There’s more to life than this.
Good-girl Cat Connelly is bored of playing it safe. Despairing of finding love, she decides it’s time to break all the rules in search of some excitement…
Ciao, bella!
Taking up an invitation to go to Italy for a month seems the perfect solution. But suddenly Cat finds herself alone in Rome! It will take an unexpected friendship, a whirlwind tour of the Eternal City, and a surprise encounter to show Cat that life doesn’t always work out the way you think it will – but that the best things are often to be found in the breathtakingly unexpected.
The Long Story
As an expat, I have recently developed a love for stories involving travel. Stories that combine romance and travel are all the better. That is why Italian for Beginners seemed exactly what I wanted. Unfortunately, I was left feeling a little flat.
At the beginning of the book, I didn’t get a real feel for the character. Instead of being swept into the story, I couldn’t help but feel like Harmel was exerting too much control over the characters, making them say what they ‘need’ to say to get the scene where she wanted it to go instead of letting the characters truly express themselves. Even Cat’s first introduction to Michael felt forced rather than like anything containing natural chemistry.
Even so, I read on, enjoying Cat’s love of photography as well as her observations of Rome. I felt a bit put out at the Roman Holiday references because I’ve never seen the movie, but Cat never had either, so it helped me to connect a little with her.
Despite my so-so feeling about the writing, I began to settle into Cat’s self-examination. A lot of her feelings lined up with things I’m going through now and thoughts I’ve had, so I finally truly connected with her as a character. It was unfortunate that it happened so late in the book, but the fact that it happened is still just as important.
My review is long enough as it is, but I have to mention the Michael situation, which annoyed me to no end. I guessed the situation at the beginning and felt that Cat’s stubbornness was not only forced but that there had still been plenty of chances to tell her the real story anyway.
Again, I feel the story should have been left to flow.
If you like stories that end all neatly wrapped with a big pretty bow, this is the book for you. There are about ten pages in the last chapter that could have been taken out for the sake of leaving some ‘strings dangling’, which I prefer in a book rather than having everything cleanly ended.
Overall…
The Short Story
There were quite a few things in terms of the writing that threw me off with this book and kept me from getting into it, but it still makes a good story of personal growth.
***
Rating: 2 Stars
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***
Italian for Beginners
By Kristin Harmel
http://www.kristinharmel.com/
ISBN: 9780755347438
340 Pages