Review: 24 Hours in Italy

Traveling the world through a book will never get old and I loved experiencing Italy while reading Romi Moondi’s latest book, 24 Hours in Italy. It picks up just about where 24 Hours in Paris left off (review here) and I really enjoyed getting back together with Mira and Jake and seeing if their romance could finally stick this time around.

Here’s the book’s description:

Two years have passed since Mira and Jake missed their flight and spent a magical 24 hours together in Paris. Sparks flew. Romance bloomed. But life got in the way. When they’re reunited for another whirlwind adventure, will they connect in the same way?
Mira’s living her best life, having started a new chapter by taking a leave from her high pressure corporate position to spend time in Italy. Surrounded by amazing scenery, fantastic food and wine, and endearing locals, her life is nearly perfect—except for the thoughts of what might've been with Jake.
While Jake’s career has never been better, the move to California has been less than perfect. Still, he’s got high hopes that seeing Mira at their friends’ destination wedding can right past wrongs. Except travel has never been his strong suit, and his reunion with Mira is punctuated by another, more recent heartbreak.
When the pair collide again on the gorgeous Amalfi coast, the spark they felt in Paris is reignited, but their quest for a happy ending will surely be as rocky as the Italian coastline.

I don’t know if it’s because I, like Mira, am an elder millennial, but Jake is a pretty great book boyfriend. *fans self* I’ll get into it more below but Mira was the one who destroyed their relationship so any less-than-ideal behaviour on Jake’s part while they were together in Italy was, in my opinion, totally justified. I really loved how much you could tell that he did care for her. He was also just trying to protect himself and you can’t blame the guy. On the flipside, you can also tell that Mira is just as head over heels for Jake as he is for her. Their relationship isn’t perfect but there’s an ease there than most couples can only dream of. The everyday experiences (though I’m not sure you could call their 24 hour escapades “everyday”) the pair have are just as magical and impactful as the Big Moments can be. Not to mention the sexual chemistry between the two! It’s impossible not to root for them (a double negative Mira would be proud of and Jake would be exasperated about) and that’s part of what makes this rom com so delightful.

All that said…I know it would have been difficult for Mira and Jake to have stayed together doing the long distance thing after just 24 hours together in Paris. But the way they fell apart? I couldn’t buy it. I can understand to a point that Mira was dealing with a lot but she was acting more like a mid-twentysomething than a mid-thirtysomething and I guess I just expected more from her. Which I admit is kind of ridiculous and unfair because, hello, I quit a job during a global pandemic to go back to school at the age of 34. But I had a plan. (And I’m happy to say it’s worked out remarkably well.) Maybe I just wanted her to figure out what she wanted and stop blaming outside forces because I knew she was smart and driven, just a bit…aimless. I wanted her to stop being scared and just freaking talk to Jake. He wasn’t blameless either - he could have tried a bit harder - but Mira was definitely the one blowing up the relationship and I wasn’t sure how they’d come back from that. (But don’t worry - this is a romance!)

The other thing that kind of nagged at me was the side story of Eloise and Dembe. They’re the reason Mira and Jake have been thrown together once more as the pair was having their second wedding on the Amalfi coast. There was some sort of drama there and I found it took away from the overall story. I like the couple, don’t get me wrong, but I didn’t need Eloise being an idiotic drama queen and not trusting her husband (to be) and worrying so much about the “perfect” day.

But boy was I glad Eloise and Dembe decided to have their second wedding along the coast - somewhere I’ve neve been and don’t know if I’ll ever get to. It really felt like Moondi knew the area and loved it. Experiencing the area alongside Jake and Mira was so lovely. And had me craving sunshine and everything lemon! I could perfectly picture everything and that’s a credit to Moondi’s talent and care for the country.

24 Hours in Italy is stronger than Romi Moondi’s last novel and I can’t wait to see her grow even more as an author. She writes rom coms that have an equal balance of romance and comedy with a heap of reality tossed in - nothing seems fake or manufactured just for the sake of the storyline, it’s so refreshing. Just as refreshing as traveling through Italy while reading. Check out this book if you’re in the mood to “see” Italy while rooting for a couple you can’t help but love.

