It’s such a pleasure today to be joining the blog tour and sharing my review of the latest book from Victoria Springfield, Invitation to Italy. Published on 14th March by Orion, it’s now available for kindle via Amazon in the UK and US (for just 99p at the moment – and on all other major e-book platforms too), in paperback, and as an audiobook. Thank you, as always, to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading copy (provided via netgalley).
Although I can usually never resist a book set in Italy, it took me rather longer than it should have done to discover Victoria’s lovely books. She’d certainly caught my eye when her debut, The Italian Holiday, was published in March 2021, and shortlisted for the RNA’s Joan Hessayon Award (the ceremony we all had to watch on Zoom…). Her second, A Farmhouse in Tuscany, published in August 2021, looked equally enticing – purchased, but sadly (yet again…) no time available to read it. It took an intervention from her agent (met at Harrogate Crime…) to get me to make space for a review of her third, The Italian Fiancé, and I was really glad I did – I very much enjoyed both her writing and my virtual trip to Tuscany (you can read my full review again here – and, if you fancy giving it a try, that one’s only 99p for kindle at the moment too!). I said at the time that I was looking forward to seeing what she did next – so I couldn’t have been more delighted when Rachel’s email invitation dropped into my inbox…
Abi is distraught when her ex-husband Alex takes their twelve-year-old daughter, Chloe to spend the summer with his glamorous fiancée Marisa and her parents at their home on the beautiful Italian island of Procida.
Persuaded by her best friend to book a holiday at the island’s Hotel Paradiso, Abi finally meets the woman she’s been avoiding for so long. Will the two women’s strained relationship survive the summer?
One-time teenage swimming sensation, Loretta, has run the Hotel Paradiso since leaving Capri broken-hearted. When childhood friend Salvo comes to stay, Loretta is forced to confront her past and the fears that have kept her away from the water for forty years. But just as she finds the courage to open her heart, she discovers all is not as it seems with Salvo…
It’s a summer of new beginnings for Abi and Loretta – and one they will never forget.
Take a trip to Italy with Victoria Springfield for a summery getaway any time of the year!
Well, that’s another destination added to my bucket list – the island of Procida, off the coast of Naples, was the perfect setting for this lovely story, brought alive through all the senses by an author whose love for Italy shines throughout. But she’s also a very accomplished storyteller, and this book about fresh starts and new beginnings was an absolute delight.
It’s five years since Abi’s marriage disintegrated – husband Alex was lured away by Marisa, very elegant and six years younger than her. And to rub salt into the wounds, they now have a child together – something Abi finds particularly hurtful. Looking forward to a Dorset holiday, her plans are thwarted when her twelve year old daughter Chloe is invited to spend her summer in Italy, staying with Marisa’s family – and Abi really isn’t able to say no. But best friend Cherry comes up with the idea that Abi could travel to Procida too – she really needs a break, and can be on hand should Chloe need her. And that’s how she finds herself staying at the Hotel Parasido – making new friends, keeping an eye on how Chloe’s getting on, finally meeting the woman who destroyed her marriage.
The hotel is run by Loretta – she might be in her sixties, but my goodness she has some energy, taking great pride in her business and the flamboyant clothes that are her personal trademark. But she’s worried about what the future might bring – and also has secrets that she’d prefer remained hidden. But the arrival of Salvo, a man from her past, forces her to revisit her memories – a chance encounter, or might it be something else that makes her future even more uncertain?
The stories of Abi and Loretta unfold in parallel, both with their unexpected twists and turns, along with a few diversions into the back stories of other characters. There’s romance for them both along the way – gentle, sometimes emotional and with barriers along the way, and beautifully done. And I particularly enjoyed the family relationships, fraught and otherwise – and also the focus on the relationship between mothers and daughters, explored in differing ways. The characters, both central and peripheral, are really well developed – Loretta certainly found a place in my heart, as did Abi, but I’ll readily admit there were times when young Chloe made me rather glad not to be her mother.
This book was so much more than a holiday romance or an opportunity for armchair travel – it was a delightful read with far more depth than I was expecting, with intriguing storylines that engaged me throughout, and one I thoroughly enjoyed.
About the author
Victoria Springfield writes contemporary women’s fiction immersed in the sights, sounds and flavours of Italy. 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.
