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anastazjajane's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
thebooktrail88's review
5.0
A solid, heartbreaking and fascinating read..
Travel to the locations in the novel: Booktrail it to Italy
This brought sunshine and smiles into my life! A novel about a mysterious house on the Amalfi coast that four strangers are headed towards for some R and R always gets my reading radar working overtime but this was just a joy from start to finish! Ah Angela even organising the breakfast on the first day got me laughing, Sylvie with her usual dress palette of vermillion to aubergine, Claire on her search for confidence and Monica mooching around in the background at first…well these very different women truly blossomed in the story and I felt instantly one of their little group. Heck I’d even joined their famous Lanzarella Women’s Cooperative by the end of it (wait till you hear about that – that’s a chuckle)
I imagined Maeve to be chuckling and laughing drinking limoncello whilst writing this novel for the fun splashes of colour and Italian words she sprinkled in to the mix, the sights of the whitewashed houses on the hill all calm followed by one character humping her suitcase up the mountain was just the perfect mix of Italian paradise and Brits abroad. There’s certainly enought foreign flavour to get those taste buds drooling as well – I do like the sound of burrata cheese!
An Italian holiday is just that – a holiday with four new friends and some men folk drafted in for good measure. What these women find at the house they call The Siren is yours to discover but it’s a cute and funny ramble on the hillside, looking out into the lemon groves and the promise of a better tomorrow.
Best to appreciate this novel with a glass of something yourself, with a hearty Italian (make of that what you will) whilst wearing ‘ a hug in a dress’ -and have yourself that una vacanza italiana? It’s a Done Deal 😉
Travel to the locations in the novel: Booktrail it to Italy
This brought sunshine and smiles into my life! A novel about a mysterious house on the Amalfi coast that four strangers are headed towards for some R and R always gets my reading radar working overtime but this was just a joy from start to finish! Ah Angela even organising the breakfast on the first day got me laughing, Sylvie with her usual dress palette of vermillion to aubergine, Claire on her search for confidence and Monica mooching around in the background at first…well these very different women truly blossomed in the story and I felt instantly one of their little group. Heck I’d even joined their famous Lanzarella Women’s Cooperative by the end of it (wait till you hear about that – that’s a chuckle)
I imagined Maeve to be chuckling and laughing drinking limoncello whilst writing this novel for the fun splashes of colour and Italian words she sprinkled in to the mix, the sights of the whitewashed houses on the hill all calm followed by one character humping her suitcase up the mountain was just the perfect mix of Italian paradise and Brits abroad. There’s certainly enought foreign flavour to get those taste buds drooling as well – I do like the sound of burrata cheese!
An Italian holiday is just that – a holiday with four new friends and some men folk drafted in for good measure. What these women find at the house they call The Siren is yours to discover but it’s a cute and funny ramble on the hillside, looking out into the lemon groves and the promise of a better tomorrow.
Best to appreciate this novel with a glass of something yourself, with a hearty Italian (make of that what you will) whilst wearing ‘ a hug in a dress’ -and have yourself that una vacanza italiana? It’s a Done Deal 😉
rachf_77's review
3.0
Reading the back of the book you would never know that the main characters were going to be 60 plus! It was a fun read and the characters were quite likeable. Sometimes it seemed like they behaved like much younger people!
worldofbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What a great book ♥️
literally_overbooked's review against another edition
2.0
Was looking for a light-hearted beach read and can't say I was disappointed, but still can't really give more than 3-ish stars.
Let's start with the positives! I obviously loved the setting, Italy is just marvelous and I had a major case of wanderlust throughout the entire book. I also quite liked that the main characters were middle aged women, it was nice to not always only read about young, skinny and beautiful women. Monica's character was also really likeable and I loved how she evolved into a confident woman and stood up against her mother.
This brings us to the other characters who were honestly utter rubbish. Walking stereotypes, really. Angela was for example this really determined, strong and clever business woman. Why couldn't the author just leave her be? Why had she change so dramatically and confess that all her bossyness (so basically the whole of her personality) was just to hide her loneliness?! WOMEN CAN BE HAPPY WITHOUT A MAN, YA KNOW?! Also her sudden reconciliation at the end with Stephen just made me LOL. They absolutely hadn't talked about what had broke them apart, haven't even thought about the fact that they might, just might be TOTALLY different people then who they were back in Oxford. Sylvie was also quite ridiculous, without the slightest consistency in her behaviour towards Tony. But the overall winner of the shittiest character must be Claire for sure. How she treated her husband was outrageous, and he absolutely didn't deserve any of it! He was honestly just nice and caring and if they had problems it was surely because Claire did not communicate any of her problems, just expected him to magically understand her every need. Her so called romance with Luca was horrendous. (His behaviour was also quite problematic if you ask me.) They way she and Martin addressed the Luca situation was also utterly unrealistic. No matter how nice and understanding Martin was, it was just straight up unbelievable. And if you really want to portray some midlife-crisis romance then Claire changing her mind absolutely out of the blue and staying with her husband is certainly not the way to do it.
I could go on about some other minor problems (like the subtle racism, homophobia, body shaming, the totally stereotipical portrayal of Italian people, etc.) but I really think I have ranted enough about this book.
Still enjoyed some parts of it, but overall it was just irritating and a waste of time. Read a Jilly Cooper book if you want something similar, but actually well written!
Let's start with the positives! I obviously loved the setting, Italy is just marvelous and I had a major case of wanderlust throughout the entire book. I also quite liked that the main characters were middle aged women, it was nice to not always only read about young, skinny and beautiful women. Monica's character was also really likeable and I loved how she evolved into a confident woman and stood up against her mother.
This brings us to the other characters who were honestly utter rubbish. Walking stereotypes, really. Angela was for example this really determined, strong and clever business woman. Why couldn't the author just leave her be? Why had she change so dramatically and confess that all her bossyness (so basically the whole of her personality) was just to hide her loneliness?! WOMEN CAN BE HAPPY WITHOUT A MAN, YA KNOW?! Also her sudden reconciliation at the end with Stephen just made me LOL. They absolutely hadn't talked about what had broke them apart, haven't even thought about the fact that they might, just might be TOTALLY different people then who they were back in Oxford. Sylvie was also quite ridiculous, without the slightest consistency in her behaviour towards Tony. But the overall winner of the shittiest character must be Claire for sure. How she treated her husband was outrageous, and he absolutely didn't deserve any of it! He was honestly just nice and caring and if they had problems it was surely because Claire did not communicate any of her problems, just expected him to magically understand her every need. Her so called romance with Luca was horrendous. (His behaviour was also quite problematic if you ask me.) They way she and Martin addressed the Luca situation was also utterly unrealistic. No matter how nice and understanding Martin was, it was just straight up unbelievable. And if you really want to portray some midlife-crisis romance then Claire changing her mind absolutely out of the blue and staying with her husband is certainly not the way to do it.
I could go on about some other minor problems (like the subtle racism, homophobia, body shaming, the totally stereotipical portrayal of Italian people, etc.) but I really think I have ranted enough about this book.
Still enjoyed some parts of it, but overall it was just irritating and a waste of time. Read a Jilly Cooper book if you want something similar, but actually well written!
nwilt97's review
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
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