Day: February 3, 2021

Book Review: The Ancestor by Danielle Trussoni

The Ancestor
Author:
Danielle Trussoni

Published:  April 7, 2020
349 Pages

Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 stars

Book Description:

It feels like a fairy tale when Alberta ”Bert” Monte receives a letter addressed to “Countess Alberta Montebianco” at her Hudson Valley, New York, home that claims she’s inherited a noble title, money, and a castle in Italy. While Bert is more than a little skeptical, the mystery of her aristocratic family’s past, and the chance to escape her stressful life for a luxury holiday in Italy, is too good to pass up.

At first, her inheritance seems like a dream come true: a champagne-drenched trip on a private jet to Turin, Italy; lawyers with lists of artwork and jewels bequeathed to Bert; a helicopter ride to an ancestral castle nestled in the Italian Alps below Mont Blanc; a portrait gallery of ancestors Bert never knew existed; and a cellar of expensive vintage wine for Bert to drink.

But her ancestry has a dark side, and Bert soon learns that her family history is particularly complicated. As Bert begins to unravel the Montebianco secrets, she begins to realize her true inheritance lies not in a legacy of ancestral treasures, but in her very genes.

Kim’s Review:

This one was … odd. At first, I considered giving it 3 stars, but then I gave it 4; if nothing else, it kept my attention! I got this book for Christmas and I was so excited because it had everything I love! Italy, ancient families, an old castle in the mountains, family secrets … a gothic tale that I hoped would be filled with spirits, mystery, haunting a, murder, intrigue, fabulous style and architecture! And to be fair, it had almost all of that. But dang if I ended in a way different place that I ever expected to be!

I can’t say much about it because I don’t want to give anything away, but holy crap on a cracker. By the time I was finished reading, I was just shaking my head trying to make sense of what the fudge I just read! I mean, I’m still speechless. I’m actually sending my copy to a friend so she can read it and tell me what’s happening! It’s intriguing, it’s confusing, it’s fascinating, it’s frustrating, and I guess I can’t fault a book for being all those things! Just read it, you’ll see what I mean.

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK