Last week, Once We Are Safe by Alessandra Carati become available in English. Translated from Italian, it follows a Bosnian family fleeing the Bosnian War in 1992. They end up in Milan, Italy, where they must rebuild a life. Still tethered to Bosnia, still hoping to at some point return, they spend decades in their... Continue Reading →
I loved Steven Rowley's The Guncle a few years ago, and I've been wanting to read more from. His newest release is a short story, The Dogs of Venice. Though first published as an audiobook five years ago, this new print edition reworks the story and gives it a Christmastime setting. Paul and his husband... Continue Reading →
Earlier this month, Adib Khorram released his second adult romance, It Had to Be Him. After getting dumped for being "boring," Ramin makes the exciting choice to take a vacation in Milan. There he coincidentally runs into Noah, once a friend back in high school, and they quickly resume their friendship. It's not long before... Continue Reading →
For me, the best summer reads tend to be ones that transport me to other countries around the world. One of my favorite destinations is Italy. That led me to Jill Francis's debut, The Summer You Were Mine. Fourteen years after childhood friends almost became something more, they're back in Italy together for their respective... Continue Reading →
Last year, Christy Schillig released her debut novel, Wish You Weren't Here. I love travel romance, and this one brings readers to Urbino, Italy. Ava has been dating her boyfriend for a few years and is expecting a marriage proposal. Instead, when she's about to leave for a month-long trip to Italy, he proposes that... Continue Reading →
Last year I absolutely loved The Pomegranate Gate, the first in Ariel Kaplan's Mirror Realm Cycle trilogy. Set during the Spanish Inquisition but in a differently named world and a whole Mazik realm, it was a book that was a little bonkers and a ton of fun. Now, the second installment is here: The Republic... Continue Reading →
Prior to their newest release, I had read two of Casey McQuiston's books and loved both. I was excited to read their third adult novel, The Pairing, out this week. This one is a second chance romance between two childhood best friends, Kit and Theo, who had dated before a bad breakup four years ago.... Continue Reading →
There are so many books by Alyssa Palombo that I'm excited to read, but I was happy to start with her newest work of historical fiction: The Assassin of Venice, set in Renaissance Italy. With courtesans, assassins, and cruel schemes in the name of political power, this is an engrossing and memorable novel. Special thanks... Continue Reading →
Two years ago, I greatly enjoyed Natalie Jenner's novel, Bloomsbury Girls. My favorite character was Vivien Lowry, so I was excited that she would be the star of the newest book in the series, Every Time We Say Goodbye. Leaving behind London for a job in Rome, Vivien is hoping to move forward with her... Continue Reading →
Yesterday, Betty Cayouette released her debut novel, One Last Shot. The stunning cover and the fact that it's set in Italy are the first things that made me want to read this. It's a second-chance romance between two former best friends, with a marriage pact bringing them back together for a one-week photo shoot in... Continue Reading →
Last summer, I adored Delphine Ross's The Poetics of Passion, the first in her Muses of Scandal series. Now the series continues with The Dance of Desire, following the middle Bartham sister, Angela, and a friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romance with Sunny. It's a Beauty and the Beast retelling and a marriage of convenience, all rolled into one... Continue Reading →
In the past couple of years, I've been loving getting into Mimi Matthews's books. While she normally writes historical romances, her one work of Gothic fiction also appealed to me: John Eyre, a gender-flipped retelling of Jane Eyre and another creepy classic. Summary In 1843, schoolmaster John Eyre is hired to tutor two strange boys... Continue Reading →
A few years ago, I absolutely loved Constance Sayers’s debut novel, A Witch in Time. Now she’s back with her third release, The Star and the Strange Moon. Like her previous work, this one combines fantasy and horror seamlessly. It’s about a 1960s actress who goes missing, the cult horror film left behind and the... Continue Reading →
A few months ago, I was thrilled when an author I like invited me to read her new historical romance, written under the pen name of Delphine Ross. Ironically, The Poetics of Passion, the first in her Muses of Scandal series, is about a woman in 1870s England who secretly publishes love poetry under a... Continue Reading →
From the moment I first heard about The Woman in the Castello by Kelsey James, I knew I had to read it. Set in a small village outside of Rome, it follows a struggling actress who may just have her big break in a horror film... but she's also dealing with a real-life horror of... Continue Reading →
A new book I was greatly looking forward to this month was Maddalena and the Dark by Julia Fine. Set in Venice in 1717, it follows two teenage girls attending the Ospedale della Pietà, learning to play their instruments and even get training from Antonio Vivaldi. But there's also a dark magic lurking in the... Continue Reading →
Ciao for Now by Kate Bromley first caught my attention due to its setting in Rome. Italy is one of my favorite countries that I’ve visited, and reading a romance set there sounded like the perfect escape until my next vacation to Europe. Special thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with... Continue Reading →
In the past several years, I've been particularly drawn to stories by and about Somali people. Admittedly, part of this has been inspired by the singer K'naan, whose music I enjoy. Whether reading memoirs or novels or shorter fiction, there is a growing number of authors with roots in Somalia. This week, Idman Nur Omar... Continue Reading →
More and more lately, I've enjoyed reading about historical figures who are adjacent to someone who is more famous or remembered. I've read about the lesser known Mozart composer, then Marie Antoinette's older sister, and now Queen Victoria's daughter, Louise. Heather B. Moore's latest novel, In the Shadow of a Queen, highlights the princess who... Continue Reading →
One of my most anticipated historical fiction novels this summer is A Dress of Violet Taffeta by Tessa Arlen. Inspired by a real woman who became an acclaimed fashion designer, it's a novel of beautiful gowns, a second chance at love, and survival in a rapidly changing world. I was pleased to get an ARC... Continue Reading →
Just one week ago, I was excited to learn of When We Return by Eliana Tobias. NetGalley included it in a newsletter, and I was drawn to this novel set in my husband's home country, Peru. I hadn't realized at the time that this is a sequel to the author's first novel, In the Belly... Continue Reading →
My April reading challenge is to read books set in Paris, France. Following The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley, the second book I finished was Paris Is Always a Good Idea by Jenn McKinlay. I'd picked up the audiobook of it last year, so I was eager to listen to it. This charming, romantic, emotional... Continue Reading →
Last summer, I loved Diana Giovinazzo's debut novel, The Woman in Red, and I've been anticipating her second book ever since. In January, she released her new historical fiction, Antoinette's Sister. Although I won it in a giveaway in December (yay!), my book didn't arrive until February (sad!)... But no matter - I've finally gotten to... Continue Reading →
For the past few years, I've had a couple of books by Rebecca Serle on my radar. I've been planning to read both In Five Years and The Dinner List, but alas, I haven't gotten to them yet. Even so, I was excited for her forthcoming novel, One Italian Summer, due out in March. I... Continue Reading →
Amanda's Book Corner 