This would be the perfect Summer read. It was such a great story and I’m glad I got the opportunity to read it. Looking forward to reading more books from Sara Alexander in the future.

A good storyline but unfortunately I skipped some bits as there just seemed to be too many recipes.

Emotional, transportive, picturesque and fulfilling the olfactory senses, this is a book about not just love but self-discovery. It is a tragedy buried within beauty and growth, Italian feasts and sunshine.

We first meet Mina, the niece of our protagonist Carmela - the family member others don't like to talk about. Through Mina we discover Carmela and her wonderful love story.

Carmela is a young Sardinian girl growing up in her home town of Simius - her family are farmers and reasonably well to do but Carmela is engaged to Franco a wealth young man and the catch of the town. Having worked for an English family Carmela is unusual in that she has learnt English and is relatively proficient at the language - enough so that she comes to the attention of an American Lieutenant, Joe, and becomes his interpreter

The more she sees of Joe though the more she begins to see faults in Franco and becomes disillusioned with her engagement - but Joe is already married with a young baby so where will this end?

A lovely story with great descriptions of Sardinia - I especially loved the day of the picnic to the beach and the wild horses - but I did feel that it was slightly long winded in places and I skipped through descriptive passages but overall a good story with great insight into the life in Sardinia

I have to be honest and say that I was initially drawn to reading this book because of its beautiful cover. I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but I can't help myself, and often find myself doing this. This is author Sara Alexander's debut novel, and is a book set on the Italian island of Sardinia. I don't personally know much about the location, so was looking forward to finding out much more about this lovely place with a new, exciting cast of characters. I went into this without expectation, and here is my honest review.

This book is the story of a Sardinian native called Carmela, and her family, the Chirigoni's. The book is set in 1952 so is a historical read, and I enjoyed this element of the book very much. Carmela is a traditional young woman, working hard for her family, and living with them all too. She's a talented seamstress, and also is a great cook when working with her sister Piera. She's engaged to a local man Franco, and knows the wedding is something that the whole family is looking forward to. However, when she meets American Captain Kavanagh one day, Carmela's eyes are opened to a world she never even dreamt of exploring, and wonders if she is settling in marrying Franco.

I didn't find the book to be particularly easy reading. There is quite a lot of characters within Carmela's family to keep track of, and in parts, I found it hard to remember who was who, and how they were all related to each other. However, I just tried to plough on regardless, and was soon pretty sure I had an idea on it all, rightly or wrongly! Carmela herself was a great character, one who seemed quite ambitious for a young woman, but didn't seem to know how to break out of her family mold, and their expectations of her. This is particularly prevalent when she is offered opportunities as the book progresses, but doesn't know whether or not to take them due to her family commitments.

I enjoyed seeing how Carmela's world changed when she met the American officer. He was a really fun character to read about, quite straight-laced and trying to do the right thing by everyone, and I can see why Carmela was taken by him. It was a slow-burning friendship, and I very much enjoyed reading it all unfold. There were a few very upsetting scenes in the book, one in particular that I hadn't expected that moved me to tears because it seemed to come out of nowhere, and I have to praise Alexander's writing and how she handled these scenes, as they cannot have been easy to write due to their emotive nature.

For a debut, this is a strong, well written novel, very heavy on the narrative but the descriptions of Sardinia, the local customs and traditions, are brilliant and really bring the whole place to life in my mind. It is definitely somewhere I would like to visit having read this book, and Alexander definitely has succeeded in making Sardinia the centre of this book, an island around which everybody's actions revolve. I will be looking forward to reading more from Sara Alexander. Thanks go to HQ for the review copy of this book.

Sara's guest post today gives an indication of what the experience of reading Under A Sardinian Sky is like. This isn't a gulp down, page turning race of a read. Rather a lovely, leisurely meander which will transport you to another place. It requires you to slow right down, take a deep breath and relax into it. It took me a little while to settle into at first, after reading some edgy, fast paced thrillers, but once I had and allowed myself a good couple of hours of uninterrupted, unhurried reading I became immersed. Sara's writing is incredibly descriptive and evocative, the beauty of Sardinia and the delicious descriptions of foods will make you yearn to be there. With a rich cast of vivacious and vivid characters and an illicit romance, Under A Sardinian Sky is incredibly evocative and atmospheric. This book is ideal for holidays or lazy Sunday afternoon reading. If you enjoy being transported to another place and evocative, descriptive prose then I think you'll like this.

