I loved the premise but I'm afraid I struggled to get through this book. Perhaps more to do with me than the writing!

This story is set in Italy during the second World War. It is incredibly well-researched and is quite detailed. The book is largely centered on Cordelia and her attempt to flee the country with the help of a Franciscan Priest named Father Colombo. The story is paced nicely and there is great character development, very descriptive scenes that make it feel like you are right there on the street yourself. The epilogue ties everything together very nicely and allows you to know the fate of the main characters.

Again, how strong and brave must the women and men of Italy have been in the face of fascism. To endure what they had, form allegiances that they never really knew were real or not. Do everything you can to keep yourself safe and alive. That is what this book is. Every bit of self preservation and persistence.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

Italy 1942. The world is at war and not even the ancient city of Rome and its citizens are spared from the fear and devastation.

Cordelia Olivieri, a beautiful young widow and hotelier, is desperate to escape Rome and Mussolini's Brown Shirts. So desperate that she's willing to go undercover as a Catholic nun. Her fate lies in the hands of a priest, Father Colombo and a British Spy, known as Lucifer. As a well disguised spy, Lucifer was undercover as a member of the Blackshirts, the violent militia of Benito Mussolini - a paramilitary wing of the Fascist Party. Exactly how he was recruited, isn't quite clear, but shortly after his release from Scotland Yard, Peter Lord became Lucifer (not the handsome devil on Netflix though I don't think he was too far off).

Father Colombo and Lucifer are trying to find safe passage for the Jewish related Cordelia and their plans appear to be easily obtainable. That's if all the dominos fall as they should and fate doesn't interfere. As with most games of chance, risks are a constant companion. Enter Friedrich Schaeffer. "If Hitler ever had a specimen in mind for the Aryan race, Friedrich Schaeffer's athletic figure fitted it perfectly."

When Friedrich, a confidant of the formidable Afrika Korps General Rommel, is recruited to Rome, they find accommodation in a small, conveniently situated and suited, hotel. The hotelier is a gorgeous, voluptuous young lady, named Cordelia Olivieri. Is the choice of accommodation fate, pure coincidence or  premediated? And will the German presence put a spanner in the workings of Cordelia, Father Colombo and Lucifer's perfect plan?

Although the title of this book hints to be more about Lucifer, he just about becomes a sub-character and most of the story revolves around Cordelia. I think that the Lucifer's story might have been just as strong and more apt to the title. Lucifer's Game was still an enjoyable historical read and the research and background information on pre-occupied Rome was thoroughly done and well presented.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book, all thoughts and quibbles are my own.

Lucifer's Game is author Cristina Loggia's debut fiction novel. Spies, military secrets, and a personal crusade for freedom leads to an utterly gripping World War II thriller. This story is one of the first that I've read that centers mostly around Italy during World War II as well as scenes from Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox, in Africa who could have won the war for the Axis were it not for some very well placed spies and circumstances.

It is also one of the first novels that I've read that addresses the issues of Jewish treatment in Italy, and the fact that the Vatican really didn't do enough to help them escape the brutality of Mussolini, Kesselring, and Goering. This story takes place mostly during the year of 1942. The story alternate's between a variety of good, and not so good characters.

Lucifer is a British spy who is deep cover with the Italian black shirts. The black shirts were a violent militia of Benito Mussolini, similiar to Hitler's SS. The black shirts used Mussolini's 1922 Racial Laws to subjugate Jews to harsh treatments and worse. Lucifer is able to access all classified information about dates, routes, number of ships, troops and goods that the Italian command is sending to Tripoli, Libya to restock Field Marshall Erwin Rommel aka the Desert Fox. But his days are numbered after Rommel sends an investigator to suss out the spy.

Cordelia Olivieri is a young, determined hotel owner desperate to escape Mussolini’s racial persecution. But as Fascist leaders gather in Rome to hunt a spy, Cordelia is suddenly surrounded by the world’s most ruthless and powerful commanders. In an effort to keep her Jewish heritage a secret and secure safe passage out of Italy, Cordelia forms a dangerous alliance with Father Colombo, a Vatican librarian who has been working with the British. Her goal is to get out of Italy as soon as she can before her heritage is discovered. Going undercover, Cordelia begins obtaining and leaking military intelligence to a British agent, hoping the intel will secure her freedom.

But the more Cordelia uncovers, the greater the risks – especially for one handsome German Afrika Korps officer named Schaeffer who is sent to uncover the spy responsible for disrupting Rommel's supply line. How far must Cordelia go to protect her identity and secure passage out of Rome? She must deal with dangerous men like Severi and Father Blasius who each have their own agenda's. Severi wants his command back from Schaeffer, Blasius wants to punch Schaeffer in the throat for what happened in the past.

