I love Angela Petch’s books and as usual this is a wonderful read. She created a wonderful group of characters. The story continues on from her previous work The Tuscan Secret but you don’t have to read it to fully appreciate the story of the Starnucci family. This is an excellent story.

A Tuscan Memory is a spectacular description of Tuscany, accurately portraying its rich culture, festivities, and people . The story is intertwined between the 1920's and Present day. The raw, often heart-wrenching feelings and hardships of Guiseppe, his family, and Marisa are recounted in memory. A different type of situation and circumstance, with a different family in Tuscany is written in the present story. But how are old Tuscan Memories linked to the present day Tuscan story?

Nostalgic and well written, however, I felt there was a true lack of cohesiveness at the book's conclusion.

3 STARs.
I wish to thank Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. These opinions are my own.

First and foremost, allow me to explain my 4 star rating. I gave it that because I felt it ended abruptly and I had to thumb through the last few pages to make sure I didn’t skip something. Aside from that...this is an excellent story.

Angela Petch has created a wonderful group of characters with her “Tuscan” stories. And more importantly she paints a beautiful portrait of Tuscany of both today and yesterday. Her storylines are rich with history and characters that are easy to relate to. In A Tuscan Memory, we learn the past story of Guiseppe and Marisa...their son Dario is the father of Francesco, who we follow along in the the present.

As a child, Guiseppe dreams of becoming a teacher. His parents sacrifice a lot to send him away to seminary school but an incident occurs that causes him to leave his dream behind and become a shepherd of sorts and migrate from the mountains to the coast each winter season. Throughout his life, he has a tried and true friend, Marisa. When a young Guiseppe one day returns from his yearly pilgrimage with a newborn baby, Marisa immediately steps up to the plate and fabricated a story to explain the newborn though, internally this is the life she had always dreamed of.

In present day, we follow the Starnucci family as they navigate pre-teen years with their children, a potential health scare, and enjoy learning of life in the a 1920’s Tuscany.

I think it’s important to read all of the authors “Tuscan” stories as they are all intertwined and you get a Tuscan history lesson...which in itself it’s beautiful to read about! If you’re looking for a great weekend read, this is your book! I highly recommend!

I love Angela Petch’s books and as usual this is a wonderful read. Her descriptive passage of Tuscany and the well researched history of the area before, during and after the war make this latest work a must read for historical fiction fans.
The story continues on from her previous work The Tuscan Secret but you don’t have to read it to fully appreciate the story of the Starnucci family.
A great read from start to finish