Happy First Line Friday! Today I am featuring a new release by another new-to-me author: The Italian Ballerina by Kristy Cambron.

18 May 1944
Tiber Island
Rome, Italy

“Never open a locked door unless you’re certain death doesn’t lurk behind it.”

The Italian Ballerina by Kristy Cambron

The Basics

Title: The Italian Ballerina

Author: Kristy Cambron

Publication Date: July 12, 2022

Genre: Split-Time WWII Historical Fiction

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

From the Back Cover:

At the height of the Nazi occupation of Rome, an unlikely band of heroes comes together to save innocent lives in this breathtaking World War II novel based on real historical events.

Rome, 1943. With the fall of Italy’s Fascist government and the Nazi regime occupying the streets of Rome, British ballerina Julia Bradbury is stranded and forced to take refuge at a hospital on Tiber Island. But when she learns of a deadly sickness sweeping through the quarantine wards—a fake disease known only as Syndrome K—she is drawn into one of the greatest cons in history. Alongside hospital staff, friars of the adjoining church, and two Allied medics, Julia risks everything to rescue Jewish Italians from the deadly clutches of the Holocaust. Soon a little girl who dreams of becoming a ballerina arrives at their door, and Julia is determined to reunite the young dancer with her family—if only she would reveal one crucial secret: her name.

Present Day. Delaney Coleman recently lost her grandfather—a beloved small-town doctor and World War II veteran, so she returns home to help her aging parents. When a mysterious Italian woman reaches out claiming to own one of the family’s precious heirlooms, Delaney is compelled to travel to Italy and uncover the truth of her grandfather’s hidden past. With the help of the woman’s skeptical but charming grandson, Delaney learns of a Roman hospital that saved hundreds of Jewish people during the war. Soon, everything Delaney thought she knew about her grandfather comes into question.

Based on true accounts of the invented Syndrome K sickness, The Italian Ballerina journeys from the Allied storming of the beaches at Salerno to the London ballet stage and the war-torn streets of World War II Rome, exploring the sometimes heart-wrenching choices we must make to find faith and forgiveness, and how saving a single life can impact countless others.

My Review

This was the first of Kristy Cambron’s novels I have read, and I was immediately drawn into this intricately woven World War II story. The historical details are fascinating, brought to life by vibrant characters who leap (and dance) off the page. I did find the historical timeline a little hard to follow at first, as it jumped around between several different years, but it all came together and thoroughly captured my attention. Through Delaney’s story in the present, we discover the past alongside her, and are reminded how one courageous action can change the course of generations. This beautiful story has put Kristy Cambron on my list of must-read WWII authors! I highly recommend it to fans of Sarah Sundin and Melanie Dobson.

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I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.