Return to Bella Terra is the third book in the Italian Chronicles and a bittersweet, emotional and satisfying ending to this series. I enjoyed both The Madonna of Pisano (Book #1) and A Sicilian Farewell (Book #2).

In this third book, eight years have passed since the ending of Book #2 and we are back to Maria's story as she travels back to Italy with her firstborn son Nico to visit her dying mother and her family. Most of the story in this book takes place in her native hometown in Sicily, where it all started. Nico is now 19 years-of-age and wants to stay in Italy and not return to America. Maria is conflicted because she too longs to permanently move back to Italy, but doesn't think Luca, her husband will want to.

The conflicting emotions of immigrants who leave entire families behind in their homeland to follow their dreams or strive for a better life is explored in this book. My parents are Italian immigrants and this story made me appreciate the sacrifices and losses they suffered. It was such an emotional read for me, bringing tears to my eyes several times!

Maria's story comes full circle as she returns to Italy and to the painful memories that she lived through as a young woman with an illegitimate child. Characters we met in Book #1 are revisited and Maria learns to fully let go of all that transpired in the past as it related to her son who now wants to own and lead his own life. Once again, Maria is a fleshed-out character that drives the story and I loved how the author explored her strengths and weaknesses. As a mother and Christian, I could certainly relate to her and she has been my favorite character throughout the series.

My only disappointment was in the insta-love component between Nico and Sofia. I would have preferred for this relationship to have been more realistically portrayed, and for us to have learned more about Sofia who we did not get to know at all. As a Christian, I know that God guides our way, but I was not fully convinced in Luca's belief that God had sent him to preach the Gospel in America, not from the little evidence we had of his preaching work in the eight poverty-stricken years they lived in America.

Overall, I truly enjoyed the Italian Chronicles mainly because of the realistic portrayal of Italian life in small villages and the immigrant experience. The author created memorable characters, an epic story of one woman's journey, and a plot full of emotions and drama. I could easily see this trilogy as a TV mini-series. If you like Christian historical fiction, the Italian Chronicles is a satisfying portrayal of faith, love, forgiveness and redemption.

Disclosure: Thanks to HFVBT for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.

To read more reviews, please visit MaryAnn Diorio's page on HFVBT.

Dr. MaryAnn Diorio is a widely published, award-winning author of compelling fiction that deals with the deepest issues of the human heart. Her books for both adults and children consistently receive excellent reviews for their content and their style. MaryAnn holds the PhD in French with a concentration in Comparative Literature from the University of Kansas. She resides in New Jersey with her husband Dominic, a retired physician. They are the blessed parents of two awesome daughters, a wonderful son-in-law, and five rambunctious grandchildren. When not writing, MaryAnn loves to read, to paint, and to make up silly songs for her grandchildren.

For more information, please visit MaryAnn Diorio’s website and blog. You can also find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Last week I reviewed The Madonna of Pisano, the first book in The Italian Chronicles series, which I enjoyed immensely. A Sicilian Farewell is the second book and it continues Maria's story. Although Diorio's writing was just as gripping once the story took off about one-third into the book, and I was emotionally invested in this book too, there were a few things that bothered me, which I'll get into further on.

Maria and Luca now have a growing family of three children. Five years have passed since the events that took place in the first book. Italy's economy is going from bad to worse and Luca's tailor business is failing as the inhabitants of Sicily leave for America in search of a better life. Finally, they decide to leave too, and Luca is especially happy for he believes this is God's calling for him to preach the Gospel in America.

This is very much a Christian immigrant story. The hardships they face in a new land so vastly different from their homeland makes their life overwhelming and difficult as they try to adjust to their new life and circumstances. This was especially true of Maria. I empathized with her so much! Diorio captured this element of the story very well. My parents are both Italian immigrants and I've heard countless stories of how difficult and different life was when they first arrived in Canada. My mother left all her family in Rome and then ended up doing long hours in factory work. I also remember translating for my parents when they went to my school or my grandmother to the doctor. I enjoy immigrant stories and I really enjoyed this theme in A Sicilian Farewell.

This is also much more Luca's story than Maria's as he struggles with his decision to uproot his family and subject them to a hard life as immigrants so that he can fulfil his ministry. Luca is a godly man and his whole life revolves around doing God's will. His faith is strong and he believes he is doing the right thing.

