A fun enemies to lovers books. Anna recently split up with her boyfriend, lost her job and had to move back in with her dad. Her life is a mess. Then online she sees a vacancy for a dream job to manage a castle in Italy. The only catch is that they are looking for a couple. Anna asks Jake (her annoying neighbor) to pretent to be her partner. I enjoyed the tension, banter and attraction between Anna and Jake. I don't think Anna was quite desperate enough to ask Jake to pretend to be her boyfriend, but it was a fun story despite that.

I am a sucker for fake dating and the only thing that makes it better is when its enemies to lovers.

I cannot handle Jake and Anna and the amazing castle at Lake Como. Jake and Anna start off as enemies, between Anna's obsessive good girl habits and Jake's bad boy image they definitely don't come off as a match made in Heaven but being forced to manage the amazing castle at Lake Como starts to flip things upside down for them.

This book was an incredible feel good, quick read and I'll definitely be revisiting it. 5/5 for me.

Firstly, can I just say WOWWW.

The cover and description initially drew me to this book but I went into it with no real expectations. This book blew me away. The manner in which it moved seamlessly between hilarious banter and tender emotional vulnerability was extremely well done.

Anna and Jake’s characters felt real, flawed and beautiful. Even the supporting characters had so much personality I found myself hoping for more books on the adventures in Lake Como.

Of course, as with every romance novel, there was a beautiful HEA. But the journey there was so sweet I never wanted the story to end.

4.5 OUT OF 5 STARS

Thank you HarperCollins UK, One More Chaper and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I will without a doubt be buying a physical copy of this book when it releases.

I was at 7% and knew I would like this book. Definitely hooked from the beginning. The storyline was good and left me dreaming of a castle on a lake in Italy.

There is only 1 spicy scene (about 60% in) that’s kinda described- not too graphic. The rest of the book only eludes to them together.

Banter is more on the line of mean. Several time they each have to apologize for not thinking, especially at the beginning.

I wanted a “face the music” scene with Miles where he gets what he deserves- jerk. Maybe one for Nigel too.

Not too bad altogether. Quick, easy read.

Special thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for this digital ARC.

I received this as an Ebook ARC in exchange for a review through NetGalley. The Italian Job publishes on May 6, 2022!

This book has so many romance tropes it was almost hard to keep track of them all: Fake dating, forced proximity, enemies to lovers, opposites attract, workplace romance and probably many more that I missed or am forgetting! But even with all of these tropes the story was so fun and intriguing I was practically glued to the page!

Anna and Jake are such unique characters that I felt myself falling in love with both of them as their story went on. Anna with her strict scheduling and to do list making, compared to Jake's unruliness and go with the flow attitude. Overall their conflicting personalties is what ultimately made them connect in the first place!

I also loved that throughout their story we saw not only their romance blossom, but also the relationships of their families grow. As a reader we saw Anna and her mother meet again after almost 20 years of not speaking to one another. And Jake's relationship with his sisters and how much they mean to him overall.

Ultimately, a great romance with something for everyone!

PS did I mention this all occurs in an Italian Castle!

I knew I was going to love this book. Did I judge by a cover? Yes. But it gives Letters to Juliet vibes. Summer in Tuscany vibes. The dream of "study abroad and fall in love" vibes. Very well written and warm and just happy overall. Highly recommend.

"The Italian Job" by Kathryn Freeman is a witty, sweet and steamy romance. This story is lovely cross between years of heartwarming pining and enemies to lovers. I appreciate the complexity of the characters and GOD is it nice to have a male love interest that has some depth. Freeman's writing style is easily consumable and left me wanting just one more chapter!
Thank you to Harper Collins UK & One More Chapter Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honestly review.

This book felt like it was written my a misogynistic man. Anna the heroine couldn’t stop “tearing up”. The hero Jake couldn’t go a chapter without saying how big Anna’s breasts are or how curvy she is. I almost stopped reading it multiple times. All in all I did not enjoy this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. I feel like an enemies to lovers romance set in Italy is a novel I could never say no to but this really was not it for me. This was really good for a quick and easy read, but that's really all I liked about it.
I am not a fan of multiple POVs so the switching from Jake to Anna was hard to get through. I felt disconnected from the both of them and, honestly, really did not like either of them. The plot was okay but I also could not connect with the dialogue. A lot of times I found myself reading a line and thinking, "do people really say things like that?" And the two mains were so terribly insecure and were able to twist the tiniest thing into something monumental and it got very tiring by the end.

I do my best not to read book synopses too closely before I read a book. I want to be surprised and I want the author to take me on an unexpected journey. So if you had told me that a romance writer — or any writer, for that matter — could find a way to make a book about an ex-con who becomes a castle guardian actually work as a premise, I think I would have laughed out loud. But man, Kathryn Freeman did it. And it was spectacular. It’s been a while since I found a book that I couldn’t put down, but I stayed up until 4 a.m. one night just to keep reading. Usually I’m not a fan of opposites attracting as a trope, but this one was done well because these two characters were able to each form one half of a circle - they compensated for each other’s shortcomings and their different strengths came to their advantage in their partnership. The only part of this book that I think could have been more well thought out was how Anna went from hating Jake’s guts to asking him for a monumental, year-long favor just a few pages later. Even more unrealistic was how easily he said yes when he disliked her so much, too. I think I would have liked to see a little more resistance from both of them. I can’t help but compare it to how well Christina Lauren did this so well in “Unhoneymooners” (the characters’ forced proximity was not their choice at all and they were both incredibly reluctant at first). But even despite that, the rest of the book made up for that hiccup in the beginning. I will recommend this book highly to all of my romance-loving friends. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read it!

