Not her best, but a strong sense of place and an interesting enough story. The story was a little too convenient, helped by immense amounts of privilege, and kind of just meandered. Kind of forgettable in the end, though the premise held potential.

I'm not sure how to rate this book. I liked the friendships between the women, and the portrayal of older women reinventing themselves. I liked "visiting" various parts of Italy along with the characters. However I had to suspend disbelief that three women who had only known each other a short while would lease an Italian villa together for a year, and that they would all find ways to generate income while abroad. Their lack of financial difficulties and ease at finding men to date are also beyond my experience.

slugged through this book out of respect for the author who wrote the marvelous Under the Tuscan Sun, as it is her first novel set in Italy, but I really think she should stick to travel memoirs or poetry. Three older (in their sixties) women rent a villa in Tuscany for a year instead of moving to a retirement home – such a promising premise, such a disappointing execution. (Isn't 60 a little young to be in a retirement home anyway, wasn't this the original hippy generation?)

Full disclosure -- I didn't finish this book. There are moments of brilliance, and the descriptions of Italy are beautifully done, but overall I was bored. I just couldn't get engaged with the characters, although some of the women had intriguing stories. I found the bits about the book that Kit is writing distracting at best, and boring at worst. I just found the narrative too scattered to follow and too tedious to endure.

I like France Mayes' writing and usually love books about life in the Italian countryside (especially Tuscany), so I may take this one up again at some point, but for now......

Our book group selection for May, Women in Sunlight, is a story about (3) older American women who rent a villa in the Tuscan village of San Rocco for one year. Each woman is trying to figure out the next phase of their life: Camille, 69, gave up her art career for marriage and children; she's now a widow. Susan, 64, adventurous, successful realtor, now a widow as well and Julia, 59, with a cheating spouse and daughter suffering from addiction issues.

Kit Raine is a young American writer, trying to write a biography about her mentor and friend, Margaret Merrill. The arrival of the (3) American women, whose large villa is near hers, finds Kit easily distracted from her writing task as she begins to help the women navigate life in Tuscany.

There was plenty to discuss with this book: female friendships, later life self-realization, plenty of talk of food, wine, art, history, books and tourist attractions. Several of us, including myself, were not fans of the writing style, it just didn't flow well and was tough to follow at times. A few of us did not like the Margaret story line and thought it was unnecessary and that the (448 pp) book could have benefited from a good editor. All of us thought it would be fun to try living like these women did. Of course, none of the women had money issues and were free to travel and spend money freely however they chose. It was amazing, almost too perfect, how well things worked out for these women spending a year together even though they really didn't have a long friendship previously. Of course, each of the women ends up pretty much happier than ever in the end. If you like armchair travel and want to feel a bit envious in the end, try this book.

As usual with this author, the writing is entrancing. Her descriptions of food, scenery, and art are gorgeous. Her skills at writing characters who engage the reader are vastly improved in this novel.

I couldn't even get into this. I have never read anything by this author before but the summary may it seem very enticing. However, as soon as I started reading the story, I knew I wouldn't be able to finish it. There seemed to be an air of negativity to the story that I couldn't get around. It's too bad because this really did sound good, but I just don't think I was in in the right frame of mind for it.

Unfortunately, I could not get into this book, despite its appealing title, description, and cover image. In librarianship, we say "every book [has] its reader," meaning also that every book is not for every reader. My lack of engagement does not mean I would not suggest this book to others, but simply that it was not my personal cup of tea. I never want to conflate my personal reading preferences with those of patrons and am glad to have access to a diverse range of books. Thank you for the ARC.

Mayes' sense of place always gets me. I stumbled onto Under the Tuscan Sun during one of my earliest journeys into the adult fiction section of my hometown library and I still remember it as one of those first books to really leave a lasting impact on me as both a reader and writer now myself. Women in Sunlight brought back the beauty of that first book and deepened it.

Mayes' understanding of Italian culture peppers the many loving descriptions of her adopted home. I could honestly just read her setting descriptions without a plot; they touch on the simplest but most beautiful aspects that enthrall you so completely that you forget you're reading at all.

I found the characters very enjoyable, though they were difficult to keep track of at first as it takes a while (or at least it did for me) to pin down which personality matches with which name. Each character has her own path of development and change and I enjoyed each of the main characters' journeys.

However, Margaret's story line seemed a little out of place to me. I can see why it was included but those were the slowest parts of the story and the ones that I felt the least engaged. Of the characters, I found Camille to be the most interesting so I would name her as my favorite. Overall I enjoyed the story very much despite instances of digression; after all, that's something that tends to happen when one travels, right?

Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher Crown Publishing, and the author Frances Mayes for the opportunity to do so.

Loved this book about three Southern women who meet when looking at an independent living
accommodation. They are seniors and in different stages of their lives. The women decide to
rent a villa for a year on the outskirts of an Italian town and the adventure begins. You will taste the food, and enjoy all the beautiful sites and cities. They have different personalities but become like
family to one another. Fabulous book. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

Five stars! How I adored this book and I didn't want it to end. Those who read this novel will positively devour it and fans of "Under the Tuscan Sun" will not be disappointed! It was a delicious read!

Three lively seasoned American women form an unlikely friendship and jump at the chance to move to Tuscany for at least a year. The novel chronicles Camille, Susan and Julia's adventures, the new friends they meet along the way, and the challenges that each woman faces as she grapples with past hurts.

Kit Raine, a fellow expat and American poet befriends her new neighbors and welcomes them to the community. They become like family.

The descriptions of the food, landscape, architecture and the friendliness of the Italians were simply incredible. How I wish recipes were included with this novel.

I highly recommend this book.

