A Harvest of Secrets: A Novel
- Downloads：3776
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-09-19 11:21:42
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Roland Merullo
- ISBN：171365606X
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
From the bestselling author of From These Broken Streets comes a sweeping novel of love， resistance， and courage set against the backdrop of WWII Italy。
Italy， 1943。 The seeds of terror planted by Hitler have brought Allied forces to Italian soil。 Young lovers separated by war—one near a Tuscan hill town， the other a soldier on the Sicilian front—will meet any challenge to reunite。
Vittoria SanAntonio， the daughter of a prosperous vineyard owner， is caught in a web of family secrets。 Defying her domineering father， she has fallen for humble vineyard keeper Carlo Conte。 When Carlo is conscripted into Mussolini’s army， it sets a fire in Vittoria， and she joins the resistance。 As the Nazi war machine encroaches， Vittoria is drawn into dangers as unknowable as those faced by the man she loves。
Badly wounded on the first day of the invasion， Carlo regains consciousness on a farm in Sicily。 Nursed back to health by a kind family there， he embarks on an arduous journey north through his ravaged homeland。 For Carlo and Vittoria， as wartime threats mount and their paths diverge， what lies ahead will test their courage as never before。
Italy， 1943。 The seeds of terror planted by Hitler have brought Allied forces to Italian soil。 Young lovers separated by war—one near a Tuscan hill town， the other a soldier on the Sicilian front—will meet any challenge to reunite。
Vittoria SanAntonio， the daughter of a prosperous vineyard owner， is caught in a web of family secrets。 Defying her domineering father， she has fallen for humble vineyard keeper Carlo Conte。 When Carlo is conscripted into Mussolini’s army， it sets a fire in Vittoria， and she joins the resistance。 As the Nazi war machine encroaches， Vittoria is drawn into dangers as unknowable as those faced by the man she loves。
Badly wounded on the first day of the invasion， Carlo regains consciousness on a farm in Sicily。 Nursed back to health by a kind family there， he embarks on an arduous journey north through his ravaged homeland。 For Carlo and Vittoria， as wartime threats mount and their paths diverge， what lies ahead will test their courage as never before。
Reviews
Jean
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very interesting Liked the characters。 Everything moved along well。 Seemed to give a good picture of what things were like for the Italians during the war。 For me， the story was a little too long， but it was a good story。
Victoria Kozub
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One of my favorite genres， I was sure it was written by a female so I was surprised。 It was a harrowing journey for Carlo and I would have liked to have read more about their reunion。 The horrors were described quite succinctly。 Didn’t find any slow parts it was always moving。
Dianne Helms
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Great read！Really enjoyed this book。 Just wish there had been a bit more to the ending。 Really opens ones eyes to the horrors of war。
Barbara
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Wow！ What a book！ The characters jump right off the page and the storyline is outstanding！ So different from the other historical fiction books I have read。 Keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very last page。 Recommend it highly。
Sharon Patchett
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Interesting ReadI downloaded the book from Amazon and it was a different selection for me。 It made me think about the war in Ukraine and how fortunate we are to have never experienced the same on this soil。 The book moved slowly in the beginning， building the story。 So many years later it is still a sad story about living in occupied Italy。 There was a happy sad torn story at the end to brighten things。
Claudia Cavey
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Harvest of secretsWell written and smooth flowing。 Always difficult to read about WWII but this story had an element of romance，history， education on wine making and philosophy。
Nicole
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The human face of war， on the families left behindI always try to read stories about the places I travel。。。sitting in Napoli tonight reading about the horrific ways in which war tears apart everyone， with really no good reason。 A feel good ending requiring alot of exploration of just how awful greedy， evil men are。
alex snow
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Heartache and beautyThe atrocities of war are balanced by the beauty of the scenery and the love that spanned the social barriers
Kate Lange
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Very good historical fiction novel。 Plenty of romance， secrets， descriptive setting details & just enough Nazi cruelty without being too gruesome。 I will look into Roland Merullo's other work。 Very good historical fiction novel。 Plenty of romance， secrets， descriptive setting details & just enough Nazi cruelty without being too gruesome。 I will look into Roland Merullo's other work。 。。。more
Ami
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A Harvest of Secrets is a fascinating look into WWII Italy and the horrors that war brought to it。 There are strong， relatable characters with secrets including hidden love。 I enjoyed this book very much and definitely recommend it。
