Dreaming of Venice by T.A. Williams

Advertised as a feel-good-read, the young woman at the center of this story goes on a fairy tale sort of adventure and is rewarded with a fairy tale ending. Her journey is picaresque, with twists and turns in her path to romance and financial security. She deals with various different romantic interests: men from her past, some in her present, and some in her dreams about Venice.

Dreaming of Venice is an accurate title since the English protagonist doesn't actually get to Venice until the end of the book, after dreaming of the Italian city throughout the story. If you are looking for a book set in Venice, this isn't it. Most of the story takes place in England, and mostly in London. Non-Brits should be prepared for English amounts of alcohol in daily life (massive!), and English reverse snobbery (“Her accent was very posh, but her smile was friendly.”)

The young woman at the center of the story enters into an unusual agreement that comes with lots of perks, both financial and personal. Her life changes dramatically as she earns more money, opening up a new social life, creative life (she is a painter), better living conditions, better friends (her early ones are rather disgusting, with copious sexually inappropriate suggestions, like that she should prostitute herself!!!), better access to healthcare, and improved personal welfare.

This author always writes smooth prose, in this case 3rd-person limited narrative, that is gently educational, full of life lessons. With the exception of the gross and ignorant friends who think prostitution is a wonderful job for a woman, the book is light entertainment, a fairy tale story for a deserving young woman.

Here is the book's description:

Find love, friendship and Prosecco – in the magical city of Venice

Life is tough for Penny. A dead end job in a London café, a boyfriend in Australia (what could go wrong?) and an art career going nowhere. But then Penny is approached with an extraordinary proposition.

It isn’t going to be easy but, if she can pull it off, she will turn her life around and at long last see the fulfillment of her dream – to visit Venice. And, just maybe, find true happiness with the handsome man of her dreams.

But can dreams come true?

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

Please visit the author's website.

Omnibus Italian Romance and Passion by Jayne Castel

These are four realistic-feeling tales whose romantic stories begin, as many modern love stories do, with passion and a strong physical attraction. However each couple featured in the stories has the potential build their relationship into a more loving and lasting one.

In each story the female protagonist is a woman from an English-speaking country visiting Italy for family, pleasure and work, and she becomes involved with an Italian man.

The four short romance stories in the Omnibus:

• A Roman Summer
• Neapolitan Encounter
• Florentine Awakening
• Venetian Distraction

Each story is well-written escapist fiction that moves along quickly with just enough detail to put the reader in Italy and in the interesting scenes. The author is clearly familiar with Italian culture and language, which adds more realism to the stories.

I especially enjoyed the realistic portrayal of the western women's point of view on Italy. The protagonist of A Roman Summer, for example, is a first time visitor to Italy. Her first impressions when exhausted concern women's struggles with sexual harassment, the heat in summer, the difficulty of managing uneven cobblestones in heels, the horrible traffic and the deafening noise.

The protagonist of Neapolitan Encounter thinks at one especially difficult point in her story:

She'd just about had enough of Italian men today.

When the women are rested they notice the many fashionable men, the ever-present facade in behavior, the sexual directness and volatile expressiveness of many Italians, and the beauty of the non-modern architecture. They notice the food, too, of course. Each of the women show their appreciation for the food, with one protagonist thinking:

The men could be odious here but the food was incredible.

Eventually she learns to appreciate the good qualities of one Italian man in particular.

Like all good short stories, the endings stimulate the readers' imagination to invent their own future for the protagonists, with the writer providing clues to use as starting points. The books are clean with no sex scenes detailed, only suggested. I enjoyed the short escapes to Italy very much!

From the book's description:

A collection of contemporary romance novellas set in Rome, Naples, Florence and Venice - that will sweep you away!

From Rome's dolce vita and the gritty streets of Naples, to the rolling hills of Tuscany and the twisting canals of Venice, four 'must-reads' for romance fans who are passionate about Italy.

A Roman Summer

Kay Starling visits Rome with the hope of persuading her sister to give up her Roman lover and return home to her responsibilities. However, she hadn't counted on falling for Alessandro Falcone - the brooding brother of her sister's lover...

Neapolitan Encounter

Luisa Durasanti witnesses a mafia shooting on the streets of Naples - an incident that turns her dream holiday into a nightmare. Of course, her attraction to Commissario Valerio Catanese, the enigmatic police inspector in charge of the investigation, is just an added complication...

