Camille Di Maio

Julianne Westcott was living the kind of life that other Protestant girls in prewar Liverpool could only dream about: old money, silk ball gowns, and prominent young men lining up to escort her. But when she learns of a blind-and-deaf brother, institutionalized since birth, the illusion of her perfect life and family shatters around her. While visiting her brother in secret, Julianne meets and befriends Kyle McCarthy, an Irish Catholic groundskeeper studying to become a priest. Caught between her family's expectations, Kyle's devotion to the church, and the intense new feelings that the forbidden courtship has awakened in her, Julianne must make a choice: uphold the life she's always known or follow the difficult path toward love. But as war ripples through the world and the Blitz decimates England, a tragic accident forces Julianne to leave everything behind and forge a new life built on lies she's told to protect the ones she loves. Now, after twenty years of hiding from her past, the truth finds her--will she be brave enough to face it?

The Memory of Us

Margaret Beck is proud of her work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard sewing stars onto the Stars and Stripes, but she yearns to contribute to the war effort more meaningfully. She's angling for a promotion to the mechanic section, but she doesn't want to wait to make a difference. So with her two best friends, she decides to start a knitting club, where they will knit socks for the boys at the front. Thinking of the young men so far from the comforts of home, Margaret slips a note into her first pair of socks, offering a connection to an unknown soldier that will forever change her life. For Thomas Powell serving his country was not only his duty but an honor, and he wore his Army uniform with pride. Yet being on the frontlines, witness to unspeakable tragedy and despair, has shaken him. The one shining light is Margaret's letters-written to his best friend William. When William is killed, Tom doesn't have the heart to write the warm, generous, and hopeful Margaret and tell her the news. Not about William's death and not about the way he's fallen in love with her-across an ocean, amidst the darkness of war, and through the letters she never intended for him. Instead, he picks up his pen and responds to Margaret's latest letter, signing it William. As the war intensifies, so does the affection between Tom and Margaret, and Tom knows he owes her the truth. But as he heads out for his most dangerous mission yet, Tom wonders-will he ever get the chance to tell her?

Until We Meet

After serving seventy years in prison for the murder of her sister, Eula, Della Lee has finally returned home to the Texas town of Puerto Pesar. She’s free from confinement—and ready to tell her secrets before it’s too late. She finds a willing audience in journalist Mick Anders, who is reeling after his suspension from a Boston newspaper and in town, reluctantly, to investigate a mysterious portrait of Eula that reportedly sheds tears. He crosses paths with Dr. Paloma Vega, who’s visiting Puerto Pesar with her own mission: to take care of her ailing grandmother and to rescue her rebellious younger sister before something terrible happens. Paloma and Mick have their reasons to be in the hot, parched border town whose name translates as “Port of Regret.” But they don’t anticipate how their lives will be changed forever. Moving and engrossing, this dual story alternates between Della’s dark ordeals of the 1940s and Paloma and Mick’s present-day search for answers'about roots, family, love, and what is truly important in life.

Before the Rain Falls

A legendary hotel on the Pacific becomes a haven where dreams, love, and a beguiling mystery come alive. 1958. Kate Morgan, tethered to her family's failing San Francisco restaurant, is looking for an escape. She gets her chance by honoring a cryptic plea from her grandfather: find the beautiful stranger. The search takes her to Hotel del Coronado, the beachfront landmark on the Southern California coast where filming is underway on the movie Some Like It Hot. For a movie lover like Kate, it's a fantasy come true. So is the offer of a position at the glamorous hotel. And a new romance is making her heart beat just as fast. But as sure as she is that Coronado is her future, Kate discovers it's also where the ghosts of the past have come to stay. Sixty years ago a guest died tragically, and she still haunts the hotel's halls. As the lives of two women--generations apart--intertwine, Kate's courageous journey could change more than she ever imagined. And with Coronado wending its way through her soul, she must follow her dreams...wherever they may lead.

The Beautiful Strangers

Camille Di Maio's fifth novel THE FIRST EMMA is the true story of Emma Koehler, whose tycoon husband Otto was killed in a crime-of-the-century murder by one of his two mistresses--both also named Emma--and her unlikely rise as CEO of a brewing empire during Prohibition. When a chance to tell her story to a young teetotaler arises, a tale unfolds of love, war, beer, and the power of women.