Overall, this is a well researched, and well thought out story that could have done away with a bunch of side characters, while focusing on Claudia and Schaeffer. Even though Cordelia isn't a real character, her surroundings are real. The threats from the Germans and Fascist Italians was real. The treatment of Italian Jews was real. The Italian Racial Laws (Italian: Leggi razziali) were a set of laws promulgated by Fascist Italy from 1938 to 1943 to enforce racial discrimination in Italy, directed mainly against the Italian Jews and the native inhabitants of the colonies. Italian Jews lost their civil rights, including those to property, education and employment. They were removed from government jobs, the armed forces, and public schools (both as teachers and students). To escape persecution, around 6,000 Italian Jews emigrated to other countries, including the USA.

On a side note: Falsely accused of having remained silent during the Holocaust, Pope Pius XII did more than any other human being to save Jew. It is said he saved up to 860,000.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Historical fiction is one of my favourite genres, I never tire of a World War One/Two story of a women doing her part, risking her life and proving against the odds that she is capable of more than is expected.

This novel centres around Cordelia, a Jewish hotel owner in Italy at the height of WW2 who becomes an agent for the Allies, spying on the invading Axis powers at great personal risk as she tries to keep her true identity secret.
Well researched but lacking somewhat in the dialogue this book is a great addition to the expanding genre that is World War historical fiction.

This book started so good, but then I got kind of bored. I felt like the author wanted to do too much for one book, I got very confused by who was talking when and the plot was confusing

I loved this mystery story. Do you love a good suspense? I think you will like this tale. Recommend to all friends and family!

Lucifer's Game is a WWII spy novel that took place in Rome, which was unexpexcted, since often the location was in Germany. I found the charcters to be strong and memorable , I feel that the author did a great job fleshing out the characters.
.Lucifer was a British spy and a member of the group called the Blackshirt, he also was a member of the Mussoili's party thus he went by the name of Lucefer's given name was Peter Lord, he was the son of an affluent Yorkshire merchant; however. he was not exactly what was considered clean, dispite a privivleged upbringing.. Peter spent time in jail and was recruited directly after a stay in Scotland yard.
Cordelia, an attractive female and was described as "heads turned when she walked by." Cordelia was of Jewish decent, her mother was Jewish and her father was Columbia,, since containing a small amount of Jewish blood, she was only recignize as Jewish. Cordelia went undercover as a Catholic nun, which allowed her to hide the procured document.under her skirt., Cordelia's assigment was to photograph the supply line that was going to North Africa.
I enjoy Cordelia's writing, I liked that her style was tight and not flowery, I am a word person, so I liked her use of vocabulary, infact on more than one occasion, I used the Wikepidia feature on my Kindle. My only issue, which was the romantic elements in the novel, there was explicit sex scenes that made me uncomfortable. This was nothingt againt the author, it is my own preference. I gave this novel 4.5 stars out of 5, only only because I do not care for romantic novels. Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and Criistina Loggia for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Lucifer’s Game is a really engaging thriller that presents a series of intertwining stories in an adept way that builds tension throughout. It is very well researched and the places really come to life. I loved reading about Rome during this period. You feel like you are on this journey with Cordelia as she is betrayed, loved, threatened, imprisoned, and more.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me for a copy of this. I have not read many world war 2 books this year and I just needed some spy action in my life. This is the author's debut novel and it being a 2021 release, I did have a major problem with this book because it contains a word that I have not seen in a modern day book, and that word is THE "R" WORD!! I absolutely hate this word with a passion because I have a younger cousin who was called this all throughout middle school because he is special needs.

We follow a woman named Cordelia who lives is Italy and she is trying to survive and escape the Fascist regime of Mussolini. Mussolini has recently made a deal with the Germans on figuring out who has been giving away secrets to the RAF because their supply line have been getting bombed. It also includes the Afrika Korps in Egypt.

Cordelia is trying to escape through Vatican City and is getting help from a Father who is in the spy ring with the British. There is also a spy code named Lucifer who is working with the Father and he has infiltrated the Blackshirts, who are the equivalent of the Gestapo.

There was a decent amount of spy work but there was a heavy amount of romance between Cordelia who is Jewish and the German officer who has taken control of her hotel for location reasons and to also keep an eye on the Vatican.

