The author has woven a generations old tale of broken hearts and lost loves! The fabric of this story is well woven with physical attraction and love torn asunder. I found myself wrapped in sympathy for each of the women. When restaurateur Melissa Maggiore Meyer was a guest on the AZ Big Podcast, one of the themes that ran throughout the conversation was “family” and the importance of food when it comes to family — especially Italian families. Soraya M. Lane is now living her dream life as she always dreamed of becoming an author right from her childhood. She fantasized about recreating the stories she loved reading during the day and in her bed at night. Lane is now a full-time author and spends much of her days writing her novels and parenting her two little children. She finds the inspiration for her romance novel characters from her home where she spends hours thinking of plots and character traits. When she is not doing that, she can be found watching documentaries and trawling historical books looking for stories for her next historical fiction novel. Since she writes in two genres, she has two names with her contemporary romances published under Soraya Lane while her historical fiction is released under the name Soraya M. Lane. She currently lives with her husband and children on a small farm in New Zealand and works from her small home office that overlooks a patch of grassland where her horses often graze.

Estee’s great-grandmother had met and fell in love with a man at Lake Como. He was betrothed to another but pressure from the family required him to complete the arranged marriage planned for him as a boy.

The Daughter's Bruschetta Board

Spanning over years of stolen moments, hidden sweets, secret kisses, grief and betrayals but most importantly infinite riches, it tells the story of Estee and Felix. Ich fand die Geschichte sehr unterhaltsam und mochte die unterschiedlichen Perspektiven. Hierbei fand ich wie in den meisten Fällen die Geschichte in der Vergangenheit noch ein wenig berührender. Jedoch muss ich auch sagen, dass mir auf der emotionalen Ebene bei beiden Geschichten ein wenig was gefehlt habe. Mich konnte die Geschichte leider nicht ganz überzeugen. De liefde hangt in de lucht en dat is een rode draad doorheen beide verhalen, maar er komt zoveel meer bij kijken. Door de zoektocht van Lily krijgt het verhaal meer diepgang en het maakt de lezer ook nieuwsgierig. De harde jeugd en de zware jaren waar Estee zich moet door ploeteren zowel voor, tijdens als na de oorlogsjaren, zorgen voor een meer pakkend, zwaarmoedig en ontroerend geheel. Een leuke afwisseling waardoor je doorheen het verhaal vliegt en je emoties wisselen van het ene uiterste naar het andere. Wanneer alles ongeveer op zijn plaats begint te vallen, weet de auteur je toch nog te verrassen met een leuke twist.

One of my favourite historical fiction authors is launching a new series of 8 books, The Lost Daughters. Each book in the series will be a dual timeline and will focus on one of the group of women who are called to a London lawyer’s office. These women are told that their grandmothers were born at Hope House, a home for unwed mothers, and are each given a letter and a box containing clues about their past - one none of them even knew they were searching for before arriving in the office. La Figlia Oscura (translated to The Lost Daughter) is the name of a short novel by Elena Ferrante. It was made into the Oscar-nominated film The Lost Daughter by director Maggie Gyllenhaal, and stars Olivia Coleman. In fact, the owner was furious that Lily had a copy of this recipe that she said has been kept secret for decades. The Italian Daughter is the first in the series and is set in Tuscany in 1937 and London in present day. In the 1930s timeline, the author introduces readers to soulmates, Felix and Estee, who are torn apart by family loyalty. Estee is being groomed as a prima ballerina in hopes of being accepted at the most prestigious dance academy in Italy - La Scala. When she meets the baker’s son, Felix Barbieri, it’s love at first sight. The two have an intense connection and have no doubt that their future is with each other. Unfortunately, social standing and parental expectations stand in their way. In this first novel, in present day we meet Lily who is called to a Lawyers office and given a box with a programme from La Scala theatre in Milan and a recipe in it. What connection does this have to a grandmother she didnt realise had been adopted. Having accepted a seasonal job at a vineyard in Italy she sees it as the perfect opportunity to investigate further.Het verhaal bestaat hoofdzakelijk uit 2 verhaallijnen. Enerzijds volgen we de wandel van Lily die in de voetsporen van haar vader wil treden en zijn droom wil waarmaken door een eigen familiebedrijf op te richten. Daarnaast krijgen we het verhaal voorgeschoteld van Estee in de periode vanaf 1937, een balletdanseres die met harde hand wordt opgevoed. Alle hoop van de familie is op haar gevestigd en dat heeft een grote impact op de ontwikkeling van het meisje. Haar liefde voor de bakkerszoon Felix is gedoemd om te mislukken en bepalend voor haar verdere leven. This is a wonderful novel and it promises to be a lovely series. Both timelines flowed seamlessly and each of them had a wonderful story. Full of love and hope. Then ~ 1938 Italy - Estee, Lily’s Great Grandmother is training to be a professional dancer, it is something she wants although, the pressure her mother applies is cruel.