An enjoyable non-fiction read about an Irish woman who dreams of buying a home in Italy and settling there with her family. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting as it's close to the halfway point of the book before Rosie and her family actually make it to Italy. The first half of the book is background about the obstacles Rosie and her husband, Ronan, faced over several years as they tried to make their dream a reality. When the family does make it to Italy, their plans are further discrupted by the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and much of the second half of the book takes place during the lockdown period. This is, however, the first in a series of several books (at least 5) and presumably the follow-up books are more focused on renovating the house and settling in Italy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Can I just move to Italy now?
Rosie provides a deep look into her life and the decision to uproot her Irish family to Italy. The trials she must undergo professionally and personally hit their peak with the COVID pandemic. And it leaves us wondering, like Rosie’s friends, would quarantine have been a little better in the Tuscan hills with a glass of wine?

I am unsure about this book - there are six "Rosie Life" books listed on Amazon. I don't know if this is a compilation of all of those books, or if this one "stands alone," but I was very disappointed in this book. Rosie has had a series of unfortunate events. She wanted to start a wedding planning business with her sister, but then her sister passed away suddenly. Her life is one upheaval after another. The family sells there home in Ireland to move to Spain, but then they come back to Ireland and purchase a money pit of a house, which they eventually abandon and allow to go into foreclosure because they are behind on their payments. They then move to Spain, and then eventually end up in Italy.
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The book is filled with one disjointed story followed by another. It was a disappointment for me and I won't be recommending it to fellow readers.

Brave souls, Rosie! I guess some folks will do anything to live their dreams. And some succeed! She's lucky to have such a supportive family. Kudos Rosie Meleady! The book has lots of funny moments and others that were just plain heart stopping, in my opinion. I do wish her and her family well and I did enjoy the book. Maybe it will a catalyst for some other person with wanderlust to take the leap!

This book was funny to read because this Women named rosie at such an adventurous spirit. Things never let her get down. Family was also amazing. They lived in ireland they always dreamed of going to spain or italy. She had different jobs to keep the family going. She became a wedding planner for destinations and this was a pretty lucrative business for her when her other job suddenly closed. Her sister And rosie wanted to go to spain to start their W e d d I n Destination. Her sister died.So they were lost what to do so they got.
In caravan and decided to take a trip to italy. They had a lot of fun there and then they made their way back home. They sold First home to make the trip. They bought another home but it was really a money pit.Because I had to keep fixing it. They decided to rent for a while and see what they really want to do. The kept the dream alive.I'm going to italy for the W e d I n d destination going. This woman was determined to keep going no matter what. When one door closed it, she always found another way to open another door to make money. Then they decided to buy another house and this took time because of the pandemic, so many different obstacles in your life.. This house was italy and she really loved it. You can always make your Dreams Come true. Rosie did.

Thanks kindly to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I actually quite liked this book. It reads a bit like eat, pray, love but without the divorce and heartbreak.

It's really about embracing change, taking chances and rediscovering ourselves. Which I love for the author, and hope I can apply an inch of that too in my real life.

I got really into the book at the start, but sometimes found it a bit difficult to pick back up again. It's a bit too much chaos and change for my personal taste, but those characteristics of her story so you can't really change that. Overall a decent read.

Italy was not really the plan: Spain was, when Meleady and her husband started thinking about escaping Ireland's grey weather and rising housing prices. They'd buy something more affordable and run Meleady's destination-wedding business from there. But plans change, as plans are wont to do, and instead they picked up and moved to Italy, where they bought and restored a crumbling old mansion.

...or that's what the book description would have you believe happens in the book. I love moving-abroad memoirs, but I'm particularly keen on moving-abroad-and-restoring-an-old-house memoirs (I'm a millennial; owning property is a pipe dream), so adding this to my TBR was a no-brainer. I went in eager for details of that run-down villa and stories about what it took to bring it back to life.

This turned out to be one where the description and the contents are a mismatch. In theory, the book is about moving to Italy and buying and restoring a villa. In practice, it's chapter 21 (47% of the way through the book) before the move to Italy takes place, and it's approximately 95% of the way through the book before we learn whether or not Meleady & co. will be able to buy the house they have their sights set on. When I look more closely, I see that Meleady originally self-published this and further books as a series, but the current book description doesn't make that clear, and to some extent it feels as though the series description was attached to just the first book.

