The sun's decided to make an appearance and I'm not talking about the big, yellow thing in the sky.

'Dreaming of Rome' is a sunny read for the heart and soul; together with a meaningful message for the Earth.

This is my third T.A. Williams novel I've read and he's certainly firmly established in my list of favourite authors now. Deservedly, this novel captures the heart and is centred around a peculiar three-some; Jo, Corrado and his daft dog, Daisy.

We are treated to the author's usual sublime descriptions of the novel's settings, all of which make this reader want to visit Italy again, specifically, Rome. This is nothing knew as, if you follow this author, you will be aware of his descriptive skill.

Pour a glass of wine, soak the pasta and settle down with what is simply, a very good book.

My thanks to Netgalley for the reading copy.

This was an enjoyable romance that I read in an afternoon. I had never read any books by this author before but I will look for his other works, I liked his writing style and his character development.

In this book, the title character, Jo, goes to Rome on a business trip and meets her brother-in-law to be named Corrado, who is handsome and successful. Jo has a pretty good idea what kind of guy he is based on what her sister says, and she wants nothing to do with him. Unfortunately, as Jo gets to know him, Corrado proves her wrong and Jo finds herself falling for him.

A fun read, I recommend it. Thanks to Canelo and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Engaging, lovely read with lovely slow burn romance full of chemistry and heart. An entertaining book you don’t want to put down

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

On a whim, I requested this fun, cute-looking romance novel from @Netgalley, and I was not disappointed! I give Dreaming of Rome ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.⁣
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This novel tells the story of Jo, a woman who can’t help but be attracted to her future brother in law, Corrado. The two of them hit it off immediately but Jo is recently out of a long term relationship and Corrado, a scientist at heart, doesn’t believe in love.⁣
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The book follows their long-distance friendship turned romance from Rome to England. TA Williams does an amazing job describing the city of Rome and it made me immediately want to go back and visit. I’m definitely going to be picking up the rest of the “Dreaming of...” books by TA Williams.⁣
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What are your favorite books that make you want to travel?? This is a new one of mine!

Anyone who reads my reviews already knows that I eagerly anticipate reading any books by this highly talented author because I usually find them enthralling, entertaining reads and this one is no exception! I loved the evocative descriptions which had me dreaming of Rome and the other places in Italy that are visited as part of this fantastic story.

The leading lady in this story is scientist Jo Green. Jo is planning on visiting her sister, Angie, and her sister’s fiancé, Mario, at their equine centre outside of Rome. She is met by Mario’s brother, Corrado, who seems to be an attractive and intelligent man. However, Jo has recently had a painful relationship break up and has sworn off men and Corrado doesn't believe in love, either! There is definitely attraction between them -so is this a match made in heaven or one destined to total failure?

There are secrets, science, environmental issues and butterflies as well as romance in this delightful story. I can only hope the scientific work mentioned on creating alternative materials to plastics is coming to fruition in reality soon! It has well developed, easy to relate to, characters, too. There are tasty, descriptions of delicious food and wine to have your mouth watering and, of course, the wonderful Italian settings for you to dream of. Yes, the story has an iconic Labrador, a trademark feature in Trevor's stories, but I'm pretty certain this is the first one where that Labrador is female! She's Daisy and I'm sure she's a star in her own right, she certainly recognises Jo as someone she likes more than most people!

I found it a fascinating and totally engaging read - I really didn't want to put it down until I'd finished it. As usual, I have absolutely no hesitation in highly recommending this book to anyone who enjoys heartwarming romance with plenty of dilemmas and misconceptions along the way.

I requested and was gifted a copy of this book via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion after choosing to read it.

