Lori Nelson Spielman writes moving stories about life's unexpected turns. Her novels often explore themes of self-discovery and second chances, as seen in works like "Und nebenan warten die Sterne" and "Heute schon für morgen träumen."
The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany
The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany
Synopsis
The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany follows Emilia Fontana, a baker at her grandfather's Brooklyn deli, and her cousin Lucy, both "second-born" daughters in a family that believes a two-century-old curse has kept every second daughter from finding lasting love. When their great-aunt Poppy announces she intends to break the curse by meeting the love of her life on the steps of Ravello Cathedral on her eightieth birthday, she asks Emilia and Lucy to join her in Italy.
The trip carries them from Venice's canals through the Tuscan countryside to the Amalfi Coast, and as the three women travel together, old assumptions about love, family, and their own futures start to shift. Along the way, a set of family secrets surfaces that has more bearing on the Fontana women's lives than the curse itself.
Lori Nelson Spielman, author of The Life List, writes character-driven women's fiction with a strong sense of place; this one leans into Italian travel and multi-generational family dynamics as much as romance.
Vibe
Genres
Characters
Emilia FontanaProtagonist
A second-born daughter and baker at her grandfather's Brooklyn deli.
Miss LucyProtagonist
Emilia's cousin, also second-born, eager to find love.
Aunt PoppySupporting
The women's great-aunt, determined to break the family curse on her 80th birthday in Italy.
Filomena FontanaSupporting
The ancestor who cast the original curse on her sister over two centuries earlier.
Edition
The Star-Crossed Sisters of TuscanyUnknown, 2020
402 pages
Penguin BooksLanguage: EnglishISBN: 9781984803160You May Also Like
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Frequently asked questions
Does the story use a single perspective or multiple viewpoints?
The narrative employs a dual-timeline structure that alternates between the present-day journey of the three women and flashbacks to the younger years of Great-Aunt Poppy.
What inspired the author to write about this specific family dynamic?
The author developed the premise of the curse while working as a high school guidance counselor, where she often encountered students heartbroken over doomed romances and wondered how their lives might differ if they believed love was fundamentally impossible for them.