*An egalley was provided by the publisher, Wattpad, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: One Hot Italian Summer

Ready for a hot summer read? Karina Halle has you covered with her latest book, One Hot Italian Summer. This is the read we all need during a pandemic when we can't travel yet want (need?) to escape. I had a wonderful time with Grace and Claudio in sunny Italy and I think many other readers will enjoy it as well.

Here's the synopsis:

After the death of her best friend and writing partner, Grace Harper is struggling both with grief, and with her next novel, the first one she’ll have to write alone.

Fortunately, her new powerhouse agent, the formidable Jana Lee, has a solution for her. She can stay at her villa in Tuscany for a month, soak in the sunshine, relax, and find her confidence again. After all, Jana has a lot riding on Grace’s next book, and the last thing she wants is for her reputation as a “super-agent” to be tarnished.

At first the villa is a dream come true for Grace – that is until Claudio Romano shows up one day with his ten-year old son, Vanni, in tow. Turns out, this is Claudio’s house, and Claudio happens to be her agent’s ex-husband from long ago. Thanks to their annual father and son bonding trip being cancelled, Claudio and Vanni are here to stay.

So is Grace.

With the three of them sharing the same house, Grace’s writing plans are thrown out the window. But even if she’s not pounding the keyboard, she’s still finding beauty and inspiration... in none other than Claudio. He's unlike any man Grace has met before. He’s smart, charming, and wickedly sexy, plus a great father to Vanni. He’d be the perfect summer fling – if only he wasn’t completely off-limits.

But as the hot Italian summer wears on, Grace and Claudio are destined to succumb to the heat, no matter how hard they try to resist each other. One steamy encounter with Claudio could affect Grace’s chances of starting her career over.

Or he could be exactly what she needs.

This is a slow burn romance. You know (and hope) Grace and Claudio will get together but it takes almost half the book before they give into the tension between them. Sometimes slow burns drive me nuts but Halle does this one so well. I wanted the pair to finally hop into bed but the teasing and flirting and figuring out what they really want and need in life? Ooh, it was a delight to read just as much as the start of the physical relationship.

The setting of this novel was as much a part of the story as the characters, I thought. Italy was a fresh start for Grace, who was finding Edinburgh hard to deal with after the death of her best friend and writing partner. I've never been to Italy but I know Halle has so I really trusted the picture she was painting...with her words (that's weird to write but you know what I mean, right?). Perhaps it helped that it was incredibly hot in my part of Canada as I was reading this but I felt like I was right there at Villa Rosa with Grace, Claudio, and Vanni. In fact, Halle's powers of persuasion were so great that I decided to pour a glass of wine (or three) instead of cracking open the beer I had fully planned on having. It just seemed wrong to enjoy a craft brew when Grace was drinking a cold glass of white wine.

Grace had a lot of issues she needed to work out before she could give into Claudio (which helped with the slow burn...I knew it would be so much better for the waiting). She was still dealing with an immense amount of grief and hadn't really been able (or willing) to release it. Not only that, but she was feeling a bit like a fraud when it came to her writing. Her confidence was pretty much non-existent, which Claudio helps with. She does accuse him of trying to "fix" her but I thought he responded well and rationally. She was in a spiral and couldn't see that he wasn't controlling her or making her into something she wasn't (not the kind of dudes Halle writes). He could see what was inside her and was helping that part of herself emerge - just like he would with his sculptures.

Like almost all of Halle's novels, there's a balance of sweet and (very) sexy as well as light and dark. There's humour but there's also a lot of heavy topics - death of a loved one and feelings of abandonment being the two most prevalent. I love how Halle is able to write so many of these scenes and feelings so well and it's part of why I keep reading her new titles.

One Hot Italian Summer is a must-read for anyone who likes books with a romance. I'd also recommend Karina Halle's latest novel to anyone who just likes a really good story. There's a depth to this novel I know many people won't expect and I encourage you all to give it a try. The time you "spend" in Italy will be thoroughly enjoyed. 

About Karina

Karina Halle is a former travel writer, music journalist & screenwriter, and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal & USA Today Bestselling author of over 55 bestselling novels, ranging from horror and suspense to contemporary romance. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband, and her adopted pitbull Bruce, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books.

Halle is represented by the Root Literary Agency and is both self-published and published by Simon & Schuster, Hachette & Montlake. Her work has been translated and published in 20 languages. 