The cover of this book is so beautiful that it promises a beautiful read rich in imagery. It’s one of those books that transports you back in time to the post war era and slots you into Sardinia amongst the wonderfully drawn characters. The food descriptions are so delicious that you feel hungry just turning the pages. It makes you feel like donning an apron and creating some wonderful dishes for the family to enjoy.
Carmela is engaged and a very talented seamstress and speaks English, a skill that the American army are keen to utilise. Feelings between her and the American officer are sure to create problems. She disappeared from her hometown many years ago and we have a book full of family secrets seen through the eyes of Mina, her niece.
You can just feel the Italian landscape with the aromas all around you. I love books that create the scenes so vividly that you can imagine yourself part of the story.
I loved her writing style and would be keen to read more by this author.

The prologue in London 2007 is a poignant family time which brings to light Mina’s obsession about the mystery of missing aunt Carmela. Then we’re taken back to 1952 on the Assumption Day fiesta in the Sardinian town of Simius. Despite GI’s arriving 8 years ago when they liberated the town, the community have little respect for them considering the soldiers rude (and racist!). Carmela is watching the dancers, observing her seamstress skill in their costumes before being made to stand in for one of the dancers. Running away to get changed down an alleyway, a GI follows her believing she may be in danger and fiancee Franco also turns up. The scene is set …

I didn’t like Franco from the beginning. Arrogant and possessive, I just knew that Carmela would certainly lose her passion, self belief and her wanderlust with him as a husband. He made me feel afraid (which was only heightened after one particular scene). One relationship I did enjoy is that with Carmela and sister Piera. It was (mostly) honest and open and I felt Carmela’s sadness that once she was married to Franco, she would feel as if something was missing from not being able to be so close to Piera. I have to be honest and share that it took me over half of the story to have an emotional connection with Carmela. Obviously this is subjective although I have no idea why I didn’t connect before. All of a sudden it was there though, deepening my feelings. After that I cried. More than once! I felt so desolate at one point and yet at another brimming with hope and possibility. Conflict comes from not just Franco and Joe but Agnes too (something she does has such a profound effect on lives).

Jewish immigrants from London, the Curzon family, holiday in the town every summer. They added even more interest to the story and have an important part to play in the future.

Sara Alexander’s writing is beautiful – I loved her use of figurative language – and she brings everything to life with such vibrancy. The landscape, working the land, Yolanda’s dressmaking studio, Antonio and his bar, the festivals and the military base hospital all felt very real. The Sardinian culture fascinated me – not just the people themselves but the food they eat and the way they lived their lives.

My favourite quote:

The storyteller is the weaver; the listener can choose how they believe.

Under a Sardinian Sky is a story of loyalty, family obligation, secrecy and love (toxic and unattainable). You don’t need to travel any further than your own home for new experiences and new landscapes! Whether you’re a romance reader or historical fiction, Under a Sardinian Sky is a recommended read from me.

Under a Sardinian Sky, the début novel from Sara Alexander, is the second book I've read in recent months set on the island of Sardinia and by the far the better of the two. The cover for the book is simply beautiful and would certainly entice you to pick it from the shelves as a summer read and upon finishing you wouldn't be one bit disappointed you did so. Right from the opening chapters I found the writing to be so evocative of the time and place and by the time I had finished the book I felt I had been on such a journey with our main female character Carmela that I found her story difficult to leave behind.

The story really is a feast for the senses both in terms of the wonderful traditional food described and the landscape and countryside of the island. Such beautiful writing created such vivid images in my head and although I never left the comfort of my sitting room whilst reading I really did feel like I was there on the island in the heat living and experiencing Carmela's life as she battles with her heart and emotions over her head and long held family and society traditions. The story opens in London, it's 2001 and Mina a travel writer with Sardinian ancestry is mourning the aunt she loved so deeply. As her own mother is now battling cancer Mina wants to reconnect with the past and write down her family story particularly as she knows there is a history regarding the disappearance of another aunt Carmela several years after World War Two ended. Here is where the story begins as we are taken back in time to an island where family and loyalty are so important and what follows is a stunning story of love, devotion and trying to follow one's heart.

I loved this story and read it in a few short hours as once I began it was one of those books where you say I'll just read another chapter and before you know it you have reached the end. The only problem I had with it is more to do with the beginning and the end everything that fell in between was excellent. Initially Mina briefly introduces us to her family and what has happened recently to her and then we are taken back to to the island of Sardinia. We don't reconnect with Mina again until the very last few pages and I understand how she was meant to tie things together and connect the present and past but her character just felt out of place and as no one in the family talked about Carmela how did she find out anything about her in order to write her story? I felt the story would have worked just as well with the absence of Mina or on reflection maybe if the very end had featured at the beginning it would have made the Mina element fit better into the story. Putting this issue aside as it really didn't feature that much and to be honest I even forgot about Mina so engrossed was I in Carmela's story. The remainder of the book was set at a time while although seven years after the conclusion of World War Two a military presence in the form of Americans is still felt on the island. This is what will change the course of Carmela's life forever.