I was not prepared for the amount of sex scenes in this book. It was also very graphic. It's not a lot to categorize this as an erotic novel but it didn't make a whole lot of sense because Cordelia should have been terrified of this man because he was a Nazi even though it was never said straight out that he was one, but he was over Nazi soldiers and he had his own operation.

I found this to be an enjoyable read, keeping me on my toes throughout. The storyline was written well and flowed seamlessly. I look forward to reading more by this author!

I was very excited to read this trilogy, yet, it was archived prior to my download.
However, I am going to peruse buying a copy.

Rome 1942. An Historical fiction book about war, Mussolini, World War II and the Jewish. There have been and still are so many books that cover this era yet they all seem to bring something new to a genre you might think is done to death.

The story of Cordelia, and how her life evolves during this desperate and terrifying time. To keep secrets of her heritage, to try to leave a place that is under fascist rule who must she align with to get this done and how dangerous will it be?

This is an exciting story, it drew me in and I just couldn't put it down. This is a well written book with complex characters which you could relate to and understand. It is intriguing, interesting, thrilling, gripping and in some ways very sad that these things actually did happen in these times of war.

A great book, well worth reading. I really enjoyed it.

I received a free ebook from The publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows Cordelia an Italian hotel owner during World War II. Cordelia is attempting to hide that she is half Jewish and figure out how to get out of the country. This book offers twists and turns and keeps you reading because you have to know what happens next. You’re invested in the characters and trying to guess what’s going to happen to who. The book follows a few view points that all tie together by the end.

I loved this fascinating book. Another one set in WW2 but this time it dealt with spies which made it very exciting and an “edge of your seat “ thriller. I found it so compelling I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommended. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I feel the publisher's description on the Net Galley page needs to be read in a breathless voice: it’s all action! It’s exciting! It’s gripping! You can’t put it down!!!
It has an average of 4 stars on the Net Galley site, but looking further into the reviews there are a number of two- and three-star reviews. My review is joining this group, I’m afraid. While the synopsis is heaving with excitement, I found the book extremely slow going – turgid, if I’m honest. There was so much explanation of back stories and history that I found myself losing the will to live.

The book was on two parts: the first was to set the scene, to tell the story so far, if you will; the second was the story “proper”. But in setting the book out like this, I almost felt that the first part was an afterthought, a “well, I need to explain stuff” sort of thing. I understand that back stories are important: we need to know why or how this character knows that character; or why there is a vendetta between them, or how it is that this character doesn’t know something….But this should somehow be part of the narrative, not as an entire seperate lump.

Having come back to NetGalley and read reviews saying they too found the first part hard to read, I decided to skip to the second part of the book. But I’m sorry to say even this didn’t hold my attention. I ended up reading very quickly, just so I could start another book that captured my attention and imagination more….And I think that’s it: this book, however well written, just didn’t capture my imagination. It felt more like a text book than a novel. I’m sorry, but this is a 2 star from me. I’ve read worse, so I can’t give it 1 star – but it comes pretty close…

Thanks for letting me read this l, however I just couldn’t get into it. I started it again 4 times in the hope I was having one of those days. But in this occasion this just wasn’t for me :(

Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. "Lucifer's Game" by Cristina Loggia is WW2 novel, which is set in Italy, which makes the book stand out, as most books set in that particular era take place in the UK, France and Germany. The book is separated into two parts and in my opinion the first part could've been edited and reduced to 1/3 of what is currently to be read in the novel. While backstory truly is important, the reader (or at least I) ends up getting quite bored having to read so much of it, as most of the knowledge we gained about the characters was, in fact, unnecessary. The concept of the story is intriguing but the execution is not so original and engaging, it was pretty hard for me to stay interested in the novel. The participation of the Church in the story was quite interesting. There was too much focus on the details and not any on the perspectives of the characters. By the end of the book I did not really care about any of them actually. Once you get to the second part of the book, there is a bit more dynamic, but still too dry for my taste. The dynamic of the book was also rather chaotic. Overall, a very good idea that was unfortunately not written so well.

I love World War 2 books, and I never read one about spies or people that risk their lives to help others, so that was refreshing. I loved the writing very much, from the first page I knew I would enjoy it, and I really did. I was on vacation, and all I wanted to do was continue reading.

The characters felt like real people with history and flaws, and I could understand their motives to behave as they did. I think the history of each character at the beginning of the book was unnecessary and tiring. It was almost the thing that made me stop reading, but I'm glad I didn't.

The story itself was very intriguing until the very end. I ENJOYED THE BOOK VERY MUCH.