The First Emma

Hearts and dreams evolve in the shadow of the once-magnificent Penn Station. Vera Keller, the daughter of German immigrants in turn-of-the-century New York City, finds her life upended when the man she loves becomes engaged to another woman. But Angelo Bellavia has also inadvertently opened up Vera's life to unexpected possibilities. Angelo's new wife, Pearl, the wealthy daughter of a clothing manufacturer, has defied her family's expectations by devoting herself to the suffrage movement. In Pearl, Vera finds an unexpected dear friend...and a stirring new cause of her own. But when Pearl's selfless work pulls her farther from Angelo and their son, the life Vera craved is suddenly within her reach--if her conscience will allow her to take it. Her choice will define not only her future but also that of her daughter, Alice. Vera and Alice--a generation and a world apart--are bound by the same passionate drive to fulfill their dreams. As first mother and then daughter come of age in a city that is changing as rapidly as its skyline, they'll each discover that love is the only constant.

The Way of Beauty

Le parfum de nos souvenirs Tome 2 [EDITION EN GROS CARACTERES]

The Memory of Us: A Novel By Camille Di Maio

Dans la tourmente du Blitz... Dans l'Angleterre d'avant-guerre, Julianne Westcott enchaîne les bals et ne manque pas de prétendants. Lors d'une visite à son frère placé en institut, elle rencontre Kyle McCarthy, un jeune séminariste irlandais. Malgré les avertissements de sa famille, Julianne tombe amoureuse de Kyle et quitte tout pour se marier avec lui. Mais alors que la guerre secoue le monde et que le Blitz décime l'Angleterre, un tragique accident oblige Julianne à tout abandonner et à se forger une vie nouvelle faite de mensonges. Mais un jour la vérité la rattrapera et elle devra alors faire face à son passé. Mot de l'éditeur : Véritable page-turner, Le Parfum de nos souvenirs nous bouleverse et nous emporte dans un drame romantique qui met essentiellement en scène le choix d'une femme dont le courage apporte un souffle inattendu à l'intrigue. Dès que vous aurez lu la première page, vous ne pourrez pas reposer ce roman avant de l'avoir terminé. "Cette délicieuse histoire, teintée de mélancolie, rappellera peut-être à certains Les oiseaux se cachent pour mourir de Colleen McCullough. Camille Di Maio fait vibrer la corde sensible de ses lecteurs, leur tirant de nombreuses larmes, des soupirs à fendre l'âme, alors qu'au fil du roman, la tragédie éclipse un grand bonheur, qui renaîtra. Doté d'une prose limpide et d'un style pétillant, ce roman aux personnages attachants qui trouvent enfin leur voie vous tiendra en haleine. Longtemps après sa fin si gratifiante, cette histoire continuera à habiter vos pensées". RT Book Review

Le parfum de nos souvenirs

A poignant and page-turning story of three women whose lives are forever changed by war.… New York City, 1943 Can one small act change the course of a life?Margaret’s job at the Navy Yard brings her freedoms she never dared imagine, but she wants to do something more personal to help the war effort. Knitting socks for soldiers is a way to occupy her quiet nights and provide comfort to the boys abroad. But when a note she tucks inside one of her socks sparks a relationship with a long-distance pen pal, she finds herself drawn to a man she’s never even met. Can a woman hold on to her independence if she gives away her heart? Gladys has been waiting her whole life for the kinds of opportunities available to her now that so many men are fighting overseas. She’s not going to waste a single one. And she’s not going to let her two best friends waste them either. Then she meets someone who values her opinions as much as she likes giving them, and suddenly she is questioning everything she once held dear. Can an unwed mother survive on her own?Dottie is in a dire situation—she’s pregnant, her fiancé is off fighting the war, and if her parents find out about the baby, they’ll send her away and make her give up her child. Knitting helps take her mind off her uncertain future—until the worst happens and she must lean on her friends like never before. With their worlds changing in unimaginable ways, Margaret, Gladys, and Dottie will learn that the unbreakable bond of friendship between them is what matters most of all.

Camille Di Maio

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