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Night In Italy Blurb: Is Italian really the language of love? A new class of students hopes to find out.
Anna’s recently been told the father she’s never met is Italian. Now she’s baking focaccia, whipping up tiramisu and swotting up on her vocabulary, determined to make it to Italy so she can find him in person.
Catherine’s husband has walked out on her, and she’s trying to pick up the pieces of her life. But she’ll need courage as well as friends when she discovers his deception runs even deeper than infidelity.
Sophie is the teacher of the class, who’d much, rather be back in sunny Sorrento. She can’t wait to escape the tension at home and go travelling again. But sometimes life- and love – can surprise you when you least expect it.
As the evening class gets underway, friendships form and secrets from Italy emerge. With love affairs blossoming in the most unlikely places, and hard decisions to face, it’s going to be a year Anna, Catherine and Sophie will never forget.
This is my first book by Lucy Diamond and I really enjoyed the book. I purchased One Night in Italy, as I was drawn in by the cover and the title; it had this mysterious and intriguing vibe to it, which made me want to read the book instantly. Plus it had the added advantage of being set in Italy, a country I am dying the visit, as soon as I’ve saved enough money…….
I am so pleased I purchased the book, because it is by far the best book I’ve read this year and I’ve read some pretty good books, over the last few months. Once I’d started the book, it was a really struggle to put it down, going to work was torture- all I could think about was getting home, curling up by the Aga and once again getting lost in the story of Anna, Catherine and Sophie.
I loved Lucy’s writing style and the way she portrayed the three main Characters. Right from meeting each girl individually you could connect with them; it was so easy to imagine you were right there on their journey with them……
We meet Anna first. Anna is a journalist at the Herald and gets her own cookery column. I enjoyed going on Anna’s journey in tracking down her mysterious Father, after her grandmother Nora let it sleep he was Italian and called Gino. For years Anna knew nothing about her dad, as her mother had always been reluctant to divulge any information, when she attempted to discuss the subject of her father. It was her grans snippet of information that lead her to sign up for the Italian cookery day course and the Italian vocabulary classes, which in turn got her a promotion at work. I really liked Anna and the way she is portrayed within the book and I’m so pleased she got her handsome colleague in the end and the happy ending she deserved.
The second character we meet is Catherine, instantly you feel sorry for her. She loses her two children to University and later the same day catches her husband of twenty plus years in bed with another woman. With her world turned upside down, she is forced to take action. We know she does various charity work, but due to Mike controlling and bullying tactics, she’s never had a proper job. It’s really interesting to read the way Catherine develops herself as a person and after lots of rejections manages to get her first job, with the Lovely Maggie. It was so good that even after all the heartache and distribution Mike had caused her, she manages to stand up to him and stop him from causing anymore pain to his patients. I love how the more the story progresses; she becomes more confident and makes a strong bond with her Italian group friends.
Finally we meet Sophie. I think Sophie is my favourite character of the book; you just instantly fall in the love with all her adventurous ways. I love how we first met Sophie get in Sorrento and we get to see her impendent side- where her only desire is to travel the world- never settling in the same place for too long. I was really pleased when we see Sophie go back to Sheffield, after her dad falls ill. It was really good to read that her and her parents were able to build bridges on the past and make a fresh start. I think when she gets the job of teaching Italian at the college; we see the making of Sophie. This is the first glimpse we get that she can settle down in one place and make a go of something, other than waitressing. We know that her passion, is for acting, but she’s not sure how to pursue her dream- When she gets the opportunity to join a local drama group, you can sense she’s going to gain the confidence and courage, she needs to take the final step in settling into her new life in Sheffield.
I thoroughly enjoyed going on the Journey with the girls and have to praise Lucy for writing such a fabulous book. Having loved this book so much, I have now purchased her other titles and I’m waiting with great anticipation for them to arrive, so I can get stuck in. I really would recommend anyone who loves chick lit and hasn’t already to grab a copy of this book and read it- you won’t be disappointed…….
