First published 2012
Enza meets Ciro in their neighboring Italian mountain villages as teenagers. When Ciro witnesses a priest's scandal, he gets banished to America and becomes a shoemaker's apprentice in Little Italy. Enza stays behind, heartbroken and confused by his sudden departure. Her family soon faces financial ruin, forcing her to sail to America with her father. Both build separate lives in their new country. Ciro learns his trade while Enza works in a Hoboken factory. Fate brings them together again, but Ciro volunteers for World War I just as they reconnect. Enza refuses to wait and pursues her own dreams, becoming a seamstress at the Metropolitan Opera House. Her skills take her into Manhattan's elite circles and into the world of opera star Enrico Caruso. The lovers meet and part repeatedly across two continents, from Carnegie Hill mansions to Minnesota lakes. Their connection endures through war, ambition, and the immigrant struggle to claim their piece of the American dream.
Genres: romance, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, star-crossed-lovers
Setting: America, Carnegie Hill, Hoboken, Italy, Little Italy, Metropolitan Opera House, Minnesota, New York
Period: World War I
496 pages · Kindle Edition · Harper