Daughter of Mine: A Novel by Laura Fabiani

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Sheila's Reviews
Apr 212010
 

Title: Daughter of Mine: A Novel

Author: Laura Fabiani

Publisher:iUniverse, Inc.

ISBN# 978-0-595-47857-6

paperback 190 pages

I have seen a great trend in romance books lately. More authors are writing what they are calling, “Clean Romances”. This basically means that you can read a Romance without having to read graphic sex scenes, that usually are not needed. I recently read a feel-good romance, with a great mystery that needed to be solved by the heroine. Here is what it says on the back cover:


“Tiziana Manoretti is an only child in her late twenties blessed with loving parents, a promising career, and a best friend who fiercely protects her. When her mother falls seriously ill and the relationship between her parents becomes suddenly strained, a carefully hidden family secret is revealed and Tiziana’s seemingly idealistic world is turned upside down.

After discovering she was born in a Naples orphanage and subsequently given up for adoption, Tiziana sets out for the small town of Gaeta in an attempt to find her birth parents. Meanwhile, her best friend Christopher is sending her mixed messages, causing her to wonder if there is more to their relationship than just companionship. As she becomes intertwined with a handful of interesting characters who help her uncover her past, Tiziana needs to decide whether her feelings for Christopher are deeper than she realizes. She discovers herself and others all while her family’s resilience and love for one another is tested when confronted with a shocking truth.

The answers lie in a box found in a closet in Italy, and Tiziana must determine if she wants to embrace the heartache and the pain from her past in order to learn forgiveness and find peace in the future”


The Romantic setting in this story grabbed me from the start. Most of the story takes place in Naples, Italy. The place I want to travel to the most is Italy; specifically, Rome, Venice and Naples. The other thing that drew me into this story was the fact that Tiziana, the main character, was adopted and she is Italian. Guess what? I was adopted and I am Italian. I could relate to the character very easily. Even though there was some predictability in the storyline, I didn’t care, because I liked the characters so much. I also enjoyed watching Tiziana figure out things that the reader already had guessed. Laura has one of those writing styles that the words seem to flow easily across the pages. This is a wonderful quick read, and you feel very happy when you are done reading it.

I also loved the descriptions of Naples in the story as she brought to life the beauty of the Neapolitan mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. It made me want to go there even more. Most importantly about this novel are the themes of family relationships, forgiveness, friendship, and enduring love.

I recommend this book to any person that loves a good, clean romance. This would be a great book to read while lazing around on a Saturday in your p.j.’s or a hot, Summer day while sipping lemonade.

My Rating: 4 stars

Read it Again? Yes

Recommend it? Yes, to all of you that want to read a clean romance/mystery

Read more of Laura’s books? Yes, I look forward to reading more from Laura.


You can purchase this book at these places:



I want to thank Laura for the review copy of, “Daughter of Mine”. I did not receive any compensation for giving this review.


Today I want to introduce to you Laura Fabiani.

Education and Current Activities

Laura Fabiani has a degree in Special Care Counselling and a diploma in Writing for Children and Teenagers. She also translates documents from the French language to English for the medical community since 2000. She is founder of NouveauWriter.com, an online resource for new and aspiring writers. She blogs about books at Library of Clean Reads, where she reviews books and offers promotional services to authors. Fabiani currently teaches creative writing workshops in English and French.
Interests and Inspiration

Laura Fabiani has been writing as far back as she can remember, making use of poetry and short compositions throughout her youth to express her ideas and feelings. One of her early goals in life was to write a novel. She began several of them, but never brought them to completion… until one day her sister asked, “Laura, when are you going to finish that book you once talked about writing?”

That’s when Fabiani finally sat down and began to write where she had left off more than eight years ago, when the idea for Daughter of Mine was sparked listening to her mother-in-law’s stories of her youth in her native Naples.

Italy has always held a special place for Laura Fabiani because her parents are Italian immigrants. Her father is from the beautiful mountainous region of Pescara in Abruzzo and her mother from the romantic city of Rome. In addition, Fabiani’s maternal grandmother came from a noble family in Gaeta, Naples. Fabiani has traveled several times to Italy and stayed in her ancestral home in Rome with her relatives.

When not writing or immersed in study, she divides her time between taking care of her family and sharing in a volunteer worldwide Bible education program. Of all the literature Fabiani has read, the Holy Scriptures have shaped her life the most. She has deep respect for this book that has influenced some of the world’s greatest art, literature, music and has had a significant impact on law. “It teaches us how to live the best life now and in the future,” she believes.

She is currently working on her second novel. She lives with her husband and two children in Montreal, Quebec.

Belated Teaser Tuesday – April 14, 2010

 Posted by  Special Features, Teaser Tuesdays
Apr 142010
 
I took the day “off” yesterday (it was my birthday and I spent it at the spa with my sister getting our first facials- it was so relaxing!) which means that Teaser Tuesday is technically Teaser Wednesday. Enjoy, and don’t forget to leave a teaser from your current read for us in the comments below!
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!
Shanda’s Teaser:

“First, we learn that Ishmael had five daughters who were of marriageable age (see 1 nephi 7:6). Second, there was no murmuring like there was on the first journey to retrieve the brass plates. Apparently, bringing back a family full of eligible maidens was much more appealing to the sons of Lehi than imploring Laban for the brass plates (see 1 nephi 7:1–4).”

Women of the Book of Mormon by Heather B. Moore, page 13
Sheila’s Teaser:

“Yes child, what is the matter? You look distressed,” said Suor Annunziata with concern etched on her forehead.

“I’m fine, but I need to ask you something important to me. Were you at the orphanage when I was born there?”

Suor Annunziatia’s face lost it’s look of concern and became shadowed. “It was a long time ago cara. What did Madre Maria tell you?”
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. there may not even be a record of my birth parent’s names in the file. Do you remember who they were? Do you know anything about my past that can help me find them?”

Daughter of Mine By Laura Fabiani, page 60

Hillary’s Teaser:

“As victims of this be-all, do-all mentality, we have fallen prey to three harmful myths: 1) SUPERMEN and superwomen are real, 2) any job worth doing is worth doing well, and 3) spending time on yourself is a selfish, superficial use of time.”
Simply Sane by Debbie Bowen, page 5
Mystery Guest’s Teaser:

“And there was that dream she’d had a few weeks ago–she’d been dressed in a ragged wedding gown (a la Miss Havisham of “Great ” fame), dancing alone in a dark house, waiting for Mr. Darcy to come for her.”

Austenland by Shannon Hale, page 7

Wondering what’s with this “Mystery Guest’s Teaser”? Come back tomorrow- we’ll be making a big announcement!