This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

4 stars for this romance by author Darcie Boleyn.
I enjoyed the setting, the storyline and the romance between Sophia and Joe. Perfect summer read.

Another gentle, pleasant read from Darcie Boleyn in a gorgeous setting with characters you care about and want to find their happy endings.

This book made me feel like I was in Italy, such were the beautiful  descriptions and the evocative l tone of writing.

There are some surprises along the way, and I love that author doesn't just deal with romantic love, but expands into other family relationships.

If you want to escape into another world for a few hours, then this is the story to help you do that.

When I read the synopsis, I guessed that this book would have the usual elements as other similar romance books I’ve read. And I was right.

The Plot

Sophia has been leading a boring and exhausting life. She catches her boyfriend cheating and takes this change to change her life completely, meaning she quits her job as well. All she wants is to be happy. She splurges on good clothes (for once) with help from her mom and sister-in-law and heads to Italy on a holiday/visit to her grandmother’s. She’s taking it as a time out to figure out what to do next.

Italy? ✓
Pizza? ✓
Gelato? ✓
Handsome man who bumped into you? ✓
A family secret? ✓
Absolutely no clue what to do in life? ✓✓✓✓

I was excited for this book because it’s set in Italy, and I love Italy because of Love and Gelato. I have to say, though, the highlights on the city wasn’t as much. And the pizza and gelato was mentioned only once each. I’m a foodie lover, so I’m a disappointed about that.



WHAT I LIKED:
The pace of the relationship. Sophia and Joe took time to grow closer and there was no rush. It’s very believable. And practical.
People in their 30s being clueless about life. Finally one book where adults don’t have their careers and futures completely planned out. We can change directions later. It’s totally cool and we don’t have to figure everything out at our “prime” (And it made me feel better about myself.)
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:
This is going to be a bigger list, so brace yourselves.

The “family issue” on Sophia’s side was way overdone. I get that the secret is life changing, but it doesn’t affect Sophia so much for her to react that bad. She literally cried! I was totally put off by the way the problem was exaggerated and I didn’t like Sophia’s reaction to it, mostly.
Joe was too perfect. Please tell me, would you not be suspicious if a guy you’re on a “summer fling” with offers to go shopping with you and says “we can do whatever you want, we’ll go wherever you want, I’ll come with you”. He’s kind, charming, really good looking, very thoughtful and so much more. I never saw anything to his personality except his love for photography. Speaking of..
Sophia wondered how he was so perfectly thoughtful.

You’re not alone in that.

Now that I think of it, I didn’t get Sophia’s and Joe’s personalities much. The small likes and dislikes, quirks etc that make up a person? I didn’t notice any of that.
Joe had only one flaw, and that was putting off communication. Sophia spoke to him very freely and he listens. But when she offers to listen, he simply says “let’s not ruin the good time we’re having”. Probably never would be a good time, if you see that way. Even after the 50% mark of the book, his life/past was still vague. I hardly knew anything about him. And this is even though the book is in dual POV, so we can’t blame it on the fact that we were clueless because Sophia was clueless. This irritated me so much, because I didn’t at all know Joe!
Also the “secret” on Joe’s side was very predictable once we were given two sentences on it. The amount of hush hush on that was exaggerated because, hello, we live in the 21st century. And they’re in their 30s i.e. they’re matured enough. Why was he so afraid of telling Sophia earlier, I don’t know.
Oh and Sophia’s decision to never get into another relationship because she got cheated on by her ex-boyfriend? Whom she didn’t even love or have a connection with or honestly care about? She declares no-love-zone for that? *sigh* No.
Also, for as much as Sophia and Joe decided to “see where this goes” i.e. have a summer fling, they didn’t sleep together? They simply went on dates and that’s basically dating?? (Oh yeah, speaking of, there are no sexually explicit scenes in the book. So if you want a book like that, here’s one)
The first kiss was so abrupt and out of place? I sat there with an indifferent expression through it. I felt nothing.


Overall

I didn’t like the book. It’s a normal love story with nothing very special. It was just okay. I didn’t hate it, but I wasn’t enamoured by it either.

I read this and rated it 5* on goodreads in 2017 however i never wrote a review to share, however i did enjoy it from what i recall and continute to read from this author

So this totally was not the book to read early April, with the UK’s gloomy, misty skies, the non-stop pouring rain and the coldness bitterly freezing our hands to death – because it made me seriously jealous of Sophia and in need of a long-time coming holiday away to the most exotic place I could think of!

Sophia is a business woman purely focused around work in the bustling city of London. Her boyfriend moved in one day without her permission and stayed for three excruciatingly long years, rent free and no intentions to help Sophia do anything related to housework. Sophia knew the love was no longer there between them, if there was ever love there in the first place, however she let him stay anyway as she has a heart of gold and would never want to see him without. That is, until she walks in to her bedroom – her safe place – and see’s him in her bed with a blonde covered in whipped cream. Her life takes a 360 turn when she finally see’s him for the man he is, the man she allowed to live in her home all these years and with this final push, she now had a reason to end the relationship once and for all.

Sophia sells her apartment to a work colleague and jet’s off to the sunny skies and crystal clear blue seas of Italy, on a mission to explore new life choices, her family’s past and possibly a new romance?

Sophia is knocked off of her feet – literally – when the handsome Joe Lancaster runs in to her at the airport, leaving her with a bust lip and a lump on her head that you could see from a mile away. From this instant, Sophia can never stop thinking about the man who caused her multiple injuries on their first meeting and quite frankly, with the way Darcie describes Joe, I would be thinking about him on a daily basis as well.

