On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club - The Girl from Portofino by Siobhan Daiko #BookReview ##WorldWarIIRomance #CoffeePotBookClub @siobhandaiko @maryanneyarde

 

I am so excited to share my review of The Girl from Portofino by Siobhan Daiko. Thank you to The Coffee Pot Book Club for inviting me to be a part of this tour.

The Girl from Portofino

(Girls of the Italian Resistance: A collection of standalone novels set in Italy during World War 2)

By Siobhan Daiko

In 1970 Gina Bianchi returns to Portofino to attend her father’s funeral, accompanied by her troubled twenty-four-year-old daughter, Hope. There, Gina is beset by vivid memories of World War 2, a time when she fought with the Italian Resistance and her twin sister, Adele, worked for the Germans. 

In her childhood bedroom, Gina reads Adele’s diary, left behind during the war. As Gina learns the devastating truth about her sister, she’s compelled to face the harsh brutality of her own past. Will she finally lay her demons to rest, or will they end up destroying her and the family she loves?

A hauntingly epic read that will sweep you away to the beauty of the Italian Riviera and the rugged mountains of its hinterland. “The Girl from Portofino” is a story about heart-wrenching loss and uplifting courage, love, loyalty, and secrets untold.

Trigger Warnings:

The brutality of war, death, war crimes against women.

Historical fiction, set in Italy, during World War 2? My immediate response has quickly become ‘give me, give me, give me!’ And, as if that wasn’t already enough to convince, me, I had read another book by this author before, and that one was simply amazing. Thus, I had absolutely no trepidations, only pure excitement, as I picked up this book and began to read. 

Like the last book I read by this author, this book is a dual-timeline, and I absolutely loved this. The same character, Gina, is depicted as a mother in 1970, thinking back to the war when she returns to Italy after a long period away, and as a young woman, joining the Resistance and fighting the Germans. By giving the same character’s perspective from both these times, we see Gina’s immediate thoughts, as she is fighting, and what she thinks as she looks back on it.

There is one more perspective given in this book, although it is a bit of an unconventional view. Gina has a twin sister, Adele, who was shunned by their family for working with the Germans during the war. Adele’s view is given through entries in a diary, left behind and hidden throughout the war, uncovered by Gina’s mother and passed to her to read. Through these entries, we also get to follow Adele’s actions, to know her thoughts and feelings, and, alongside Gina, learn what led to Adele working for the enemy. 

There is, also, Gina’s daughter, Hope. Hope does not have her own perspective, but she is a prevalent character in this novel. Hope has caused worry after worry for Gina, with drug use and becoming friends with the wrong sort of people. Taking her away to Portofino, even for a short period of time, happens in the hope that Hope will learn something about herself, maybe realise something that could help her find the right way in life. And, I know for certain, that if I was whisked away to Italy, there would be a big change in my life. Not that I do anything like Hope, but I do the sacrilegious thing of calling cheesy pasta ‘Italian food’, and if I had the opportunity to eat proper Italian food every day, I would certainly not be wasting my time with cheesy pasta anymore. 

I could not help but draw some similarities between Gina’s love life in this book, and Lidia’s love life in The Girl From Venice. They both meet an English soldier while fighting for their country as part of the Resistance, and both fall in love with said English soldier (perhaps it is the accent!) Still, I think Enzo, Gina’s English soldier, was one of my favourite characters in this book. He is brave, ready for anything, and yet, he is also kind and gentle. Together, he and Gina make a wonderful couple, especially since they are both part of the Resistance – while they both fear for the other’s safety, neither hold the other back. Gina being a woman,  is regarded highly by the Resistance, and she is respected among the other members. I loved that Enzo encourages the role she plays and that they fight together, rather than Gina being told that she should stay behind because it might be dangerous.

While my dream to visit Italy has still not happened, and probably will not for a very long time, at least until my children are older and perhaps when I am old and my husband retired, I have continuously lived out my dream through fiction. The image this novel paints in your head of Italy, and the beauty it holds, even after German attacks and occupation, makes me feel as though I have already been there, that I have seen the sights. 

This book was absolutely amazing, and I loved reading it! There was a bit of a plot twist, which is hinted at throughout the novel, and only revealed at the end. I was delighted to figure it out about halfway through the book, (as it made me feel incredibly smart). If you, like me, love Italian WW2 fiction, this book is one you have to read!

I received my copy from The Coffee Pot Book Club but you can grab your copy from Amazon And check this out, if you subscribe to #KindleUnlimited you can grab your copy for free. What a great start to the new year!!!

Siobhan Daiko

Siobhan Daiko is a British historical fiction author. A lover of all things Italian, she lives in the Veneto region of northern Italy with her husband, a Havanese dog and two rescued cats. After a life of romance and adventure in Hong Kong, Australia and the UK, Siobhan now spends her time, when she isn't writing, enjoying her life near Venice. 

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