I could understand that Luca was a pious man, but sometimes his moralizing dialogue and behaviour irked me. He was a young man who spoke like a 60-year-old to his wife. There was no passion between them except for the ministry. He never misspoke, or got angry or frustrated. I had a hard time believing he was Italian! Even the apostle Paul and Barnabas got angry with each other and had a falling out. (Acts 15: 36-39) Sometimes I just wished he would have showed Maria his true feelings as a husband rather than just preached or prayed. He worked a gruelling job with 16-hour days, lived in a one-room rat-infested tenement building, was accused of a crime, spent considerable time in jail and yet this did not seem to affect him much. It was almost too good to be true.

Another thing I don't believe to be realistic is insta-faith. Two of the evil characters in the story accept Jesus and voilà, they are instantly changed. I have been in the ministry for almost 30 years and have preached Bible truths to people of all walks of life. It takes time and diligent Bible study to become a disciple of Christ and to transform one's personality. I would have liked to have Maria and Luca's inner struggles explored more about living through the situation of being found guilty of a crime, rather than the rushed ending of everyone praising the Lord even though some spent years doing horrible things, with no consequences, I might add.

Apart from these issues, Diorio's talent to create stories with heart that explore themes of family, forgiveness and faith comes through once again in this novel. I am looking forward to the third book which promises more drama as Maria returns to Italy to visit her family.


Disclosure: Thanks to HFVBT for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.

To read more reviews, please visit MaryAnn Diorio's page on HFVBT.

Dr. MaryAnn Diorio is a widely published, award-winning author of compelling fiction that deals with the deepest issues of the human heart. Her books for both adults and children consistently receive excellent reviews for their content and their style. MaryAnn holds the PhD in French with a concentration in Comparative Literature from the University of Kansas. She resides in New Jersey with her husband Dominic, a retired physician. They are the blessed parents of two awesome daughters, a wonderful son-in-law, and five rambunctious grandchildren. When not writing, MaryAnn loves to read, to paint, and to make up silly songs for her grandchildren.

For more information, please visit MaryAnn Diorio’s website and blog. You can also find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

I was immediately drawn in to read this series because I love books written by authors with an Italian background about stories in small Italian towns in the 1800s.

When I read the prologue, it seemed that things happened quite quickly and I was left with wondering about Maria's feelings about what happened to her, as well as how her family would react. The story then fast-forwards to seven years later and soon after it took off for me as I became immersed in Maria's life as a shunned woman trying to save her family home from bankruptcy and her 6-year-old son from the cruelty of the villagers' taunts of his being an illegitimate child.

I was so caught up in this story, so emotionally invested that I almost read this book in one sitting. Growing up, I paid rapt attention to the many stories from my grandmothers, my mother and my mother-in-law of scandals and tragic incidents that occurred in their Italian villages, and of the hypocrisy of the Church. So I'm not surprised that the idea for this story came from a true incident in the life of the author's great-great-grandmother.

This is a story of betrayal, love, vengeance and ultimately forgiveness. Maria is a strong female character and her son Nico was so endearing. He was one of my favorite characters. Luca came across as a bit too pious, but he was a good character nonetheless. Town life in the village of Pisano in Sicily came to life under the author's penmanship, especially how the sea, wind and sandstorms affected the lives of the villagers.

Most of all, this book stirred emotions in me, making this a page-turner. I simply couldn't put the book down. The message of preserving self-dignity, faith in the power of forgiveness, and good conquering evil came through beautifully in this first book in the Italian Chronicles. I am now eager to read the second and third book which I will also be reviewing.

Disclosure: Thanks to HFVBT for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.

To read more reviews, please visit MaryAnn Diorio's page on HFVBT.

Dr. MaryAnn Diorio is a widely published, award-winning author of compelling fiction that deals with the deepest issues of the human heart. Her books for both adults and children consistently receive excellent reviews for their content and their style. MaryAnn holds the PhD in French with a concentration in Comparative Literature from the University of Kansas. She resides in New Jersey with her husband Dominic, a retired physician. They are the blessed parents of two awesome daughters, a wonderful son-in-law, and five rambunctious grandchildren. When not writing, MaryAnn loves to read, to paint, and to make up silly songs for her grandchildren.

For more information, please visit MaryAnn Diorio’s website and blog. You can also find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.