Seeking reviewers for my new novel – up on NetGalley now!
I am so excited to be preparing my third novel for publication. My women’s fiction, dual timeline contemporary/historical novel, In The Shadow of The Apennines, will be released 21 October.
In the lead-up, I have my novel up on NetGalley to gather early reader reviews.
Here’s the overview:
An American divorcée. An Italian shepherdess.
Separated by a century, united by common dreams
The sleepy little Abruzzo mountain town of Marsicano seems about as far as Samantha can flee from her failed marriage and disastrous university career. Eager for a fresh start, Samantha begins to set down roots in her Italian mountain hideaway.
At first, the mountain retreat appears idyllic, but an outsider’s clumsy attempts at breaking into the closed mountain community are quickly thwarted when the residents discover Samantha’s snarky blog ridiculing the town and its inhabitants.
Increasingly isolated in her mountain cottage, Samantha discovers the letters and diaries of Elena, a past tenant and a survivor of the 1915 Pescina earthquake. Despite the century that separates the two women, Samantha feels increasingly drawn into Elena’s life, and discovers startling parallels with her own.
This is a region and a time period I absolutely love, and I’ve spent a lot of time in this mountainous region of Abruzzo and have thoroughly enjoyed bringing this era to life.
If you are a NetGalley reviewer, I hope you will consider reviewing!
Here are two early editorial reviews on my novel:
“An emotionally nuanced thrill ride. Sullivan’s poignant latest novel delivers kaleidoscopic settings and a heartfelt coming-of-age story. Trying to forget the trauma of her failed marriage, Samantha leaves her home in America behind and buys a lovely cottage in the sleepy little Abruzzo Mountain town of Marsicano. But with the townspeople wary of the new stranger, Samantha soon realizes she’s lonelier than before. Sullivan’s expert prose allows a deeper look at her protagonists’ feelings, fears, and vulnerabilities. She does a wonderful job depicting Samantha’s vulnerability and Elena’s fierce heart, while capturing the rhythms of life in the small Italian town. The novel succeeds as both a contemporary fiction and a thoughtfully told story of a heartbroken woman trying to come to terms with the new circumstances of her life. A tale of heartbreak, grief, courage, and self-realization that will resonate with many.”-The Prairies Review
“Kimberly Sullivan’s compelling literary work, In The Shadow of The Apennines, is an emotional journey following an American woman as she escapes to the mountains of Italy, fleeing the memory of a failed marriage, only to find that a getaway can be just as isolating. When she finds the journal of a local woman from a century ago, her world starts to transform, as she finds she is connected to the woman in ways she couldn’t have imagined. While readers may have to suspend disbelief for our heroine’s abrupt mastery of the Italian language, Sullivan’s novel is romantic in the way only foreign travel can be, with the prose beautifully describing the sights and sounds of Italy, as well as unveiling the captivating story of two women’s seemingly disparate lives woven together across time.” – Self-Publishing Review