Review: "The Girl from the Paradise Ballroom: A Novel" by Alison Love

This story is twofold. On the surface it is about a girl, Olivia, who is a dance hostess at the Paradise Ballroom where she meets a singer, Antonio Trombetta. He is Italian, with an astonishing voice and she is a down on her luck beauty. Their eyes meet across the room and although he can’t stop thinking about her, he is a married man and they go their separate ways. She meets a rich man, Bernard who falls in love with her and they marry. Olivia and Antonio’s path cross again when Antonio helps Bernard home after he is attacked and suffers an asthma episode. To repay Antonio for his kindness, he pays for voice lessons and Antonio’s career takes off. World War II begins in Europe and their worlds fall apart. Suspicions run high against the Italians living in Britain and Antonio fights to protect his father and sister and to hold their lives together. Olivia and Antonio are separated and neither knows what has happened to the other.

I enjoyed this book. The story is told in the third person. The author gives you a taste of what is to come in the first chapter and then you go back in time. The characters are rich and well written. The storyline holds your attention because there are actually two stories. The first involves Antonio’s singing career and his interactions with people outside the Italian community. The second involves his family life, including his wife, father, sister and brother. He is the oldest son and he fights to hold the family together and do what is right. She does a wonderful job of blending these two stories together to weave a story rich in character but also history.

This story can be read and enjoyed by teenage to adult readers. I enjoyed it because it not only presented a very understandable, page turning tale, it also did what I feel any great historical fiction novel should do, it provokes the reader to explore more about this period of history which is many faceted and has many stories that need to be told.

I requested and received this book for review from Blogging for Books.