Judy
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Enjoyable read just a little too drawn out。 However， it just proves again about being very careful who you trust。
Jon Huegli
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A Sweet Story Painted WellHaving spent a fair amount of time in Italy， I found the author's vocabulary rich with the capacity to draw vivid images of landscapes and communities。 He captured the class differences and helped produce a narrative about life for the underclass during the war。 Today's Italy tourists will better appreciate what lies behind the glitz and glitter in some of the cities and towns introduced in the novel。 A Sweet Story Painted WellHaving spent a fair amount of time in Italy， I found the author's vocabulary rich with the capacity to draw vivid images of landscapes and communities。 He captured the class differences and helped produce a narrative about life for the underclass during the war。 Today's Italy tourists will better appreciate what lies behind the glitz and glitter in some of the cities and towns introduced in the novel。 。。。more
JENNIFER HUGHES
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A must readThis was both lovely and heart wrenching to read。 I've read many books about this war， but this one was a perspective I'd never explored。 A must readThis was both lovely and heart wrenching to read。 I've read many books about this war， but this one was a perspective I'd never explored。 。。。more
Lester F。 Wood
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interesting taleLike the story line， and the glimpse of what it was like to beExposed to those hardships。 Characters were good， and the issues of trust and deception were very apparent。Would have liked a more detailed description of their day to day life style before the occupation 。 Was worth reading。
Patricia Zuzack
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Very intriguing storyline。 Loved the surprises， twists， and turns。 Couldn't put this one down。 My only complaint is that it ended rather abruptly。 Very intriguing storyline。 Loved the surprises， twists， and turns。 Couldn't put this one down。 My only complaint is that it ended rather abruptly。 。。。more
H Horvat
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A story worth readingThis book held my interest from。page one to the end。 Originally wanted to read it to learn more of the history of Italy。 It turned out to be so much more。 Great writing。 Solid story。
julie futcher
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Loved itWhen I started this book I almost gave up as I was having a break from WW11 drama and had forgotten downloading this。 I'm so glad I didn't。 What a beautiful， well written story。 Thoroughly recommended Loved itWhen I started this book I almost gave up as I was having a break from WW11 drama and had forgotten downloading this。 I'm so glad I didn't。 What a beautiful， well written story。 Thoroughly recommended 。。。more
Hillary
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Amazon Prime monthly free Kindle books are often hit or miss。 This one was pretty much a hit。 First， there's more to the book than the publisher's blurb。 There are actually three major characters， Vittoria， Carlo， Paolo， not two。 It's not just a love story， as the blurb suggests。 There's much more。 Here's what else it offers:This is a WWII story， of which there are many on the market and in libraries。 It's 2022; WWII ended in 1945， and we're still not done telling its stories。 This one takes pla Amazon Prime monthly free Kindle books are often hit or miss。 This one was pretty much a hit。 First， there's more to the book than the publisher's blurb。 There are actually three major characters， Vittoria， Carlo， Paolo， not two。 It's not just a love story， as the blurb suggests。 There's much more。 Here's what else it offers:This is a WWII story， of which there are many on the market and in libraries。 It's 2022; WWII ended in 1945， and we're still not done telling its stories。 This one takes place in Italy， a somewhat less common literary setting than， say， Germany， France， or England， at least in my experience。 If I had to describe what this book does well， I would say it's the description of what it feels like to live in a war-torn country。 It's visceral。 We experience the war through the wealthy， landowner characters， and the field hands and servants。 The characters （main and secondary） are human， and balanced。Italy's position in the war was unique。 Mussolini allied with Hitler， and was pretty much worshipped by his people at the beginning。 But at some point， he "disappeared。" The Germans then invaded Italy， creating confusion for its people: Is Germany still our ally？ Our enemy？ How are we supposed to deal with this？ Such is the setting of the entire story， which takes place over maybe two-three months' time。There are wonderful descriptions of the delicious food and wine （most of the action takes place on a very successful farm/vineyard operation）， and a beautiful home。 There are horrific descriptions of violence， cruelty， greed， corruption。 There are heroes and cowards and villains。 I'm glad I got a chance to read this。 We need to remember what war does to people， to countries。 。。。more
Dennis
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Good story - well written。 I didn't want the book to end。 Good story - well written。 I didn't want the book to end。 。。。more
Diane Kennedy
