Mysterious, gripping, and full of references to fabulous food and a tiny Italian village, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘐𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 is yet another genre-crossing book. Per usual, I am a sucker for strong female friendships, and Piazza crafted them beautifully. I loved the detail she took to define the many facets of womanhood from the beginnings of motherhood, feeling powerless, the unspoken code of conduct, and the care with which she discussed the seemingly impossible tasks of managing a home, a job, and maintaining societies expectations of the ideal lady.
From the opening pages, I was absorbed into a tale of two different yet oddly similar women: Sara, whose restaurant and marriage have fallen apart on a quest to solve the mystery of her great-grandmother, and Serafina, a woman fighting convention and embracing the freedom given to her with a husband working far away to care for the women in her village. Along the way, we have a murder to solve, land rights to dispute over, the mob to avoid and gorgeous Sicilian men to lust after.
The Dual timeline and POV allow you to follow Sara and Seraphina’s footsteps through altering chapters and a precise sequence of events in each timeline. The further the novel progressed, the more invested I became in the outcome of both women’s stories. Piazza’s writing was descriptive, engaging, and fast-paced. I loved her precise descriptions of Sicily and found the personal connections in the author’s note touching.
I hate to admit it, but the ending did not work for me. After so much build-up, drama, and excellent character development, I was left wanting after the conclusion of the epilogue. Perhaps the author meant to leave some elements up to the reader’s imagination, but I wanted more definitive answers.
Between the messages on womanhood, the Italian setting, and unraveling the twists, this would be a great book to digest and unpack with a group (thank you Megan) Overall, it is definitely worth a read!
