Tuscan Rose - Belinda Alexandra (2010)
A lazy long Easter weekend with lots of sleep ins was the perfect time to tackle this brick of a book. I like Belinda Alexandras earlier novels, Wild Lavender in particular, and you always know what you are getting with her work.
Rosa is dropped off at the convent in Florence, by a mysterious man, the only clue being a small key that is left in the basket with her. Then as a teenage girl, she is sent to be a governess at a spectacular villa, where she discovers many secrets. Then comes acting, prison, husband, children, lovers, Mussolini, war, Germans, nursing, Switzerland, shooting, hiding, more secrets, discovering who her mother and father were.
In the end it felt a bit unbelievable, I didn't really believe in all the things that Rosa did and happened to her and they felt a bit like the author was too busy trying to tie off the loose ends. A bit mapped out and predictable like many a silly soap opera plot.
Still a 3/5 for this read, as it still would be a good holiday type read, perfect if you are lying in the sun on a nice sandy beach.
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