One Summer in Rome by Samantha Tonge
HQ Digital
Genre: Romance, women's fiction
**Publication Date: 9th May 2018**
Book Description:
To Rome...with love?
Mary Smith is turning her very ordinary life upside-down! She’s
bought herself a one-way ticket to Rome and is ready for a summer she’ll never
forget.
Men might be off the cards for waitress Mary, but within hours
of arriving at the utterly charming family-run La Dolce Vita pizzeria, she’s
already fallen in love with the bustling capital!
Only Dante Rossi, the mysterious (and drop-dead gorgeous) chef
seems displeased with her arrival. And in the heat of the kitchen, it doesn’t
take long for long-buried secrets to surface and sparks to fly…
A deliciously heartwarming
romance to have you dreaming of summer. Perfect for fans of Debbie Johnson and
Caroline Roberts.
My Thoughts:
Mary has been disappointed in love and has decided to be brave and move to Rome for the summer. She has arranged a job, courtesy of her friend Sarah who has been working there for the previous few months in a pizzeria. It's a live-in position so she has no worries about accommodation and she knows the background of the position and the family who she will be working for from Sarah. It's a huge step for Mary but one she feels she needs to take in order to take charge of her life.
Things don't go as smoothly as she hopes though when she is greeted by the glowering figures of the owner's son Dante and waiter Rocco, neither of whom seem happy to have her on board. The rest of the family especially young Lucia, her mum Nathalie and her granddad Alfonso more than make up for the disappointment and welcome her into the fold of the Dolce Vita pizzeria.
Before long Mary realises that all is not happy within the walls of the restaurant and finds out that a rival restaurant owner is doing her best to topple the Dolce Vita from the local Top Ten list of places to eat and essentially threaten the very existence of the Dolce Vita. Mary puts her plan to be an accepted member of the team into action and sets to the task of saving Dolce Vita and the Rosso family from the spite of the rival owner. Although she knows there are facts surrounding the Rosso family being kept secret from her, Mary works to get the restaurant noticed for all the right reasons. One by one the skeletons tumble from the closet and Mary gains the confidence and trust of each of the people she has been struggling to befriend.
I love the way Mary uses the disappointment of her life back in England to make new resolutions for a better life for herself and her new found substitute family.
The author creates a beautiful setting for the restaurant and the characters all have a degree of mystery about them to make what could have been a very shallow read into something with far more substance which makes this a thoroughly enjoyable read which still manages to keep an air of escapism within its pages.
The descriptions of the food, the picturesque setting and the ability of the writer to portray the feeling of the heat of the sun on your back make you yearn for a trip to Rome in order to meet the typically Italian Rosso family. When's my flight...?
Things don't go as smoothly as she hopes though when she is greeted by the glowering figures of the owner's son Dante and waiter Rocco, neither of whom seem happy to have her on board. The rest of the family especially young Lucia, her mum Nathalie and her granddad Alfonso more than make up for the disappointment and welcome her into the fold of the Dolce Vita pizzeria.
Before long Mary realises that all is not happy within the walls of the restaurant and finds out that a rival restaurant owner is doing her best to topple the Dolce Vita from the local Top Ten list of places to eat and essentially threaten the very existence of the Dolce Vita. Mary puts her plan to be an accepted member of the team into action and sets to the task of saving Dolce Vita and the Rosso family from the spite of the rival owner. Although she knows there are facts surrounding the Rosso family being kept secret from her, Mary works to get the restaurant noticed for all the right reasons. One by one the skeletons tumble from the closet and Mary gains the confidence and trust of each of the people she has been struggling to befriend.
I love the way Mary uses the disappointment of her life back in England to make new resolutions for a better life for herself and her new found substitute family.
The author creates a beautiful setting for the restaurant and the characters all have a degree of mystery about them to make what could have been a very shallow read into something with far more substance which makes this a thoroughly enjoyable read which still manages to keep an air of escapism within its pages.
The descriptions of the food, the picturesque setting and the ability of the writer to portray the feeling of the heat of the sun on your back make you yearn for a trip to Rome in order to meet the typically Italian Rosso family. When's my flight...?
About the Author:
Website: http://samanthatonge.co.uk/
After reading your review I need this book and a trip to Rome.. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAawww, thank you. I am still craving a trip myself. It sounds like a perfect holiday destination.
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