Blog Tour: Letters from Lucca by Kim Baccellia

Title: Letters from Lucca
Author: Kim Baccellia
Genre: Historical Dual Timeline

BLURB:

On the heels of Sammi’s grandmother’s whispered deathbed wish, a package of letters from Italy arrives at her post box. Reading them makes Sammi recall whispers she heard in childhood of her grandmother’s wartime involvement, a past that Sammi’s father and aunt would rather see remain closed. As if things couldn’t get any worse, her long-time boyfriend, Hunter, dumps her. However, an opportunity arises that sends her to Italy to defend her grandmother, even if the truth might shatter all she believes. In a helpful twist, Joseph, her best friend’s Italian cousin, offers to help her. Despite the obvious growing attraction between Joseph and her, she tries to suppress it as she embarks on her mission to vindicate the grandmother she loves.

EXCERPT:

2018

Hunter: Meet me tonight. 7. Crystal Cove.

Sammi: Looking forward to it.

Time crept by in slow motion at the Saddleback Postal Shop. I kept re-reading Hunter’s message on my iPhone screen. The words staring back brought such a jumble of emotions. Excitement…anticipation…but also anxiety. He was insisting we meet later at Crystal Cove, an exclusive Newport Coast restaurant. Could this be it? What had I’d been hoping for? Fantasies of him leaning over the restaurant table with his adorable half-grin, asking me to marry him, collided with the task at hand.

With a sigh, I turned back to the counter. A shoebox sized package was shoved to the back. Delicate cursive writing spelled out my grandmother’s mailbox number. Who wrote like that anymore? I couldn’t help but feel a little sad, as handwriting had a beauty to it and I was someone who loved receiving something more tangible than a text.

The last name on the package, though, caught me off guard.

Santagostino.

My hands trembled, causing me to fumble the package. I knew that name. But where? I blinked twice and refocused.

My gaze flitted to the top.

Italia. Picturesque stamps of the legendary tower of Pisa and other Italian scenes stared back at me. Intrigued, I gave the package a shake. A light rustle answered back.

“Sammi, what’s that?” Bev asked. I’d been so absorbed in what might be inside the package I hadn’t heard her enter. She held a collection of colorful boxes and wrapping paper. Bev prided herself on having the shop with the most holiday flare. Her Christmas decorations were often posted in the daily Saddleback Valley News.

“Something for my grandmother.” I shook it again.

Bev leaned in even closer, pointing at the postmark. “She knows someone in Italy?”

A painful memory materialized of being that scared eight-year-old girl sworn to secrecy after overhearing an adult accusation against a family member. An ugly word I’d known as a child. Collaborator.

Review:

An atmospheric dual timeline historical novel, Letters from Lucca takes the reader back to Italy during the Second World War. Sammi, her granddaughter, travels to her grandmother’s homeland to find out more about what happened to her and uncover secrets of the past.

I found myself really drawn in to the stories of both Rosa and Sammi, although I felt sometimes the chapters were a bit too short to really allow full immersion before the story jumped to the alternate timeline. However, this did not detract from my enjoyment of the novel, and I found myself wanting to know more about the time period, as well as resistance movements during WWII in Italy.

About the Author:

Award-winning author. Author of YA paranormal CROSSED OUT and CROSSED FIRE. YA dystopia CANDLE IN THE WIND. Also, the author of the urban diverse fantasy EARRINGS OF IXTUMEA. Short Christmas Magic in the Holiday analogy MISTLETOE AND MAGIC. Re-releasing YA fantasy under new title-GODDESSES DON’T CARE in 2026.