Anna loses her boyfriend, her home, and her job in all one day when she comes home to find him cheating on her in their bed. finding a new chef job is going to be difficult since her ex is the manager of all the restaurants in town. So when her google search of 'dream job' turns up a job for a chef and manager of a castle on Lake Como in Italy, Anna is ready for a whole new adventure in a new place. Only problem is that the job listing wants a couple to manage the place.

Jake lives next door to Anna, and he needs a new start too. Since doing a stint in jail for assaulting Anna's ex, he has found life difficult on the outside. Everyone knows he was in jail, and he has a hard time getting anyone to hire him. Jake agrees to pretend to be a couple with Anna in Italy so that he can start over somewhere that people aren't constantly seeing him as an ex-con.

This enemies to lovers story was a lot of fun. Both the characters are complete opposites, and watching them butt heads over the way they want things done is comical. Jake has a lot of demons to overcome, as he has always been seen as a bad guy around their hometown. Anna has lost her confidence in her abilities and in her choices of men after her last relationship blew up. All in all, it was a really sweet love story with great chemistry between the characters. An enjoyable and quick read, I'd definitely recommend it.

Thanks so much to Harper Collins Uk and One More Chapter for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was drawn to this book because it was set in a castle in the Italian countryside and had the fake dating trope. This is an enemies to lovers/ fake dating book which are two of my favorite tropes, so I wanted to love this book. Unfortunately, it just felt a little underwhelming to me. I thought that the hate between the characters was too much to start with. This hate made it difficult to get invested in the romance. I also was not a fan of how much miscommunication this book has. As the story progresses the characters continue to have conflict after conflict that could be avoided if they would just communicate. I enjoyed the setting and the idea of the book, I just did not care for Anna or Jake and felt like they were not really right for each other. The book can feel slow or predictable at times, but it's a nice easy read and has a good ending This is a light-hearted romance book and a good summer read; however, it was not for me.

The good:

• The setting! A castle in Italy!
• Fake dating!
• The banter!

The bad:

• This relied quite heavily on the miscommunication trope. I'm pretty sure there was some amount of miscommunication in every single chapter and yet these two never thought, "huh maybe we should work on our communication skills."
• The characters fell a little flat for me. There was a little too much telling me how to feel rather than showing me how they felt.
• When I read romance novels, I typically develop red/green colorblindness and red flags appear green. However, I struggled a lot to overlook Jake flirting with other women. I know it "didn't mean anything," but it pissed me off.

Overall, this was a fun beachy type romance read that I did enjoy a lot but it didn't quite deliver the depth in either the relationship or character development that I desired.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

MAMMA MIA, che carino questo libro!
The gorgeous cover is what drew me to this book at first. Then I read the blurb and I was like "a fun romcom set in my beautiful country (Italy)?! Ok, I am totally in!" Finally, as soon as I started reading the book, I was completely captivated by its plot.
The Italian Job is a great opposites attract/enemies to lovers/fake dating story. I loved the way the author stressed the differences between the characters and how she explained the reasons why they apparently are incompatible. I think Kathryn Freeman did an amazing job in making readers understand the characters' reasons for "hating" and loving each other.
I really enjoyed watching Anna and Jake unsettle, irritate and confuse each other only to find out their differences are the key to solve each other's problems and start believing in themselves again. The way their differences make them vulnerable but also help them become more confident, to have a clear sense of self-worth and just be proud of themselves... it was all really well narrated. So...I definitely reccomend this book.

Grazie to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

When Anna scores a job looking after a castle in Italy, she is told she needs to bring along her partner to help manage the maintenance. Cue her neighbour Jake, who is not only looking for work but is quite handy with DIY projects and gardening. The two don't exactly get along so when they are required to pose as a couple, they struggle. Then Jake suggests they should practice....bet you know what happens next!

I don't know why Kathryn Freeman's books aren't more hyped up. They really should be. Her books are always so feel good and fun. This one left me with a smile on my face and the setting was picturesque.

Thank you from @netgalley & @harpercollinsuk for giving me access to read and review this ARC! 🥰

Release Date: 4/6
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

The Italian Job is a rom com about Anna finding an opportunity to manage a castle on Lake Como at the perfect time in her life after a bad breakup, except the owners of the castle want a couple to run it.

