Belladonna by Anbara Salam

Today is one of those days where I get to share with you a “new-to-me” author and her latest release, BELLADONNA, which comes out today.

* Hardcover: 336 pages

* Publisher: Berkley (June 9, 2020)

* Language: English

* ISBN-10: 0593099346

* ISBN-13: 978-0593099346

A hypnotizing coming-of-age novel set in 1950s Italy that stares into the heart of longing and at the friendships that have the power to save and destroy us.

          “I was utterly captivated, from first page to last.” –Anton DiSclafani, New York Times bestselling author of The After Party

Isabella is beautiful, inscrutable, and popular. Her best friend, Bridget, keeps quietly to the fringes of their Connecticut Catholic school, watching everything and everyone, but most especially Isabella.

In 1957, when the girls graduate, they land coveted spots at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Pentila in northern Italy, a prestigious art history school on the grounds of a silent convent. There, free of her claustrophobic home and the town that will always see her and her Egyptian mother as outsiders, Bridget discovers she can reinvent herself as anyone she desires… perhaps even someone Isabella could desire in return.

But as that glittering year goes on, Bridget begins to suspect Isabella is keeping a secret from her, one that will change the course of their lives forever.

Here is an audio sample of the book for your listening pleasure.

PRH Audio · Belladonna by Anbara Salam, read by Jill Winternitz

Author Anbara Salam

Now for a bit of background on the author.

Anbara Salam is half-Palestinian and half-Scottish and grew up in London. She has a PhD in Theology and is now living and working in Oxford.

She spent six months living on a small South Pacific island, and her experiences there served as the inspiration for her first novel, Things Bright and Beautiful.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Don’t you just love how a story like this can transport you to a different place and a different era in a matter of minutes?