Publisher: 6th May 2022 by HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter
Pages: 369 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: contemporary, women’s fiction, romance, chick lit, culture Italy
My Rating: 4 cups
Synopsis:
Dream job. Dream house. Fake fiancé.
A year in a gorgeous Italian castle…
When Anna Roberts’ life implodes, an online search leads her to an ad for the ultimate dream job – management of a gorgeous castle on the shores of Lake Como, accommodation included. The only catch? Anna can’t do it alone…
…With the last man on earth she’d choose!
The castle owners will only accept a couple as caretakers, which means Anna needs a man on her arm at the interview. Enter her neighbour, Jake Tucker. Though Anna and Jake have never seen eye-to-eye, Jake’s had a rough few years and an escape to Italy sounds ideal. Yet, when they get the job and jet off, Anna and Jake face an unexpected challenge. Pretending to be a couple is difficult … but pretending the tension simmering between them doesn’t exist is quickly proving impossible!
My Thoughts
Having read and loved Kathryn’s, The Beach Reads Book Club, I was eager to try some more of her writing. On this occasion she gives her readers a story of enemies-to-lovers, a couple who are fake dating in order to run a castle in stunning Lake Como, Italy. That in itself is reason enough to pick this one up.
‘Hope is what drives us forwards, what keeps us going through the tough stuff.’
The setting for the book is gorgeous, I just wish there had been more written about it. We had visits to the local village, Italian dialogue with the locals and swimming in the lake, however, I would have loved more armchair travel to this stunning destination. The relationships between Jake and Anna with the supporting characters felt very genuine and heartwarming. The two main leads were most definitely opposites but the background stories for them are solid and it added depth to their character arc as individuals. It is the perfect slow-burn romance with loads of chemistry. I loved and related to Anna’s organisation and list making with the banter between the two being top notch.
‘You’re the organised to my chaotic, the sensible to my crazy.’ He kissed her softly on the end of her nose. ‘The calm to my impetuous. You’re strong when I’m weak, smart when I’m stupid. Brave when I’m a coward. And I bloody love every part of you.’
The only drawback was the amount of misunderstanding through miscommunication. The repetitiveness of their insecurities was overplayed somewhat in my opinion with the continual assumptions drawn proved rather exhausting at times. I really liked both main characters with a classic supporting cast but just wish there had been more descriptions of the locale and not so much stomping off!
The Italian Job by Kathryn Freeman is the perfect inbetween read. It is fun, charming with great chemistry and vibes between the two romantic leads. Readers of this genre are sure to fall in love with this book.
‘The job was never the dream. The dream has always been finding someone I love that I want to spend the rest of my life with. You’re my dream.’
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.
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