Carmela lives in the small village of Simius and works as a seamstress in her godmother Yolanda's tailoring studio, it is a job Carmela loves. She is engaged to the son of a significant land owner and marriage to Franco seems to be her destiny. This match should bring great prosperity to her family. Family is key throughout the book and Carmela's family stick close together but work hard to achieve a living. Her father and brother's work away on the land in the countryside and at weekends all the family leave the village and gather together in the country at the family farm. There were so many descriptions of the daily life on the farm and of the fantastic traditional foods made by the women that it added a real sense of time and place to the story. It helped the reader to gain an understanding of the close relationships the women of the family all had and how they were the backbone of everything. The island seemed a world away from everything and that in some ways time stood still and in others it was attempting to embrace the changes that were afoot.

Carmela seemed different from her family members, she had more ambition and I could sense she wasn't completely satisfied to be marrying Franco. It was almost as if this had been set out for her and she had to accept it and not go against her parents wishes. This marriage meant everything to her family for it would boost their profile in society not mention the increased amount of land available for farming. Carmela being the person she is feels she cannot let them down and despite her hidden feelings is resigned to her fate, that is until a chance meeting with American Lieutenant Joe Kavanagh on a dark street during a fiesta. Later at the Curwin family's holiday villa where she works during the summer she once again meets Joe who helps save a cousin injured by a mine and in doing so a whole new world is opened up to Carmela. A world and a situation which makes her rethink everything she had been expected to do. She becomes torn in two and what follows was a gripping, absorbing story where the characters come alive on the page and you become more and more intrigued as to whether a happy outcome can at all be achievable.

Thanks to Carmela being able to speak some English she is taken on as a translator for Joe as he goes about army business on the island and through their trips through the countryside the spark that was established on their first meeting becomes ever stronger. I had conflicting emotions regarding the developing relationship that seemed to be happening before my eyes. What was unfolding although slowly and not too in your face did seem to go against convention and Carmela's family beliefs. Joe was married and Carmela engaged so should they be allowing their feelings to get in the way and over ride the personal situations they were already in? Her path had been set out and women at that time were not expected to deviate from it. Looking at what happened to her Aunt Rosa did Carmela really want to find herself in the same position? On the other hand the way Sara Alexander wrote the story I found myself hating Franco and Joe's wife for simply existing and being there as barriers to the love and the whirlwind Carmela was experiencing. Just like Carmela I was torn for some of the book as to what she should do. She had the weight and reputation of her family on her shoulders not to mention her dream of going even further as a seamstress. Was she willing to give this all up for something that could be just a flash in the pan or could she trust her feelings that this could be more than desire and something real and long lasting could be achieved?

Kavanagh was a fantastic character who was everything that Franco was not and although it niggled me that he was married, yet experiencing feelings for Carmela, the author did such a good job of establishing the feelings between the pair it became believable and I was willing to forgive the characters anything that they did even though it may have gone against convention. I felt for Carmela as time became of the essence as she battled to come to reach a decision. She couldn't go on lying to her family, a decision had to be made but coud she cause untold heartache to her family? Did her loyalties lie with the people she loved so dearly and the island which held her close to it's heart or will the lure of something different prove too strong to resist? I really didn't envy the choice Carmela had to make and the more the pressure increased upon her the tension seemed to up a gear in the story.

Sara Alexander had done such a wonderful job of laying out the story, establishing the characters and their history that by the time the climax of the novel came I was deeply invested in the outcome. There was such a sense of urgency and expectation that I was left gasping as we were left on a cliff hanger of sorts. The very end felt slightly rushed given all the time and effort of reaching that point and although it wasn't too predictable I didn't have that gasp out loud, revelation moment because I had read something similar before. Still I wasn't let down and found it to be a satisfying conclusion. Under a Sardinian Sky was a deeply satisfying story that I readily lost myself in. It transports you to the heart of a beautiful island into the life of a young woman who was brave, fearless and only wanted to follow her heart and find happiness. Sara Alexander is now an author I know I will look forward to reading more of in the future as this story proved to very enjoyable and reminded me just why I love historical fiction so much.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book. I loved Under a Sardinian Sky. The book takes you away to an island in Italy just after WWII, and the descriptions of the scenery and the food (especially the food!) will make you want to plan a trip there immediately.