Cover of The Golden Hour

The Golden Hour

In this stunning debut set in the summer of 1944 in Tuscany, Giovanna Bellini, the daughter of a wealthy aristocrat and vineyard owner, has just turned seventeen and is on the cusp of adulthood. War bears down on her peaceful little village after the Italians sign a separate peace with the Allies-transforming the Germans into an occupying army.

Read more

But when her brother joins the Resistance, he asks Giovanna to hide a badly wounded fighter who is Jewish. As she nurses him back to health, she falls helplessly in love with the brave and humble Marco, who comes from as ancient and noble an Italian family as she does. They pledge their love, and then must fight a real battle against the Nazis who become more desperate and cruel as the Allies close in on them...

Audience
adult

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it. Point at it (on a phone, tap it) for less of it instead.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

Liked The Golden Hour? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked The Golden Hour. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. Villa Triste Shares historical fiction, World War II, Italy
  2. The Garden of Letters Shares historical fiction, World War II, Italy
  3. A Thread of Grace Shares historical fiction, World War II, Italy
  4. To Find a Mountain Shares historical fiction, World War II, Italy

“People who read The Golden Hour tend to reach for these next.”

  1. April in Paris
  2. A Beautiful Cage
  3. The Seven (Volume 1)
  4. Obedience

“If you want more of the same (historical fiction), start with these.”

  1. Early One Morning
  2. The Girl from Venice
  3. Beneath a Scarlet Sky
  4. The Last Telegram

“If it was the Italy that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. The Liberation
  2. The Secret of Raven Point
  3. Bianca's Vineyard
  4. Lambrusco: A Novel

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. The Secret of Santa Vittoria
  2. War Nurse: The Diary of Kitty Langley, 1939-1940
  3. A High Mortality of Doves
  4. The Tin Snail