An Escape to Remember is the 2nd book in the Love From Italy series by T.A. Williams. Each book is a standalone story, and it is more than just a romance. Louise has been hurt and broadsided by her boyfriend and his infidelity. She needs to get away, so when she is offered the opportunity to restore an ageing hotel in Italy that her company has recently purchased, she eagerly accepts. The Grand Hotel del Monferrato is located in the beautiful Italian countryside of Turin, and managed by a group of sextagenarians. Louise is not looking for romance, so when not one, but four opportunities for come her way, she graciously turns them down. She works with the management team, and turns the hotel around to become a much in demand boutique hotel with amazing cuisine. The previous owner had a son, Vito, who didn't want to run the hotel. He is a professor, who has no interest in a relationship, so Vito and Louise feel safe becoming friends.

One thing I love about William's books are his beautiful descriptions of the locations where his books are set. As well as that, he creates wonderful characters that make me want to sit down with them and have a coffee and conversation. I loved the staff at the hotel, those trying to keep it alive with little or no resources. Domenica, Luigino, Calogero were all great secondary characters that add much to the story. I loved their backstories. Vito is a recluse, he wants to be left alone with his memories and secrets. As he and Louise get to know each other, he begins to open up and share his secrets, which of course, helps him to heal. I enjoyed this story of new beginnings and personal growth. With decisions about their lives to be made, not only does Louise and Vito have a new beginning, but so do Domenica and Calogero. Of course, one of my favourite characters is Leo the Labrador. Leo is Vito's pup and he is not quite trained yet. He is friendly and exuberant and often ends up either knocking someone over, or getting mud all over their clothes. This is a romance, but it is also a book of figuring out what you want out of life, new beginnings, personal growth and healing. My one niggle is that the ending seemed rushed and a bit abrupt. The audiobook was narrated by Helen Duff. She does a nice job with the audiobook and it made for enjoyable listening.

“An Escape to Remember” by T. A. Williams is a romantic novel that tells the story of Louise, a woman who is heartbroken after discovering her partner’s infidelity. In an attempt to escape her troubles, she takes on a project to restore an aging hotel in Italy. While working on the project, Louise meets Vito, a mysterious and reclusive neighbor with a tragic past. Despite her no-romance policy, Louise finds herself drawn to Vito, and the two of them are pulled together by an unexplainable force. The story is set in the beautiful hills of Turin, Italy, which is described in vivid detail.

The author does an excellent job of painting a picture of the setting, making it easy for the reader to visualize the surroundings. However, I thought the story presented some excessive descriptions sometimes. The fact that I discovered this story through an audiobook helped and I really liked the narrator and his accents.

The book deals with themes of love, loss, and healing, and it does so in a way that is both heartwarming and engaging.

Overall, “An Escape to Remember” is a well-written and engaging story that is perfect for anyone looking for a romantic escape. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys romance novels.

Because the narrative is very slow, my final rating is 4 stars.

Thanks NetGalley and publishers for an advanced audiobook copy of An Escape to Remember in exchange for an honest review.

This book wasn't for me, but I'm still absolutely recommending it especially to readers that are wanting something lite and easy at the moment.

This book depicts the locations and characters beautiful unfortunately for me though I've read quite a few similar books to this over the last month and I think that ultimately it was just unfortunate timing for me and this book.

Would definitely try the author again.

This audiobook was only okay. It was enjoyable while I was listening to it but the plot was fairly predictable. I’ve been reading a ton of historical romances this summer. They are known for their tropes and happy endings, and I was still disillusioned by how obvious this plot was.

For the first 75% of the book, the main character, Louise proves herself to be assertive and level headed. She has enough self-respect to walk away from a long-term relationship and take an assignment in Italy to let her heart heal. She takes initiative in her job and quickly develops friendships with her coworkers. The slow burn romance between Louise and Vito develops logically and seems based on shared confidences, so I was disappointed when Louise overhears a suggestive conversation, she doesn’t do anything. She doesn’t confront Vito about what she thinks she saw. She doesn’t ask their mutual friends about it. She just decides the relationship is over. I was listening to the audiobook while driving and I was rolling my eyes so much, it was a little dangerous.

