Romance Novels Set in Sicily
We first visited Sicily fifteen years ago after I read about Taormina in a magazine article titled "Alternative Valentines Weekend Destinations". We booked a weekend away and fell in love at first sight with Sicily, its culture and its people and two years later we bought our Sicilian home.
Reading is a passion of mine and I have been a book worm since birth.
Over the past twenty years I have accumulated quite a few books about Sicily, in fact one of our friends who once stayed in our home messaged me on arrival to say "I cannot believe that so many books have been written about Sicily". He also wanted to know why I had cat food in my kitchen cupboard, but that is a story for another time.
I am a bit of a romantic therefore I do love a romance novel to read whilst I am relaxing on my roof terrace soaking up the Sicilian sun and with Sicily oozing such beauty and wonderful cuisine it is the perfect inspiration for authors to write about love and food. Some in fact choosing to stay on the island using it as a peaceful writing retreat to do so.
Romance novels enrapture countless millions of readers each year and are popular escapist entertainment, so I thought I would share with you some “Romance Novels Set in Sicily" just to get you in the mood for your dream Sicilian getaway.
When Tess receives a solicitor's letter inviting her to claim an inheritance, Villa Sirena which is a house perched on a cliff top in Sicily, she is stunned. Her only link to the island is through her mother Flavia, who left Sicily during World War II and cut all contact with her family. Initially resistant to encouraging Tess from going back to her roots, Flavia realises the secrets from her past are about to be revealed and decides to explain her action. In Sicily however Tess encounters a handsome but mysterious Sicilian man.
Eleanor is distraught after breaking up with her fiancé Will and decides to follow him to the island hideaway where he is on holiday with the woman who has taken her place. But on the shimmering sun drenched Aeolian Island of Panarea distractions come in many forms, including a hotel guest with secrets of his own.
Alice is having a rubbish summer. She is terrified of her boss, her career is stalling and she has just been dumped by text message. When her boss is taken ill, Alice is sent on the work trip of a lifetime to a villa near Taormina in Sicily to edit the autobiography of a Hollywood bad boy. But it is not all yachts, nightclubs and Aperol spritz. Alice is out of office and gets into a whole lot of trouble.
A delicious novel set in the province of Palermo about a shy librarian with a broken heart whose passion for cooking leads to an unexpected love affair. This story is a celebration of all things sensual and creates intense images, colours and fragrances all reflecting the splendour of the Sicilian countryside in which it is set.
Luca Amore runs a cooking school in a baroque Sicilian mountain town. He has taught many people how to cook the dishes passed down to him by generations of Amore women, as he readies himself for yet another course he expects it to be much like all the others. They will cook, visit vineyards and olive groves, eat together, become friends and after a fortnight they will head home to whatever corner of the globe they came from. But there is a surprise in store for Luca. This time there are four women booked into The Food of Love Cookery School and each one is looking for something more than cooking skills from their time in Sicily.
"Raised under the scorching summer sun of Sicily, these dark and handsome hot blooded men are irresistible". These two books have three Sicilian inspired Mills and Boons short stories in each. Not quite 50 Shades of Grey but worth it for a romantic beach read.
The story of how the wife of Sir Clifford Chatterley responds when her husband returns from the war paralysed from the waist down and of the tender love which then develops between her and her husband's gamekeeper. Ok so it is not set in Sicily, but D H Lawrence did have a love affair with the island and wrote this novel whilst he lived in Taormina and he supposedly drew inspiration for the book from a local English woman who fell in love with her Sicilian gardener.
"At Villa Donnafugata, long ago is never far away" writes author Merlena de Blasi of the magnificent castle of the mountains of Sicily that she finds, accidently, one summer while travelling with her husband. There she is befriended by Tosca, the patroness of the villa who recounts her lifelong love story with the last Prince of Sicily descended from the French nobiles of Anjou. This book recreates Tosca's life, from her impoverished childhood to her fairy tale adoption and initiation into the glittering lifestyle of the prince's palace, to the dawning and recognition of mutual love.
Her Sister's Secret - A Sicilian Summer
The Girl from Sicily
by Siobhan Daiko
Lucia loved her brother Dinu to the depths of her soul, but she also worried about him. He was intelligent yet ambitious, resilient yet hot-headed, and there was a dark side to him that could lead him into terrible trouble one day. Sicily, 1943: Lucia and her twin brother Dinu have always been inseparable, but their bond is threatened when Gero, the son of close family friends in America, arrives in their village. Although she finds herself developing feelings for him, Lucia worries about Gero’s dangerous connections and their influence on her brother. As the chaos of World War II closes in, Lucia must navigate love and loyalty to make a difficult choice. Will she risk that the consequences of her decision could bring untold horrors and affect her family for decades to come? 2005: When Jess inherits a baglio, an ancient feudal farmhouse in Sicily, from the grandmother she never knew, she’s determined to uncover the truth about her family’s hidden past. Following the death of her parents and on the brink of divorce, Jess travels to the island alone. There, with the help of a charming Sicilian, she embarks on a quest to unearth a web of long-buried secrets. But answers come at a price, and Jess must decide if she’s ready to confront a truth that could change everything… Inspired by true events, this breath-taking novel reveals the hidden secrets of one Sicilian family across generations.
by Lindsay Marie Morris
Sicily, 1939, Seventeen year old Concetta has just received life changing news: her family is leaving their sun drenched Sicilian village and moving to America. Desperate to stay with her secret love Gaetano, a fishermen's son her father would never accept, Concetta spends one last night with him beneath the Sicilian stars. There among the citrus scented air and cricket song he hands her a leaving gift, a fountain pen, with a promise to keep their love alive through letters and to return to one another one day.