Florentine Awakening

Vanessa Woods' romantic holiday in Tuscany with her boyfriend is quickly turning into a disaster. When her relationship disintegrates, it takes a few days in Florence, and a young chef named Marco Tirelli to take Vanessa's Tuscan holiday in an entirely unexpected direction...

Venetian Distraction

Faye Wilson is in Venice for the Biennale, to do a story on one of Italy's most promising young artists - Massimiliano Paolini. When the interview escalates into an argument, Faye storms off, determined never to set eyes on Max Paolini again. However, she doesn't suspect what the evening has in store for her...

Here is a direct link to the Omnibus at Amazon.com:

 

Please visit the prolific author's website/blog.

Giulia Goes to War (Legacy of Honor Series) by Joan Leotta

Looking for a gift for a hyphenated Italian tween or teen? Or know an adult who enjoys clean historical fiction featuring hyphenated Italians? If yes, then this series of novellas may be for you. The author has four books in her Legacy of Honor Series, each featuring hyphenated Italians serving in a war effort for the United States of America.

Volume One: Giulia Goes to War is about a young first generation Italian-American during World War II. She wants to join in the war effort just like her two brothers who are in the military, and her parents who work on the home front collecting resources for the military equipment factories.

Giulia gets what she wants when she starts work at a plant near home, but then she gets much more than she bargained for with a love interest and an adventure that involves national security.

The love story between two people from very different backgrounds shows up the conservatism of the era (1943+) when like married like, and the twain did not mix. Other social elements of the era come through too, like the sexism, segregation, patriotism, entertainments, communication, and marriage traditions.

The book is rich with historical detail but it never bogs the story down. The author has a clear, clean and polished writing style. Her warmth and understanding of the immigrant experience shines through. She has a clear loves of Italian culture.

This book, and the others in the Legacy of Honor Series, should appeal to tweens, teens and adults who like clean romances set in the past, enlivened by some intrigue and adventure. If you are a hyphenated Italian, you should enjoy these books even more. I think they would make a great gift for young ladies who like to learn more about history through fiction.

Legacy of Honor Series:

• Volume One: Giulia Goes to War
• Volume Two: Letters from Korea
• Volume Three: A Bowl of Rice
• Volume Four: Secrets of the Heart

Volume One: Giulia Goes to War

From the book's description:

Wartime work draws Giulia DeBartolo out of her close Western Pennsylvania family into a world of intrigue, spies and new friends in Wilmington, North Carolina's shipyard building Liberty ships. Giulia soon discovers supporting the war effort can include fun evenings like dancing with young servicemen at the local USO. It is at one of these dances she meets John O'Shea, an unsuitable suitor according to her old-fashioned parents.

As they grapple with the problems of their own budding relationship, John and Giulia encounter a Nazi spy tasked with blowing up part of the Wilmington shipyard. Saving the shipyard from the spy may prove easier than convincing her parents to let her marry John. Giulia must decide what it means to be a good daughter while still following her own heart.

Volume Two: Letters From Korea

From the book's description:

Sal sends Gina (Giulia's sister) newsy letters from Korea and in turn, Gina's talk about Matt's daily flower gifts. Will her ploy make Sal realize he loves her, or backfire on her and discourage him?

The situation becomes more complex when Sal meets a Korean widow with a young child who offers to teach Sal, a pharmacist, the herbal cures of Korea. Of course, Gina is jealous. The relationship between Gina and Sal is about to take a turn for the worse when Sal loses his leg in a bombing attempt to free one of the North Korean prisoners.

At home, Gina finds that someone has made her the scapegoat for stolen files from the Salk polio research project where she works. Fortunately for the two of them, they have a Legacy of Honor in their families they can rely on to help them overcome their difficulties and maybe their own stubbornness about each other as well.

Volume Three: A Bowl of Rice

From the book's description:

Anna Maria O'Shea (Giulia's daughter) became a nurse to continue her family's Legacy of Honor.

In choosing to stick to her commitment to service she looses her long-time college love. The pain of war is stronger than her private heartache.

Is Mark, the handsome physician, the balm her soul needs? Or is it George who will claim heal her wounds with a love that transcends war and the pain she sees all around her?

