The Fisherman's Daughter by Melinda Sue Sanchez-Blog Tour Review and $25 Gift Card and Book Giveaway

{Product Details}

Title:The Fisherman's Daughter

Author: Melinda Sue Sanchez

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Inc. (January 1, 2018)
Genre: Historical Romance/WWII fictionLanguage: English
ISBN-10: 152440280X

FTC, FYI: I received a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

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{Book Description:}

  Eighteen-year-old Marianna De'Angelis has grown up on her father's fishing boat off the picturesque coast of Sicily, Italy. She traverses the nearby countryside on horseback and bicycle and works alongside her mother selling fish at market. It is a simple, happy life. But when WWII erupts and the Nazis overtake the country, Marianna's peaceful world is shattered.
In the midst of chaos, Marianna encounters a handsome, young Italian soldier named Massimo Scalvone. Though she tries to keep her distance, Marianna finds herself powerfully drawn to Massimo. Yet all the while, the man she is growing to love conceals a deadly secret—a secret that ensures that in a world now ruled by politics and greed, Massimo is not free to give his heart. Devastated, Marianna immerses herself in helping her family and neighbors survive the war. But soon, merely helping is not enough, and the young woman undertakes increasingly dangerous missions for the resistance. Although Marianna and Massimo each harbor secrets, their only hope of survival is to trust each other with the truth of who they really are.

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{My Review}

The Fisherman's Daughter is a war story showing what life was like for those who were left behind. Marianna is the main character living in her small Italian town off the coast of Sicily. The town has been taken over by the German Nazis. This novel is also a love story between Marianna and the grandson of her neighbors. Massimo is full of secrets that could endanger both of their lives.

Things I loved:

-I truly loved the writing from this author. Her descriptions of the this quaint town bring you there. You can almost hear, see, smell and taste everything that is happening. It makes me even more excited to visit there some day. I just recently found out after taking a DNA test, that I'm 72% Italian, and they said it's a 95% likelihood that my ancestors came from Sicily. So of course I was excited to read a book based on happenings there. 

-I liked Marianna. She is a strong, stubborn young lady who is fighting quietly to protect her family and the less fortunate in her town. You can't help but love this character as she draws people to her with her kindness and her warmth. Her devotion to her parents and her brother is heart warming. Characters are huge to me in a novel and this author truly knows how to write memorable characters. 

-I really liked the sweet romance between Marianna and Massimo. Even with the darker theme of World War II taking place, the romance in this story gave much needed light. I also loved their times together. One thing that Massimo said to Marianna almost made me swoon. He said, "Signorina De'Angelis,I surrendered the moment I laid eyes on you."  Yes, that was actually sigh worthy, and yes, there is kissing. But, this romance has many bumps along the way that made me anxious at times. That's all I'm going to say or I'll give too much away. 

More than half way through the book things shift and everyone in this little town and the surrounding areas get thrown into the war. Things get very intense and I could not quit reading. Honestly, you'll be glued to the pages as the story takes a violent turn and lives are threatened. There are so many heart thumping moments where some happenings actually made me gasp as I read. I almost felt like I was reading two separate books, but both were very good. 

I'm so glad that this is the first book I read in the new year. What a great start! This is my first book I've read from this author, but I can tell you that I hope it won't be the last. This story will stay with me for awhile. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone reading my reviews. 

{Meet the Author: Melinda Sue Sanchez}

Melinda S. Sanchez grew up spellbound by the characters of wonderful books—Pippie Longstocking, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Kit Tyler, Charlie Bucket, Karana, and more.

In second grade, she wrote her first book. It featured two mice that got married; the wife always wore curlers and cold-cream to bed, and the husband was in the military. By the age of twelve she was prolific in writing poetry and stories.

As an adult, Melinda lived in the picturesque country of Italy and fell in love with the people, language, landscape, and history. She met her husband there, and together they have five beautiful grown children and four perfect granddaughters. They also have a house full of dogs, cats, exotic lizards and creatures, and birds. Between the people, animals, reptiles, and birds, there are plenty of characters to inspire and keep Melinda spellbound and writing, writing, writing for a long time to come.

{ Purchase Links}

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Deseret Book

{Tour Stops}

*Jan. 1^st: https://www.rockinbookreviews.com/, http://www.blogginboutbooks.com/

*Jan. 2^nd: https://brightlystreet.com/, http://mybookaday.blogspot.com/, https://ldsandlovinit.blogspot.com/, http://lisaisabookworm.blogspot.com/

*Jan. 3^rd: http://www.wishfulendings.com/

* Jan. 4^th: https://www.singinglibrarianbooks.com/, http://literarytimeout.blogspot.com/, http://gettingyourreadonaimeebrown.blogspot.com/

*Jan. 5^th:  http://whynotbecauseisaidso.blogspot.com/, http://booksaresanity.blogspot.com/

Enter the Tour Giveaway!

You can win a $25 Gift Card and a free copy of 

The Fisherman's Daughter

(Winner notification and prize distribution will be provided by Covenant Communications.)

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