Children of Antarah by Yvette Canoura is the second installment in the award-winning Mediterranean Sunset trilogy. The book continues the story of Fatima and Brahim as they escape their troubled past. Together, at last, they raise their children, Hasan and Iman, in Maremma in Italy and try to keep the horrors they endured in the past a secret. The family leads an idyllic life traveling to other countries and visiting relatives in Antarah. When Brahim receives an offer to be the chief of General and Thoracic Surgery and the director of the Pediatric Surgery Fellowship Program, the family moves to Washington, DC. Their past lives, however, threaten to disrupt their family life in the US as the secrets they have been hiding come back to haunt them.



Yvette Canoura’s Children of Antarah is a fast-paced adventure and romance novel that grips the reader’s undivided attention. I haven’t read the first book in this trilogy, but the background stories provided are more than enough to follow the narrative easily. The cultural elements are fascinating and informative. With well-developed characters, the story is relatable. Fast-paced and filled with numerous twists and turns, the political intrigues also serve as a social commentary, highlighting the flaws of a system that sadly prevails in some parts of the world today. Most of all, Children of Antarah is a story of love that endures in the face of seemingly insurmountable barriers. Against all odds, Fatima and Brahim try to lead a happy family life, and one can’t help but root for them.