSoraya is thrilled to be publishing three new books in 2024! THE BERLIN SISTERS, Soraya's next historical WWII novel will be published in May, as well as the next books in her THE LOST DAUGHTERS series, THE SAPPHIRE DAUGHTER and THE PARISIAN DAUGHTER. Present day London and Lily is a winemaker and has travelled to many countries learning her trade, she is stopping at home before she starts her new position in Italy and there is a letter from a lawyer about the estate of her late grandmother, she is given a box that has two pieces of paper in it, a program from La Scala and a recipe and this now creates a mystery to be solved, will Lily uncover her grandmother’s past and find answers to what happened all of those years ago and will she find herself and maybe love in Italy, there must be a connection. jumbo shrimp + calamari + clams + mussels + scallops + bacala + tomato saffron brodo + squid ink tonnarelli You’ll love this book and will be longing for an espresso and a saccottini al cioccolato as you read. I think you’ll be like me and wish you had a friend who leaves treats worthy of the gods on your bed, too.

The dual timeline is well-plotted and intensely descriptive, vibrant, and atmospheric. Both timelines are equally engaging, WWII and present day. Gripping and hard to put down, the characters are strongly dominant. 4.5 stars – CE Williams Estee’s great-grandmother had met and fell in love with a man at Lake Como. He was betrothed to another but pressure from the family required him to complete the arranged marriage planned for him as a boy. In fact, the owner was furious that Lily had a copy of this recipe that she said has been kept secret for decades. De liefde hangt in de lucht en dat is een rode draad doorheen beide verhalen, maar er komt zoveel meer bij kijken. Door de zoektocht van Lily krijgt het verhaal meer diepgang en het maakt de lezer ook nieuwsgierig. De harde jeugd en de zware jaren waar Estee zich moet door ploeteren zowel voor, tijdens als na de oorlogsjaren, zorgen voor een meer pakkend, zwaarmoedig en ontroerend geheel. Een leuke afwisseling waardoor je doorheen het verhaal vliegt en je emoties wisselen van het ene uiterste naar het andere. Wanneer alles ongeveer op zijn plaats begint te vallen, weet de auteur je toch nog te verrassen met een leuke twist. Soraya loves spending her days thinking up characters for books, and her home is a constant source of inspiration. She lives with her own real life hero and two sons on a small farm in New Zealand, surrounded by animals and with an office overlooking a field where their horses graze.The start of a new seven part series each a dual timeline focusing on seven women brought together by Hopes House. The Italian Daughter is the first in the series and is set in Tuscany in 1937 and London in present day. In the 1930s timeline, the author introduces readers to soulmates, Felix and Estee, who are torn apart by family loyalty. Estee is being groomed as a prima ballerina in hopes of being accepted at the most prestigious dance academy in Italy - La Scala. When she meets the baker’s son, Felix Barbieri, it’s love at first sight. The two have an intense connection and have no doubt that their future is with each other. Unfortunately, social standing and parental expectations stand in their way. Estilo correcto pero con algunos detalles argumentales que no me han cuadrado. Personajes poco desarrollados, con historias poco desarrolladas y un misterio que se desvela a la mitad de la novela. Las cosas no encajan, la investigación es tan simple y suertuda que pasa a un tercer plano y, en realidad, es como si la autora contara dos historias que tienen un punto en común pero que si no lo tuvieran sería totalmente igual.