All of which is to say: Meleady's adventures in both Ireland and Italy are compelling to read about. I would likely have put the book in my queue even with a more accurate description, but I would have adjusted my expectations accordingly—as a book about exploits in home ownership renting in Ireland and Italy, and the early days of COVID in rural Italy (to say nothing of unexpected and devastating events in Meleady's personal life), this is engaging; as a book about moving to Italy and buying and HGTV-ing a house, it's disappointing. The later parts of the book also feel a bit blog-y, and I ended up wishing that the COVID-related material had been condensed (although that may be because we all lived through that period and I'm not yet ready to read about it. Talk to me in a decade).

I may yet continue with the series—looks like books 2 and 3 have a bit more house?—and I think this'll still go over well for those looking for a (mostly) lighthearted adventure read, but I'd advise reading some reviews for a more accurate sense of what you're in for.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

In this charming and realistic memoir, Rosie Meleady explores the highs and lows of international moves in the context of hurricanes, COVID-19, personal tragedies, and starting a new wedding planning business. Following Meleady, her family, and her dogs, she hilariously recounts the struggles, confusions, and successes of their process of relocating to Italy, language barrier and all. Realistic and honest, Meleady does not shy away from the difficulties they faced during this time. A fun, enjoyable, and fast read, Meleady’s prose is comedic, engaging, and friendly, as if she is engaging in conversation with each of her readers. With all of this chaos and excitement, fans of the memoir genre and of travelogs will definitely enjoy Meleady’s book as she combines the two genres in this engaging narrative. For those interested in following in similar footsteps, Meleady will help prepare you for some of the challenges of living as an expat and integrating into the new local community, especially when language barriers and buying housing are involved. With her delightful prose, engaging narrative voice, and an immersive and chaotic story, Meleady’s memoir is a great read reminiscent of Italian summers and the joys and fears of travel and exploring new countries for the first time.

In this heartwarming memoir, Rosie shares the ups and downs of her family’s move from cold, wet Ireland to the sun-drenched landscapes of Italy, where they set out to grow their destination wedding planning business. However, their idyllic plans soon encounter unexpected challenges, including a hurricane, a global pandemic, and the purchase of a dilapidated villa fraught with family disputes.

With candor and humor, Rosie offers readers a candid glimpse into the realities of relocating abroad, from navigating the complexities of buying a home in Italy to grappling with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through it all, Rosie’s resilience and unwavering optimism shine through, as she embraces the opportunity to build a new life in a foreign land.

“A Rosie Life in Italy” is a lighthearted and uplifting tale that blends the charm of HGTV with the allure of Italian countryside living. With its relatable anecdotes and infectious enthusiasm, this memoir is sure to inspire readers to embrace their own dreams and embark on their own adventures, one courageous step at a time.

I did enjoy this book, but at times I felt that it was incorrectly marketed and left me disappointed. A good portion of the book does not even take place in Italy. That being said, Meleady has an incredibly compelling voice and writing style, so despite the fact that I was (at times) not gripped by the story, her words kept me interested through the end.

This one was funny and shows a great deal of determination trying to fix up this place while facing what life has to throw at them.
I liked reading it in bits and pieces, coming back to Rosie's light hearted outlook.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

"A Rosie Life in Italy" is a delightful journey that transports readers from the lush greenery of Ireland to the sun-kissed hills of Umbria. Through heartfelt storytelling, the author beautifully captures the trials and triumphs of a family's bold move. With humor and grace, they navigate cultural differences, language barriers, and the joys of embracing a new way of life. From charming encounters with locals to mouthwatering descriptions of Italian cuisine, this book is a love letter to the transformative power of adventure and the enduring bonds of family. A must-read for anyone seeking inspiration and a reminder to savor life's unexpected twists with an open heart.

I went into this book expecting something a bit different than how the book actually unfolded. There was a lot of backstory about life in Ireland before Italy. Cute and at times funny, I liked it but didn’t love it.

Rosie Meleady's book "A Rosie Life in Italy" is a very personal telling of how a family moves to Italy....or tries to move to Italy. Every hurdle you could imagine tests Rosie to the limit and then you throw in COVID! I had heard of the strict conditions in Italy so it was interesting to hear how people coped on a day to day basis.
I smiled a lot reading this book. Although for sure the many trials and tribulations weren't all fun and games. I so admire Rosie's determination to keep striving for the ultimate goal.
We really only leant a little about Italian life.....I believe further books will expand on daily life renovating and experiencing more of Italy. If anything, this book with make you think twice about buying a property in Italy. The complicated beurocracy and volatile family dynamics were frankly archaic.
An easy read getting to know Rosie's family. Thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks and Rosie for my copy.

Although I thought it was an easy read, it felt really repetitive and I didn't enjoy the style of the memoir in the end.

I received an ARC of this book, courtesy of NetGalley.

If you love travel memoirs, you can put this one on your list.