Volume Four: Secrets of the Heart

From the book's description:

In the middle of the night in January, 1865, two Union soldiers set out on a reconnaissance mission just before the battle of Fort Fisher, North Carolina. Rinaldo DeBartolo wants to finish the mission and to return to Italy and his sweetheart, Emilia. When he and his partner, Walter discover hidden gold, a trail of secrets begins.

That trail winds through the Italian unification, two world wars and a tangle of immigration to reach into Rome Italy in the 1990s at the time of Desert Storm. There the descendants of the American De Bartolo family meet Rinaldo's descendants.

Kathy Ann, the youngest of the clan is working a gap year as a journalist. Her writing endeavors and the family's reunion become complicated by romance, stolen art, and the discovery that not all secrets, even family secrets, are good ones.

Please visit the author's website/blog.

For information on Italians in Pennsylvania. 

This book is available for those who want to know more about Italians of Northeastern Pennsylvania (by Stephanie Longo)

From the book's description:

Every Labor Day weekend, hundreds of thousands of people flock to Courthouse Square in Scranton for the largest ethnic festival in northeastern Pennsylvania: La Festa Italiana. The Italians of this region have been proudly celebrating their heritage since their arrival in this country with traditional festivals, including La Corsa dei Ceri in Jessup and Dunmore’s procession in honor of St. Rocco. Using vintage and recent photographs, Italians of Northeastern Pennsylvania shows how the Italian immigrants to this area, some of whom arrived with little more than the clothes on their back, became well-respected community leaders. Through hard work and dedication, they have made northeastern Pennsylvania into an area that defines the term “ethnic pride.”

The Girl From Venice by Martin Cruz Smith

This is probably one for readers who enjoy Raymond Chandler books and the film Casablanca. The author uses the hard-boiled style to present a tough-guy love story set in the era when Italy went truly, totally bonkers: the end of WWII. The spare style is best appreciated if you picture the text as a film playing in your mind.

Family, rivalry, friendship, loyalties, prejudice, politics, pop culture and military culture all mix together in this well-researched book. Through it all we are shown how the exhausted Italians just tried to keep their heads down and emotions doused so they could make it through to the end of the horrible nightmare. Clinging to daily rituals and pretending that the outside world was more fiction than reality, the inhabitants of Venice feel very real in this story.

Readers will get the most out of the story if they have a basic understanding of the history of the era. Briefly, after insanely embracing Mussolini, a megalomaniacal bully, criminal, misogynistic, pathological liar who promised the world and more to the poor country, Italy then came to its senses and switched sides in the war Mussolini signed them up to. Then they had to fight a war against Nazis while at the same time fighting a civil war between opposing Italian political sides.

To top up the insanity, an embattled and increasingly bonkers Mussolini established a fantasy Republic of Salo in northern Italy where he deluded himself into believing he could hang on to power. The author takes the reader into that crazy place at a certain point in the novel, and portrays the crackpot enablers of the dictator very ably, bringing to mind the evil, manipulative minions in the classic 1945 Rossellini film Roma, Citta Aperta.

The tough-guy with a broken heart protagonist of the book, the Venetian fisherman Cenzo, has shut himself down to make it through the war. He fishes, sleeps, eats and broods until he fishes up a young Venetian woman, Giulia, who escaped a purge of Jewish prisoners. She brings him back to life, and through the course of the book, she becomes the reason he reengages with the insanity around him, putting him in contact with the Republic of Salo and the forces fighting in Italy on all sides.

At first, refined Giulia is seen thus by jaded, coarse Cenzo:

The girl was a brief interruption in his life and the less he knew about her, the better.

Occasionally we see the story from Giulia's perspective, but mainly the narration is from Cenzo's perspective, which reflects the Italian perspective at that time.

Then you switch sides in the middle of a war, it gets very confusing.

The first part of the book is the reawakening of Cenzo that comes through his discussions with Giulia as he teaches her his fisherman's craft. Like therapy, describing what he loves most in life, what keeps him sane when the world around his is off its rocker, helps Cenzo open up to Giulia. He even comes to care about her troubles.

...he found his own miseries reduced in size when he focused on hers.

