You will fall in love with the setting and characters- guaranteed! I am rating this book a 4.5-5 star review.
This story is about a “curse” of the 2nd born women in the family. The curse is that they are never to marry. Emilia, Lucy, and Poppy are all a 2nd born daughter. Emilia’s life is mundane and is set on the path her grandmother has for her, but that all changes one day. Her long-lost Grand-Aunt (Poppy) wants to take her on an adventure to Italy to break the curse. Poppy invites another 2nd born daughter, Lucy, to come along on the trip. However, her grandmother is not happy about the trip because her and Poppy have not spoken in many years. But they go against Emilia’s grandma’s wishes. Together, they have an adventure, find love, reveal family secrets and tales, and break a family curse. We are taken back to the ’60s with her Aunt Poppy as we piece together a family feud and love story. We are then taken back to present day where we follow the three with their adventures across Italy. Each character going through their own personal journey.
The characters were amazing. I could not put this book down. I fell in love with Poppy, Emilia, and Lucy. The love story that was told and rooting for a happy ending the entire time. I fell in love with their travels. What a beautifully written novel. I will be recommending this book for a long time. To be honest, I expected “magic” when they mentioned a “curse.” But it was not like that at all. It is more of a family “curse.” The plot and characters were so charming. The descriptions of Italy in both the 60s and present day were just relaxing and took me right there!
The only bad thing was that I predicted the ending in the beginning but that really did not have me stop reading it. But I feel as though that was a bummer. I know they needed to lay clues out about it, but I felt as though the clues were not subtle. I also accepted Emilia’s ending, but I wanted something more for it. Other than that, this book was just perfect!