In America, Concetta refuses to let go of her dream of returning to Sicily, even as she struggles to navigate a strange new world of factory work and prejudice. Her letters to Gaetano become her lifeline, each one carrying fragments of her heart across the ocean. But when Italy declares war on the United States, Gaetano's letters suddenly stop. As Concetta faces pressure to let go of her past and accept her new American life, she yearns to discover Gaetano's fate, even if it means crossing a war torn ocean to find him.
From the terraced hills of Sicily to the brewing tensions of wartime America, this richly woven tale of forbidden love and impossible choices will break your heart and put it back together again. Based on a true story of Lindsay's beloved Sicilian grandparents.
Beneath the Sicilian Stars
by Lindsay Marie Morris
A family divided by war and a promise forged beneath the Sicilian stars.
1941, Pittsburgh, California. Sixteen year old Annalisa Aiello huddles around the radio with her family when a special announcement shatters her world. Pearl harbour has been bombed where her brother is stationed on the USS Arizona. After the United States declares war, Annalisa watches in horror as her father, a Sicilian fisherman, is arrested as an "enemy alien". Grappling with grief and harsh wartime restrictions Annalisa is forced to undertake an unexpected journey across the country to find her father and undercover the sacrifices of the past.
Meanwhile, in war torn Sicily, her cousin Alberto navigates bombing raids as ancient fishing traditions crumble around him. But the forces tearing this family apart began decades earlier with a desperate choice made on a Sicilian shore, a secret pact sealed beneath the stars that promised a brighter future across the sea.
As Annalisa searches for her father and Alberto seeks his place in a changing world, they both discover that even in the darkest times, hope for a better future can endure.
From an American internment camp to Sicily's bombed villages, Lindsay's second novel follows one family's fight for survival. Inspired by a true story.
The Sicilian Secret
by Angela Petch
England present day. Paige is devastated when her reclusive Aunt Florence dies, the only family member she has eve known. Inheriting her crumbling cottage Paige finds an unfinished note; "I am sorry Paige, It's time to tell you everything. It all began in Sicily ..."
Beside the note is a faded envelope addressed to a woman called Joy with an Italian postage stamp from 1943. The letter inside is made up of Roman numerals and snippets of sentences written in Italian. But who is Joy? Was someone sending a coded message? Paige is desperate to piece together the truth. But she soon discovers it will change everything shes ever believed about her aunt and her family history.
1943. Lady Joy Harrison may have grown up in a manor house but she's determined to fight for what's right and use her fluent Italian to help the Allies. Breaking code on a long night shift, Joy reads a secret message that makes her whole body shake. A dark haired man she once loved is in terrible danger on the shores of Sicily. Was the message sent by him? And will she ever she him again or will the war tear them apart for good?
Absolutely heartbreaking and stunning timesplit historical novel about how wartime secrets can stretch across the generations and the incredible bravery of ordinary people in the darkest of times.
An Italian Scandal
by Cecil Cameron
A captivating story of romance, passion and adventure set in nineteenth century London and Sicily.
1859. Carina Temple has put away the stifling black crepe demanded by the death of her father but with it she has also cast aside society's expectations of what a single young lady should be and do.
When Carina's uncle summons her to Belgrave Square to inform her that her reputation is ruined, thanks to a certain Lord Danby, he tells her that she must travel to Sicily until the gossip recedes and a suitable match can be found for her.
But Sicily is a tempestuous place, her Sicilian grandmother and cousins tell her of the fault lines between the states and the dangerous rebels fighting for freedom. Chief among these is Ben Mavrone and when he and Carina meet he distrusts her society pedigree and considers him a violent extremist.
When trouble comes to Carina's door it is Ben who saves her, reluctantly, and as they go on the run, they must learn to understand each other to stay alive.
Meanwhile back in England, Carina's family has plans for the life Miss Temple should lead if she ever returns ...
A Sicilian Affair
by Susan Lewis
What happened to her was unforgivable ...
A fresh start where no-one knows her name is exactly what jazz musician Catie Mac is looking for from her sunny Sicilian escape to Taormina.
When she meets the enigmatic Giancarlo has she stumbled across a love that could last forever ... or can it?
The scars of betrayal from her broken marriage and fragile family are only a part of her story ... and she is certain that Giancarlo is hiding something too.
Some secrets are too devastating to share ...
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