The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany

The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany follows Emilia Fontana, a second-born daughter living in Brooklyn who belongs to a family cursed with a 200-year-old marriage curse. According to tradition, second-born Fontana daughters are destined never to find lasting love. Emilia receives an invitation from her estranged great-aunt Poppy to join her on a trip to Italy, along with her cousin Lucy - another second-born Fontana. Poppy promises to break the curse on her eightieth birthday in Tuscany, leading the young women to embark on a journey through Italy's cities and countryside. As they travel from Venice to Tuscany, Emilia learns about Poppy's past and begins to question everything she believed about fate, family traditions, and her own limited expectations for her life. The story explores multiple generations of Fontana women and their relationships with love, truth, and self-determination. This novel examines how family myths and self-fulfilling prophecies can shape lives across generations, while celebrating the transformative power of travel and the courage required to challenge long-held beliefs.

Readers describe this as a heartwarming tale about family relationships, self-discovery, and breaking free from limiting beliefs. The parallel storylines between past and present Italy connect well according to reviewers. What readers liked: - Rich descriptions of Italian locations, food and culture - Complex mother-daughter and aunt-niece dynamics - Character growth and development - Balance of romance and family themes What readers disliked: - Predictable plot elements and outcomes - Some found the curse premise unrealistic - A few readers felt the pacing dragged in the middle Ratings across platforms: Goodreads: 4.2/5 (22,000+ ratings) Amazon: 4.5/5 (5,800+ ratings) BookBrowse: 4.5/5 Sample reader comment: "The descriptions made me feel like I was traveling through Italy myself. While the curse storyline required suspension of disbelief, the emotional journey of the characters felt authentic." - Goodreads reviewer

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🌟 Author Lori Nelson Spielman was inspired to write this novel after discovering her own Italian heritage through genealogy research 🌟 The second-born daughter curse central to the novel reflects real superstitions about birth order that exist in various cultures worldwide 🌟 The book's detailed descriptions of Italian locations come from the author's extensive travels through Tuscany, Venice, and the Amalfi Coast 🌟 Like the character Emilia, Spielman worked as a speech-language pathologist before becoming a full-time writer 🌟 The novel spent multiple weeks on the Michigan Bestsellers List and has been translated into more than 25 languages