This is the first book Ive read by this author but I already want to go and read her backlist because I really enjoyed this story. It had a bad boy (who's really a sweetheart) and a good girl who loves making lists. It had fake dating and forced proximity and some really good banter and arguing. And then the setting... a castle in Italy on Lake Como... I mean c'mon! But it was more than a simple romance, it was about a boy who needed someone to accept him and a girl who needed to feel free and confident and how these two neighbours, turned enemies turned 'not so' fake partners could be exactly what the other person needed. I definitely recommend picking this one up!

What a lovely surprise!
I was expecting this to be good, but not as good as it was.
It's a beautiful romance, with a bunch of tropes that I absolutely love and it's in Italy, what is there not to like?

The characters were all so interesting, the plotline was so smooth and not rushed and it was so heartwarming.
There are moments to make you happy, moments to make you wish you were in the book and also moments that make you so upset with how the characters are reacting, but with everything combined you get this incredible story.

I got this arc but I can not wait for the actual book to be published so I can purchase it and read it again!

Such a cute and fun book! Perfect summer reading material. As soon as I saw Italian castle in the description plus fake relationship trope I knew I had to read this. I was not disappointed!

The chemistry between the main characters, Anna and Jake, sizzles off the page. You can’t help but keep reading to see how their game of will they won’t they play out. I also found all the supporting characters were fun and added a lot to the story.

If you want a light, fun read be sure to get this when it comes out on May 6th! Now BRB as I google castles in Italy to vacation at! 😎

Thank you Harper Collins UK - One More Chapter HC for the copy of this book and Kathryn Freeman for writing this great summer read!

Pros: The setup of this book is what made me want to read it—to be qualified for her dream job of working at a castle on Lake Como, the main character convinces her neighbor to pretend to be her partner, which is a requirement of the job. The tropes of enemies to lovers and a fake relationship kept the plot moving. My favorite part of the book is its setting, and I enjoyed the author’s note about why she chose Italy as the setting of the book. I think readers of contemporary romances will really enjoy this book and that it will be a great summer read because it is a light, fun, and fast read.

Cons: None really. This book was just what I was expecting (in a good way) from the genre.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the opportunity to read this book.

This was a really fun, fluffy summer read. It has all the hallmarks of a good summer beach read rom-com: a fake boyfriend, a year in Italy, and good tension between the two main characters. I did feel like the fighting/misunderstandings between Anna and Jake goes on for a bit too long, so if that's not a trope you enjoy in modern rom-coms, then that's something to be aware of before diving in.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC of the book!

it's exactly what you would expect from reading the summary but i found the characters annoyingly insecure

I didn't love this at all. I thought that the premise was good, and judging by the summary, I thought that I would like this. But the execution was not good. The writing or the plot didn't make me want to keep reading at all. I ended up skimming a lot of it. The characters weren't very memorable, and I wasn't attached to any of them. I honestly didn't enjoy this.

DNF at 23%, sorry I just really couldn't get into it, or understand and connect with the characters.

I have read a book by this author in the past and enjoyed it, so when I saw she'd written an enemies to lovers romance set in an Italian castle, I requested that arc SO QUICK!

Unfortunately, this just wasn't for me. I didn't get on with the writing style at all, and found the characters really frustrating. The author told us they felt emotions, but I didn't see it in the characters at all. Anna was stubborn and described as angry/hurt, but none of her behaviour showed that at all. Jake was mean to Anna for no reason all the time - who would act that way towards someone they barely know? Felt like he was a teenager, right down to the compliments he gives her ('nice legs' - who would say that and get a positive reaction ????? creep).

I didn't want these characters to get together, so I just couldn't enjoy this as a romance. DNF at 20%.

Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK and Kathryn Freeman for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was amazing, and I can already tell I will be back to reread it when it officially comes out!

I absolutely adored Jake and Anna and their relationship dynamic. It was nice to see how they were portrayed as complete opposites but in the end, they both needed each other to succeed. And, as always, I was a sucker for fake dating turning into something real. This book also had the boy falls first trope, and I loved that especially in this book because it showed that Jake was more than his tough exterior, It made me so happy when we saw Anna tell Jake how she feels about him despite his past because we all knew that Jake was secretly a softie. I loved that we got to see so much of the background characters and that the author didn't fail to develop them as the book went on.