I have a soft spot for books that document moving to a new country and finding yourself along the way. The author, Rosie, documents her and her husband’s financial crisis during the 2008ish housing crash. They fell in love with Italy years earlier and always had a plan to return, but their issues in Ireland pushed the dream forward.

Rosie and her husband fall in love with a crumbling Italian home in Umbria, but problems closing on it abound.

The ending is a surprise, but I loved reading about this family’s adventures in Italy. They have the same problems every family has, but through it all, they make it work with love and admiration of one another.

I really liked this book and would absolutely read another by the author.

🎢 Hold on tight because this book is a wild ride! I couldn't get enough of it! Rosie always dreamed of living abroad, but life had a funny way of throwing curveballs her way. Despite setbacks, she and her husband embark on an unexpected journey to Italy, where Rosie becomes a Wedding Planner extraordinaire. 🇮🇹 It's a rollercoaster of emotions—heartbreaking yet heartwarming. Rosie's vibrant writing, humor, and candidness reeled me in, and I couldn't put the book down!

Just when they thought they were settling into their new Italian life and buying their dream house, bam! COVID-19 hits, trapping them in Italy. 😱 But hey, life's full of surprises, right? I'm diving into book two to see where Rosie's adventures take her next! 📖 After finishing a book by a beloved author, I was craving another captivating read, and Rosie's story delivered big time.

Rosie's life takes unexpected turns, from plans to move to Spain dashed by family issues to navigating business challenges and housing woes. Yet, amidst the chaos, there's hope for a fresh start in Italy. Rosie's narrative had me hooked—I laughed, I cried, and oh boy, did I chuckle at her language mishaps! 🤣 Just when things seem to be looking up and they find their dream home, along comes COVID-19, offering a glimpse into lockdown life in Italy. It's a fascinating, appalling, and amusing ride through one of Europe's hardest-hit countries.

This book is pure entertainment, and I'm already diving into the sequel! 📚

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read the ARC of this book. I was expecting this to be more a tale of how a family adapted to their life in Italy. Instead, a lot of it involved their long process to finally get to Italy. I also found myself questioning some of the financial decisisions that this family made. Perhaps it wasn't for me, but I did finish it to see how it turned out.

Rosie Meleady's memoir is like a cozy chat with a friend, full of laughter, love, and unexpected twists. From pursuing her dream of starting a wedding planning business in Italy to renovating a rundown villa, Meleady's candid storytelling captures the ups and downs of expat life with warmth and relatability. Through language barriers, a global pandemic, and the joys of Italian culture, Meleady's unwavering optimism reminds us to embrace life's imperfect moments. "A Rosie Life in Italy" is a heartwarming invitation to savor the journey, celebrate resilience, and chase your dreams. 💖

Rosie Meleady, A Rosie Life in Italy Move to Italy. Buy a Rundown Villa. What Could Go Wrong?, Source Books, October 2024.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

Rosie Meleady has written a lively account of her and her family in Ireland, and later in Italy. She encounters personal, financial and business setbacks with equanimity, and pursues her dreams of a business venture in Italy, complete with the purchase of a huge, tumbling down house. Initially having planned to move to Spain with her family and divorced sister to conduct their wedding planning business there, the plans must change. Life then continues in Ireland, along with the problems of changes there and family commitments. The move to Italy eventually takes place, and this too is an adventure with both its challenging and charming settings.

However, I was disappointed in this book as I thought that it would provide many more of the aspects of living in Italy, coming to grips with a different community and making efforts to become an important part of that community. Instead, one problem that really leapt out at me, was what seemed to be an unwillingness to learn the language. Although translation was necessary for the important legal aspects of purchasing a property, I would have liked more about the way in which an Irish family adopted the language of their new environment. There are some passing references to the difficulties of misinterpretation, but these seemed superficial. What efforts did the family make to learn? What are some grammatical hints that others who wish to visit or live in Italy might find useful? What do Italians appreciate hearing?

The impact of Covid in Italy was informative, with the experience of the Italian concern for health well drawn. Going on the journey of purchasing the house, the personal impact the owners were able to exert, the intricacies of ownership and the legal aspects of property purchase was valuable. The descriptions of the property and its furnishings, including the unique doors was interesting.

However, when I had finished A Rosie Life in Italy I felt that I knew far more about Rosie and her family than their lives in Italy. Italy has so much to offer, as I have found on short visits. In my limited familiarity just a mention of the Buongiorno to wish you good morning the length of the main street gives a flavour of life in an Italian village. In reading this book I had wished to add to this experience with the detail that I thought would be part of a story about living in Italy. This expectation was not realised.