Corrado and jo were at the Piazza Navona in the heart of Rome. Corrado had offered Jo a lift back to Rome. he was the brother of her sisters fiance. Angie-her sister- was marrying into a family who owned a hotel and restaurant. Jo told Corrado she worked for a conservation charity and she reports to the CEo and the board. She’s responsible for coming up with proposals as how to spend their money. Like all charities , they had finite resources and there’s an awful lot of work to be done around the world. Jo was there in Rome to represent her family as her parents couldn’t come as her father couldn’t travel because of hip surgery. Jo wasn’t in the market for a man who looked like a Hollywood idol like Corrado did. Corrado felt love was just a mix of chemicals in the body.Corrado had made a promise to Angie and his brother mario to stay away from Jo. She’d had her fill of handsome men and she knew they couldn’t be trusted. She thought how this was the one time she had sat down for a drink with a man alone since christian, the love of her life with whom she’d expected to spend the rest of her life with. But he’d decided she wasn’t the love of his life and had walked on her five months earlier with a fellow model named Helga. After that Jo had tried to lose herself in work and forget him but didn’t have much success. Things at work had been mixed: she had been promoted to this new higher position but htta had brought her into contact with the irascible CEO Ronald and she found working with him very challenging. Corrado was a chemist and in many ways he and Jo were working in the same field. Victoria and Jo had known each other since school and had few secrets between them. Than Jo’s biss had fallen and broke his leg in two places and would be out of work for awhile. Jo had to cover some things for him like drinks at the French Embassy and a five day convention- Save the Planet- in Rome. Jo had to do a presentation but since she had put most of it together wasn’t worried about it. After an evening Italian class Jo talked Victoria into meeting her in Rome for a couple of days. There was two beds in her hotel room and located in the middle of Rome. Victoria wasn’t having any luck hooking up with a good man and they had been spending a lot of time together since jo’s breakup. Victoria wasn’t happy with her life. Corrado picked Jo up at the airport and they went on a short tour as he drove her to the Country Club were her sister and her fiance were. It was shot and they stopped for ice cream . Something was going on with Corrado he’d compliment her and than look like he regretted it after. She got him to talk about some of the new products being developed to replace plastics and she kept them in mind to add to her presentation she was giving at the conference. Jo realized as she seen Corrado bend over she could be in imminent danger of falling for him. She told herself it was just lust as it had been awhile since she had sex. She knew this could complicate things for her sister and the fact Corrado seemed to have no interest in her.
I enjoyed this book. I liked Corrado and Jo together and how they interacted when he is himself and not so controlled because of his promise to Angie and Mario. It did take awhile for me to really get into this book. I love the way the author described things as I could picture in my mind like the scenery and historic places and history of rome he described. I have been to rome and loved reading about some of the things I seen. I didn’t like that Corrado hurt Jo. I did enjoy the ending. I loved Daisy and felt she really added to the book. I also liked the save the planet theme and for example how it brought up products being made to replace plastics. I would have liked to see more of what Corrado was thinking and feeling. I loved the characters and the ins and outs and I recommend this book.

I love the book by this author and I liked this one.
I appreciated the cast of characters, the plot and the setting.
The descriptions of Rome were lovely and they reminded me of the last time I was there.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Canelo and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Strap on your summer sandals and head to hot July Rome for a virtual vacation.

“Dreaming of Rome” is filled with the sights, tastes and romance of southern Italy. Scientist Jo Green is visiting her sister, Angie, and her sister’s fiancé, Mario, at their equine center outside of Rome, and meets Mario’s brother, Corrado. Jo is understandably wary of Corrado and his reputation as a love-em-and-leave-em womanizer. But as their friendship develops it becomes clear that he is the (almost too) perfect man, leaving Jo in the classic dilemma of following her heart or her career.

Enjoy this romance with a glass of chilled Prosecco in hand!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am a fan of historical and paranormal romance. I admit, I hardly read contemporary romance.
I picked this book on base of description, cute cover and fact that the place takes care of in Italy. Therefore, automatically I have assumed the book might be something I can read during spring days.
At first, the book was growing on me slower than I would have expected, but that quickly chamged to a cute and bubbly read. Romantic plot was great and descriptive information about Italy made you feel and wanted to be there.
If you want something cheesy, cute and light to read - this book is for you!

T.A. Williams has got to be one of my favourite romance writers of all time, if my all time favourite. I've never read one of his books which I haven't enjoyed. This was another incredible romance starting with the protagonist Jo, a recently heartbroken woman determined to enjoy life whether or not it involved romance. Her work focuses on the environment and when she gets a call to visit her sister in Rome, who is now engaged. There Jo meets the handsome Corrado (her future brother-in-law) who is exactly her type, loves animals and is working on alternatives for plastic. She's determined that she won't be swept off of her feet by another hunk like her ex and that it would be far too awkward with their upcoming family connections.

Corrado comes across as a bit of a womaniser with women dropping themselves at his feet. Despite claiming to not try to hurt them, he is convinced that love simply doesn't exist and thinks he can prove it using science. Jo's sister tries to warn both Corrado and Jo away from each other, but when it seems like they're made for each other, will this be enough?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The characterisation is brilliant and I found myself loving Daisy in particular. The trademark labrador in all of T. A. Williams' books is something I look forward too. I actually felt like I learnt a lot about the environment and butterflies whilst reading this too. The only thing I didn't enjoy was that every time Jo put something on in Rome it was her lightest dress or the most lightweight dress - surely she brought more than one dress! Tiny and petty I know - it just bothered me. I really adored this book and eagerly await the next in the 'Dreaming of...' series.

A lovely romance novel although slightly predictable. It is a good read and keeps you into the story and not too heavy

Found this a bit of a struggle to start with but overall I came to really enjoy it - the setting, the background and the characters involved.

