One Hot Italian Summer by New York Times, Wall Street Journal & USA Today Bestselling author, Karina Halle is now live!
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Blurb
After the death of her best friend and writing partner, Grace Harper is struggling both with grief, and with her next novel, the first one she’ll have to write alone.
Fortunately, her new powerhouse agent, the formidable Jana Lee, has a solution for her. She can stay at her villa in Tuscany for a month, soak in the sunshine, relax, and find her confidence again. After all, Jana has a lot riding on Grace’s next book, and the last thing she wants is for her reputation as a “super-agent” to be tarnished.
At first the villa is a dream come true for Grace – that is until Claudio Romano shows up one day with his ten-year old son, Vanni, in tow. Turns out, this is Claudio’s house, and Claudio happens to be her agent’s ex-husband from long ago. Thanks to their annual father and son bonding trip being cancelled, Claudio and Vanni are here to stay.
So is Grace.
With the three of them sharing the same house, Grace’s writing plans are thrown out the window. But even if she’s not pounding the keyboard, she’s still finding beauty and inspiration… in none other than Claudio. He’s unlike any man Grace has met before. He’s smart, charming, and wickedly sexy, plus a great father to Vanni. He’d be the perfect summer fling – if only he wasn’t completely off-limits.
But as the hot Italian summer wears on, Grace and Claudio are destined to succumb to the heat, no matter how hard they try to resist each other. One steamy encounter with Claudio could affect Grace’s chances of starting her career over.
Or he could be exactly what she needs.
Review
4 stars!
This is a gorgeous summer read! A sexy, swoony romance with a whole lot of heart and very little angst and drama, it’s a beautifully easy read with lots of feels, and a whole lot of chemistry, as a broken-hearted writer and a sexy Italian single father have the summer of their lives!
“You are in the midst of uncovering yourself. Right here, right now. You will discover who you are. You will flourish.” … “I see it happening before my eyes. And it’s all you.”
Grace is a writer who is struggling to overcome her grief following the death of her best friend and writing partner. She was the quiet one of the duo, and now she’s forced to write all on her own and she’s completely lost her confidence and with it, her writing mojo. So when her new agent offers up her holiday house in the Tuscan countryside for a month, Grace jumps at the chance for a change of scenery from dreary Scotland to sunny Italy. The house just outside of Lucca is everything she could have dreamed, and she’s just settling in when she is interrupted by the home’s actual owner, Claudio, and his 10-year-old son, Vianni.
It turns out Claudio is her agent’s ex-husband who was supposed to be away for the summer, but a change of plans saw him and his son returning home to find Grace living in their house. It’s awkward, but Claudio is surprisingly accommodating and allows Grace to stay. Claudio is a sculptor who is also struggling to find his muse, but as the two share meals, wine, and discussions of their art, all while basking in the glorious Italian countryside, their undeniable attraction sparks inspiration for them both.
This woman will make me fall so damn hard, that I won’t be able to get to my feet again.
It’s a cute set-up that grows in anticipation and intensity the more time they spend together. Slowly, naturally and oh-so-beautifully, they start to develop feelings, and every little moment of it dripping with chemistry!
“I’m always thinking about you,” I tell her. “You’re the first thing I think about when I wake up, and the last thing I think about before I fall asleep. And you’re in every single thought in-between.”
And, of course, it’s insanely hot. Their passion for each other is sizzling, and the scenes in this book had me fanning myself.
But all of that sexy time is a reflection of their deepening connection, which is all kinds of intense as they fall and fall hard!
“Mia Musa,” I whisper to her, kissing her again. I pull back, searching her eyes, feeling everything inside threatening to spill over. “I want you. I want this. Always. Not just for now. I want so much from you that I’m afraid to ask…I don’t even think I’m worthy of asking.”
Claudio is just amazing. He is such a good guy, with a huge heart, and it’s all for Grace. He throws himself out there with pure abandon, and it’s beautiful to see a hero so sweet, open, honest and supportive, but also a freaking god in the bedroom… studio, car… great outdoors… wherever the hell the mood strikes! But it’s his incredibly swoony declarations that had me melting, and imagining them with an Italian accent just makes them so much hotter!
“Please. If you find yourself falling in love with me, don’t stop it. Don’t hold back. Don’t deny yourself that. Let yourself love me.”
*dreamy sigh*
Grace is a woman who came to Italy a little bit lost, but who finds herself as she embraces her new world, and the man in it. She has some issues she needs to deal with, and there are things standing in the way of her and Claudio getting their HEA, but it’s realistic and written in a way that doesn’t make it angsty. I could empathise with her, but it’s dealt with really well, and that little bit of drama does create the opportunity for more epic declaration from our smitten hero, and oh, Lord, he does it so well.
“You’re mine, Grace. More than my muse, more than a lover. I’ve never felt this way before about anything or anyone and I…I know that if you just trust me, if you give me your heart, I will carry it with me. I will be kind and gentle with it. I will always keep it tucked in next to mine. So that whatever happens in the future, it doesn’t matter. I’ll have your heart and you’ll have mine.”
I loved this book. I was completely swept up in the romance, and love Grace and Claudio’s story. The fact that the book is set in Italy and we get to explore some of the country with the characters is an added bonus and give this book an edge of wonder and excitement that I absolutely loved.
Such a gorgeous read – 4 stars!
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Meet Karina
Karina Halle is a former travel writer, music journalist and screenwriter, and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of over 55 bestselling novels, ranging from horror and suspense to contemporary romance. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband, and her adopted pitbull Bruce, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books.
Halle is represented by the Root Literary Agency and is both self-published and published by Simon & Schuster, Hachette and Montlake. Her work has been translated and published in 20 languages.
Hit her up on Instagram at @authorHalle, on Twitter at @MetalBlonde and on Facebook. You can also visit www.authorkarinahalle.com and sign up for the newsletter for news, excerpts, previews, private book signing sales and more.
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