Acts Two and Three of the novel then move the reawakened Cenzo into the world of spying, the retreating German Nazis, the rival partisan factions, and the wacko Republic of Salo. There is some violence but this is not a gory book. There is some sex, but suggested only, not in scene. There are family rivalries that become explained as the story progresses, explaining some of Cenzo's resentments and his heartbreak. Cenzo is a tough-guy who falls for a waif and tries to protect her in the middle of a world gone crazy.

The author is a wonderful writer with a distinctive style that will appeal to his loyal fans. Some readers may find the spare, butch, hard-boiled style not to their liking. I suggest sticking with it, and being an active reader, visualizing the story as it is told, and empathizing with the characters to understand their feelings. The style is for perceptive, informed readers who don't need, or want, everything spelled out. The plot is unraveled at the end with a clear explanation for the reader.

For Italophiles, the book offers a look at an odd moment in Italy's history, but from a different, more personal angle than found in history books. Brush up on the history beforehand, then enjoy the details that come out from the author's in depth research, along with the tender tough-guy love story.

From the book's description:

The highly anticipated new standalone novel from Martin Cruz Smith, whom The Washington Post has declared “that uncommon phenomenon: a popular and well-regarded crime novelist who is also a writer of real distinction,” The Girl from Venice is a suspenseful World War II love story set against the beauty, mystery, and danger of occupied Venice.

Venice, 1945. The war may be waning, but the city known as La Serenissima is still occupied and the people of Italy fear the power of the Third Reich. One night, under a canopy of stars, a fisherman named Cenzo comes across a young woman’s body floating in the lagoon and soon discovers that she is still alive and in trouble.

Born to a wealthy Jewish family, Giulia is on the run from the SS. Cenzo chooses to protect Giulia rather than hand her over to the Nazis. This act of kindness leads them into the world of Partisans, random executions, the arts of forgery and high explosives, Mussolini’s broken promises, the black market and gold, and, everywhere, the enigmatic maze of the Venice Lagoon.

The Girl from Venice is a thriller, a mystery, and a retelling of Italian history that will take your breath away. Most of all it is a love story.

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

A Year In Tuscany by Annie Ayre

Fans of English soap-operas should enjoy this dramady (drama-comedy) novel set in Italy's beautiful Tuscany region.  Rich, poor, criminals, priest... all the usual suspects for soaps are present.

The story is set in 1987 when Italy was dealing with kidnappings and homegrown terrorists.  The protagonists in this multi-strand tale deal with all sorts of odd happenings, with love stories at the center of most of it.  The author keeps all events, not matter how serious, light, with superficial emotions attached to them.

Very English tongue-in-cheek humor dots the story throughout.  One rich family in possession of a large estate acts as a hub around which all the other characters and events circle out.

We get to know the thinking of lots of locals and ex-patriots through the drama, gossip, and farcical situations.  The ending brings all the people and story threads together with a semblance of a happy-ending.

This is a beach read, or something to enjoy when relaxing poolside, preferably with a view of Tuscany, and a cool drink in hand.

From the book's description:

A comic novel set in the scenic Tuscan hills.

When the Duke of Grambörg announces over breakfast that he will sell the old family villa in the Tuscan hills to move to New York, his family is in uproar.

Where on earth will his beautiful daughters, the contessas Claudia and Hanna, live – now they no longer have the family seat?

And that, as it turns out, is just the beginning of the escapades that ensue after the old Danish duca makes his life-changing decision.

Will local poor boy-turned rich man, Osvaldo Cipollina, find a way to buy the villa?

Hopelessly in love with Hanna, will he ever manage to persuade her to see past his humble beginnings, not to mention his dubiously acquired wealth, and return his feelings?

Will the haughty Claudia ever be reconciled with her aristocratic husband: Lord Eastcliffe?

With a cast of characters as rich as a medieval tapestry, there is just no knowing what will happen next in this finely tuned comic novel.

From Lo Strapazzato – “The Scrambled One” – who is a little too fond of arson, to the international diamond smuggler with a taste for fine wines, to the mysterious American cousin of Osvaldo’s who arrives wearing a veil – everyone in this corner of Italy, it seems, has a secret.

That’s not to mention a sultry belle from the American deep south, an Australian crooner, and, at the heart of it all, the perfect sunshine of the Tuscan countryside.

A Year In Tuscany is a delightful story that will appeal to lovers of the English comic novel.