Enter her childhood neighbor Jake, who was recently in prison due to a situation involving Anna's ex boyfriend, and Jake is looking for a fresh start too.

Anna convinces Jake to do the interview with her and they end up getting the job and moving to the castle to manage it. They discover pretending to be a couple for the owners isn't as easy as they expected, because it becomes difficult to see where the line is between pretend and the truth in their relationship. 😉

This story is a wonderful, fun story about Jake & Anna's romance and their development as characters individually! I love the setting, which is perfect for a summer read. 🙂

DNF. I wanted to love this. I wanted to love it so much that I stuck with this through 30% of the book, but finally had to throw in the towel. I enjoy light-hearted romance from time-to-time and the book description sounded like a good fit, however the lack of character development, failed suspense, and lackluster writing were the nail in the coffin for me.

The Italian Job by Kathryn Freeman is a charming love story.

The book centers around the frienemies troupe. But what is charming about this love story is the two protagonists help heal each other. Anna has been abandoned by her mother at a young age and her father who is loving but wrapped up in his career did his best to raise her. She of course has trust issues and also because of her abandonment issues has not chosen wisely in her love life. The story starts off with her shallow, conniving boyfriend who has cheated on her and she in now living with her father. Her boyfriend was also her boss at the restaurant where she works as a chef, so she is now out of a job, a home, and mending a broken heart. Ann is industrious and a talented chef. With her background, she has overcompensated with her organizational, preparedness skills which serve her until they don't. With her life now turned upside down and she is wanting a new beginning away from her betrayal of an ex-boyfriend and she reads about a beautiful castle in Lake Como looking for a chef but the caveat is the job comes with the employers looking for a couple, a chef and a ground keeping couple specifically.

Jake a neighbor who has been living next door to her since around twelve has recently gotten out of prison for assault of an ex-boyfriend of his sister's who happens to be the same person who is Anna's ex..Miles the ex-boyfriend is quite the privileged, pretentious thinks he's an untouchable jerk. His big ego can't handle a woman breaking up with him and leaving him and when they do Miles trash talks the women. In steps Jake when Miles goes too far, much too far, and an overzealous sentencing. Jake now has a tarnished reputation and also has lost his prized job as a first responder firefighter. Jake now is doing manual labor jobs whatever job he can get to pay the bills and his life has taken a big hit. Jake lost his father to a heart attack when he was fourteen and the devastating loss has left him heartbroken.

Ann asks Jake if her would consider joining her in an interview to try to get the job in Italy for a change of scenery and a chance to get away from the town they live in for a new start. Jake is incredulous at the suggestion but warms up to it and both try for the interview and get the job in Italy.

The author chose wisely in the setting of Lake Como, Italy. One can picture these two who badly need a new start who don't know them beginning fresh. They only know each other in the new country, new language and what transpires is a lovely love story of two people who surprise themselves by being good for each other. Both have big hurts in their past and it was lovely to see how they both helped each other on the path to healing.

A lovely, sweet, charming love story set in beautiful Italy an unlikely place for the two of them. They both learn the language and embrace the new culture and Jake has never been happier. Anna is in her creative heaven and all her skills are the rock for their new adventure. Jake learns how to do many new things and they both begin to heal. Two people who did not get along now are each other lifelines and are falling in love as they get to know each other deeply.

This is a wonderful escapism love story, especially with the setting. A bit of angst but not too much enough to tell the story. Jake's past does come back to bite him. It's inescapable even countries away but even this they overcome and he redeems himself even the true story of the specifics that were even kept hidden from his mother about the hitting of Anna's ex comes out and you can't help but feel for Jake that he has given so much of his life for those he loves.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher Harper Collins for the opportunity to read and review The Italian Job.

It’s a shame that British people don’t exist because this book was such a good time… like, truly the perfect contemporary romance novel (in my opinion). Cheesy and a bit predictable but heart-warming and perfect 😌

If you made “Sk8r Boi” into a novel and sprinkled some fake dating trope, enemies-to-lovers, and pasta on top, that would be this story. Could see easily around every single corner but I thoroughly enjoyed the banter and was immediately attracted to the characters, I was cheering them on and falling more in love with them with each new step of their journey. It got better and better as I read it, it was borderline slow burn, and I loved the whole thing!

Anyway, when can I move into a castle on Lake Como in Italy with a snarky tattooed man?

