Today, I’m thrilled to share my thoughts about The Girl With The Scarlet Ribbon, as part of the book tour hosted by Bookouture. Thank you for my spot on the tour, and for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
If you want to read my other book reviews, click here.
Synopsis
Florence, 1943. A missing painting. A war-scarred city. A brave young girl on a black bicycle risking her life for the country she loved…
As the bells toll and arrogant soldiers torment her family, fourteen-year-old Gabriella is determined to act. She seeks out her old friend Stefanina, an unlikely member of the Italian resistance with her dark curls and scarlet ribbon. Soon the two girls are criss-crossing the river with deadly information in their bicycle baskets. But then one terrible day Stefanina disappears…
London 2019. Sofia is mourning the loss of her father, a famous painter. Desperate to feel closer to him, she begins to go through his paintings of wartime Florence, a time in his life he would never talk about. But then she realises one is missing…
Determined to learn more, she discovers that he had a sister she never knew about. She flies to Florence, the place of his tortured memories, to meet her aunt Gabriella, an elegant old woman living in a palazzo filled with roses. There in a little bedroom, locked away from the world, she finds the missing painting, a tiny picture of a beautiful girl with a scarlet ribbon.
As Sofia uncovers the story behind the hidden painting, a tale of extraordinary bravery and terrible betrayal emerges. But will understanding her family’s haunted past bring her peace, or further heartbreak?
My Review
This story takes us between very different times for Italy; 1943 at the height of World War Two, and modern day. Parts of this story will resonate extremely loudly with readers given the current climate. The descriptions were hypnotic, almost elevating you to a witness of the events rather than a reader. The locations were beautifully portrayed, and I could close my eyes and see where they were and what they were doing. Brilliant!
I instantly liked Gabrielle, who on being so concerned by what was going on in her country she offered her services to the resistance. Very strong at a young age. Then we have Sofia, who seems to have that same familial strength. I found each character carefully created with attention to detail but no so it even threatened to overshadow the plot.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and recommend it to and reader of historical fiction. I gave The Girl With The Scarlet Ribbon, by Suzanne Gold ring, four stars.
Meet The Author
Following an eventful career as a public relations consultant, specialising in business and travel, Suzanne Goldring turned to writing the kind of novels she likes to read, about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. Her debut novel MY NAME IS EVA draws on her experience of volunteering in a care home and was partially inspired by a cache of wartime love letters which were saved from the flames. Her second novel, BURNING ISLAND, is set in Corfu, a place of fun and beauty but also tremendous tragedy.
Suzanne writes in her thatched cottage in Hampshire and a seaside cottage in Cornwall.
About The Book
ASIN : B09M3W1PSF
Publisher : Bookouture (25 Feb. 2022)
Language : English
File size : 1056 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 419 pages
Where To Buy
For print copies, please consider supporting your local bookshops. To Buy online from Amazon, the book is available in the following formats:
John's Bookshelf 