Kathryn's Inbox

The year is 1943. Despite the Nazi occupation of Rome, Marina has a wonderful job working alongside her beloved father, Vittorio in his art gallery. That changes one afternoon when it turns out that Vittorio, a man of integrity and great courage, is found doing what he knows is right--hiding a Jewish artist in his basement. Vittorio pays the ultimate price, and a devastated Marina travels to Florence to stay with a family friend--American art expert Bernard Berenson. There, Marina finds refuge, friendships and new beginnings, and romance. But the desire to get revenge on the Nazi's runs strong. When her love, Carlos offers her the opportunity to save a priceless painting, Marina takes it ... and life takes another unexpected twist, one that will send her halfway across the world and leave her realising who she truly can--and cannot--trust ... This is quite a page turner. Anita Abriel has carved out a name for herself as the author of twisty, page turning romances set during the Sec...

Anita Abriel's second novel takes readers into the heart of Occupied France in 1943. Russian born Countess Lana was raised in Paris, where she now lives with her beloved husband, music teacher Fredrick. She is on her way to inform Fredrick that she is expecting their first child, but arrives just in time to witness a terrible event--Fredrick is shot by none other than Alois Brunner. Lana then suffers a miscarriage. Thisty for revenge, she joins the French resistance, utilising her position as a Russian Countess to pose as the lover of a Swiss businessman. But life in the resistance is tough, and dangerous, especially when Lana's instinct is to follow her heart, rather than her head ... This is an entertaining page turner. The backdrop of the French Riviera makes an interesting contrast to the horrors of war, and the many, many grave atrocities that were committed there, and across other parts of Europe. Abriel's prose is easy to read and I often found myself reading a page ...

The Light After the War is a gently written story of two best friends, Vera and Edith who find themselves displaced after the tragic events of the Second World War. In 1946 and in their late teens, these two Hungarian women find themselves as refugees in Naples. They have lost everything they loved after a daring escape from a train headed to Auschwitz. What follows is a story that spans from Italy, to Venezuela, to New York to Australia as Vera carves out her career--and finds true love along the way. Just as the title hints, this one is very light reading. Vera has clearly had a difficult time of it, but her extraordinary childhood (during which she became proficient in several different languages,) helps her to make the most of every situation while she pulls her dear but slightly less responsible best friend Edith along with her. Though they suffer some setbacks, many things came a little too conveniently, or easily, to Vera, which became annoying in places. Ultimately, th...