On a more positive note, the setting in the Turin area was wonderful. You can get lost in the descriptions of the beautiful scenery and the charming countryside. If you like to escape into a book, you might like this book. The supporting characters were also great, especially Vito’s adorable dog. The subplots with Louise’s coworkers were entertaining and brought additional texture to the plot. In a nutshell, if you’d like to escape to Italy and don’t require too many surprises, this might be for you.

Louise is a career woman. She is the fix-it girl for her employer who owns a chain of hotels. She is on fire and is considering her future life, marriage and all, with her boyfriend Tommy. Returning home early from the Carribean she finds Tommy in bed with another woman. This sets off a chain of events that ends with Louise going to her next troubleshooting role at a newly purchased hotel in Italy.

After living in Turin during university, Louise returns to Turin to work with Grand Hotel del Monferrato. This is a great reset for Louise but when she starts getting mixed messages from Joseph, her long lost ex, Paolo returns, and she meets the grumpy Vito things start to get complicated. Mixed with complications with the hotel makes for an interesting story that does not rely overly on the love life of Louise. Then imagine my shock when I realised a man wrote this story! No way!!

This was a fun story full of delightful characters and wonderful dogs. While this didn't have the spice I usually looked for I still enjoyed it because it was a mystery who Louise would end up with almost to the last page. It was a little quick at the end but I was ready for the story to end.

I really wanted to enjoy this one, however I was bored reading it. Louise walks in on her boyfriend with another woman in their bed. When an opportunity comes up for a project in Italy, Louise jumps on it right away. Louise meets Vito at the project in Italy and falls for him. Unfortunately, he has had a tragic past and has vowed never to love again. I love books set in Italy. There didn’t seem to be any kind of spark or chemistry between Louise and Vito. The story felt repetitive, and I found my mind wondering every time I tried to read it. This story was too much of a slow burn for my liking. Everything just felt OK about this book, nothing memorable. I do love the idea of escaping life though. Everyone needs that once in a while.

*3.5 Stars On My Instagram Account*

"Something told her the Grand Hotel del Monferrato was going to prove to be a perfect place of escape and a little oasis of calm; and she could certainly do with some of that."

Couldn't we all do with a bit of calm escape from our hectic lives? The very tranquil An Escape to Remember by renowned romance author T.A. Williams definitely feels like a relaxing hot bath after a stressful day.

Louise finds her man in their bed with someone else. This betrayal gives her the push to take a job offer to renovate a hotel in the hills of northern Italy.

Italy is its own character, as is the hotel, in this very beautifully descriptively written story. It makes you want to plan your own escape to this lush location. Oh, and the food and wine talk. I actually drooled at one point.

As for our Louise, she is living her best life. She's sworn off men but still has her share of non stop suitors but really for her, there's no spark with them until...slowly, very slowly, she finds herself spending more time with the reclusive Vito, the hotel's previous owner.

This romance is very descriptive for every scene, from the location, the clothes, the meals, the weather and so on. Narrator #helenduff is fantastic with the many accents in this European story. Her soft spoken voice is perfect for an ASMR podcast. In a romance describing the calm breeze, the rolling hills and sweet wine it's almost too soothing and I nodded off at some points.

The relationship between the no more men Louise and wary of women Vito is quietly growing as they find themselves constantly drawn together. Also, in Vito's favor is his very friendly, too cute, scene stealing black Labador Leo. Escaping to Italy for a bit of romance is never a bad idea.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Saga Egmont via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really wanted to like An Escape to Remember. The story started out promising with some interesting characters. However the plot seemed to move too slowly for me. I felt like the story was dragging instead of progressing and unfolding at a pace to keep the reader reading.

First of all, thank you NetGalley and publishers for an advanced audiobook copy of An Escape to Remember in exchange for an honest review. If the circumstances were different (say, if I’d purchased the book or gotten it from a friend), I would probably keep my opinion to myself because I don’t like to write negative reviews. But since this is not the case, I’ll have to be honest.

