Hello everyone!
Back with another book blog in between watching Downton Abbey (yes, I finally caved in and started this, and I have to admit I'm loving it so far) and catching up on random shows before the regulars return from their last pre-finale breaks. I did have to take some time off, however, because even that can become a bit tedious if you don't mind me saying so.
So, instead, yesterday when the weather here turned windy and completely icky, I pulled out all the stops and went for the author that always, always makes me laugh.
Humour, thy name be Alice Clayton.
I believe I've reveiwed all of her Cocktails series here on my blog, but just in case, I'll look it up and the links will, as always, be down at the bottom of the page. For this installment, Roman Crazy, which seems to be the first in what I suspect will be at least a trilogy, she teamed up with another writer, Nina Bocci, and honestly it made for some great fun.
What could be better when you're trying to pretend it's warm outside than reading about sunny, sultry Rome in the middle of summer?
At its core, the story itself is fairly simple: girl from upper class society meets boy from upper class society. Boy needs to make advancements in his career, so girl drops everything to make sure boy gets what he wants. Before that, girl travels abroad, meets a hunky Italian in Spain, has the affair of her life, then goes back home and marries her boring boyfriend. Said boyfriend/husband later turns out to be a cheater (because all married couples hit obstacles, I quote) and girl files for divorce, hightailing it to Rome to her best friend where she runs into her once-upon-a-time Spain fling.
And let the twirling begin!
In general, that's what happened in this book: Avery, who has been married to Daniel for the better part of her adult life since meeting him at university, walks in on him and his secretary together, and while everyone around her but her mother insists she should sweep this under a rug (like all the other upper class women do), take his apologetic gift of whatever it is (cars, diamonds, houses, you name it) and just carry on, she's having none of it.
Having realized that somewhere along the way she'd lost herself to ensure Daniel had it all, Avery heads to Rome where her best friend, Daisy, lives and bases her work from, although she travels around the globe a whole lot even so.
And on her very first night being introduced to Daisy's friends, she runs into a blast from the past, almost literally.
His name? Marcello.
See, when Avery was finishing up her schooling at BU, she went for a semester abroad (her future hubby was NOT happy) and met young Marcello in Barcelona, which led to the most amazing months of her life (mostly spent naked and in bed, as you do). But once she returned home, with plans to eventually go back to Marcello, her old life sucked her in, she got pregnant with Daniel's child, and ended up dropping all contact with Marcello without explanation, despite the fact that she could have handled that one better.
Alas, things weren't meant to be, as she and her husband lost their daughter at three months, and from there on their marriage went downhill super fast.
Now in Italy, Marcello wants answers, and he's angry for nine years worth of non returned communications. Initially, Avery avoids him, until she realizes that's stupid and sits down for coffee and lunch and explains, in general terms, that things just hadn't worked out for her, but that she IS sorry how she ended it with him.
Thus, as Avery begins to get used to Rome, the culture, and the volunteer work in restoration which Daisy helps get her into, as well as finally starting to sketch and paint again, so too begins her rediscovery that Marcello had always been the One that Got Away, and always probably would be.
Only problem: he was all over a woman the night they ran into each other again, but it doesn't seem to bother Marcello since she never pops back up into conversation.
Now, he and Avery, however ... well, let's just say they manage to politely wait until Daisy has to hustle to Amsterdam on a job before tearing each other's clothes off (at this point, allow me to admit that the actual build up to this moment was so super charged I needed a bucket of ice, but the ending itself ... meh, coulda, woulda, shoulda).
They rekindle their Spain romance, only this time it goes much deeper as both of them sense that they mean more to the other than they'd been willing to admit. And while on a weekend getaway at Lake Como (no Clooney sighting, sigh), Avery finally brings herself to tell Marcello the entire truth about what happened nine years ago.
Her reward? He takes her home to meet Mamma.
It's funny reading about an American thrown into a big Italian family, because I'm not sure anyone can truly understand how connected and close such a family unit is unless they come from one of them. Avery, being an only child, has no clue until she meets the lot, and learns she's the first girl Marcello has brought home, signifying that she's special.
That is, until she runs into the woman scorned, aka the Ex.
Startled and hurt by the accusation that not only had she stolen 'Cello away, but that said 'Cello had actually been sleeping with two women at the same time in the beginning, Avery rushes to her man and demands answers, at which point some other things become clear:
namely, that Marcello had known, back in Spain, that Avery had someone else in America, but had been hoping she'd choose him in the end. Also, that he was (apparently) covering his bases in case she did the same thing now that she did in Spain, aka suddenly disappear, which was why he kept the other woman (this is not, however, completely confirmed, as Marcello never honestly admits it, only indicates that he was unwilling to break it off with his ex until and after he was certain he had his hooks good and sunk into Avery and that she was sticking around, at which point he got rid of the spare; honestly, I have to reread that part, it was a bit confusing).
Shocked and startled, Avery then faces the consequences of all her actions: namely, that the reason why she never wanted to forgive her husband the cheating was because SHE had cheated in the beginning (and never admitted it), but that she's willing to forgive Marcello almost anything, because he's the One.
I'm not entirely clear on this. Like I said, I need to read it again. Because, and here I'm more on the Avery side of the argument than Marcello's, if he did in fact have both women at the same time (you know what I mean here, testing out relationships, duh), then I'm not entirely certain that I wouldn't tak one of those old restored vases and slam it upside his head. Did Avery make a mistake almost ten years ago? Sure. Does that entitle Marcello to this kind of underhanded thing, holding on to a woman just in case something doesn't work out with another? I'm more on the Island of No here.
But I digress.
After apologising and patching things up, things couldn't be better as Avery finally starts to put down roots in Rome, getting an actual paid position instad of the volunteer jobs she'd been doing, and telling her parents she's moving to Rome full-time.
All looks well until Marcello drops the next bomb: he'd gotten a project he'd desperately wanted, and now they're moving to Brazil for almost two years.
Wait, what?
This shakes Avery yet again because she doesn't want to leave her new home so soon, but equally she doesn't want to be without her man. Still, she'd done it once before, dropped everything so her guy could get his groove on, and tells Marcello, politely, but firmly, that they'll do long distance. She's not about to drop him, but she won't lose herself, the image she's just started rebuilding, even if it kills her. Which I do respect, in a way - even if Marcello turned out to be nothing like her ex-husband, she has all the right to explain her position and want something different.
Of course, Marcello being Marcello, he eventually delegates the project to his second-in-command, deciding to stay in Rome with Avery instead, and the two of them walk away to their HEA.
The end!
It was a funny, light, fun-filled read with a lot of yummy tension (despite my earlier comment) which had me laughing and then giggling and then maybe even swooning a little all afternoon. It was just the right kind of read for the day, too, since the place and food descriptions in this one are TO DIE FOR. I seriously recommend picking this book up if you're ever feeling down, because there's nothing quite like a sexy Italian man to perk you right up.
And it helps that Henry Cavill got an honorary mention. Something about a strip tease ...
xx
*image not mine
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