When she was thirteen years old, Ada Howell lost not just her father, but the life she felt she was destined to lead. Now, at eighteen, Ada is given a second chance when her wealthy godmother gifts her with an extravagant art history trip to Italy.
In the palazzos of Venice, the cathedrals of Florence and the villas of Rome, she finally finds herself among the kind of people she aspires to be; sophisticated, cultured, privileged. Ada does everything in her power to prove she is one of them. And when a member of the group dies in suspicious circumstances, she seizes the opportunity to permanently bind herself to this gilded set. But everything hidden must eventually surface, and when it does, Ada discovers she's been keeping a far darker secret than she could ever have imagined...
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On my return, I found the city bleached of all colour, shimmering dully in an August heatwave.
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(@CorvusBooks, 4 February 2021, 260 pages, ebook, copy from the publisher and voluntarily reviewed, #BlogTour 11 March via @RandomTTours)
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This is a new author to me. The blurb sounded like something I could get my teeth into. I had a great time reading this. I got pulled into the story from the start with the beautiful descriptions of Italy and all of the characters, especially Ada, desperate to reclaim the life she lost when her father died and the wealthy, sophisticated people she aspires to and images herself as being a part of if things had been different. This is an incredibly sad book. This is quite a dark book at times as Ada becomes increasingly desperate to be part of the group and takes extremes to shoehorn herself into their lives.