It’s a real pleasure today to share my publication day review of the latest book from Victoria Springfield, The Italian Fiancé. Published today (8th September) by Orion Dash, it’s now available for kindle (and on all other major e-book platforms) and in paperback – and I can see from the publishers’ website that they plan to make the audiobook available on 3rd November. My thanks to the publishers for my advance reading e-copy, provided via netgalley.
I’ve been wanting to read one of Victoria’s books for a little while now – I always love an Italian setting, and her stories looked like ones I’d really enjoy. You might have noticed them too – The Italian Holiday, her debut, was published in March 2021, and was shortlisted for the RNA’s Joan Hessayon Award (the one we all had to watch on Zoom…). And that was followed up by A Farmhouse in Tuscany, published in August 2021, and looking every bit as enticing – purchased and on my kindle, but sadly still no space on my reading list! But then, as chance would have it, I chatted with her agent (Camilla Shestopal) when I paid a visit to Harrogate Crime – and when I confessed that I really rather preferred romance, she told me Victoria had another book on the way that I might just enjoy. It was only afterwards that I remembered that Victoria and I had already exchanged a few emails – and when the publication date slipped a little, I was thrilled when I found that I could (at long last) take a virtual trip to Tuscany in her company.
When sisters Cassie and Lisa receive a wedding invitation, the last person they expect to be getting married is Jane, their seventy-year-old aunt! Convinced that she’s making a big mistake, the two put their differences aside to travel to the vibrant Tuscan city of Lucca. But there’s something magical about Italy …and this trip may just change their relationship – and their lives – forever.
Jane knows it’s not just a holiday fling. After her husband of four decades passed away, Jane never thought she’d find love again. But Luciano, with his big heart and artistic flamboyance, fills her life with colour. Can she convince her nieces it’s never too late for a second chance?
Perfect for fans of Nicky Pellegrino, TA Williams and Sue Moorcoft, take an unforgettable trip to sunny Tuscany with Victoria Springfield’s The Italian Fiancé.
This really was the loveliest read. I’m always a total pushover for books set in Italy, especially beautiful Tuscany, but I’m not sure I’ve spent time in Lucca before – either in person or though the many opportunities for armchair travel we’ve all been so grateful for over the last couple of years. The birthplace of Puccini – the author builds some very appropriate musical references into the story – and I loved all the small detail about the cathedral and churches, the central piazza, the promenade along the ramparts, the clock tower, the tree-topped Guinigi tower with its wonderful views. The author’s descriptions are excellent, and Lucca’s somewhere I’ll definitely look at more closely as a base for a future visit. She conveys the whole atmosphere of the place particularly well too, the vibrancy of its people, along with the many eating opportunities – by the time I reached the end of this book I felt like I’d been taken on a rather lovely holiday.
But it’s also an excellent story. Seventy-year-old Aunt Jane appears to have taken leave of her senses, planning to stay in Lucca to marry Luciano, an artist none of her family have yet met. Cassie is horrified – she lives a carefully controlled life with rather unexciting husband Paul, spending their time planning their new (and eye-wateringly expensive) kitchen extension – and plans to travel to Italy to put a stop to it. Her sister Lisa is rather more laid back – she thinks Jane really deserves some happiness after struggling with loneliness since the loss of her husband ten years ago – but decides she must accompany her, if only to stop Cassie wreaking havoc.
Luciano proves to be a larger-than-life and particularly charismatic character – he might have some secrets, but the sisters can easily see that their aunt really has found love and seems to be heading for a happy future. But the story also focuses on the sisters themselves – their often difficult relationship, Lisa’s resolve not to get entangled in a long-term relationship (especially with a man who reminds her of their feckless father), and Cassie’s gradual discovery that she might just enjoy a little more excitement in her life. But there’s a fascinating parallel story too – at home in Naples, Pia discovers some secrets from her family’s complicated past, and sets out to find her real grandfather. He drew her grandmother’s portrait, drawn in distinctive blue pastel and signed only with initials, before disappearing and breaking her heart, leaving her expecting his child. And when the stories draw together, it seems that there might be a few more secrets about to be uncovered.
I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this one – and the characterisation is particularly excellent. Jane herself is a wholly authentic and totally sympathetic mature character (extremely likeable too – I was really happy for her…) – sometimes authors can struggle with older characters, but I thought she got her absolutely right. Cassie’s a bit of a horror at first – when Lisa rolls her eyes, so does the reader – but through the book she undergoes quite a transformation. After some excruciatingly embarrassing moments – and you really feel for her – she begins to realise that there might just be more to life than her Egyptian Nights floor tiles. I loved Lisa from the very start – she’s feisty and funny and has her feet firmly on the ground, but that doesn’t mean she can’t be knocked off kilter when she meets a man who makes her question her decision to eschew relationships (and it really is a rather lovely romance, but with plenty of obstacles in its way). And every single person in the supporting cast is equally wonderfully drawn – I think I might just have fallen for Luciano too (I always rather like a man with an appetite, don’t you?!), and there are some excellent characters associated with the art gallery, as well as Lisa’s particularly gorgeous love interest.
And the whole story really is exceptionally well told. I really enjoyed the author’s writing – a lightness that makes it easy to read and lose yourself in the world of her creation, lots of lovely gentle humour, but with plenty of emotional depth when it’s needed. I read this book in a single sitting – and, when I finished (and the ending’s just perfect), I was quite surprised by the absence of sunshine outside when I felt I’d only just left my seat on a bench high on the ramparts. A lovely read, and one I’d recommend really highly – I’ll be looking forward to seeing what the author does next.
About the author
Victoria Springfield inherited a love of Italy from her father. She first visited the charming seaside town of Minori, which inspired The Italian Holiday, in 2015. Two years later she ‘eloped’ there to get married. Victoria grew up in Upminster, Essex. After many years in London, she now lives in Kent with her husband in a house by the river. She likes to write in the garden with a neighbour’s cat by her feet or whilst drinking cappuccino in her favourite café. Then she types up her scribblings in silence whilst her mind drifts away to Italy.