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Interesting WWII Story from Italian viewpoint， but story line fell flat。I've read a lot of WWII stories that have taken place in Poland， France or Great Britain， but this is the first about Italy under the Mussolini regime， which I found interesting。 I really liked this authors writing style， he's very poetic in his descriptions。 But， I found the story lacking and felt the ending abrupt。 You keep hearing from the two main characters about their love for each other， but they are never together in Interesting WWII Story from Italian viewpoint， but story line fell flat。I've read a lot of WWII stories that have taken place in Poland， France or Great Britain， but this is the first about Italy under the Mussolini regime， which I found interesting。 I really liked this authors writing style， he's very poetic in his descriptions。 But， I found the story lacking and felt the ending abrupt。 You keep hearing from the two main characters about their love for each other， but they are never together in this book， even at the end， so I didn't develop any connection with their love story。 To me it fell flat。 There were a lot of secrets， but no great reveals that left me thinking， "Wow， that was unexpected。" I would probably give this 3。5 stars if I could。 I give it 4 stars because of the authors good writing skills and for historical content， but its not a book I will recommend to my friends and family。 。。。more
Brenda Dumas
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Compelling war storyJust one example of the indignities forced upon us by war。 It's like a trip back in time。 You can really feel the fear， pride， resilience and courage of these characters。 Salute'！ Compelling war storyJust one example of the indignities forced upon us by war。 It's like a trip back in time。 You can really feel the fear， pride， resilience and courage of these characters。 Salute'！ 。。。more
Joann 'bartunek' prashek
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I love historical fiction， unfortunately I feel I wasted my time trudging through this novel。 The characters did not draw me in at all。 I felt the story was very slow paced and boring。
Jean A。
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Divided family loyalties A wonderful novel set in Italy during WW II。 The SanAntonio winery has produced award winning wines for generations and continues under the occupation of the Germans。 Life goes on as usual—the wheat and grapes are harvested， the family enjoys their easy life， the hardships of the war are far away。 Until they are not。 Owner and workers are inadvertently drawn into the ugliness of war and secrets—old and new— are uncovered。 The question of what is sin versus an act of surv Divided family loyalties A wonderful novel set in Italy during WW II。 The SanAntonio winery has produced award winning wines for generations and continues under the occupation of the Germans。 Life goes on as usual—the wheat and grapes are harvested， the family enjoys their easy life， the hardships of the war are far away。 Until they are not。 Owner and workers are inadvertently drawn into the ugliness of war and secrets—old and new— are uncovered。 The question of what is sin versus an act of survival resonate throughout the book。 A moving story that stays with you。 。。。more
Denise
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I was lucky enough to win a copy of this book through Goodreads。 If you love World War II historical fictions you will not be disappointed with this story。 It is a poignant story of war， heartbreak， guilt and such hard circumstances to live in。
Jackie Litton
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I thoroughly enjoyed this book。The knowledge and details of the vineyards was awesome。A bit padded out in places。A good read。
james c reppucci
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This is another fine read that you can not put down。
Nathalie
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I loved reading a novel set in Italy during WWII。 It’s about Victoria （a landowner’s daughter） and Carlo， a contadini。
Lori Hooten
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Another take on the hard life presented by WWII when a soldier has to walk back home through the whole of Italy and those left behind are presented with trying to understand who is supporting which side。 Is it really easier to be wealthy in a time like this？I found this one a generally enjoyable read but it was slow in a couple of places。 I found the depiction of different people interesting and the take on life in different social circles a thing to consider。 It isn't one I would say you have t Another take on the hard life presented by WWII when a soldier has to walk back home through the whole of Italy and those left behind are presented with trying to understand who is supporting which side。 Is it really easier to be wealthy in a time like this？I found this one a generally enjoyable read but it was slow in a couple of places。 I found the depiction of different people interesting and the take on life in different social circles a thing to consider。 It isn't one I would say you have to read but it was an enjoyable one to complete。 。。。more
Don
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An interesting WWII story about a wealthy Italian family and the people who did the work for the family。 I enjoyed the read。
Debbie Shoulders
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