GRR Reviews Silence Is Golden by Laura Mercuri

Silence is Golden is a translated novel that featured some pretty messed up families that may make readers barf in disgust and some seriously damaged people. While the story is sweet about how love can grow in even such adversities, the ending was... uh... I'll explain later. To recap...

Emilia fled her house after the death of her mother... and her father's "request" that she becomes the "lady of the house" (including... sharing his bed). She found the small village of Bren, in northern Italy... the scenery is beautiful, but the village is not kind to strangers. Still, Emilia decided to settle there, finding a few sympathetic souls, and a mysterious and quiet carpenter named Aris, whose mother Dora was obsessively protective of him. As Aris and Emilia slowly fall for each other, neither was ready to go all in, each with their own pains, and the town's cold disapproval of Emilia had not dissipated. Can love flourish under these circumstances?

The novel was translated so some portions feel slightly unnatural. The ending relied on TWO separate deus ex machinas as well as a run-away-to-sort-my-feelings to finally reach the end. While I enjoy the characters, I really don't like how the story ended or the way it got there. The characters are okay, and the struggle is genuine, but the way it got to the end is, well, weird.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Italian woman trying to settle in a village fell for the quiet carpenter and collides with his obsessively protective mother

Tropes: evil parents, woman in peril, protector, scars, small town, fish out of water, family secrets

Overall Rating:  3/5