Well, after binging through the whole trilogy, this was my least favorite. I was bored in the first chapter. It seemed like every character had some long soliloquy. Pamela rants, then the great Aunt...who up to this point was a great character...then Mike. Jeez...it was boring. It seemed like everything I loved in the first two books disappeared and this one was trying to turn the every scene into some cathartic moment for Valentine. And the. The ending was extremely disappointing. I just thought this book was a bit scattered and flat after such dynamic work in the first two. My advice, stop after the second book and believe Valentine marries Gianlucca and lives happily ever after. Adriana Tringiani has a way of writing that is both natural and funny at the same time, and she keeps you glued to her stories.This story revolves around Valentine, an Italian-American young woman who creates beautiful shoes - how very Italian of her :) The shoe company has been in her family since her grandparents brought the craft over from Italy when they immigrated. She has big dreams for her shoe company and she brings to it lots of love and creativity. Of course, she also falls head over heels (haha) for a beautiful Italian man and the book tells their love story. They jet set between the East Coast and beautiful Italy and the description of their home in Santa Margarita Ligure makes you feel like you are there, breathing in the warm sea air and revelling in the dazzling blue of the Mediterranean Sea. Aaahh...it reminds me of my time in the Cinque Terre and makes me smile every time I think of it.Valentine is part of a crazy Italian family, complete with loud explosive arguments coupled with the love and warmth of a close family. Everyone is part of everyone else's business and there is no hiding! But when push comes to shove, they are there for each other in all regards! There's even a crazy aunt who is opinionated, stubborn, and down right rude (isn't there always one in every family?)On the whole, this book is very good - I read almost all of it during a plane ride back from Italy and it kept me entertained (at least, I wasn't falling asleep every few seconds - that came on the second leg of the trip when I'd already finished the book!) But in comparison to her other book, The Shoemaker's Wife (you can read my review here), I think I liked that one better. Adriana has a great way to bring everyday life to the forefront, but in a couple of instances, it was a bit too much normal life ( for instance, when she was going on and on about a typical evening at home eating dinner and conversing - I felt like I was eavesdropping on a normal family conversation - there was nothing exciting going on, just the mundane chatter of everyday life). I think I know why she was describing this very normal evening because of subsequent events that were about to occur, but even still, it was a little boring. The other criticism I have is that I think the title of the book (being the name of company she built) is disconnected. It doesn't seem to fit...again, it's my opinion, but I think something a bit more creative could have been chosen. Despite these few stabs of criticism, I did enjoy the book and would recommend it for an easy and entertaining read!
What do You think about Ciao Valentine (2013)?
tried to listen, but couldn't get into it. finally gave up today to move onto other books!
—kevinyaranon
I listened to this book. The reader did some great Italian accents.
—Ruba
Great dialogue but not my favorite Adriana Trigiani novel.
—daria
