I enjoyed this book about a woman coming to terms with her heritage and its place in her world today. I found the story to be compelling and well written. I will definitely recommend this book to others. I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

This was a great book about Maria's two lives, one as the "Sicilian Woman's Daughter" surrounded by the mafia and the other in London that is "normal". I loved reading about the role of women in the mafia, both as victims and perpetrators. This book moved along at a great pace and was well written.

When I decided to pick this up I really had no idea what to expect from it, but the glossary of characters and of Italian terminology included at the very front made me rather nervous as it usually indicates that you will need to refer back to them to keep the story straight in your head. However, I was pleasantly surprised that rarely was it necessary to flip back to that section whilst reading, and I ended up forgetting about it completely.

Refreshingly original, emotive and with a number of unique facets to the story, this is a highly accomplished debut novel. I particularly liked the fact that the line between fact and fiction was beautifully blurred with the two sides rubbing along seamlessly. It has you questioning throughout whether a particular event actually did occur in real-life or whether it's a figment of the author's imagination. Either way, it makes for a very interesting read. Written under a pen name, and having released very few biographical details about herself, Lo Scuro has said that when writing The Sicilian Woman's Daughter that she wished to remain detached from the link her family have had to the mafia which could've led to upset and repercussions within her family circle. I guess this also answers the question of why her profile picture on Twitter is only an avatar/cartoon. This for me makes the book even more interesting and intriguing than it already was!

You can tell that the author knows what she is talking about regarding the mafioso women in this story and the impact this had on their lives, everything about it feels authentic. It is sad but also obvious to me that this secrecy regarding the author's name is essential, but spare a thought for her because, as she has mentioned in interviews, if the book is successful there would be no glory for her due to the anonymity - so this has both negative and positive aspects to it. She continues by saying that she would not have written it had she needed to disclose her identity, so a big shout out to the publisher for allowing this. A fascinating book, immediately engaging and thought-provoking from first page to last, with an intriguing backstory, Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Sparkling Books for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I found The Sicilian Woman's Daughter by Linda Lo Scuro a very quick read. This book did not grab my attention but found it interesting to read about victims of the Mafia which are Sicilians themselves. This book tells a story, of the roles of women who are both perpetrators and victims which has been grossly overlooked.

Maria (Mary) is a daughter of Sicilian immigrants and in her teens she turns her back on her origins, the mafia and fully embraces the English way of life. Whilst living in London Maria keeps her roots and history away from her English husband and their children.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book but it just didn't grab my attention and keep it. The concept of it was really good but I felt some of the story didn't need to be in it.
I am glad this book has alot of better reviews than mine and hope it does well.

A great book which I felt was as true an account as you will get about how the Mafia can affect everyone who is involved with them even if they do not want to be. Lives have a very different meaning and whilst family connections are strong they can't escape it even if they want to.

I would thoroughly recommend.

This is a story told through Maria’s perspective. She takes you through her past and slowly brings you up to speed on the present. Some of Maria’s family appears to be a little envious of her, seeing as how she has a pretty decent life she lives, and it is within that time that she learns something awful from her Aunt Zia about their family. As the reader continues to follow Maria’s journey, it will become clear which side she embraces.

I must say the title of the book sounded very intriguing and I was excited to read the story, however, once I dove into the story, I found it to be a bit boring in sections and not enough character interaction. Actually, the story started out a little slow for me, and it picked up and engaged me more as the characters came into view, but I sometimes got confused as to which characters were doing what. I found that there were too many to keep up with at times.

Overall, this wasn’t a bad read. It’s well written and engaging enough to hold a reader’s attention.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I started reading this book without knowing what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book.

This book is about a woman who has been living with two identities. On one hand she is Mary who lives in London with her English family, on the other she is Maria the daughter of Sicilian immigrants who come to England and it's a side to life that she has been trying to keep secret from her English family for over 30 years but becoming hard to hid for the past.

The book is well written and flows consistently through to the end it is written in first person which makes you feel as if it’s a true account of Mary/Maria’s experiences rather than the story being fictional. Well done to the author on producing an excellent read

With my family being from Sicily, I knew I had to read this book. I fell in love with the characters and how family is so important to Italian families. I loved how it dove into the culture and history of this family and Sicily while making me laugh!

This book was very good as the daughter Maria turns away from her origins she has a new life a good life .
But an incident happens and they like to lurch in Maria’s Sicilian ways .
I had an ARC for this book

I liked the idea of the story but did find the jumping around from different timelines confusing at times.