I absolutely loved this book. The setting of Italy was idyllic and the Will they won’t they romance between the main characters was great too.

This book was...okay. I enjoyed it and it was a cute read but the dialogue between the main characters felt very childish. The characters had great sexual chemistry but aside from that not much else.

*I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Romance in a foreign country! What a dream I loved it and yes I did read it in one go!
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book early!

must read. I like this book and wanted to read more and more. Total fan.

Thank you NetGalley for this book and the publisher.

The Italian Job was cute! Imagine moving to Italy to stay in a castle for a year....with someone you don't like at all! But you know how it goes in love stories, who can resist a romantic setting and maybe the guy isn't so bad....

Thank you to Netgalley and One More Chapter for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After loosing her fiancé and job in one foul swoop, Anna Roberts, does an online search which leads her to an ad for the ultimate dream job – management of a gorgeous castle on the shores of Lake Como, accommodation included. The only catch? Anna can’t do it alone…the advertisement asked for a couple so Anna talks her next door neighbour Jake into pretending to be her partner. Her and Jake have had a love hate relationship growing up next door to each other. Jake is also going thought a hard time and at a loss with what to do with his life so this sounds like the perfect plan.

I really liked the characters and the chemistry between the two of them was off the chart. There are some lovely colourful locals that become friends to the pair. I really enjoyed the book and it had me laughing most of the way through. The setting and local are amazing and described so well in the book, made me want to go and dip my toe in Lake Como, however cold.

Really enjoyed this book and I will be keeping my eye out for the authors next work.

A really lovely book. One of my favourite things about this book was the beautiful descriptions. Of the gorgeous Italian countryside. It made me long to be there sitting in the beautiful sunshine and eating some yummy pasta. I really love Italy.

In this book we meet Anna whose life has just imploded. On the worst night of her life Anna searches desperately online for an escape and an advertisement for her dream job pops up. Running a gorgeous castle on the sores of the stunning lake Como.

But there is a catch the castle states that the job must go to a couple. No single people can partake in this massive challenge alone. Enter Anna's new neighbour Jake. However Jake and Anna hate each other. But she just needs to be cival to him long enough for her to get her dream job. But Jake is looking for an escape too and pretending to be Anna's boyfriend in order to run the beautiful castle sounds idyllic, and so off they set to lake Como together. What follows are funny laugh out loud moments and q lovely romantic storyline.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for providing me with an eARC for this book in exchange for an honest review.
I could not put this book down! Kathryn Freeman already had my interest when I read this story was about a fake romance set in the a gorgeous castle in Italy and only continued to impress me from there. There was a bit of everything in this book from a slow burn enemies to lovers (my absolute favourite trope), guy/girl-next-door and fake romance, the plot is fast paced, well written and kept me engaged the whole time. Freeman does and excellent job of both Anna and Jakes's POV, giving us brilliant chemistry and sexual tension from both characters. In only one book Freeman has given us two characters that are extremely vulnerable and relatable, with both Anna and Jake having major character development without is feeling unrealistic or rushed. I adored their love story and this book, I cannot wait to read more of Freeman's work!

A first for me: I can’t decide how I feel about The Italian Job by Kathryn Freeman. I liked it – but did I love it? This fake-dating, enemies-to-lovers story revolves around two former childhood neighbors who move to Italy as a (fake) couple to manage a castle.

There’s a lot to like about Freeman’s handling of protagonist Jake’s story. He’s an ex-con who can’t get rehired as a firefighter because of prejudice against his jail time. I wish we readers didn’t have to see him as a hero and his victim as a bad guy; but at least we get to see ex-cons as humans struggling with the very human issue of living.

Protagonist Anna’s story was a harder sell for me. She’s a chef whose (former) boss is also her cheating ex-boyfriend. Freeman’s Anna is very controlling, so much so that she struggles with relaxing enough to fake-date, almost giving away the act to the locals. Since she claims to be desperate to keep this “dream” job, I have a little difficulty believing that she can’t warm-up to him – even to the extent of hand-holding, arm-around-the-waist snuggling up at the bar – to convince people they’re a couple.

The most unlikable part – the part that makes me wonder if I like this book or, you know, like like this book: Anna doesn’t seem to value Jake, which makes me wonder why she chose HIM to live with in Italy. Was proximity her only reason? Why couldn’t the author have given her some secret lustful thoughts or, you know, allow her to admire how much he loves his mom or how well he swings a hammer? Anything to at least make this pairing credible.

Sure, eventually, she starts getting some tingles but we’re well into the story by then. All this makes her seem not very likable, though I think she’s supposed to be warm and loving. We see her warmth with her father and with Jake’s mother but it’s missing in the relationship with Jake. I’d almost call this a sunshine/grump pairing, with Anna as the grump, but it’s probably more of a grump/grump honestly.

I would like to note, also, that there’s a huge, huge error in the ARC I’m reading. I’ll absolutely be looking for it in the published book. If you notice it, let me know and we can secretly high-five over our skills. But I’m not telling you what it is, just in case they don’t catch it before publication.

I received a digital ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a cute enemies to lovers. A perfect summer read and a book I will certainly be recommending. I loved the banter between Anna and Jake. I liked that she was never one to shy away from it and left him in awe whenever she gave as good she got.

I thought the idea of the book was different and peaked my interest, looking after a castle but in 'forced proximity' of an 'enemy.' I enjoyed it that much, that I searched the Author on kindle and purchased 2 more of her books at only 18% of the way through this one. Can't wait to read them