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

What Happens in the Alps by T. A. Williams

What Happens in the Alps is a sweet contemporary romance set in the Italian Alps, featuring English characters living and working as ex-pats in Italy.

The female protagonist, Annie, is an English teacher.  Her friends and love interests, Italian and British, are in the hotel business or working as a translator.

Annie has lots of friends looking out for her, which is lucky, because setting up in a foreign country, and for Annie and a friend of hers, in a new town, is very difficult.  Her friends help smooth her way, all the way to her discovering a loving life partner.

At thirty-six she knew she wasn't looking for a casual affair.  She wanted more.

Another contemporary romance set in Italy by the same author, reviewed on this site

The author uses the classic omniscient narrative style, giving us insight into the characters' minds.  The writing is skilled, smooth-flowing and well-edited.  The characters are distinct and charming.

Italophiles will not be disappointed.  The author shows a strong knowledge of life in Italy and of Italian culture.  The Italians settings and Italian characters feel quite real.  All the characters feel sane and solid, especially the protagonists.  They deserve their happiness in the end.

This is escapist reading for romantic italophiles.  The reader gets a front row view of how a relationship can change from friends to lovers to partners.  The style is leisurely and chatty.  This is a sweet romance for readers who enjoy vicarious adventures.

From the book's description:

A sparkling romantic comedy guaranteed to beat the winter blues, What Happens in the Alps… is one story you don’t want miss in 2016!

Up in the magical, snow-kissed mountains...

Two years ago, Annie Brewer’s life was turned upside down when her adrenaline-junkie husband died in a tragic climbing accident. So she’s hoping that moving to the beautiful village of Santorso in the Italian Alps will finally put her life back on track!

...anything can happen!

She might be going into business with her oldest friend – notorious lady-charmer Matt Brown – but men are definitely out of the question for Annie! That is, until she bumps into tall, dark and delicious Alessandro Lago on the ski slopes…and spontaneously says ‘Yes’ to a date!

It must be the crisp, mountain air but suddenly, anything seems possible. The only trouble is, chivalrous Matt is looking more gorgeous than ever…

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

Please visit the author's website.  The author has other books set in Italy.  I've reviewed one here on this site:  What Happens in Tuscany.

When in Rome by Amabile Giusti

If you enjoyed the Bridget Jones books and the TV series Sex and the City, you may enjoy this book.  It's a translation of a chick-lit book from Italy, set in Rome, with all Italian characters.

The couple in this book, Carlotta and Luca, do so many unforgivably hurtful things to each other, that when they finally came together as a couple (that's not a spoiler since all these books end that way) I grimaced rather than grinned.

By the way, Luca is the guy, not a woman, despite the "a" ending.  It was an unfortunate Italian male name choice for non-Italian speaking readers.

I have to confess that this is not my favorite genre.  When I read this line a few pages into the book:

"Maybe I would be better off if I threw him out."

I yelled aloud:  "Yes!  You would be!!  Do it now!!!"

So you can imagine, I was not really rooting for these two ding-dongs.  They then went on to explore dangerous sexual games, various forms of self-destructive behavior, and other ridiculous and unhealthy things.

I do wonder why the publisher thought the expense, time and effort needed to translate the book was necessary.   While it may have been unique in Italy, there are many, many of these books written in English:  first-person, present-tense narratives about emotionally immature, slothful, self-absorbed, neurotic, thirty-something women who want a hot guy, a great job, and respect from their friends and family.

Perhaps the translation removed much of the Italian flavor, because there is very little, or perhaps it was never there to begin with.  The author emulated an English-language genre, including the rather generic settings and characters.

Just two last notes:  there are vulgarities and sexual situations, and the title in English has nothing to do with the story.  The book is set mainly, nominally, in Rome, but the expression "When in Rome, do as the Romans" does not apply to this story.

But again, if you enjoyed the Bridget Jones books and the TV series Sex and the City, you may enjoy this book.  It is for real chick-lit fans.

From the book's description:

As her thirtieth birthday approaches, spirited and unconventional Carlotta is a little nervous.  She’s just been fired because of her irrepressible frankness, her family is a mess, and her love life is nonexistent.  Plus, living in Rome isn’t cheap, so she’s forced to rent out a room in her apartment to make ends meet.