Jo is desperately trying not to fall for her future brother-in-law, Corrado, while visiting her sister and her fiancée in Rome. Jo has sworn off all gorgeous men, and Corrado definitely falls into that category. Corrado has made a promise to his brother and Jo’s sister to stay away from Jo. But they get along really well and decided to ignore the attraction between them, and just be friends for the sake of their families. Corrado swears high and low that love doesn’t exist, it’s just a mix of chemicals in the body, and as much as Jo would like to agree, she isn’t nearly that sceptical about love.

I really enjoyed the writing style of the book and the author’s descriptions of Rome and some of the other places in the book. Mr. Williams managed to bring those places to life on paper and makes you feel as if you are there.

Now, I have enjoyed the interactions between Jo and Corrado very much, as well as their growing friendship. I’m not sure if this next bit gives away too much of the story, and I’ll try my best not to, so POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD:

I feel that Corrado took away Jo’s choices. For all we know they could have been very happy together in Rome without her taking the job in the US. But he made the choice for her. Why couldn’t he have discussed his ideas for expansion with her and maybe they could have come up with a solution together? And why wasn’t Jo angrier that he broke her heart? She seemed almost unperturbed at times with what had happened, and she capitulated very quickly when Corrado explained his actions to her. I do love the Epilogue, and it is a fitting end to the story.

Daisy was the star and a real treat. The two main characters were well developed and interesting, but the rest of the cast were only the supporting characters. They didn’t stand out on their own. The story is written in the third person, but only from Jo’s perspective. I would have liked to know more about what Corrado was thinking and feeling, but we only get that from what he says to Jo and what she interprets from his words and actions.

I enjoyed reading the book, and I will read more from this author.

I received an advanced copy of the book from Netgalley to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I simply adore reading novels by T.A. Williams. With every page I read, there's a certain sense of luxury and escapism and you just get lost in the pages, not wanting to put the story down! This was exactly the case with T.A. William's newest novel: Dreaming of Rome. The cover is gorgeous, I love the fact that it has a sense of continuity within these Dreaming of... series' with the font and style of cover. I love the bright colours used, the flowers framing the cover, the Spanish steps (which gives a clear indication as to where it's set) and also the main character taking centre stage.

The story this time follows Jo, and it starts with her and future brother-in-law Corrado sitting outside an eatery in Rome overlooking the tourists and the city. It's clear from the off that Jo finds Corrado attractive, and that he is a very handsome man but something about the writing shows us that Jo has been severely put off handsome men, and love, for a long time. I actually didn't warm to Corrado that well during the first half of this novel, but then perhaps that's what's Jo's paranoia did to me! Corrado comes across as a ladies man, someone who attracts lots of many different types of women but ends up hurting them and I didn't like that. As the story went on, I found myself liking his character more, but with Jo's paranoia about every female he talked to, I was then the same and was wondering whether he was a womaniser too!

Jo's character on the other hand, was lovely. She seemed down to earth, kind and caring and I felt like I connected with her character more. I enjoyed reading about her time at the conference in Rome and of course, reading about all of the food! It sounded mouthwateringly delicious and I longed to try all of the food which T.A. Williams described! As well as Jo, there are a few other secondary characters we meet, such as Victoria (Jo's best friend), Angie (Jo's sister) as well as Mario (Angie's fiancé and Corrado's brother) and they all seem really lovely too.

I also adored reading about Rome and all of it's history. Having been to Rome myself, it was nice to picture those places again and have such fond memories. So when Corrado was telling Jo all about the history, it was interesting to read, because I still wasn't aware of half of those things! Overall, this was another magical and beautifully written novel by the talented T.A. Williams. I adored every page and eagerly await his next novel! Thank you to the publisher for a chance to read this novel via Netgalley, which I have reviewed honestly.

I'm not sure if there's any better setting for a novel than in the sunlight dappled piazzas and cobbled streets of the Eternal City (and it's surrounding suburbs). Or in the islands off the coast of Italy or in the Italian countryside. Actually scratch that. There is no better setting than anywhere in Italy for a romance book - and Dreaming of Rome pulls it off wonderfully. I think anyone who reads this, will indeed go to bed dreaming of Rome...as well as a certain Roman and his dog...

Overall:
I really, truly loved this novel - in fact, I loved it so much that I managed to finish it in just about a day - it was that good. The chemistry between Jo and Corrado is clear to see, and the slow-burn nature of their relationship was delectable, and made it all the more gratifying when of course, they do get together. Furthermore, the backdrop and setting of a city that I adore and everyone wants to visit made it that much more magical. It was well-written and immensely enjoyable to read as a whole. It even manages to explore some important questions, like about the existence of love as more than just animal instincts and pheromones.

