A highly enjoyable book … not quite as good as The Midnight Rose (which I’d give 10 out of 10), but maybe an 8 and a half, if only for its predictability.
Rosanna first meets Roberto Rossini when she is only 11 years old, and he is already a rising star of the La Scala opera house. On the same night Carlotta also meets Roberto, and so begin years of secrets and a passionate love affair that will last a lifetime.
Throw in all the usual characters: a treasured best friend (Abi), a devoted brother (Luca), a scheming mistress (Donatella) and a good natured ‘nice-guy’ (Stephen) and the stage is set for a saga spanning many years, filled with love, seduction, secrets, betrayal … and opera!
One of the most attractive things about this book is the foreward. Lucinda Riley wrote the original story some years ago, although it didn’t get published. When she picked up the discarded manuscript she realised that it was still a great story. So she re-worked the characters and the plot into what is today the very readable ‘The Italian Girl’.
Jan's Book Buzz 
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