Her new roommate, Luca, a gorgeous writer who can match her wicked sense of humor, has a lot of cons:  he’s sloppy, he smokes too much, and he has a nasty habit of bringing home a different woman every night.

Carlotta doesn’t want to admit it, but she’s beginning to fall for the charming novelist whose bedroom seems to have a revolving door.  After they share an unexpected kiss, she’ll do anything to suppress her passion and protect her heart.

With her crazy relatives and a new job to deal with, can she muster the courage to confess her true feelings?  And will Carlotta find happiness in this rented romance?

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

If you'd like to read the book in Italian, here is the cover and a link to Trent'anni...e li domostro (She's Thirty... and It Shows) at Amazon.

Messina by Liz Galvano

Messina is a historical romance novel with a very unique setting:  the aftermath of the destruction of the Sicilian city of Messina in 1908 from natural disasters.  The author makes her protagonist doctors, Lucy and Giovanni, part of the relief effort.  We are put on the ground with them to be eyewitnesses to the tragedy.  This story is rich with Italian culture, romance, medicine, faith and some very moving melodramatic touches.

In many ways Messina is an old-fashioned novel with the monumental setting, characters writ large, the force of history ever present, belief in God central to the characters' story, and a pure romance between a saintly man and a virginal woman.  The author makes the most of these elements to create a ripping good yarn, to use old-fashioned language.

Just so you know...

The Messina (and Reggio) earthquake hit on December 18, 1908, at 5:20 a.m. and was quickly followed by multiple tsunamis.  Fire then hit the ravaged city.  Ninety percent of all buildings in Messina were destroyed.  Because of the timing of the disaster, most of the city's 200,000 inhabitants were in bed when the quake hit, so they were buried in the ruble.

The unprecedented disaster prompted an impressive international rescue and relief effort.  Mass emigration of survivors occurred to other cities in Italy and abroad.  New Messina was built over the ruble of the old city, making it several feet higher than the old city.  The few buildings to survive the disaster are clear to see, sitting several feet lower than their surrounding buildings.

Many of Messina's survivors refused to return to the reconstructed city.  They did not want to live over the unmarked tombs of their compatriots who were never dug out.

Dr. Lucille James is a young American surgeon who has a severe case of daddy-worship along with a chip on her shoulder and a dent in her self-esteem.  Her relationship with Dr. Giovanni Castello, a driven, ascetic surgeon who is damaged from traumatic loss, is the central emotional story in Messina.  However, the ravaged city's story is told too, with heartrending details that can make the reader feel like they were there on the ground.

The total devastation surrounding our heroes creates a war-zone feeling, and their tented hospital quickly takes on a M.A.S.H. feeling with emotionally and physically exhausted personnel struggling to maintain their humanity and sanity.  Giovanni quickly forms a tight bond with Lucy so he can protect her from a place where she insists on being.  Their relationship grows into friendship and beyond.

To have someone befriend and accept her made even the ragged mess tent seem a beautiful place.

The narrative style is 3rd person limited, letting us in only one character's mind.  But the point-of-view of the narration alternates generally between Lucy and Giovanni, but we also get to see into the minds of a few of the supporting cast.  The characters grow though the events related, each blossoming into a better person by the end.

There are some medical scenes that may be a bit much for the squeamish, but they are quick and the author does not revel in gore.  By the mid-point of the novel, the medical story and the disaster of Messina takes a back seat to the growing love story.  The romance language flows then.

Every time he held her, she felt the same way, as though she had always been a part of him.

Lucy and Giovanni are an attractive couple, each becoming a better person through their love for each other.  Theirs is a chaste courtship, however, in this clean romance novel, since both of them embrace their religious convictions and the proscription of intimacy before marriage.  Their faith is integral to the story, just as peoples' faith was generally much more integral to their lives in those days.

One of the supporting cast is Lucy's father, Henry James.  Yes, I know, it is an unfortunate choice to name him after the famous author.  It distracted me throughout the tale, to be honest.  Dr. Henry James is a bigot and a father who created a much too intimate relationship with his daughter. 

 

The author includes much about Italy in the story, and many Italian words and phases.  To help the reader, she provides an Index with translations of the Italian used in the book.  The peasants in Sicily at the time are shown, as well as the landed aristocracy, of which Giovanni is a member.  The customs and traditions of the aristocracy, which are closely linked to Catholicism, are touched on in interesting detail.