Hit her up on Instagram at @authorHalle, on Twitter at @MetalBlonde and on Facebook. You can also visit www.authorkarinahalle.com and sign up for the newsletter for news, excerpts, previews, private book signing sales and more.

Connect with Karina

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*An egalley of this novel was provided by the author via Valentine PR in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: The Rome Affair

I've been reading Karen Swan's novels for awhile now. They're always delightful but the last few have been a bit...lacking. When I received The Rome Affair a few weeks ago, I read the synopsis and thought: yes. This...this sounds really promising. Happily, I was right. Swan's latest book kept me engaged from the first page to the last and I never wanted to put it down. 

Here's the synopsis:

The glamorous capital city of Italy is brought to startling life in The Rome Affair, a compelling summer novel by Karen Swan.
1974 and Elena Damiani lives a gilded life. Born to wealth and a noted beauty, no door is closed to her, no man can resist her. At twenty-six, she is already onto her third husband when she meets her love match. But he is the one man she can never have, and all the beauty and money in the world can't change it.
2017 and Francesca Hackett is living la dolce vita in Rome, leading tourist groups around the Eternal City and forgetting the ghosts she left behind in London. When she finds a stolen designer handbag in her dustbin and returns it, she is brought into the orbit of her grand neighbour who lives across the piazza - famed socialite Viscontessa Elena dei Damiani Pignatelli della Mirandola. Though the purse is stolen, Elena greets the return of the bag with exultation for it contains an unopened letter written by her husband on his deathbed, twelve years earlier.
Mutually intrigued by each other, the two women agree to collaborate on a project, with Cesca interviewing Elena for her memoirs. As summer unfurls, Elena tells her sensational stories, leaving Cesca in her thrall. But when a priceless diamond ring found in an ancient tunnel below the city streets is ascribed to Elena, Cesca begins to suspect a shocking secret at the heart of Elena's life.

The Rome Affair, happily, did what The Paris Secret (Swan's summer 2016 novel) could not. It kept me interested and turning the pages as quick as I could to see exactly how the mystery was going to unfold. Just when you thought you knew how it all turned out, Swan revealed another detail that had you doubting everything. So. Good.

Plus, the actual mystery with all the twists and turns and secrets hidden throughout the years? It will make your head spin at the end. It actually took me awhile of sitting and thinking after I finished it to get a handle on what the hell had just happened and to start to understand the motivation of the characters. I couldn't figure out where Swan was going with most of the story, which was awesome. There was only one thing I had nailed down and that was why Elena had finally decided to have her biography written. The rest? Total mystery.

Elena was a riveting character. Swan managed to write such a larger than life character without having her become a caricature. Because her life? Was insane. She was a wealthy American heiress who eventually became an Italian princess. She partied with Andy Warhol and was friends with Elizabeth Taylor. How could you not be intrigued? 

Cesca was interesting as well, with her own secret, but she served more as a way to get at Elena's story than another protagonist. That was ok, surprisingly enough. But she was such a wicked smart woman that she did manage to shine enough beside Elena. I do wish Swan had managed to write her as a stronger character with an equally riveting story though. Elena and her long and full life overshadowed Cesca a bit, not surprisingly. Random aside: I appreciated that Cesca was tall (though at 5'10" she's still 2" shorter than I am) because there aren't nearly enough female characters who are that tall. It's a small thing but it's something you notice when you're super tall as well! Plus, the fact that Cesca was a blogger too was pretty cool. Oh, and if you wonder exactly what a barrister is (like I was because I'm not British), allow Google to help: "a lawyer entitled to practice as an advocate, particularly in the higher courts".

The Rome Affair is a great book for the summer because it's such an engaging read with so much depth. Plus, it's based in such an interesting and glamorous city. You might not be in Rome but, sitting on the beach with Karen Swan's latest book in hand, you can pretend to be, at least for a little while.

*An ARC was provided by the distributor, Publisher's Group Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Blog Tour: The Scribe of Siena

The Scribe of Siena is the final book I have to review for Simon & Schuster's Timeless Tour. It's been so much fun! I have one final post for you next Friday. I know nothing of Siena, other than it's in Italy. I also don't know much about the Black Plague, or any plague, really. So, because of all that, I was intrigued by Melodie Winawer's debut novel.

