The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany

By: Lori Nelson Spielman

Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan, Kathleen Garrett, Lori Nelson Spielman

Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

An international best seller!

A Library Reads pick and Indie Next Pick!

A trio of second-born daughters sets out on a whirlwind journey through the lush Italian countryside to break the family curse that says they’ll never find love, by New York Times best seller Lori Nelson Spielman, author of The Life List.

Since the day Filomena Fontana cast a curse upon her sister more than 200 years ago, not one second-born Fontana daughter has found lasting love. Some, like second-born Emilia, the happily single baker at her grandfather’s Brooklyn deli, claim it’s an odd coincidence. Others, like her sexy, desperate-for-love cousin Lucy, insist it’s a true hex. But both are bewildered when their great-aunt calls with an astounding proposition: If they accompany her to her homeland of Italy, Aunt Poppy vows she’ll meet the love of her life on the steps of the Ravello Cathedral on her 80th birthday and break the Fontana Second-Daughter Curse once and for all.

Against the backdrop of wandering Venetian canals, rolling Tuscan fields, and enchanting Amalfi Coast villages, romance blooms, destinies are found, and family secrets are unearthed - secrets that could threaten the family far more than a centuries-old curse.

©2020 Lori Nelson Spielman (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“A gorgeous blend of family, friendship, and love.” (Chanel Cleeton, New York Times best-selling author of When We Left Cuba)

“A glorious journey through Italy, and the heart...Filled with humor and wisdom, this is a celebration of life, and love.” (Yangsze Choo, New York Times best-selling author of The Night Tiger, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick)

"Sparkling...Spielman brings Tuscany to vivid life and offers more than a few surprises along the way. Fans of An Affair to Remember, Under the Tuscan Sun, and the like will be enthralled." (Publishers Weekly)

Wonderful story beautifully read!

I enjoyed every moment spent listening to this book... grazie mille to the author and the readers!

Fond memories

Fond memories of Venice, Florence, Amalfi, and Ravello were brought back while reading The Star-Crossed Sisters... We actually lived that harrowing trip when we passed a tour bus on that ride up the mountain to Ravello.
The book was so well written, bittersweet, and lovely. Great characters whom you could love or hate, suspense (in Venice), humor, and romance. Well narrated as well. Brava.

Ah, Italy!

A beautifully written story of family, Italy, family, Italian food, family, wine, and family. Bellissimo!

The power of love

An uplifting tale of finding one’s true self, family drama and love. Lots of vivid Italian images. A great listen.

Very Possible !

Fantastic story . I enjoyed it so very much. I felt like I was in Italy. Bravo

Excellent !

Very enjoyable book and great performance by reader. This book had all the emotions and went through each one slow enough for the audience to fully feel the depth. I loved having the story set in Italy with the sea as the background and the explanations of the history. Really a wonderful book and a great little twist at the end.

Tough beginning, but so very worth the listen

If you're anything like me you may find the early chapters infuriating. The author laid wonderful groundwork of who each and every person was and with the exception of Emilia, they were generally a hate filled mean angry group of spineless humans who followed along whatever Nona did and used Emilia as a human dartboard. She was lovely, sweet and generally so used to the emotional abuse that she just rolled with it and accepted it as her due. It was painful to listen to and my heart went out to her. I stopped listening a few times, but kept going back. Then comes a call from Aunt Polly, the sister of Nona who was cast out of the family many years ago by the hateful Nona. She offers a trip to Italy to Emilia and Lucy. This is when the story becomes filled with so much adventure, learning, and joy. We get to watch as Emilia and her cousin Lucy discover life, love, happiness and discover who they are when not living under such repressive family obligations and "the curse". They come to learn why everyone is they way they are and now have the emotional strength to stand up for themselves. Its a wonderful story of love, understanding and redemption.

Such a lovely story

There's such a sweet story going on from so many characters. I loved this book so much!!

Wonderful Story

This is one of my favorite novels! The history is heartbreaking, Italy is romantic. Never a dull moment in the story. I found myself longing to meet these characters in real life. I will listen again soon!

an enjoyable listen

will read/listen to more books by this author. kept me entertained. enjoyed the narrator.