Title: An American Girl in Italy
Author: Aubrie Dionne
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 4,5 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
An Italian paradise is the last thing she wants… but the one thing she needs!
Surely any girl would kill for the chance to tour Italy’s most famous cities for the summer? To experience the warmth of the Tuscan sun, the culinary delights of the pizzerias and caffés and to stroll along the cobbled streets of the City of Love itself…
Any girl apart from ambitious oboist Carly Davis that is! For her, the Easthampton Civic Symphony’s latest European tour is one massive inconvenience. She can’t even put her smartphone down long enough to snap a picture of the Coliseum.
Only, there’s one Italian attraction that Carly hadn’t quite expected to be a part of the tourist route…
Tour guide Michelangelo is as dark and delicious as Carly’s morning espresso. And when she needs a few lessons in the language of love to land her an important gig, he’s a more than capable tutor.
But with her promising career back in Boston, can Carly really afford to lose her heart in Italy?
I love Italy, and I’m dying to go on a holiday, so of course I had to read An American Girl in Italy.
Aubrie Dionne has a great writing style, and the ability to capture a character’s essence in a few short paragraphs. Carly Davis, the main character, is in love with her career. She’s an ambitious musician playing for the Easthampton Civic Symphony. Music is her life. She lives and breathes music. Which means that unlike any other sane human being, she doesn’t want to go to Italy. Even though she’s sightseeing some of the most amazing places on earth, she can’t bring herself to enjoy it.
That is, until tour guide Michelangelo shows up. With a name like Michelangelo, this guy has to be a romantic for sure. He’s dark, charismatic, mysterious, and he and Carly have almost-instant chemistry. His personality is very different from Carly’s, but at the same time, they form an interesting match.
I also liked the secondary characters, especially the Italian locals, and the members of Carly’s symphony. Sometimes it was hard to keep them apart, but it was entertaining to see them from Carly’s point of view. Carly was my favorite character, because I could relate to her – not to the point that I’d miss out on a trip through Italy, but I understood why she did certain things, and why she let ambition get the best of her most of the time.
With great writing and an intriguing set of characters, and vivid descriptions of the settings, Aubrie Dionne has written an entertaining contemporary romance, ideal for the summer holidays, and a recommended read to anyone who wants to escape ordinary life for a while, and picture themselves strolling through Italy.
Thank you so much for this wonderful review!