Here's the synopsis:

Accomplished neurosurgeon Beatrice Trovato knows that her deep empathy for her patients is starting to impede her work. So when her beloved brother passes away, she welcomes the unexpected trip to the Tuscan city of Siena to resolve his estate, even as she wrestles with grief. But as she delves deeper into her brother’s affairs, she discovers intrigue she never imagined—a 700-year-old conspiracy to decimate the city.
After uncovering the journal and paintings of Gabriele Accorsi, the fourteenth-century artist at the heart of the plot, Beatrice finds a startling image of her own face and is suddenly transported to the year 1347. She awakens in a Siena unfamiliar to her, one that will soon be hit by the Plague.
Yet when Beatrice meets Accorsi, something unexpected happens: she falls in love—not only with Gabriele, but also with the beauty and cadence of medieval life. As the Plague and the ruthless hands behind its trajectory threaten not only her survival but also Siena’s very existence, Beatrice must decide in which century she belongs.
The Scribe of Siena is the captivating story of a brilliant woman’s passionate affair with a time and a place that captures her in an impossibly romantic and dangerous trap—testing the strength of fate and the bonds of love.

I used to read time travel books quite a bit when I was a kid (no, I still haven't read Outlander!) so I liked the idea of a contemporary character making her way back to the 1300s. The time travel element set The Scribe of Siena apart from a lot of the other historical novels I've read recently (and not just for this tour...2017 is apparently the Year of Historical Fiction). I didn't know when Beatrice was going to go back in time. Was it going to be during a surgery she was performing? When she was having one of her "empathy" moments? (Side note...what was actually up with those moments? I found those harder to believe than the time travel.) I also didn't know when she would go back to present day. Or if she even would. The time travel really kept me in suspense.

I think the biggest problem I had with this novel was the sheer amount of detail included. I think it was a case of Winawer trying to fit too much research into one novel when the story didn't necessarily warrant it. I also found there were too many characters. It wasn't a matter of not being able to keep track of who was telling the part of the story, that was fairly well done. Beatrice's part was told in first person while the (many) others' were in third person. The issue was more that I didn't understand why some characters really had to have their part of the story shared. In particular, it wasn't until about halfway through the book that I realized why the young priest, Bartolomeo, may be important to the overall story. He had already had some, small, parts of the story dedicated to his POV but once the (very small) revelation was made, he's not mentioned again until close to the end of the novel. He does play a part at the end but not enough to warrant him taking up character space in my brain.

There were three main reasons I kept reading this novel (other than, you know, for the blog tour). The conspiracy - whatever Ben had found out about why Siena was hit so hard during the plague - was quite compelling. I'm also a sucker for a Happily Ever After and really hoped I would get one (though hoping for a character to stay in the past to get said HAE is a weird feeling). Finally, the scribe part of the story was so interesting.

One of the best things about reading The Scribe of Siena is it has made me much more interested in Italian history. It's one (of many) places I've never been but I'd love to visit Siena now and see in person the town Melodie Winawer described in such detail. It seems that I'm in the minority with other readers who received various advance copies of this novel as many Goodreads reviewers thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel. I liked it but expected to enjoy it a heck of a lot more.

*An ARC of this novel was provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, in exchange for a review for the purpose of a blog tour. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Blog Tour: Juliet's Answer

I'm not a Shakespeare fan. I never really enjoyed it when we had to read one of his plays in high school English class (except the time we had to make up a scene for Macbeth and my friends and I decided that the three witches got their prophecies from fortune cookies). I don't remember anything beyond the highlights of Romeo and Juliet. I hardly recall the Leo and Claire adaptation, to be honest. But something about Glenn Dixon's new memoir intrigued me. And once I started reading Juliet's Answer, I could hardly put it down.