Characters:
First off, I just have to comment on the fantastic buildup of chemistry between Corrado and Jo throughout the novel, you could feel the heat and attraction but not in a way that was cheap and worthless.
Jo - as a protagonist I adored her strong nature, and her passion for her work. I loved seeing her passion for what she was doing and her dedication to work, even with a douchey pirating boss. I have to say, I was a little bit disappointed to see her nearly give up her job for Corrado, although it's arguable that he was worth it. I would have just loved to see more of a problem solving angle for that. As a heroine, she is strong, smart, kind and all round a great person to read alongside.
As for Corrado - honestly, I think anyone who reads this can see why Jo not only resisted but eventually gives into him. The epitome of charm, kindness and I guess women's fantasies? Handsome, smart and rich, loves his dog? Perfect. Well, apart from the whole 'not believing in love' thing. The science slant he took on it, re: chemicals in the limbic system was a very interesting way of looking at the situation and taking the whole trope of men not believing in love.
A quick comment on the whole Markus saga - in my personal opinion, I felt that it was almost unnecessary and just took extra attention away from developing Jo and Corrado's relationship more. If anything, I felt that the 'purpose' of his presence, re: the airport incident, could have easily been recreated in another situation.
Storyline:
Overall, the pacing I felt was perfect - not too fast, not too slow. But more importantly, anytime that I put it down, I wanted to pick the book straight up again. Williams just makes you want to see what happens next.
The storyline overall, I adored, with enough movement and slight deviations from the expected. When the characters were hurting, I felt myself hurt along with them (if that makes any sense), which is the mark of an effective romance novel, in my opinion. The journey that Jo and Corrado go on, from refusing to be anything more than friends to more than friends and back again, was well-crafted with tight dialogue and immense attraction effectively conveyed.
I personally also really enjoyed being able to see Jo at work, and the opportunities she was given and took. It was refreshing to be a novel where her work actually forms a major thread to the story rather than just as a girl who hates her job, without a real career.

Overall, a fantastic and sweet romance novel that will have you planning your next holiday to Italy! I know I certainly will be Dreaming of Rome!

Note: I was generously provided an ARC of this novel by the publisher and author through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I have never been disappointed by anything this reader has written.

Joanne is a climate change scientist. Her sister Angela is an award winning showjumper. Angie is getting married to an Italian showjumper called Mario and Jo flys over for the engagement party. There she meets Corrado, Marios older brother. A chemist and a lothario who uses them and dumps them Jo is warned by everyone including Corrado himself to stay away from him, but can she?

A cracking read. Really enjoyed the setting and the story. Made me wish i was in Rome in glorious med sunshine.

I requested Dreaming of Rome by author T.A. Williams to read and review. This is the first book by author T.A. Williams and I loved it. I loved the characters Jo and Corrado. The characters seem very real everyday people that you would see and meet walking down the street. The plot was relastic. I appreciated the author wanting to tell the story and the background to getting there didn't happen overnight. This is a great read for any reader. I would highly recommend to anyone.

I loved most of this book. It felt a little bit different to most romantic stories I've read before. The descriptions of Rome were amazing and made me feel as if I were actually there. And I absolutely loved the fact that the lead female character was such a strong academic with an amazing career. The only slight criticism I have is that the ending felt quite rushed and happened far too quickly, it could have done with a couple more chapters, or perhaps there is a sequel set in New York to look forward to? I also didn't really see the point in Markus? I know he served to provide the the incident at the airport but probably could have been a bit more developed?

4.5 Stars

I think I'm in love... not with Jo, not with the sexy Corrado, not with the city of Rome.. but with T.A. Williams latest adorable labrador, Daisy. She is adorable, clearly cares about not only Corrado but takes a very fast liking to Jo too. I was always smiling when I was reading about her.

Of course she isn't meant to be the star of the book, those other things I mentioned really are, and its once again clear how much the author clearly loves travel and Italy, as it shines through in his words. I'm also pleased to say its not just Rome featured, but some other locations too which are equally wonderful.

I did though find it took me a while to fully get into this book, possibly because our two main leads neither of them believe in love, and they have so much in common it was frustrating me that they couldn't see what me as a reader could see which is that they were clearly made for each other.

I loved Jo's main passion outside of work, was butterflies, I learnt so much about the various species that exist, and found myself with the word "Lepidoptera" running over and over in my head, after seeing it a few times in the book. I literally had butterflies on the mind, although I've never managed to get as close to one as Jo did to take photos or video.

I believe there is a message in this book about the environment, conservation and the use of plastics, its rather subtle but fairly sure its there, but given Jo's occupation its not overly surprising.

Although It took a while to get going for me, once I was, I was enthralled, and was enjoying every moment of it.

Thank you to much to Netgalley and Canelo for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

A great easy read love story set mostly in Rome.
Great descriptions of Rome; it's history, food, drink and of course romance.
Jo and Corrado's siblings are due to marry the following year. These two connect because they both have an interest in nature and conservation.
Both decide that they must remain friends only but is it a battle they will find hard to fight?