Women in Sunlight, the latest offering by Frances Mayes, acclaimed author of Under the Tuscan Sun, had strengths and weaknesses. Mayes descriptions of Italy were lovely, so lovely that they overtook the plot and characterization a little bit. A lot of time was spent describing meals and traveling, etc. If one does not mind that however, and the descriptive prose is enticing to you as well as the plot, then this may be the book for you.

A group of aging American women—Camille, Julia, and Susan meet and bond while visiting a retirement community in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Instead of buying residences there, they end up renting a villa for a year in a fictional Tuscan town—San Rocco.

Their new place is right next door to the home of more established expats in their forties, a successful author/poet and her architect husband. At first the writer wonders whether the visitors will turn out to be good neighbors, but as it turns out, she and her husband—as well as the three neighbors—will all have the best year of their lives, and she will write a book about it.

This is a passage from the book of an olive harvest::

“A whole murmuration of women, enthusiastic about Italy. Overflowing with a zeal I recognize and still feel in quick flares, although not for the olive harvest. It’s fun to dabble for a couple of mornings and to enjoy the camaraderie, but if you’re responsible, it’s damned hard work hour after hour with your arms up, your face sometimes whipped by wind. Even with our quick raccolta, my fingers are stiff. I was very careful on the ladder. (Baby on board.)

Unlike most visitors, Susan has fallen hard for this late October ritual. She stayed out all day and will go with the men to the mill to watch the whole process. Grazia has given her a giant plastic container for a supply of house oil, and Julia bought glass bottles to transfer the oil into as soon as they have it. Camille wonders if she possibly can capture that particular green on paper. “It’s limpid. Not really the color of anything else. Not celery, kale, not asparagus. It’s not like a green light or a Coca-Cola bottle or moss. Oh, maybe close to a dollar bill?””

Thank you Crown and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader’s Copy of this novel and for allowing me to review it.

Could not finish - Tried to get through it for months because I genuinely wanted to love this book. Finally gave up.

Very interesting setting, of course! But was bombarded very early on with several characters to keep track of, and found myself having to turn back to remember which character was which. I think they could've been better developed... They kind of blurred together to me.

So sorry, Mayes, but will absolutely give your next book a shot!

I had high expectation for this book from the summary. However I felt it got bogged down with the chapter Kit obsessing over Margaret. This added nothing to the more interesting story of the 3 older women and was unnecessary. Also could have done with less of Kit’s philosophizing a little too pay since the women found men immediately.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I'm a fan of Frances Mays' books about living in Tuscany. Having read "Under the Tuscan Sun" and "Bella Tuscany", I looked forward to reading "Women in Sunlight", and Mays did not disappoint. The story is based on three women who have entered a phase of their lives where their children are grown and husbands have passed on, or are no longer in the picture. These women meet at an open house for a local retirement community, as they are all considering how they want to live through this phase. The three women hit it off, and choose a road less traveled -- specifically, they choose not to do what's expected of them by purchasing homes in the retirement community. Given Mays' talent for describing the expat life in Tuscany, you can imagine the road they do choose; if you love reading about Tuscany and living abroad, and taking unexpected chances, I recommend this book. It will give you a taste of life for life in Italy until we can all get there ourselves.

This book seemed like the perfect read to me. I was originally attracted to the book by the cover and then the synopsis sounds just right. Unfortunately, I could not connect with the characters and it felt like several stories within a story. I even tried to listen to the book when it came out and again I could not keep track of all of the characters.

If you can’t get to Italy in a hurry, the next best thing to a plane ticket to one of Europe’s most culturally rich locales is to pick up a Frances Mayes novel.

I am not a privileged person that can travel yet every one of Frances Mayes books places me into Tuscany as if I were there. The author has a unique talent for writing the taste, culture and people of Italy, the flora and fauna in such a real way for her readers. This was a wonderful visit to Italy again with three senior women who decided they will not do the traditional retirement home life in the US and move to Italy .
Their experiences are richly defined here. The book is sheer delight of Tuscany and all that includes. The charcters are likable and women you want to be friends with. As in all the author's works, this is a feast for the senses and a joy for those of us that are armchair travelers.
I appreciate the author writing about senior women and our issues which is rare to read about and so appreciated. Senior women are vital, engaged in life and fun yet we are forgotten in most books and shunned in society. Mrs. Mayes has done a great kindness to all senior women by writing this fabulous book that gives new life to vital, strong , engaging senior women. She not only writes of the vitality of the main charcters and embracing their new life, she gives great respect to the senior women of Italy and their rich lives.
Well done Mrs. Mayes!
This book is a treasure to be savored. I loved and adored it from page one. Bravo!


Thank you with gratitude for the ARC. My happy opinions are my own.

Women in Sunlight contained a character arc I felt unnecessary. I picked up the book because of the premise, I was all in on the three women making the trip to Tuscany. I was fine with the outside narrator. There was another resident at the villa that I wasnt keen on hearing about, and Ms Mayes dedicated a lot of space to - Margaret . I might have cared about Margaret in her own short story or book, but I didnt think she contributed much to the novel. Other than that, I was splendidly wrapped up in Tuscany and I envied the women their adventures. To tell the truth I also envied their obviously generous disposable income. The ladies were enchanting, their journey entertaining, and I thank Frances Mayes for a lovely afternoon's read.

Women in Sunlight is a beautifully written novel of frienship, family, and the stunning Italian countryside. The tale of four friends at crossroads in their lives decide to move to Tuscany to find out what really living life means to them. This novel is just beautiful. I can't think of a better word to describe it. The characters are so well drawn and written you feel like you really know them. But, where Mayes really shines is in the lyrical and detailed descriptions of Italy, her people, culture, art and food. There is no doubt that Mayes is as in love with Tuscany as her characters grow to become. I almost felt I was there while reading the pages of this incredible book. This is a five star read for me.