Two Australian stories which combine history and heritage to warm the heart

The Right Place by Carla Caruso

Carla Caruso’s new tome The Right Place is the perfect book for people who enjoy both cooking and reading.

Set in Adelaide, the story focusses on Nella Martini who inherits her nonna’s house and market garden following her death.

Nella has returned to Adelaide from Melbourne, broken hearted after the collapse of her fashion boutique and the end of a long-term relationship.

Feeling less than satisfied with her life and barely embracing her Italian heritage, returning to her home town presents challenges for her to decide what she wants from life.

Included in the story are flashbacks of her grandmother’s arrival in Australia intertwined into Nella’s life, providing a historical background for the reader.

Feeling at a loss while cleaning up the house Nella discovers her nonna’s recipe book which creates an opportunity for her to venture down a new path.

Beautifully written by freelance journalist Carla Caruso the story draws on her own family’s migration experience.

Interspersed with more than 35 southern Italian recipes from Caruso’s family, the book is an uplifting tale of migrant life in Australia.

The addition of the recipes gives a further connection to the story and after reading the book I tried several of them. They were easy to follow, and I impressed my family with the results.

Caruso’s story of heritage, family and love provides the perfect recipe for a best-selling book.

Published by Harlequin. RRP $29.99

The Lost Pearl by Emily Madden

I always enjoy stories which capture family generations and entwine historical events.

Emily Madden’s The Lost Pearl, released this month, is a sweeping saga which takes the reader across three generations, three quarters of a century and two countries.

The story begins in Hawaii in 1941 just before the attack on Pearl Harbour when 16-year-old, Catherine McGarrie falls in love with a boy from the other side of the tracks, one who her parents would never approve. Through the eyes of Catherine we follow how the attack changes her and many family’s lives forever.

Catherine is sent to Australia to see out the war and eventually marries and settles down to life in Sydney never sharing anything of her former life in Hawaii with her family.

As Catherine comes to the end of her life, she reveals snippets of her early life in Hawaii to her much-loved granddaughter Kit, vowing to share the whole story.

Catherine dies before she has the opportunity, leaving Kit with a mystery to unfold.

Not only does The Lost Pearl cover the war years it also highlights the changing societal values for women and how some of these attitudes affected many women’s lives.

This historical saga with its twists and turns was hard to put down.

Published by Harlequin. RRP $29.99.

Win Win Win

Thanks to Harlequin we have two copies of each of the above books to give away to some lucky readers.

To be in the draw simply fill in the form below or write to Harlequin C/- Have a Go News PO Box 1042, West Leederville 6901.

Competition closes 7/10/18.

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