I did not really enjoy this book for a number of reasons. I’m not saying you shouldn’t give it a chance because apparently most people have liked it, but I didn’t. To begin with, I have to say that I was annoyed by the narrator’s voice (or maybe enunciation). Mind you, I’m used to listening to audiobooks, have done it for years, but this one kind of whispered/moaned the words, which made it difficult for me to concentrate on what she was saying. It lacked energy. On the other hand, I have to congratulate her on her Italian accent and ability to do all the different voices, since I was able to notice who was speaking before specified by the author. Still, could have been more enthusiastic. Sometimes I had to rewind the track because I realized I had not been paying enough attention. I honestly think this was due to the low tone of voice.

About the story: the plot idea was great, I have already read (and enjoyed) some books with an “escape-to-a-foreign-country” topic, but it was too… I don’t know, slow. Yes, I liked the MC and the other characters, but the conflicts didn’t feel like real conflicts or were solved way too easily, and the final resolution/dialogue at the end between the couple felt unfinished and with lack of explanations for a story that took way to long to pick up pace.

I’m giving it two stars because I think that the author had a great idea that didn’t have a good development. Everything was “nice” (the characters, the dog, the place, the plot), maybe too nice. What about the emotion that a romantic book is supposed to give you? The curiosity to see how the story will unfold? I didn’t feel that. It was too vanilla, so to speak.

Again, based on the reviews I’ve seen, I seem to be the only one who’s got this opinion. So go ahead and pick it up, maybe you’ll love it. I hope you do. But I didn’t.

A really enjoyable story with perfect narration. I was so immersed in the story I felt like I had been in Italy for a well earned break! Love it.

Reeling from finding her boyfriend in bed with another woman, Louise takes the opportunity her job offers to head to Italy. Working as a trouble-shooter for a luxury hotel chain, Louise finds herself at the Grand Hotel del Montferato, a rundown hotel with lots of potential.

An Escape To Remember by T. A. Williams is the middle book in the author's Love From Italy series. Reading through the blurb for each book in the series it would appear that the only thing that connects the books is the Italian setting so it is perfectly ok to read these as standalone books.

If you are looking for a nice, gentle romance then this is ideal. Things go pretty much as you would expect, with one or two slight snags in the way. Louise is a career-minded young woman who loves her job, a job that she's very good at. Thankfully her job gives her the chance to run away when she finds her boyfriend with another woman. It is a relief to see the "running away from it all" aspect being a realistic part of the story.

Swearing herself off from romance, we immediately see a range of possible suitors appear for Louise. Firstly, her rich, suave, slightly older boss seems to be dropping hints that he's interested. Arriving at the hotel she meets the former owner, a brooding Italian who has never recovered from the death of his fiance. An old flame, the man she thought was the love of her life but deserted her ten years ago turns up asking for another chance. Things are then made even more complicated when her most recent boyfriend also turns up unexpectedly.

The twists and turns of who Louise will end up with don't offer any real surprises. What makes this a lovely story to listen to is the setting. The Italian countryside sounds beautiful and the people warm and welcoming. The descriptions of the food and wine will have you salivating and your stomach rumbling. As I listened along I felt I could close my eyes and imagine relaxing in warm sunshine after a delicious meal.

Title: An Escape to Remember
Author: T.A. Williams
Series: Love from Italy #2
Narrator: Helen Duff
Publisher: Saga Egmont Audio
Genre: Romance
Audiobook Pub Date: August 9, 2023
My Rating: 2.6 rounded up.

Romance author Katherine Center tells us that reading romance stories is fun.
She also tells readers that all stories have an emotion this emotions fuels anticipation.
~ Mysteries ~ curiosity
~ Thriller ~ Heart Thumping
~ Horror ~ Fear
~ Romance ~ gives us the sense that something is going to get better; something to look forward to.
So yes this story is predictable.
I have read T. A. Williams' “Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Mysteries” and loved them! However they all had a mystery to them in addition to some romance.