Messina is an old-fashioned romantic drama in the style of The Painted Veil.  

From the book's description:

Ominous words from the stone-faced physician at the temporary hospital greet her: “Welcome to hell, Miss James.” No description could be more accurate. Earthquake, tsunami, and fire have razed Messina, Sicily. In a single night in 1909, one hundred thousand people never wake up.

Physician Lucille James is determined to help despite horrendous conditions, almost non-existent medical supplies, and the opposition of the medical community she worked so hard to join.

Giovanni Castello, the man facing her now, stands as her biggest opponent. Surrounded by blood and death and pushed to the edge of exhaustion, Lucille relies on God as her only option. When God gives a gift, after all, a person must use it.

Will she have the strength, courage, and faith to do so?

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

Corrupted by Lisa Scottoline

This legal-romance stars an interesting Italian-American protagonist, Benedetta (Bennie) Rosato.  Bennie is a lawyer in Philadelphia.  She is also six foot tall, in her 40s, with a blond curly mop of hair, blue eyes, and a non-girly-girl character.

She was fully six feet tall, which came in handy in a courtroom, if less on a date.

Bennie remains the focus of the book, and we learn much about her past, her present, her desires, her interests, and what she thinks of herself, with her self-deprecating humor taking a fore.

Bennie wished she were better in the maternal department, but she didn't get a lot of practice, unless you counted golden retrievers.

The first paragraph of Corrupted sets a hard-boiled tone, with the only exception to that genre being it is not a first-person narrative.

Bennie Rosato hadn't taken a murder case in years, but she'd have to take this one.  She'd been working late when the call came in, from a time she didn't want to remember and a place she didn't want to revisit.  Still, she'd said yes.  She couldn't assign the case to an associate, either.  Nobody paid her debts but her.  And she wanted redemption.

The hard-boiled style does not persist however.  The third-person limited narration does, from Bennie's perspective, and we remain firmly there.  There is lots of local Philly color and excellent quality writing, if you ignore the sentence fragments created by popular punctuation misuse, in this well-plotted novel.

I thought the main characters were presented well, believably, and they felt realistic.  We meet them almost always exclusively through dialog, with very little description of setting and action, almost in third-person objective (dramatic) style.  I did think that the love interest was a bit too perfect physically, reminding me of a Harlequin novel.

Corrupted expertly starts with the set-up, the premise for the book, and introduces the protagonist.  Then Part One begins, going back to 2002, to present the backstory.  Part of that backstory is a love affair for Bennie.  The original case takes up the first half of the book.

Part Two brings the reader back to the present, which includes an investigation of the present case, and a confrontation for Bennie with her former love. 

Part Three is the trial, and that will please fans of courtroom dramas, especially when the case is resolved in real Perry Mason style through an unusual cross-examination. 

The denouement sets the stage for more interesting personal stories for Benedetta (Bennie) Rosato in books to come.

A warning:  the bulk of the story is gritty, rough and sad.  The reader learns much about juvenile justice system in Corrupted, and it is indeed corrupt.  The very depressing aspects of child law and the damage it can do to child development are central to what the author set out to write, as she explains in her Afterword to Corrupted. 

She wanted to write, as she always does in her books:

"...about the intersection of justice and law"

But this book looked for inspiration to a real-life tragedy that grew out of greed and a lack of working consciences, that the author wanted to highlight so it would never happen again.  She set out to write a:

"moving and instructive novel"

Corrupted is moving and instructive, and very much based in Philly law, the setting for the story and the real-life crimes.

The lighter moments in the book are often with the staff at the law firm, who are described briefly for those who have not read the other books in the series.  For example, here is the description of Bennie's legal partner:

"Mary DiNunzio was proverbially short and sweet, a South-Philly Italian-American, with a tendency toward co-dependency."

Bennie's dry observations of life around her, and life in general, add humor too.

"...she couldn't remember the last time she'd been picked up in a bar with antlers."

"Life was an individual sport."

The protagonist's Italian-American heritage does not shine through, which could be because her upbringing was anything but typical of Italian-Americans, as we learn during the course of the book.