You felt some sympathy for the main character but the confusion of the family situation sometimes felt it was getting a little lost.

I enjoyed reading this book and found some parts quite fascinating. I would recommend this book to fans of this genre.

Vaffanculo..................I love the word as much as I love this book. Talk about attitude! Sicilian women are a surprising bunch according to Linda Lo Scuro's book "The Sicilian Woman's Daughter". Abused, scheming, vindictive, connected, murderous, victims and victors.

I loved discovering the story of Maria aka Mary who came from a poor Sicilian background to recreate herself in England as a successful and wealthy teacher and wife to a high flier bank executive.
She has just retired and with more time on her hands, she is encouraged to visit her Aunt Zia who lives in London also. Well, this little old lady is a complex web of hidden secrets and dodgy dealings. I don't want to tell here the extent of her power within the Sicilian underworld ...... but quite a few people are dead because of her scheming combined with her contacts. She is held in high regard and this goes along way in getting what you want in Sicily.

Maria goes for a family trip to Sicily and is further drawn into the shady world of mafia happenings....much to her dismay and attempts to stay removed from her past. Her morals and all she has created for herself/of herself are under threat.

I was fascinated by this story and can completely understand the fascination Linda Lo Scuro has also. The excitement of danger is enthralling.

Thank you #NetGalley and Sparkling Books for this advance read copy.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lots of murder in this hilarious book about a Sicilian family who emigrated to London. I enjoyed the novel.

Maria is living in a British society, yet something keeps pulling her back to her Sicilian roots. Novel portrays strong Italian women who somehow got overlooked in the past.

I went into this book without knowing anything about it and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. The book grabbed me and I couldn’t put it down !

I really enjoyed Linda Lo Scuro style of writing it was like peaking into Maria's diary sometimes others it felt as intimate as having a conversation with Maria about her life. What an interesting life!

Lo Scuro has Maria take you on a wonderful journey from London to Sicily & back. Maria spent her childhood growing up in Sicily wanting to leave her life there & everyone behind. She finds her way out & begins her new life having her own a family & career detaching from her family in Sicily & her roots. But just like they said in the Godfather "Just when I thought I was out they pull me back in."

I love how Lo Scuro wrote from multiple woman's prospective about revenge, the way she built up the layers of multiple characters was quite fun to read. She even managed a couple plot twist that I didn't see coming in the storyline.

I will warn you when reading this book visits to Zia's house will make you hungry for some good Italian home cooking & baking. Best to read this book with a side of good cannoli to snack on!

I am looking forward to reading more by Lo Scuro she writes very interesting strong female characters in this book. This was definitely a satisfying read from start to finish!

Very intriguing good read. Mary or Maria, as she has double identities, is a great heroine. Thought provoking.

This is a book that deserves a thorough read and I'm afraid that cover isn't doing it the intrigue it needs.

Firstly, I wanted to get my hands on this because of the research. The Sicilian mafia, the Italian roots of someone who's grown up in London. Bam! Perfect match.

But then the story starts flowing and is easy to follow and you find yourself carrying a lot more than you'd expected.

I mean what do I know about what it feels to grow up surrounded by the mafia?

Actually...

While teaching English in Rome, I had a few students with stories that blew my mind. So, of course, seeing this synopsis I plunged right in. I can't say how genuine it is, but it sure reads well. Like a truly good book. Not like your typical commercial thriller about what most people assume is mafia from the movies.

That was exactly what I wanted. And that's exactly what I got.

I would love to read other works by Linda Lo Scuro.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

A very interesting and thought provoking book. This book is full of cultural drama, which  I really enjoyed.

This book is about a woman who has been living with two identities. One as Mary who lives in London with her English family and the other as an Italian , a life that she has been trying to keep secret from her English family for over 30 years. (Don’t want to give anymore away)

The book is well written and flows consistently through to the end. This makes the book easy to read.  It is written in first person which makes you feel as if it’s a true account of Mary/Maria’s experiences rather than the story being fictional.  While reading this book you can tell that Linda Lo Scuro has researched the topics covered in the book thoroughly.

I really liked how Linda has given a list of characters at the beginning of the book.  when I first saw the list I thought, how am I going to remember all these characters, but as I  started reading I didn’t have any trouble.  Also, at the beginning there is a list of Sicilian /Italian words and definitions.  I thought this was a great idea, also not I know a few basic words in Sicilian/Italian.

An interesting ending as I wasn’t expecting it to end the way it did.

Definitely worth reading.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Sparkling Books Ltd for my Advance Digital Review Copy in return for an unbiased review.