5/5

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

The way this story is written, how the characters work together, their dynamics, everything is perfectly done.
This book will definitely make you smile!

Slow burn romance and placed in a castle in Italy, this book was perfect! I really enjoyed and loved it.

Thanks NetGalley and One More Chapter for this ARC it was perfection.

I won’t lie upon reading the title for their book I half expected a heist story with a romance involved. The summary however paints a very different story. Anna, a woman nearing 30, just had her relationship end, she lost her job, and her place to live all at once. So she moves back home to stay with her dad while she decides what to do next. Jake, who spent six months in prison and now can’t find a job has been spending more time at his mothers house. Jake and Anna meet again outside their parents homes and let me put it this way: sparks did not fly.

These two had a volatile relationship to start with. Anna was perceived to be a goody two shoes by Jake and Jake was rougher around the edges than Anna was used to. Things transpired during their teenage years living as neighbors and Jake still had a bit of a grudge against her. While she had preconceived notions about him.

Shortly thereafter Anna approached Jake and asks him to take a job with her in Italy. The catch? They have to pretend to be a couple in order to get the job. They will take care of a castle on a lake and have their accommodations taken care of. It’s the dream scenario for anyone, especially people who don’t want to live with their parents anymore.

The premise for this story sounded right up my alley. So I was definitely disappointed when this book just didn’t quite hit the right marks for me emotionally. I never really felt the bond between Jake and Anna grow and some of their dialogue came across as clunky. As much as I love a well written man Jake just felt like he was very clearly written by a woman trying to hard to create the “perfect man”.

When I’m reading I like to see and feel the experiences of the characters. In this book the author told me what was happening and how the characters were feeling but I wanted to be shown. Don’t tell me they are mad, show me with their actions and words they are mad. Show me the passion, the happiness, and the sadness. I want to feel it deep in my bones not just being told that they are feeling a certain way.

The concept of the story is a good one. It has a lot of tropes that people love: enemies to lovers, fake dating, he falls first, and an iconic backdrop. However, I wanted stronger characterization and better villains for the story. Miles just felt like a mustache twirling villain and Penny and Henry’s son just felt like a completely flat individual. I needed to feel more tensely that maybe the HEA would be different than I expected but I was never concerned about the ending of this story.

I knew I was going to love this book when I read the description.
Italian romantic setting. CHECK
Enemies to lovers. CHECK
Fake dating. CHECK
Forced proximity. CHECK
Two completely different MC's. CHECK CHECK CHECK

The Italian job tells us the story about Anna and Jake, two neighbors that have grown up to "despise" each other. Anna's -now- ex Miles cheated on her, leaving her lost, insecure and without a job as she used to work as a chef in one of his restaurant. Now, all she want is to escape reality and what better way to do that than to work at a castle on Lake Como. However, there's one condition for her to apply for this dream role, she needs a partner. Someone who will pretend to be her loving boyfriend. This is where Jake shows up, a family oriented man who in the eyes of others is seen as "the guy who just came back from prison". Together, they come up with a plan to pretend to be dating to get the perfect getaway job in Italy. But these two are far from alike, but that doesn't stop the magic of Italy to push these two together.

I really really really enjoyed this books and read it in almost one setting. I'm a huge fan of the fake dating, ying and yang, forced proximity tropes and this book just kept giving trope after trope. It was a perfect slow-burn that made the MC's grow from hating each other to friends to lovers in the most natural way. I related a bit to Annas organized, anal and sometimes insecure ways and Jake was exactly what she needed to finally relax, feel her worthiness and the power she holds. This means that I'm waiting for my Jake.

If you're looking for beautiful, funny, summer romance, pick this one up!

I love the cover of this book - this is one of the first things that drew me towards it!

This is the first book I have read by Kathryn Freeman. The plot sounded promising but unfortunately it didn't work for me. The characters were far too stereotypical and cliché and this made them come across as two-dimensional and lacking in emotion. I think the love/hate relationship between Anna and Jake was overplayed; their apparent dislike of each other at the beginning seemed far fetched even given their previous history and background. The characters appeared to be rude for no reason.

It was extremely predictable from the start and slow in places which made it hard to finish.

It was good for a light, easy summer read but nothing ground-breaking.

