Review: To Italy, With Love

Title: To Italy, With Love

Author: Nicky Pellegrino

Publisher: 28th September 2021 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 317 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: contemporary

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

Love happens when you least expect it...

Assunta has given up on love. She might run her little trattoria in the most romantic mountain town in Italy, but love just seems to have passed her by.

Sarah-Jane is finished with love. She's buying an old convertible and driving around Italy this summer - it's the perfect way to forget all about her hot celebrity ex-boyfriend!

But when Sarah-Jane's car breaks down in Montenello, she has to stay longer than she intended. And the trouble is, love is everywhere...

My Thoughts

‘… she couldn’t help imagining what it might be like to have someone beside her as she moved through the rest of her life; a person to talk to and laugh with, to lean on whenever it seemed she couldn’t stand alone.’

I have read and enjoyed Nicky's previous books as they always provide some good escapism. In To Italy, With Love, she gives us two lead characters who are not happy or satisfied with their life and through their stories find that love, friendship and family are the cornerstones of happiness - along with some great cuisine! 

Nicky has once again created characters and scenarios that allow for realisation and growth with two women at different stages in their lives. She writes so well that I want to be with Sarah-Jane and have a cup of tea and I want to eat at Assunta’s trattoria. Which leads to the food … sumptuous and so inviting. We may not be travelling to Italy right now, but thanks to Nicky, the charming village of Montenello gives us the armchair travel we are all craving for. 

In her acknowledgements Nicky notes that this was her Covid/lockdown book. She wished to pen a happy tale where people could escape to Italy through its pages. However, by the conclusion it had become apparent that it had evolved into so much more. At a deeper level it was also a tale about loneliness, seeking connections and, when surrounded by loved ones, no life was too small to find purpose and meaning.

‘But there was a pleasure to be found in setting a table with her grandmother’s china, her good crystal and bone-handled cutlery. In having a cloth napkin and pouring a glass of ruby red Aglianico wine.’

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.

Review: Tiny Pieces of Us

Title: Tiny Pieces of Us

Author: Nicky Pellegrino

Publisher: 30th June 2020 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 320 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: family, modern contemporary

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

My heart is less than 1% of my body, it weighs hardly anything; it is only a tiny piece of me, yet it is the part everyone finds most interesting.

Vivi Palmer knows what it's like to live life carefully. Born with a heart defect, she was given a second chance after a transplant, but has never quite dared to make the most of it. Until she comes face-to-face with her donor's mother, Grace, who wants something in return for Vivi's second-hand heart: her help to find all the other people who have tiny pieces of her son.

Reluctantly drawn into Grace's mission, Vivi's journalist training takes over as one by one she tracks down a small group of strangers. As their lives intertwine Vivi finds herself with a new kind of family, and by finding out more about all the pieces that make up the many parts of her, Vivi might just discover a whole new world waiting for her...

My Thoughts

‘My heart is less than one per cent of my body; it is only a tiny piece of me. All I can do is trust it will keep beating, that its valves will open and close, pumping blood round my body. All I can do is hope and live, like everyone ... like other ordinary people.’

I have read and enjoyed a couple Nicky Pellegrino's books yet it would seem this is a step in a different direction and I liked it. Tiny Pieces of Us will inspire you with its tale of organ transplants. At first I was somewhat unsure, but I warmed to the story and the characters as Nicky’s writing encapsulated the grateful moments along with the heartbreaking ones. 

‘No one is ever safe,’ said Stefano, matter-of-factly, ‘that’s why it’s so important to make the most of life.’ 

This is an interesting fictional look into organ donations from both sides, something I failed to consider beyond the initial donation and transplant (‘People tend to think of an organ transplant as a happy ending’). I found it eye opening and learnt a great deal. The story will take you through a plethora of emotions - everything from love and laughter to tears and heartbreak. It will prompt you to reconsider ‘family’ and the importance of connections. 

Nicky will take you on a journey of how it must be for those who have lost a loved one and also the relief of receiving an organ is in fact, the beginning of a physical and emotional lifelong journey. I appreciated seeing things through Vivi’s point of view and the many hurdles (real and imagined) she put herself through. I enjoyed the backstories behind the other organ recipients and I particularly warmed to her sister Imogen as once again Nicky invites you to consider what it might be like for family members as well. A comprehensive and, I feel, realistic portrayal of all. 

