Return to Bella Terra by MaryAnn Diorio is a Sweet, Faith-Based Read!

It’s 1905 and Maria Landro Tonetta has been living with her husband and three children in America for the previous eight years. She and her family left Italy to make a better life for themselves in the States, but it hasn’t been easy. When Maria receives a telegram from Italy, saying that her mother is terminally ill, Maria heads back to her homeland with her adult son Nico. When Maria begins questioning her return to America, she finds herself facing some very difficult challenges.

This is a lovely story of love, redemption and forgiveness. The author’s writing is charming, descriptive and compelling. I enjoyed how the characters were portrayed realistically, with faults they needed to overcome.

From the blurb description, I didn’t know the story takes place so long ago. The beginning goes into the poor treatment of Italians in New York at the turn of century. As the great granddaughter of Irish immigrants I know all too well what this was like for our ancestors. But I did find that the author was just a little too heavy handed when talking about America in those days. Just my personal observation.

I can recommend this sweet faith-based book to readers. Thanks to Book Crash and the publisher for a complimentary copy of this book!