Italy is a wonderful background for any story.
Have to say that narrator Simon Mattock spoiled me; as he did such a great job performing the characters in that series. Helen Duff the narrator in this story was okay. Not sure if it was her performance or the story itself as I didn't love this.
I definitely will read another T.A. Williams story but not sure about this series.

Want to thank NetGalley and Sage Egmont Audio Books this early Audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for August 9, 2023

Louise loves her job traveling to struggling hotels and turning them around. When returning home a day early implodes her five-year relationship, she eagerly accepts another assignment. This takes her to Italy, close to where she spent a year of college, to revive a formerly grand hotel. In the beautiful setting she will not only work to restore the hotel, but encounter a past love, an intriguing neighbor and confront the question what does she want her life to be.

This novel is a love letter to Italy. Make sure your fridge is full as the meals as well as setting descriptions are drool-worthy. Narrator Duff adds to the sun-saturated feel with accents and clearly distinguished characters. I enjoyed my ‘vacation’ in this story and want to travel to Italy again. Recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an audio ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Ratings:
Audio: 5 stars
Story: 4 stars

Romance: 1/5
Chemistry: 2/5
Spice: 0/5 (it's a clean one y'all)
Humor: 2/5
Cry factor: 0/5
Drama: 4/5
Suspense: 0/5
Foul language: 0/5

My thoughts:
- I really enjoyed this book, but I know I enjoyed it more because of the narrator, She was brilliant, did all the tones very well and her Italian accent was just brilliant. I loved listening to her. I didn't even want to speed up the narration to get on with the story because she was such a pleasure to listen to. % big stars to the narrator.
- I'm a fan of romance novels where romance is the main thing going on, but this book was more about our FMC going about her life, her work and in the end finding her love. I am not a fan of these type of books, but I was pleasantly surprised, I actually enjoyed this story very very much. Was it the story itself, was it the narrator, I truly don't know, but I loved it.
- However, I did give the story 4 stars. It wasn't because of the lack of romance, because I do think of this as a drama story, sprinkled with romance. But because it ended do quickly! I really thought we needed one more charter with everything going well for everyone, an epilogue. Ending it the way it did, felt like a big piece was missing, the most important piece. It would have given the reader a more heart warming closure. A reason to sigh happily with the ending of another great book.
- There was a male character that I got very frustrated with, but this, as I like to say, was all due to good writing. But one thing I loved about this writer, it all turned out well in the end.
- Speaking of the author, I was very surprised to find out it's a guy! It was my guy author! And I was wowed. I am definitely putting him on my favorite author list!

Overall:
- This was a clean drama, with a bit of romance. Our FMC goes through her life while trying to sort out her heart and finding the right man to make her happy.
- It is set in a most beautiful place in the mountains of Italy. No I've never been there but this book took me there and I loved it!
- The audio book is absolutely lovely to listen to, such a pleasure.
- Single POV.
-Light and easy read.

Tropes:
- Cheating ex
- Italian landscape
- Hotel business
- MMC dog owner
- Mountain views
- Italian accents
- Matchmaker FMC
- Hotel fixer-upper

I loved everything about this book. The narrator, the characters, the setting, the plot--it was just a feel good escape and felt like a vacation to the Italian Countryside.

I was unfamiliar with T. A. Williams work before this (also didn't realize this was book 2 in a series but I didn't feel like I was missing anything but not reading the other book first--I will go back and read that soon!)

This was a book that I could--and will as I go back and read in series order--get lost in again and again. I can't wait to read more of T. A. Williams work.

This is such a sweet romance read set in Italy. It explores the life of Louise, a troubleshooter for a hotel chain.

I listened to this on audiobook and loved the way she gave the characters their own voices. This is very much a feel-good read, and I just loved it. With a great cast of characters and an adorable dog called Leo. I just loved the 'will they, won't they' throughout the book. Although I did wonder which would win her over in the end. It was very enjoyable and was the perfect escape read.