Here's what this memoir is about:

Eat, Pray, Love (from a man’s perspective) meets Under the Tuscan Sun—a fresh, heartwarming story about a man who travels to Verona, where he answers letters addressed to Shakespeare’s Juliet, all in an attempt to understand heartbreak, to heal and to find love again.
In fair Verona where we lay our scene…When Glenn Dixon is spurned by love, he does something unusual. He travels to Verona, Italy, to become a scribe of Juliet, Shakespeare’s fictional character, all in an attempt to understand his heartbreak. Once there, he volunteers to answer the thousands of letters that arrive addressed to Juliet, letters sent from lovelorn people all over the world who long to understand the mysteries of the human heart.
Glenn’s journey takes him deep into the charming community of Verona, where he learns the traditions of the townspeople and becomes involved in unravelling the truth behind Romeo and Juliet—Did these star-crossed lovers actually exist? Did they live in Verona? Why have they remained at the forefront of hearts and minds for centuries? And what can they teach us about love? At the same time, we learn about Claire, Glenn’s unrequited love, the source of his heartbreak. Was she truly his soul’s match, or was she, like Rosalind in Shakespeare’s classic play, a mere infatuation who pales in comparison the moment his real Juliet enters his life?
When Glenn returns home to Canada and resumes his duties as a Grade 10 English teacher, he undertakes a lively reading of Romeo and Juliet with his students, engaging them in passions past and present. But in an intriguing reversal of fate and fortune, his students—along with an old friend—instruct the teacher on the true meaning of love, loss, and moving on.
An enthralling tale of modern-day love steeped in the romantic traditions of eras past, this is a memoir that will warm your heart.

I, like many other chick flick lovers, watched and enjoyed the 2010 Amanda Seyfried film, Letters to Juliet. That was the first time I remember hearing of Juliet's house and the letters people (mostly women) write to her. The movie barely scratched the surface of Juliet's secretaries. In fact, Juliet's Answer probably could have gone more in depth. But it's fine, almost better, that Dixon didn't because then it'd be more of a research book and less of a memoir. But Dixon gave me a much better idea of what it's like to be one of Juliet's secretaries. The idea that so many people write to a fictional character with their love problems is both heartbreaking and romantic. And that there are people who write back to those who leave a mailing address? That letter won't change the world but that response means the world to someone. 

Here's a true testament to how enthralled I was with this book. I started reading it just after Christmas...at the same time I got really sick. I took it with me on day 3 of a sore throat to the walk in clinic where I had to wait an hour and a half to have a doctor confirm my self-diagnosis of strep throat within about thirty seconds of examining me. Brutal and "poor little ol' me", I know :) But the time almost flew by as I kept my nose in the book and tried not to breathe on anyone. I was transported to Italy and Glenn's world as I sat on an extremely uncomfortable chair. If that doesn't say "engaging", I don't know what does.

I'm so intrigued by the fact that Romeo and Juliet may have actually existed. Had anyone else heard that before? Because I most certainly hadn't.

I think Dixon found a great balance of facts and personal experience. I really enjoyed how he put together his experience in Verona with what was happening with his love life back at home in Canada. Just one or the other wouldn't have been as engaging but weaving it together the way he did made for a great and interesting read.

And that cover? Between that and the way Dixon wrote about Verona I want to jump on a plane to Italy immediately. 

Juliet's Answer is a fairly quick and easy read but it's one that will stick with you for awhile. Glenn Dixon has written an absolutely lovely memoir that allows you into his past and his life while also educating you on a play you thought you knew. 

Now, as a bonus for my blog tour stop, here's a piece on "The Science of Love" from Glenn Dixon. Enjoy!

While writing my book, Juliet’s Answer, I looked at a lot of the research on love and much of it came down to this: love is not one single thing.  Many of the experts agree that there are at least three separate but related facets to what we might call true love, and interestingly, each facet has its own individual brain chemistry.

            The first and most obvious aspect of love is sexual attraction. It’s no surprise that this biological system is almost entirely controlled by the hormone testosterone, in both males and females. Of course, we all know that there more to love than sex, but we must admit that it’s a big part of it.

            The second facet of love in what is sometimes called the triangular theory of love is called intimacy. It’s includes touch, cuddling and hugging and kissing but it’s much more than that. This element of love also involves trust, it involves being able to share your dreams and your deepest secrets with the person you are with.  These connections are strengthened and controlled by the familiar neurotransmitters of serotonin and dopamine which light up the reward centers in our brains. A look can be enough, a gentle word or the warmth of your lover’s hand in yours.