‘Don’t you ever think that we got this second chance at life so should be doing something more important?’  ‘Like curing cancer or negotiating world peace?’ ‘Perhaps not that important.’ ‘I don’t know.’ Tommy sounded thoughtful. ‘We can’t live our best lives all the time, can we? Sometimes we just have to get through the day, same as anyone else.’ 

Woven into this is also family dynamics, a career quandary and relationships with some romance which adds depth and therefore this is not a one dimensional tale. There is much to appreciate here and a grateful heart (pardon the pun) to walk away with. I have always enjoyed Nicky’s writing but feel she has really stepped it up with her latest offering and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next. 

 ‘The only thing that has ever made her feel slightly better is knowing that out there somewhere Jamie’s heart is still beating, that his death meant other people had a future. She  thinks about the ones that have tiny pieces of him inside them.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: One Summer in Venice

Title:  One Summer in Venice

Author: Nicky Pelligrino

Publisher: 14^th April 2015 by Hachette Australia - Orion

Pages: 304 pages

How I Read It: ARC ebook

Genre: womens fiction, chick lit

My Rating:  three cups

Synopsis:

'This isn't a mid-life crisis OK? For a start I'm not old enough yet to have one of those. I'm calling it a happiness project. I've stolen an entire summer from my life and by the time it's over I plan to leave this place with a list in my hand. The ten things that make me happy, that's all I want to know. How difficult can it be? They may be small things - a perfect cup of coffee, a day without rain - or bigger ones. It's still the beginning so how can I know?'

Addolorata Martinelli knows she should be happy. She has everything she thought she wanted - her own business, a husband, a child. So why does she feel as if something is missing? Then when her restaurant, Little Italy, is slated by a reviewer, she realises that she's lost the one thing she thought she could always count on, her love of food.

So Addolorata heads to Venice for a summer alone, aiming to find the ten things that make her happy. Once she's found them, she'll construct a new life around her ten things, but will they include her life in London?

My thoughts:

“Am I missing out? Is there another life I ought to be leading?....I wasn’t sure I like who I’d become. Still, I was getting through the days and weeks all right; I was managing”.

I was looking forward to reading about this purported middle-aged heroine taking what could be described as a sabbatical to Venice. Maybe another type of, ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ would be forthcoming. Whilst it contained some interesting components, there was nothing really new or enlightening, no real fresh insights to deliver. I did not feel a great deal of empathy for Dolly either (the main character) as she did come off at times as being quite selfish. The draw card is Coco - she is the real story here - such an enigma, charismatic is her middle name and the way her story slowly unfolded was entertaining.

“Do the things that make you happy.

What if I don’t know what they are?

Then I think you really do have a problem”.

I have to give the book credit for the setting. Venice is lavishly described so well, that many a time you could picture yourself walking the narrow pathways. I also have to give the book points for its sumptuous food descriptions – rich like the foods being lovingly prepared. The final interesting aspect is the inclusion of the dance, the tango. Whether professionals or learners, everything from the steps to the interpretation were vividly described.

“I’ve decided my life is just like the tango now. I won’t force it along; I need to let it happen naturally, stay in the moment, stay with the feeling, live with my heart not my head. I’m getting better at it”.

But back to Dolly. There were pearls of wisdom that were sprinkled throughout as she soaked up Venice – the lifestyle, culture and cuisine.  Her objective was to discover what made her happy – really happy.

“What do I want from my life? I want to be happier. Don’t you?...All of us deserve some. But how many days and weeks had I let slip by in a fug of greyness and dejection? How often even did I notice whether I was happy or not?”

So she makes new friends, takes afternoon naps, tries new styles of dressing, discovers the local attractions and learns to cook again for the love of it. Slowly she begins to unwind and formulate the list of things that make her happy. At the conclusion, her lesson is to attempt to live her life differently, ensuring time for the rediscovery of the things that make her smile. Idealistic? Maybe, however, as she learnt from Coco:

“I can’t change the past and undo my mistakes. All I can do is get on with life. Keep going and keep trying. It’s all any of us can do”.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.