The Amalfi Curse

This is a very female centered story about women who do the most for their families and their home town. It reads a bit like a fairytale with witches and pirates but with very real, relatebale issues. It fuses history and present times with a bit of a dual timeline. My main critique is the same as in Sarah Penner's first book: her love stories are a bit too fast for my taste and her protaganists are a bit to easily convinced that magic is real, especially since they are scientists. But it is a quick read, perfect for the beach or anyone who is dreaming of that perfect Italian holiday.

Sarah Penner's third novel is the perfect companion for a vacation on the coast. As I have visited the Amalfi coast, Sorrent and Capri myself in the past, I was immediately thrown back into my memory of the crystal blue water of the Italian coast with all its glamour, dazzle and rough rocks. I am also a huge fan of interweaving time-lines, which Penner uses a lot in her stories. In fact, I enjoyed the historical time-line even more than the thread in the here and now and almost wished for more of Mari, Holmes and the streghe del mare di Positano. If you read this book, you will be more than tempted to jump off your seat, book a flight to Italy and jump right into a deep dive for yourself!