The Italian Girl's Secret

By: Natalie Meg Evans

Narrated by: Amalia Vitale

Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Italy, 1943. In the hills outside Naples, the silver moon shines brightly on a whitewashed farmhouse. An urgent knock on the door breaks the silence: and in that moment, one young woman’s act of incredible bravery changes the course of the war.

For Carmela del Bosco, a farm girl in a remote Italian village, sheltering an English spy is the most dangerous thing she could do. If she’s caught by the fascists, it would be the end, especially for her beloved grandmother sleeping soundly upstairs. But taking in the pleading brown eyes of the man calling himself Sebastiano slumped at her door, and his terrible injuries inflicted by the Nazi occupiers, Carmela remembers how Nonna always taught her right from wrong. Risking everything, she hides him in a ruined tower on the edge of the farm.

Each day Carmela tends his wounds, and the passion that kindles between them is a light in the darkest time. Sebastiano has information that could end the war, and needs her help to send it. But tracking down fellow members of the resistenza in the mountains means risking her life and bringing danger to everyone she knows.

Carmela knows she must find the courage to do what’s right for her country. But if she leaves the farm, will she ever see her beloved nonna again? And will her sacrifice tear her away from the only man she’s ever loved, forever?

An absolutely stunning and heartbreaking historical novel about the impossible choices people are forced to make in wartime. Fans of The Nightingale, All the Light We Cannot See and Rhys Bowen will be captivated.

©2021 Natalie Meg Evans (P)2021 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

A very long waste of time

Much too long, I never really cared much about the characters and none of the story seemed to remarkable to me. I almost quit 3/4 of the way through.

Touching and realistic

The story took me into the the fog of war and keep my interest all the way through.

I wish I could give it 10 stars. It deserves it

Wow what a great fantastic story. I love this author and this ww2 genre is my all time favorite and I was never disappointed . Scared ?yes walked always several times? yes . Couldn’t take the suspense . Her well developed characters drew me in till they were real to me. I learned so much about ww2 Italy Naples and black shirt fascist and evil nazis. Vengeful cruel nazis and Italians betrayed my Italians. I learned so much about the hard farming life in bringing in the crops. This audible has it all Love hate betrayal idealism family. Waiting for more from this author

Choices Made During Wartime

A beautiful story really captivating, the choices each individual makes and how their decisions impact each other. The young boys forming an armed army to protect their village against Nazis takeover really stood out for me too. I love all the books by Natalie Meg Evans, The Dress Thief is my favourite, The Italian Girl’s Secret feels shorter and less woven but still an intriguing listen beautifully narrated by Amalia Vitale. Now I’ve finished this one, I’m wondering what’s next! Five stars from me.

Spoiled by dreadful narration!

Enjoyed the plot and characters but the narrator had some dreadful accents going on. Many of the lesser characters had West Country or London accents. It wasn't that she narrated the whole book in those accents - they were specifically put on for certain characters. It's not that I'm objecting to specific accents. I just don't understand why the main characters had good Italian accents but others had weird accents. For me it really spoiled the book.

Brilliantly written

A great story which had me on the edge of my seat.
I couldn’t wait to hear the next part.

enthralling

loved both the romance dramatic elements as well as the historic setting.
A great deal of reference material used to make this more than just another romance story right to the end

Great listen!

Really enjoyed this story, lots of twists and turns and realistic characters which were really brought life by the narrator.

Fantastic book !!!! Really grips from the start

Loved all the characters and animals . Was totally booked from start to finish .

It is good in part,

It story is good in part, but I was only a third way into the story when I stopped to decide whether I cared.
The reader's variety of voices had a strong impact on how I visualised the characters; and it wasn't a positive impact.
The normal, rather nasal, tones are not unpleasant, but the characters are variably grating, whinging or high pitched squeak.
Enough said!

great book

Although I would like to have a bit more action I think this is a great book. I would be happy to read other books from this author. The narrator also did a great job and told the story with empathy. I had some problems in the start with the Italian English accent but that's just me since English is not my primary language.

A fabulous gripping storyline

loved this book! a bit of history, a love story and adventure all rolled into one. Kept me going on a long car journey. Looking for other books by the author now.