I love to read; I mean really love to read. Books are the temple where I can worship the written word. There are books lovingly sprinkled around my home like glitter in a Kindergarten classroom. Books are the necessary spices to my intellectual palette. That being said, I found Italian Affair by Annie Seaton is more of a palette cleaner than a meal.
It is a common enough story for a contemporary romance. Boy meets girl. Opposites attract. Boy loses girl. Both realize they are really in love then BAM, happy ever after is had by all *waits for cheers from the studio audience*. Brianna, our fair heroine, needs to get married in order to receive her inheritance. Tom is looking for a new start in life on a fabulous Lipari Island. Instead, he finds himself caught up in a crazy scheme with a Scottish woman whose is his exact opposite. It seems that love is in the air for those willing to stop and appreciate the cool Mediterranean breeze.
There is no real tension found in Affair. All the buildup does not lead to a giant explosion, but more of a release of air from a balloon. Everything is explained and wrapped up in a pretty bow but the present inside is one that will illicit no real emotion from the receiver. The big climax of the story involves a death but even that fails to rally the reader to connect with the characters.
Overall, this book is a fluff piece. A lovely read on a Sunday afternoon when you have nothing else to do. It is a Lifetime movie on a weekday afternoon. There is no true commitment on the part of the reader to connect with either the story or its characters. There are no hilarious one-liners or tearful revelations that will call to you after the book is done. Italian Affair is more of the opening act at a festival of words; helping to prepare the crowd for better acts to come.
Reviewed by Sheila Hall ©