This book was written wonderfully, I am so thankful for NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC :)

QOTD: Have you ever visited a castle?
My A: Nope! The only castle I've been in was of the blow up variety. 😅
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After reading a few Kathryn Freeman books in the past, I had a pretty good idea what I was getting into going into this one. First of all, let me just say I LOVE the title/cover combo! As soon as I saw this book on NetGalley I wanted to read it based on the cover alone. Throw in an Italian castle, a hunky reformed bad boy and the enemies to lovers/fake Dating mash up and I was SOLD!
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This book was the perfect Sunday read. Not too angsty or heavy, not too long and jammed full of swoony moments, spicy chemistry and a HAE that leaves you satisfied.
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BLURB:
Dream job. Dream house. Fake fiancé.
A year in a gorgeous Italian castle…

When Anna Roberts’ life implodes, an online search 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…
…With the last man on earth she’d choose!
The castle owners will only accept a couple as caretakers, which means Anna needs a man on her arm at the interview. Enter her neighbour, Jake Tucker. Though Anna and Jake have never seen eye-to-eye, Jake’s had a rough few years and an escape to Italy sounds ideal. Yet, when they get the job and jet off, Anna and Jake face an unexpected challenge. Pretending to be a couple is difficult … but pretending the tension simmering between them doesn’t exist is quickly proving impossible!

I was provided an ARC copy of this book for free by NetGalley in return for unbiased reviewed.

Have you ever had a cartoon cover romance come up and smash you on the head with feels you weren't expecting and when its over you aren't sure you are ready to leave the fictional universe? Well, that was me with The Italian Job. This book had everything I was looking for- a romantic setting (a castle in Lake Como anyone), complicated believable characters you wanted to root for despite them driving you crazy with their very well deserved insecurities, and an enemies to lovers plot just to spice up my already beloved dating trope.

The story was rich and delightful and really a wonderful commentary on how frustrating and elating it can be to "start life over' and it was a joy to read. I would highly recommend this book to fans of character driven romance that sweeps them away to far off places.

I thought this book was super cute and gave me all the vacation vibes I needed with the Italian setting. I loved the idea of working in a castle on Lake Como and being part of a community. Of course I love an enemies to lovers story.

This book follows Anna Roberts who recently just had her life turned upside down after she finds out her boyfriend cheated on her. She is now searching for her dream job and finds the perfect position working as a chef in a giant castle in Italy. There is one small problem: she needs to be engaged. The owners will only accept a couple to take care of the castle. Anna cannot do it along and that is when she asks her neighbor, Jake Tucker. Jake Tucker is an ex firefighter who went to jail for fighting. He has had a rough few years and is looking for an escape. Anna and Jake team up to secure this dream job, but this new job comes with more challenges than they expected.

I really liked the idea of this story: working with your enemy with close proximity. However, the overall story was a little slow and I was let down. I do not like when story’s jump to months later. This book lacked details especially when it came to Anna and Jake’s relationship. The reader could see that both characters just wanted to be loved and accepted for who they were. I thought there were side storylines that were unnecessary. Overall, the story was good, but nothing amazing to me.

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

Thank you @netgalley and @onemorechapterhc for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Anna Roberts had it all. The perfect job, the perfect house, and the perfect boyfriend. But when the boyfriend cheats, it all goes away. I guess that’s what happens when you work in his restaurant and live in his house. She feels absolutely defeated until she realizes there’s a dream job out there that she never even knew existed. She could run a castle on Lake Como. Too bad the listing says the owners are looking for two partners….

Jake Tucker has always gotten himself into trouble. But he had really tried for the past few years to get it together. He even found a job he loved as a firefighter. Too bad he wound up hitting the wrong guy and wound up in jail. Now no one will hire him. That is until goody goody Anna that lived next to him growing up approaches him with the ridiculous idea of them pretending to be lovers to get a job. Is it really ridiculous though? It is a whole year living in a castle in Italy.

You guys. The tension. The chemistry. The humor. The love that forms. This was such a fun story to read. Not only was it fun to watch Jake and Anna’s relationship develop, but their individual development was also so well written. Throughout the book we see each of them realize their self worth. This is definitely one to pick up!

This one gets 4⭐️‘s from me!

Enemies to lovers, fake dating, and living in a castle? Yes, please!

I loved the Italy setting, and ended up loving the MCs despite not really enjoying their banter initially. They just felt super uncompatible, but hello character development!

This was a fast-paced, Hallmarky read, and I really enjoyed it!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it, a great summer read. The storyline is very obvious right from the beginning but it was so much fun to read to get to the inevitable ending. I wasn’t that convinced really about why the two main characters didn’t like each other to start with but I enjoyed the storyline and the many interactions between them that it didn’t really matter! Get your sunbed and get reading this, you will enjoy it!
Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book x

The Italian Job is the perfect summer romance book for those with wanderlust and desire to move to a new place.

