A bumpy love story with a gorgeous setting and vivid architectural details.
An American woman moves to Italy to restore a villa and meets a handsome architect in this contemporary romance.
Natalie Malone has just purchased a fixer-upper villa on the Amalfi Coast with money from a mysterious benefactor. In the villa’s “former life, it had been known as Pensione Benone, which translated to ‘very good inn.’ She had yet to decide what she would name it, but she liked the idea of quality.” The villa is part of an economic development plan for the hamlet of Zavona, but the program has been struggling. Architect Pietro Indelicato is determined to help the plan succeed, but his father and some cronies on the Economic Development Council are standing in the way. Pietro meets Natalie when she shows up at city hall to get a construction permit. Even though he is unhelpful, Natalie is attracted to him. They meet again when Natalie seeks his professional expertise. They start flirting as they work together and Pietro assists her with tasks at her villa. But the development plan is in trouble. Because of a clause in the contracts, people renovating houses in the community can’t own the dwellings unless satisfactory restoration work is done within six months. With unscrupulous contractors making shoddy repairs, it is becoming increasingly common for investors to suffer huge losses. When part of a house owned by friends of Natalie’s collapses, she finally realizes the serious difficulties she’s facing. Meanwhile, she tries to track down her generous benefactor, and Pietro fights with his father over Zavona’s future. Blades’ tale deftly portrays the beautiful Amalfi Coast, but the romance takes a while to get going. Most of the novel’s first half focuses on Natalie’s seemingly doomed attempt to renovate her villa. The romance feels like a slow burn until it isn’t, with friendly conversations suddenly escalating into making love in a lemon grove and Natalie meeting Pietro’s family. This series of events results in uneven pacing. The only conflict between the lovers is a manufactured misunderstanding, so the romance feels a bit bland compared with the rest of the tale. Still, there’s a great deal of intriguing home renovation information that will appeal to HGTV fans as the author skillfully describes the villa’s design and repairs.
A bumpy love story with a gorgeous setting and vivid architectural details.Pub Date: May 24, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64937-208-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A charming love story that absolutely radiates warmth.
A single mom winds up fake dating an incredibly wealthy man in her hometown.
Dolly Brick is back in her hometown of Whitfield, Rhode Island, for the summer to help her dad and disabled brother manage their house and family business. As a 39-year-old single mother with multiple jobs—which now include working at the Brick Fish House—Dolly is always busy. When her mom left their family years ago, Dolly took over caring for her siblings and father and never really stopped. When she runs into Stewart Whitfield after making a shrimp delivery to his family’s mansion, she doesn’t think they could be more different. She’s had to figure out how to do everything by herself, and he can’t even change a tire. That’s why Stewart’s proposal that she pretend to be his girlfriend feels so unbelievable—but it comes with a hefty check that she desperately needs for home repairs. So she becomes the fake girlfriend of Stewart Whitfield (as in, the Whitfields her town is named after; his real fiancée just dumped him and it’s a bad time for him to be single) and experiences what it’s like to walk into fancy buildings through the front door instead of the service entrance. More than the boats and helicopter and expensive dinners, though, Dolly is impressed by what a kind man Stewart is—and how it feels to let someone else take care of her for a change. Soon, their relationship starts to feel more real than fake. Monaghan creates an impossibly winning story with a charming, lovable heroine. Dolly is capable, hardworking, and will do anything for the people she loves. She and Stewart both possess real flaws, and while their relationship begins with one of the most beloved rom-com tropes, their challenges feel like realistic adult obstacles rather than easily solved miscommunications. It’s also refreshing that, even though Dolly must learn to allow other people to help her, she never views her caretaking responsibilities as burdens. She deeply loves her family, and that love carries through the entire story.
A charming love story that absolutely radiates warmth.Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9780593853979
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.
A promise to his best friend leads an Army serviceman to a family in need and a chance at true love in this novel.
Beckett Gentry is surprised when his Army buddy Ryan MacKenzie gives him a letter from Ryan’s sister, Ella. Abandoned by his mother, Beckett grew up in a series of foster homes. He is wary of attachments until he reads Ella’s letter. A single mother, Ella lives with her twins, Maisie and Colt, at Solitude, the resort she operates in Telluride, Colorado. They begin a correspondence, although Beckett can only identify himself by his call sign, Chaos. After Ryan’s death during a mission, Beckett travels to Telluride as his friend had requested. He bonds with the twins while falling deeply in love with Ella. Reluctant to reveal details of Ryan’s death and risk causing her pain, Beckett declines to disclose to Ella that he is Chaos. Maisie needs treatment for neuroblastoma, and Beckett formally adopts the twins as a sign of his commitment to support Ella and her children. He and Ella pursue a romance, but when an insurance investigator questions the adoption, Beckett is faced with revealing the truth about the letters and Ryan’s death, risking losing the family he loves. Yarros’ (Wilder, 2016, etc.) novel is a deeply felt and emotionally nuanced contemporary romance bolstered by well-drawn characters and strong, confident storytelling. Beckett and Ella are sympathetic protagonists whose past experiences leave them cautious when it comes to love. Beckett never knew the security of a stable home life. Ella impulsively married her high school boyfriend, but the marriage ended when he discovered she was pregnant. The author is especially adept at developing the characters through subtle but significant details, like Beckett’s aversion to swearing. Beckett and Ella’s romance unfolds slowly in chapters that alternate between their first-person viewpoints. The letters they exchanged are pivotal to their connection, and almost every chapter opens with one. Yarros’ writing is crisp and sharp, with passages that are poetic without being florid. For example, in a letter to Beckett, Ella writes of motherhood: “But I’m not the center of their universe. I’m more like their gravity.” While the love story is the book’s focus, the subplot involving Maisie’s illness is equally well-developed, and the link between Beckett and the twins is heartfelt and sincere.
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64063-533-3
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: Jan. 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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