Summer on the Italian Lakes,
by Lucy Coleman
Publication: Aria; February 5, 2019
About the book:
Brianna Middleton has won the hearts of millions of readers with her sweeping – and steamy – love stories. But the girl behind the typewriter is struggling…. Not only does she have writer’s block, but she’s a world-famous romance author with zero romance in her own life.
So the opportunity to spend the summer teaching at a writer’s retreat in an idyllic villa on the shores of Lake Garda – owned by superstar author Arran Jamieson – could this be just the thing to fire up Brie’s writing – and romantic – mojo?
Brie’s sun-drenched Italian summer could be the beginning of this writer’s very own happy-ever-after…
Escape the January blues with this sun-drenched, heart-warming story from the bestselling author of Snowflakes Over Holly Cove.
**My Review**
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Lucy Coleman’s, Summer on the Italian Lakes! And I sincerely apologize for being late, it has been a week! This feel-good and romantic novel is about two authors that come together for a writer’s workshop in Lake Garda. Arran is the owner of the Italian villa and has been offering this workshop for years with another author. But when that author suddenly has to cancel, Brie and Arran’s mutual agent has Brie packing her bags for a month in Italy. Although things are a bit tricky between them at first, Brie soon begins to wonder if Arran is the inspiration she needs to get over her writer’s block and find happiness in her real life.
As a fan of both Lucy Coleman and Linn B. Halton, I was really excited to read Summer on the Italian Lakes. Although definitely romantic, this novel was so much more and full of complex characters, uncomfortable situations, difficult family/friends, and triumphs that any reader could relate to. I admit that in the beginning I was sure what I thought of Brie and then I felt that some uncertainty when Arran was introduced. However, I quickly found myself drawn to their unique personalities and was cheering for them both for so many different reasons. They both seemed a bit stand-offish in the beginning, but I absolutely loved how more relaxed and carefree with the progression of the novel.
The setting of the novel inspired a great desire to whisk myself away to Italy and just relax, while the details about the writer’s retreat had me wishing to do something like that one day because it seemed fun, fascinating, and challenging all at once. I was terrified that Brie and Arran would be completely different once she went home and he came to visit, fearing that writing or the beautiful Italian setting had been the only catalyst for their growing and changing relationship. However, I quickly learned that geography was the least of their obstacles and that they each would be forced to deal with several challenging issues regarding finances, family, careers, the media, and a multitude of opinions coming from every direction.
My only criticism of Summer on the Italian Lakes is the secondary characters were very overbearing and that I felt there was a lot of repetition. Regarding the secondary characters, I felt that Brie’s family, her best friend Mel, and her friend/agent Cassie were insanely overprotective and frequently treated her like a child. I tried to find it endearing, but especially with Mel, I found it frustrating. Then, in reference to my comment about repetition, I just felt that some things were put into the story multiple times unnecessarily, such as Brie’s cottage being too big for her, but was also a nice nest egg. Otherwise, I found this to be a romantic, sexy, smart, and engaging novel.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful readers got to meet up with Arran and Brie again someday, just as the publishers requested of Arthur and Rose’s story? 🙂
*Thanks to Aria and to the author for providing this review copy in exchange for my honest review!
Buy links:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2M9bQFF
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2RpOXDQ
iBooks: https://apple.co/2Md3soU
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2Mba8DC
Follow Aria
Website: www.ariafiction.com
Twitter: @aria_fiction
Facebook: @ariafiction
Instagram: @ariafiction
About the author:
Lucy lives in the Forest of Dean in the UK with her lovely husband and Bengal cat, Ziggy. Her novels have been short-listed in the UK’s Festival of Romance and the eFestival of Words Book Awards. Lucy won the 2013 UK Festival of Romance: Innovation in Romantic Fiction award.
Follow Lucy:
Twitter: @LucyColemanAuth
Facebook: @LinnBHaltonAuthor
Dandelions Inspired 
Thank you so much for being on the tour… I love feedback in a review and always take note – so thank you! Writing retreats can be immense fun as well as hard work – but I think the location is the key. Who wouldn’t want to go to Lake Garda?? After a snow drive home today I’d love to jet off to the sun myself ha! ha! Have a lovely evening!
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