The third facet of love is the most interesting. It is sometimes called commitment.  A wealth of research shows that there is an expiry date on the first two facets of love, a period many researchers peg at about four years. This is a part of the theory of evolutionary psychology –  the four year period being the span of time needed to bring a pregnancy to full term and then raise that child to the point where the little he or she can walk and talk and basically function in the world.  This, or so the research claims, defines an ‘window’ for many relationships, whether or not a child has been conceived.  But the third facet of love goes beyond this simple time frame. For the lucky few, love can last much longer, even an entire lifetime.  It is a matter of wanting to, a conscious decision that your life is the better for it.  It’s associated with a remarkable neuro-hormone called oxytocin.  This is the same chemical that causes goslings to imprint on the mother goose, it’s the same hormone that bonds a mother to her newborn baby and if you ever see an elderly couple walking hand in hand after all those many years, you can be sure that it is washing through their happy brains.

All these neuro-hormones and their associated neural pathways form the chemical moons that pull at the tides of love.  It’s complex of course but in this sense we are all, like Romeo and Juliet, star crossed, our fates sealed by our very own biology.

*An ARC was provided by the publisher, Simon and Schuster Canada, in exchange for a review for this blog tour. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Vacation Reads Challenge: Under the Tuscan Sun

Under the Tuscan Sun is probably one of my favourite movies so when I signed up for the Vacation Reads Challenge hosted by Ruby's Reads and Manga Maniac Cafe it was one of the first books that I thought of and I'm so happy that I decided to read it. I really enjoyed Frances Mayes' account of life in the small town of Cortona, Italy.

I didn't choose this book simply because I love the movie but because I would love to be able to travel to Italy. I admit, the movie may have fueled that desire and the book made me want to go even more. If that ever happens I want to make sure that I try to visit some of the smaller towns and really get a feel of the people and the culture of Italy. Mayes actually touches on this a little bit in the last part of the book when she discusses what the movie adaptation has meant to the town of Cortona and her book. The townspeople say that the tourists who come are there to see the culture and experience the history. Not to be loud and obnoxious tourists. Only problem with checking out the smaller towns? The fact that I don't know any Italian...

 

Bramasole

The book centred around Mayes buying Bramasole and the restoration and renovations of the house (done in part while they were living in California...can you imagine? Renovations are hard enough when you're at the house watching all the work being done, let alone when you're in another country trying to "oversee"!). Throughout this process we get to read about Mayes' love of cooking and her decisions on how to use some of the fresh ingredient from the area. Talk about mouthwatering! I will gladly visit Bramasole if she will cook for me.

I found that I had to keep reminding myself that the book wasn't a story - it was an actual account of Mayes' life in Italy. This leads to a discussion of the similarities and differences between the book and the movie adaptation starring Diane Lane. I'm one of those people who know that things have to be changed in order to make a successful movie.

That being said, I'm not really sure where some of the things in the movie came from. The biggest difference was that Frances is buying a house with her current partner, Ed, not on her own. Not only that, but they're planning on buying a house in Italy - it's not an impulsive purchase while on a gay tour of Tuscany. (And those of you who haven't seen the movie, I really do mean a gay tour. Frances' lesbian friends send her on the tour they were supposed to go on. Just wanted to make that clear!) Speaking of the lesbian friends - they were nowhere to be found, nor was the young female neighbour who the young Polish male falls in love with. There were, however, steaming toilets (right before hosting a wedding no less!), a lightening storm that fries a dishwasher, and a wall with "Polonia" engraved on it.

I find it interesting how Mayes notes in the last part of the book that there was an Italian lover added for the Frances character. I think it's interesting because she's essentially referring to herself as a character which shows that she knows the differences between books and films and what happens in the adaptation process. At least, I think so - maybe I'm totally off base! I'm not sure why a lot of these things were changed and/or added. Maybe these were parts of Mayes' life in Italy that just didn't make it into the book. Or maybe, like the Italian lover, these bits were added to make the story flow a bit more and to make it, well, a story.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I think it's a great read for anyone looking to travel or wishing they could. Be warned - it could make you extremely jealous of any friends you have who are traveling while you're reading the book - even if they're just taking a road trip in your own country (you know who you are :) ). Remember that this is considered a travel memoir and isn't going to be a story like the movie is. Under the Tuscan Sun somewhat romanticizes the area but you can feel how much Frances and Ed really feel at home in Cortona and I loved that. This book was well worth the read. I would love to hear from any of you who have read this, or if you have any other travel memoirs to recommend.

Happy travels :)