This book was so much fun to read. Two people who seemingly opposite and dislike each other find themselves having to tolerate each other for a year in Italy. I love the travel aspect of the book. Moving to a new country like Italy to find yourself a bit, new experiences and a fresh start. However they do lie a little to get the place and must pretend to like each other. Their dynamic is very slow burn, lots of tension, sweet moments and I loved how you can see where they start to fall, from where they start to ending. Their bickering and banter was one of my favorite things about the book. How they always take little nicks at each other yet they pretend there’s nothing there but you can just see the tension and the feelings.

I thought this book was such a feel good summer romance that just makes you want to pack up your suitcase and move to another country and try something new. I love the details of Italy and how I almost felt like I was there and wanted to be there with them. Overall, a great read,

The Italian Job is a contemporary romance book that checks off many popular romance tropes. These tropes include: enemies to lovers, relationship of convenience, fake dating, boy/girl next door, forced proximity, slow burn, and miscommunication.

I will admit that I went into this book relatively blind. I love contemporary romance and can appreciate a good slow burn. However, what I did not expect was for this book to be in British English, meaning that there are many words and phrases that I, an American, simply could not understand. I also believe this impacted how I come to view Jack and Anna’s relationship. I had trouble connecting to either character, and found myself annoyed at how Jack seemed to go out of his way to bother Anna. I did not interpret much of his actions as “flirting” and instead felt like they weren’t even enemies, but rather two people who didn’t get along. Similarly, I found their relationship to lack the depth needed to successfully pull off an enemies-to-lovers romance. Why exactly are they enemies? This was never fully fleshed out, and I would argue that Anna calling the cops on Jacks house party at 16 years old hardly warrants them becoming enemies.

As far as Anna is concerned, for being 30 years old I found her to be extremely insecure and dependent on her ex boyfriend. She has no friends, save for her father, and at one point even considers going back to work with her ex because of his influential restaurants. If you’re looking for a confident, empowering FMC, you won’t find her in this book. There were so many times I wanted to grab Anna by the shoulders and shake her, but instead had to settle for releasing a long sigh whenever she did something self deprecating.

At this point you might think I didn’t enjoy the book. Yes, there are some parts I did not like, such as the book taking place in Italy while having virtually no Italian culture or influence in the plot. But truthfully I found it to be an easy read to help me fill in the time during a slump. Enjoyable, but not enough so that I would read it again.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Thank you to HarperCollins UK/One More Chapter and NetGalley for providing me this Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review!]

The Italian Job truly has all of the makings of a great rom-com: enemies to lovers, gorgeous scenery, groveling, spice, and fake dating. I love Anna and Jake and how they are polar opposites, and you always find yourself rooting for them to end up together. Both characters have well developed backstories that makes you connect with Anna and Jake, especially if you've had experiences similar to theirs.

Someone please offer me a job in Italy where I can manage a castle and fake date Jake Tucker at the same time...

4.5 Stars
Thanks to Net Galley, One More Chapter, Harper Collins UK, and Emily Freeman for allowing me to read this ARC.

This is the first contemporary romance that I have read lately that I have adored! It is the story of Anna and Jake, neighbors who have known each other since they were teenagers, but have never gotten along. Jake is a "bad-boy" who has gotten into trouble with "Saint" Anna's dad who is a cop. Fast forward, Jake is 28 and Anna is 30, Jake has just gotten done serving a 2 year sentence of assault after he punched Miles, who happens to be Anna's boyfriend who she just dumped after discovering he cheated on her. Both of them are ready to start over, enter THE DREAM JOB, to go to Italy and care for a castle on Lake Como, SWOON! The only catch they are looking for a married couple team. Now insert one of my favorite tropes--FAKE DATING! Jake and Anna get the job, but will they be able to continue to fool everyone about their relationship, or will it all fall apart?

I already wanted to return to Italy, I adore a good castle story (just got done swooning over Tessa Dare's "When a Scot Ties the Knot"), and fake dating turning into so much more is one of my favorite slow burns. This is also an enemies-to-lovers, but it reads more like opposites-to-lovers or misunderstood-to-lovers. One thing I don't really dig in contemporary romance is when there is instant love, because I just never find that to be believable. I love that these characters have known each other for years, and have to work through some of their baggage, judgements, and misperceptions about one another on their journey to love. A delicious slow burn with lots of mutual pining, the HEA of your dreams, makes this a delightful read that I would highly recommend.