One Summer in Italy by Sue Moorcroft | Blog Tour Review @SueMoorcroft @AvonBooksUK #OneSummerInItaly #teamsuemoorcroft

Published by Avon

Available in ebook and paperback (17 May 2018)

368 pages

|   About the Book   |

When Sofia Bianchi’s father Aldo dies, it makes her stop and look at things afresh. Having been his carer for so many years, she knows it’s time for her to live her own life – and to fulfil some promises she made to Aldo in his final days.

So there’s nothing for it but to escape to Italy’s Umbrian mountains where, tucked away in a sleepy Italian village, lie plenty of family secrets waiting to be discovered. There, Sofia also finds Amy who is desperately trying to find her way in life after discovering her dad isn’t her biological father.

Sofia sets about helping Amy through this difficult time, but it’s the handsome Levi who proves to be the biggest distraction for Sofia, as her new life starts to take off…

|  My Thoughts   |

You can always rely on a summer read by Sue Moorcroft to put you in the holiday mood. An uplifting romantic story with gorgeous locations – take me there!

Sofia Bianchi hasn’t had much of a life. Looking after her ailing but adored father Aldo for many years until his death had meant that her options were limited. Before he died he made her promise certain things. One was to pass a message to his estranged brother Gianni and the most important one was to be happy.

Sofia sells up and decides to travel to her father’s birth town of Monteliberta in Italy, with the intention of spending a couple of years travelling. She finds work as a waitress at a hotel, Casa Felice. Sofia enjoys the work but finds herself clashing with the unpredictable owner.

Also working at the hotel is Amy, an 18 year old who has run away from her home in Germany following a dramatic family fallout. Amy is a very young 18 year old (and in my opinion quite selfish and a bit brattish) and Sofia, being older, wiser and a fluent Italian speaker, takes her under her wing however she can have no idea of how much her life will become intertwined with Amy’s.

I’ve said it before – I adore Italy. I could quite happily spend all my holidays there and Moorcroft’s evocative descriptions of the gorgeous setting of this traditional Italian village gives a wonderful sense of place. The terrace at the hotel’s Il Giardino sounds divine and what I wouldn’t give to be sitting there in the hot Italian summer sunshine sipping (or maybe guzzling!) a glass of Orvieto Classico!

As ever there is always a gorgeous romantic lead in her books. Levi Gunn, whose first appearance was in his biker gear, arrives just in time to play the hero. Levi is a successful internet entrepreneur, enjoying painting as a hobby. It’s not just the fabulous views of the Italian countryside that inspire him, if you get my meaning!  There is however another reason for his stay and this is soon revealed in the story.

I very much enjoyed One Summer in Italy as I knew I would. The romance element is lovely but there is also depth to the characters as the situations and dramas they face are slowly revealed. Family feuds, the catch 22 situation facing homeless people, relationships – they are all dealt with in a sympathetic way. There was a large cast of characters but Sofia and Levi were the stars of the story for me and I was so wishing they would each find their own happiness.

Definitely recommended as a summer read – or actually a read at any time!

|   Author Bio   |

Sue Moorcroft is a Sunday Times bestselling author, an international bestselling author and has held the #1 spot in the UK Kindle chart. She writes contemporary fiction with sometimes unexpected themes.

Sue has won a Best Romantic Read Award, received two nominations at the Romantic Novel of the Year Awards and is a Katie Fforde Bursary winner. Her short stories, serials, articles, columns, courses and writing ‘how to’ have sold around the world.

An army child, Sue was born in Germany then lived in Cyprus, Malta and the UK. She’s worked in a bank, as a bookkeeper (probably a mistake), as a copytaker for Motor Cycle News and for a digital prepress. She’s pleased to have now wriggled out of all ‘proper jobs’.

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