This was a fun story for me. While I did not connect with the characters, I did have fun reading this. The characters did not feel fleshed out to me, however. I wish they had more background I guess. Both are very stubborn, however, and I did like them talking about the issues they had with each other, not pushing that away.

We follow Anna and Jack as they "scam" their way into being the caretakers of this amazing estate on Lake Como in Italy. Red and blue, chaos and order, these two are each other's necks 24/7. And then, it grows into something else. Or does it?

The story utilizes the enemies-to-lovers trope which I don't really think is my favorite trope but I liked how it was executed here. The side plots did not interest me, however, Miles and Nigel are my enemies now. It's on sight if i ever see them. As for the Italian setting and scenery, I felt like it was lacking in the story. I do wish we got to see more of the country, of the culture.

Overall, it's an easy summery getaway to Italy with Anna and Jack as our main characters. They couldn't be more different on the surface level but deep down both want to protect the people they love. Both are flawed and their past rushes to catch up with them in the present.

3.75/5, would love to see a movie with a similar story however

Big thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for an honest review.

What a gorgeous love story! Likeable characters, excellent storytelling and a gorgeous setting, gosh love is in the air!

This is the kind of story that makes you go aww. I hope they turn this story into a movie - I will certainly be first in line to watch it! Speaking of movies, the storytelling is so good that it felt like a movie playing in my head. I just couldn't put this book down until the end. Nor did I want the story to end.

I absolutely enjoyed reading The Italian Job by Kathryn Freeman. Highly recommended!

Thank you to Netgalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This book was wonderful. I loved the concept, I loved the dichotomy of the two main characters, I loved the found family side of it. I loved that each character felt shame and damaged in their own way, but with the right partner, they learned to love again. Plus, it takes place mostly in a castle in Italy. That right there should have you hooked.

The Italian Job was such a treat to read! I loved the slow burn, enemies to friends to lovers, and the happily ever after. The banter between Anna and Jake made me laugh and roll my eyes at the same time—they were both so frustrating, but in the best of ways. I especially enjoying seeing Anna and Jake’s respective walls come down with one another.

If you’re looking for spice, this was more fade to black than I expected based on some of the build up scenes, but it was a great slow burn, nonetheless.

The Italian Job is a well-done romance that is sure to delight anyone that likes the enemies to lovers trope. 4/5 for me!

Set in a picturesque castle on the coast of Lake Como, Italy, Anna and Jake have to overlook their dislike for each other in order to pull off their fake relationship and keep the job that lets them both escape their pasts.

The tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, good girl/bad boy, forced proximity, slow burn

What I liked: The banter! Anna and Jake have history and it shows. Their banter was always fun and flirty and kept me turning the page to see what they would get up to next. Being set in Italy was another plus as it helped me escape the dreary weather I was experiencing in the real world. The side characters (Marco, Rosa, Sara, and Will) also added some fun to the plot.

What I didn’t like: Some of the scenes felt repetitive at times and especially so when one character would say something that set the other character off and they would just run off instead of hashing it out. Each time felt a little more like deja vu than the last but luckily was usually resolved quickly in the next chapter. The ending was also a tad rushed.

Overall: This is a great book if you are looking for a quick beach read or a good travel book (it gets you in the mood)! It’s not a super spicy book but the chemistry between Anna and Jake makes up for that. Add this to your TBR today if you are looking for a jump start to summer or inspiration for your next grand adventure.

Thank you NetGalley, Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The Italian Job by Kathryn Freeman definitely had potential though it ended up being just ok for me. The pacing was hard to get into. It was also hard to stay interested in the book at times.

I didn’t always like the main girl character Anna. I did however like how she stood up for Jake at the end.

Fake dating for jobs is not my favorite trope but I liked how it worked out.

The Italian job was a three star rating for me. Thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing me the chance to read and review. My thoughts are my own.

Thank you for reading!

In "The Italian Job", by Kathryn Freeman, neighbors Anna and Jake have been enemies for years. However, they could both use a change of scenery. Anna is getting over a brutal break-up and Jake is trying to prove his worth after getting out of prison. Even though they don't get along, they jump at the opportunity to run a castle B&B in Lake Como, Italy for a year. The only problem is that they have to convince the owners they're a couple. Can they manage that, when they clearly hate each other? Will close quarters cause a shift in their feelings? Read "The Italian Job" to find out!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.