A good beach read!
The Words We Whisper by Mary Ellen Taylor is a dual timeline novel that takes us between the 1940s in Rome and the present day in Richmond, Virginia. The story is told from multiple points-of-view which includes Zara Mitchell, Gina Mitchell, Nicolas Bernard, and Isabella Mancuso. The main narrators are Zara, a traveling hospice nurse, and Isabella Mancuso, a dressmaker at a high-end shop in Rome in the 1940s. I thought The Words We Whisper contained good writing, but it is a slow starter. I had a hard time getting into the book. I thought the beginning was a bit of a put off and it is depressing. I wish the story had begun differently (in a way that would have hooked me). The Words We Whisper is an interesting story with things I liked and some things I found less appealing. I enjoyed the historical sections more than the present day. Isabella lives in Rome and wants to help her country against the invading Germans. I can tell the author did her research. With regard to the modern section, I could have done without the romance. I would have preferred to see more growth from Zara. To have her coming into her own instead of falling in love. I like how the author tied the past and present together. Nonna�s secrets are slowly revealed with the big unveiling at the end. While The Words We Whisper is a good story, I felt something was missing. The Words We Whisper is a story about war, loss, love, sacrifice, forgiveness, and new beginnings. The Words We Whisper is a good book to read while relaxing on a lounger by the pool.