Stars in an Italian Sky

By: Jill Santopolo

Narrated by: Gabrielle De Cuir

Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Light We Lost comes a sweeping story of two star-crossed lovers in post-World War II Italy, and a blossoming relationship generations later that will reveal a long-buried family secret.

Genoa, Italy, 1946. Vincenzo and Giovanna fall in love at twenty-one the moment they set eyes on each other. The son of a count and the daughter of a tailor, they belong to opposing worlds. Despite this, the undeniable spark between them quickly burns into a deep and passionate relationship spent exploring each other’s minds, bodies and their city, as well as Vincenzo’s family’s sprawling vineyard, Villa Della Rosa—until shifts in political power force them each to choose a side and commit what the other believes is a betrayal, shattering the bright future they dreamed of together.

New York, 2017. Cassandra and Luca are in love. Although neither quite fits with the other's family, Cass and Luca have always felt like a perfect match for each other. But when Luca, an artist, convinces his grandfather and Cass’s grandmother to pose for a painting, past and present collide and reveal a secret that changes everything.

©2023 Jill Santopolo (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

One of USA Today’s Top Must-Read New Books
One of Zibby Owens’s Most Anticipated Books of 2023
One of New York Post’s Best New Books, February 2023
One of AARP’s 41 Best New Books of Winter 2023

"Santopolo skillfully weaves two love stories in which passionate and idealistic young couples contend with class differences, tension between their personal desires and familial obligations, and the ongoing ramifications of decisions made by earlier generations….Sure to tug at readers’ heartstrings." —Publishers Weekly

"A poignant tale of love, loss, class, and fate, brimming with the colorful spirit of Italy and infused with the hopefulness of true love written in the stars." —Kristin Harmel, author of The Book of Lost Names and The Winemaker’s Wife

"A shimmering love story for the ages….Stars in an Italian Sky is about the course of fate, the meaning of family and the power of love. Bellissima!" —Adriana Trigiani, author of The Good Left Undone

Love

What a beautiful love story not only for Cassandra but also for Giovanna. Great read!

Such a lovely story

It’s a good romance, and perfect story of a true love! Read it, I recommend it :)

Good story, professional narration!

I enjoyed this Italian romance mostly because of the reader. The story follows a family from World War Italy to present day New York. It was very sentimental and romantic, with the Italian historical sections being overall m favorites. The reader carried the whole book and I feel made it much better than it would have read on paper. Many voices, men and women, many accents all done beautifully. I even misted up at the end, despite its predictability. You really can't go wrong with Italians and love!

Exquisite multi-generational saga

I was captivated by the beautiful love stories. Only one disappointment in the lack of emotion in the surprise reunion.

Live life, love endures

Another heartfelt and realistic book by Ms. Santopolo. She captures the emotions of past and present with her words, the art, Italian villages, and NYC. A delightful book from the first page to the last.

Mixed Emotions

The story was so real when talking about the past when war broke out in Italy and the divide it had in class that separated the two lovers. Thus years later in the present it still remained within the family that ideology of different class but it was love that won in the end. It was touching to hear. Loved the story.

Beautiful story

Heartwarming and passionate, this story was a wonderful love story with history riding alongside. Just lovely.

Love ♥️

This was beautifully written and seamlessly braids the past with the future into an amazing love story. Now I want to go to Italy to see the amazing places described in this book.

Sublime Narration and Charming Italian Tale!

This book follows the life of a Northern Italian woman's family through two generations; switching back and forth between WWII and present day New York. The story is charming (if a bit heavy on the present-day romance side for me.) I felt the WWII sections were excellent, while the present day sections got a bit muddy (with a rather odd love scene in a vat of grapes.) IN fact, I would have liked the entire book to been about Giovanna, the WWII character. I feel the narrator did a great job of nailing the tone of both eras and she moved effortlessly between the two, which really helped during the listen. The accents and characters were all brought to life by the narrator in great detail; I think this audio version serves the book better than a hard copy would because of the performance. It was also nice having one reader rather than the current fashion of chopping everything up into 2 or 3 separate narrators. If you like Italy and art and some romance all combined, it's a nice listen. Not very heady, but very enjoyable. If you are romantically inclined, get out the tissue box for the bitter-sweet ending.

Needs a deep edit

This could be improved by cutting out so much of what sounds like stage corrections.