Roman Crazy
Series: The Broads Abroad #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Authors: Nina Bocci & Alice Clayton
Release Date: September 16, 2016
Avery Bardot steps off the plane in Rome, looking for a fresh start. She’s left behind a soon-to-be ex-husband in Boston and plans to spend the summer with her best friend Daisy, licking her wounds—and perhaps a gelato or two. But when her American-expat friend throws her a welcome party on her first night, Avery’s thrown for a loop when she sees a man she never thought she’d see again: Italian architect Marcello Bianchi.
Marcello was the man—the one who got away. And now her past is colliding with her present, a present where she should be mourning the loss of her marriage and—hey, that fettuccine is delicious! And so is Marcello…
Slipping easily into the good life of summertime in Rome, Avery spends her days exploring a city that makes art historians swoon, and her nights swooning over her unexpected what was old is new again romance. It’s heady, it’s fevered, it’s wanton, and it’s crazy. But could this really be her new life? Or is it just a temporary reprieve before returning to the land of twin-set cardigans and crustless sandwiches?
A celebration of great friendship, passionate romance, and wonderful food, Roman Crazy is a lighthearted story of second chances and living life to the fullest.
It wasn’t love or lust, but something we both recognized as a possibility of something. It was so pure, so uninhibited … We just threw ourselves into it. These moments that were little pockets of perfection. It was like nothing else mattered. Just us.”
Finding your husband banging his secretary isn’t the most shocking thing Avery Bardot has recently experienced. The shocking thing was just how little it truly affected her. Was she mad? Sure. But did she feel that bone deep ache over the ultimate shattering of her marriage to her college sweetheart? Surprisingly…no. Avery sacrificed her own dreams and life to watch her husband make his happen, and she’s done with that. She’s taking charge of her life and starting it with getting on a plane to visit her best friend in Rome.
What starts off as a mere plan to get away for a while soon begins to turn to something so much more when all the pieces that have been missing in her life begin to fall into place. But then Avery runs into a man from her past, a man that affected her like no other. A man that she left behind in her youth but never forgot.
Avery and Marcello are not the same young and loose free people as they were when they met, but their feelings for each other haven’t changed. And what starts from an uneasy truce, soon turns to friendship and then to much much more.
Roman Crazy is a heartfelt and romantic journey of love and second chances. It’s a story of friendship and lifelong bonds. It’s filled with humor, painted within the beautiful culture of Italy, engrained with the beauty of its streets and people. I loved the way these authors truly brought Rome to life in this book. I was lucky to visit most of Italy, and I swear I could actually smell the cafes as they were being described.
So now you’re asking yourself, why only 3.5 stars then? Well, that’s more a personal thing than anything with the book really. See, this read more like a chick lit than romance to me. Don’t get me wrong, the romance is still very much there, but the story is so much more than that too. But I’m not a reader that really reads chick lit so it’s not a preference of mine. While the story is entertaining, I began to get bored in certain parts and hoping for a quicker pace. I loved being engrained in the culture of Italy and Rome, but wanted more of the romance. The story is actually very well paced, and well balanced with romance, but ultimately it just wasn’t something that kept me riveted to the pages.
Was it entertaining? Absolutely! Is it something I’d recommend to fans of Alice Clayton? You bet! Will it make you a fan of the newcomer Nina Bocci? Oh yes! Was it entirely my cuppa? Not quite, but that doesn’t mean I’m not already anticipating the next installment in this fun new series!
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