Lisa Scottoline is a prolific author. I’ve seen her books praised online. I’ve seen her books in the library and in book stores, yet I’ve never read any of them until now. She’s writes thrillers, a genre that I don’t usually read. When I had the opportunity to read this book, her first work of historical fiction, one of my favorite genres, I jumped at the chance. I’ve read many WWII stories focused on Germany, Poland, France, Hitler and the Nazis and the Holocaust, but not much about the rise of...

Eternal by Lisa Scottoline is a World War II historical fiction novel that takes place in Rome, the Eternal City. The prologue of the story starts in 1957 when the character Elisabetta decides it is time to tell her thirteen-year-old son who his father really was. She must also explain why she hid the truth from him until he was old enough. Elisabetta knows she must come to grips with the incidents that shaped her youth during the ventennio, which was the twenty years of Mussolini’s rule, and du...

Eternal by Lisa Scottoline was a 5 star read for me. I had had Eternal on my kindle for a long time but decided to listen to the audiobook instead and was so glad that I did. It was expertly narrated by Cassandra Campbell and Eduardo Ballerini. They brilliantly brought the story to life and captured my full attention. Eternal was a new genre for Lisa Scottoline. Her prior 30 something novels were either thrillers or books that centered around the criminal justice system. Eternal was a novel of h...

When I first heard that my favorite legal thriller author was taking a step into the historical fiction field, I was conflicted- excited to hear a new story from a voice I admire and love; nervous that I would be missing something of her in this book. Excited won out and I stalked Edelweiss, the pre order sites and others to get a glimpse of this book. What was delivered was one of the BEST novels I have read. While changed in genre, Scottoline’s strong feminine voice rang true and her story tel...

DNF'd at about 25%. My interest was in the historical aspects of the novel. Had I known in advance that a teenage romance dominates the story, I never would have started reading it. There are two boys vying for the affections of one girl, and it gets quite sappy and soap opera-ish. When the girl starts comparing in her mind the way the two boys kiss, I was about ready to give it up. Then one of the boys learns a secret about his father and goes off the deep end with the melodrama and I was DONE

War was eternal, but so was peace. Death was eternal, but so was life. Darkness was eternal, but so was light. Hate was eternal, but above all, so was love.Rome in the time of WW II. Many, many previous books show us Paris or London. I am glad to see more books coming out about Italy (another recent title is 'Our Darkest Night' by Jennifer Robson). We are used to reading thrillers from Lisa Scottoline. This historical fiction has just as many exciting twists and turns as we watch three childhoo...

Eternal is a departure from the authors usual genre and I have to admit, I was skeptical. However, this book blew me away! I’ve heard the author describe this as a labor of love and her passion comes through so clearly throughout Eternal. This is a love letter to Italy, it’s people, and it’s culture. And it’s magnificent!Eternal is a sweeping, emotional tale about a trio of friends in Rome as the fascist regime takes over. Anti-Semitism takes root and the Nazis occupy Rome. What follows is a tal...

Excellent historical fiction. I haven't read many books before about how Mussolini's fascism evolved, and think Scottoline, who comes from Italian heritage, made the history a very interesting read (listen). The two audio narrators we're A+.

Lisa Scottoline first drew my attention with her legal thrillers set in Philadelphia; they became a nostalgic read recollecting our fifteen years in that city. Scottoline expanded into stories inspired by social issues, and now with a new publisher, has written her first historical fiction novel about a time and place that has intrigued her for decades: Italy under the fascist dictatorship of Mussolini. She has incorporated events that few remember, and for that, I have to commend her. She obvio...

I devoured Eternal in much the same way and for many of the same reasons that I savored The English Patient, Atonement, or Corelli’s Mandolin: Lisa Scottoline has written a beautiful, heartbreaking, wrenching love story set in the Second World War. It’s alive with characters I cared about deeply — including the remarkable city of Rome, itself — and their courage in the face of Fascism.

I could not finish this one. I just could not get into it. The physical descriptions of the characters read like an obligatory list of facial and body parts, and the interactions between characters are wooden and forced. This is just not for me.

Eternal by Lisa Scottoline is a beautiful story of World War II in Italy starting with teenagers before the war and lasting decades. I love Scottoline’s thrillers, so was curious about her writing historical fiction. Eternal is so beautiful, I am shocked it is Scottoline’s first historical fiction novel, and I hope she writes more. The story starts with three best friends that turns into a love triangle. While Elisabetta, Marco, and Sandro are listening to their family’s opinions, Elisabetta is

The fact that Elisabetta, Marco, and Sandro are childhood friends lends Scottoline’s love triangle an aura of sadness. Someone will lose out. This sadness is accentuated by the forces of war and politics. Lisa Scottoline sets her novel against the backdrop of Rome, in the later 1930’s and early 1940’s. Italy careens toward WW2 led by the Fascist Prime Minister, Benito Mussolini. As these three young people come of age and learn that their parents are fallible, they are beset by the challenges an...

Haven't we all been waiting for this book? Lisa Scottoline turns her formidable talents to World War II, with the story of three young friends who navigate Fascist Italy and then Nazi occupied Rome. Heartbreaking and beautiful. Out today!

A heartfelt historical fiction! You’ll travel to WWII in Rome for a love triangle with unforgettable characters, the rise of fascism and a coming of age. Grab a Chianti and tissues!

I loved this book. The author gives us Rome in the pre-war years, when Fascism was the government, and the war years, when the Nazis took over the city. She has created a lively, realistic, and unforgettable cast of characters and has depicted the city and the period of time with a truly marked attention to detail. From the first chapter, I was hooked. This isn't a book I will forget any time soon.

I always enjoy this author. I also love historical fiction, But I’m sorry to say I found this disappointing. The concept was very good but,for me, it fell flat. It was too pat and predictable. The characters were two dimensional, uninteresting , and often stereotypical . I also thought the all too frequent use of italicized Italian words, food, and phrases was distracting and unnecessary. Some is ok when it’s not familiar but I think we all know what biscotti and cafe are.

Lisa, Lisa, Lisa!!!!What were you thinking here? I got so .... bored? Yes, bored with all those super short chapters that felt to me like they were short stories that didn't link up with the chapter before or the one after. I am so sorry, it was long and, again, well boring. I think that historical EPICS are not in your future. Please go back and write a bunch of really good thrillers! This is where your talent is. To my credit, I did read over 240 pages.. I just couldn't do anymore! 2 stars but...

I wanted to love this book. It deals with two of my favorite topics, World War II and Rome, my favorite city in the world. Now to the novel: Lisa Scottoline is a very prolific and successful writer. It is obvious that this novel was extremely well researched and that the story is important to the author and close to her heart. Unfortunately, at least in my opinion, it was an epic failure. It takes on an incredibly important and moving subject--the City of Rome just before and during World War II...

‘Eternal,’ her first work in historical fiction, is the book Lisa Scottoline has wanted to write ever since she took Philip Roth’s year-long seminar on the ‘Literature of the Holocaust’ at the University of Pennsylvania. It was there she was introduced to the Italian Jewish chemist, Primo Levi, who survived Auschwitz and wrote the memoir, “If This is a Man,” published in the U.S. as, “Survival in Auschwitz.” After intensive research, and travel to various sites in Italy, Lisa has taken her enorm...