The Italian Ballerina by Kristy Cambron Review

 Hello Everyone :)

I hope you're all doing well, and that you're all looking forward to the weekend. 

I'm Kirby, and I want to thank you for joining me today for another book review here on The Preppy Book Princess.

I recently finished an upcoming Christian historical fiction title that was a highly anticipated read for me, as it's set during World War Two, which is one of my all time favorite time periods within this genre.

I'm looking forward to sharing with you all whether or not I thought this one lived up to the hype, and I hope you'll keep reading below for my full review.

The Italian Ballerina by Kristy Cambron:

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publication Date: July 12th, 2022

Genre: Christian Fiction/Historical Fiction/World War Two Fiction

Synopsis:

A prima ballerina. Two American medics. And a young Jewish girl with no name . . . At the height of the Nazi occupation of Rome, an unlikely band of heroes comes together to save Italian Jews 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 that is 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 Italian Jews from the deadly clutches of the Holocaust. But when one little girl who dreams of becoming a ballerina arrives at their door, Julia and the others are determined to reunite the young dancer with her family—if only she would reveal one crucial secret: her name.

Present Day. With the recent loss of her grandfather—a beloved small-town doctor and WWII veteran—Delaney Coleman returns home to help her aging parents, even as she struggles to pick up the pieces of her own life. When a mysterious Italian woman claims she owns one of the family’s precious heirlooms, Delaney is compelled to uncover what’s true of her grandfather’s hidden past. Together with 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 as she wrestles with the possibility that the man she’d revered all her life had unknown ties to Rome and may have taken noble secrets to his grave.

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 WWII Rome, exploring the sometimes heart-wrenching choices we must make to find faith and forgiveness, and how saving just one life can impact countless others. 

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

I've read quite a few of Kristy Cambron's books over the last few years, and after reading the synopsis for this one, I found myself very much looking forward to diving right into another. Unfortunately, this one ended up not being quite what I was expecting, and while there were still certain components I did end up enjoying, it's definitely not my favorite by this author, and probably won't be one that I'll find myself recommending.

Perhaps my favorite part of the entire story were the historical components connected to "Syndrome K." I read quite a few titles within the World War Two setting, and this was my first time learning anything about this fascinating piece of history. It showcased just how brave the individuals were who inspired this story, and I love getting to learn new to me pieces of history when I pick up these kind of titles.

I also enjoyed how ballet plays a big part of the story, and it was interesting to read about how these type of simple enjoyments still carried on to a certain degree during such a devastating time period in history.

Unfortunately, even with taking into consideration the pieces I did enjoy, this one still didn't end up being the book for me. I found the timeslip format didn't really work with this particular story, and I had an awful time trying to follow the various POV's across differing time periods. None of the characters really had a voice that stood out as distinctive, so it made it even more difficult to differentiate one from the other.

I also had a really hard time getting into this one, and struggled to want to read more than a chapter at a time for the first half of the book. The second half was certainly more interesting than the first, but I still can't say that I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I wasn't invested enough in any of the characters' lives to care that much about how everything was going to wrap up.

Final Rating: 3/5.

An okay read, but not what I was expecting, and not my personal favorite from this author.

Thanks so much to Thomas Nelson for allowing me to advance read and review this one!

I received a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the publisher (Thomas Nelson) via NetGally in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Thanks so much for reading guys! I hope you all have a great weekend :)