Before Sophia can develop any feelings for this new handsome stranger, she finds a letter in a photo box at her grandmother’s place, that could possibly ruin her families dynamics and her mother/nonna’s relationship.

Join Sophia and Joe on their journey to love, with some laugh-out-loud moments and many more awkward bump-in’s along the way. Darcie takes us on a journey of exploring the town, visiting the castle and the opera, alongside meeting many wonderful characters. Darcie’s description of everything – from the places Sophia visits, the people Sophia meets to the events occurring throughout the book, she describes it all so vividly that I genuinely could use my imagination so clearly and feel like I was in this story with Sophia.

Sophia and Joe were such fascinating characters to follow, however with each of them dealing with different and difficult family situations, their journey to love isn’t an easy ride and you can’t help but scream in your head for them to just lay all of their secrets out on the table so they no longer had to find reasons to not be together. If you are a romantic person, this book will definitely have you swooning and more ready than ever to pursue your very own holiday romance, as passionate as this one.

‘Love at the Italian Lake’ was such a pleasure to read and I will definitely be purchasing more of Darcie’s stories!

This was a cheesy book that for me was not well written. It may be the current slump I am in. I am willing to give this another try in the future.

Hi. Lovely nice easy to read book which I enjoyed by the pool in the Sun on holiday with a cocktail. Quite quick to read and feel good which was perfect for what I needed.

A cute little romance with a beautiful setting. The story starts off exciting and engaging with lots of activity, but then a quarter into it drops off and slows to a predictable halt. I found the characters kind, nice and compatible. The dialogue was at times witty and "cheeky", but it was extremely repetitive which made me want to skip over parts to get to the point.

Review: Darcie Boleyn has very quickly became a favourite author of mine over the last year having reviewed several of her books. This one is brilliant. It is a lovely tale of romance with a romance setting. Darcie has really captured the essence of her setting and her characters well, they are realistic. This is a lovely, sweet holiday read.

this book was really enjoyable. very easy read. takes you to italy

I've read Darcie Boleyn before but this wasn't one of her best I'm afraid. I got a little bored at the beginning but enjoyed reading about the wedding business and learning her family's secret. I would still look out for her next book and won't let it put me off. Thank you for letting me read and review this book

So having recently read Christmas at Conwenna Cove, I decided to dive in with Darcie Boleyn's Love at the Italian Lake, and I'm rather glad I did!  Firstly I love novels set in Europe.  I love reading about the vibrancy of those European towns, the beautiful culture and the stunning scenery.  Darcie Boleyn did not disappoint with this novel.  

When Sophia finds herself at a crossroads in her life she decides to travel to Italy to spend time with her grandmother while she considers what path she will take.  What she finds is a new relaxing way of life, a closer relationship with her Italian grandmother and some unexpected attraction to the ridiculously attractive Joe!

Whilst the setting of this novel is a major plus for me, the story didn't disappoint either.  There are life decisions to be made, family dramas to overcome and a sizzling romance thrown in for good measure.  If I was to make any criticism it would just be that despite quitting her job Sophia does not seem to have any financial worries - she's dressed in designer gear and not particularly worried about paying her mortgage.  This is certainly not something that has ever happened to me, but then again the reason I love fiction so much is for the escapism from reality, so it's not really an issue! 

I really enjoyed this novel, it was a perfect summer romance and just what I needed as the weather turns colder.  I definitely want to book myself a trip to Italy and find myself a hunky man to enjoy the trip with (but shhh, don't tell my husband!). I recommend you go out and get yourself a copy of this lovely novel.  Let me know what you think once you've read it!

I really enjoy books with interesting settings and Darcie Boleyn does that really well. I look forward to reading more of her books

This is a brilliant, romantic, sunny book! One of my fave summer reads of the year!

A wonderful read and the perfect summer romance. I loved this book from beginning to end. Sophia sets off to visit her Italian Grandmother in Italy after breaking up with her job and her boyfriend . She meets the man of her dreams and her Italian adventure begins. The scenery is beautifully described it transports the reader. The description of Italian culture is delicious. This is the perfect feel good read complete with a warm loving Grandmother, Italian culture, scenery to die for and a handsome leading man. Very nice read.
Thank you for the ARC which did not influence my review.

A lovely easy romantic read, perfect for holiday or a cosy evening in front of the fire. I loved the characters and setting for the story - it made me want to visit Lake Garda.

Heartwarming and well written, this is enjoyable to read. A good old fashioned romance story. A tale of journeys, family secrets and new beginnings.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this book.
Sophia and Joe are both interesting characters who you get to know better as the book progresses.
An easy to read book which keeps you guessing till near the end of the book.

After catching her boyfriend in bed with another woman Sophia Bertoni needs to sort her life out she decides on a break to the beautiful town of Malcesine in Italy to visit Nonna Spinoni would be just the place to do just that.
Arriving at Verona airport after collecting her luggage feeling the heat as she was shrugging out of her kimono Sophia felt something hard hit her from behind pushing her forward over her suitcase as her arms were in kimono the next thing she knows is she's flat on her face. That's how she met Joe Lancaster.
After a meeting like this can it possibly lead to romance?
I LOVED this book even now the airport scene I cry with laughter reading it as a similar incident happened when I was at an airport.