Corrupted is Book 3 in the Rosato & DiNunzio series, which is a spin-off series from the author's 11 book Rosato & Associates series.  The two law firms provide the main cast of the stories, with each book featuring one female lawyer as the protagonist. 

A legal case sets off the story that then follows the trail through court sessions, brainstorming sessions, investigations, confrontations which are sometimes thrilling and sometimes not, family or personal angst, and the courtroom ending.

I believe that the publisher does a disservice to this writer by promoting her books as something they are not and with unnecessary hyperbole, leaving quite a few readers disappointed when the book doesn't meet the expectations the marketers' created with their promotional texts.

What the author is not, is a Grisham or Turow clone.  Those two legal thriller writers' books are firmly male-perspective, even when they have supposedly female protagonists. 

If you purchase Lisa Scottoline's books with a clear head, knowing that you are getting legal romance/family novels, with some suspense, written from a female perspective for female readers, then you have a good chance of enjoying the books. 

Here are the three books in the Rosato & DiNunzio series with their misleading, and at times off-putting, hyperbolic descriptions, oh, and beware of the various covers, that might lead you to purchase the same book twice!

 

Rosato & Di Nunzio Book 1 - Accused

ACCUSED is the first legal thriller in New York Times bestseller Lisa Scottoline's Rosato & DiNunzio series.

Fiona Gardner was murdered six years ago in what appeared to be an open-and-shut case. The man condemned pleaded guilty. But Fiona's sister, Allegra, is convinced he is innocent.

As Allegra turns to the lawyers at Rosato & Associates, newly promoted partner Mary DiNunzio knows Allegra's parents are against revisiting the case. And only the foolhardy would dare to go up against the one of the most powerful families in the country.

But the women at Rosato & Associates can't resist an underdog.

It will take a team of utterly unstoppable lawyers, plus the help of a thirteen-year-old genius, to discover if justice really was served all those years ago...

Lisa Scottoline revolutionized crime fiction when she introduced her all-female law firm, Rosato & Associates. Now Bennie Rosato, Mary DiNunzio, Judy Carrier, and Anne Murphy are back with all cylinders firing in this fabulous new spin-off series.

Rosato & Di Nunzio Book 2 - Betrayed

Hot on the heels of ACCUSED, BETRAYED is the second legal thriller in New York Times bestseller Lisa Scottoline's electrifying Rosato & Di Nunzio series.

Judy Carrier has always been a champion of the underdog. When her Aunt's beloved friend Iris Juarez is found murdered, and a cache of dirty money is discovered, Judy and her Aunt know there must be more to it. No one was harder working or more loyal than Iris.

Their quest for justice takes them into a shadowy world of people who are so desperate that they cannot go to the police - and where others are so ruthless, they're counting on that vulnerability. As Judy digs deeper into the investigation, she knows she must do whatever it takes to help the betrayed...

Lisa Scottoline revolutionised crime fiction when she introduced her all-female law firm, Rosato & Associates. Now Bennie Rosato, Mary DiNunzio, Judy Carrier, and Anne Murphy are back with all cylinders firing in this fabulous new spin-off series.

Rosato & Di Nunzio Book 3 - Corrupted

Hot on the heels of ACCUSED and BETRAYED, CORRUPTED is the third legal thriller in New York Times bestseller Lisa Scottoline's electrifying Rosato & Di Nunzio series.

Bennie Rosato the founder of the Rosato & DiNunzio law firm hides her big heart beneath her tough-as-nails exterior and she doesn't like to fail. Now, a case from her past shows her how differently things might have turned out.

Thirteen years ago, Bennie Rosato took on Jason Leftavick, a twelve-year-old boy who was sent to a juvenile detention center after fighting a class bully. Bennie couldn't free Jason, and to this day it's the case that haunts her. Jason has grown up in and out of juvenile prison, and his adulthood hasn't been any easier.

Bennie no longer represents those accused of murder, but when Jason is indicted for killing the same bully he fought with as a kid, she sees no choice but to represent him. She doesn't know whether or not to believe his claims of innocence, but she knows she owes him for past failures-of the law, of the juvenile justice system, and of herself.

Forced to relive the darkest period of her life, Bennie will do everything in her power to get the truth, and justice.

If you want to read another book with Benedetta (Bennie) Rosato as the protagonist, you'll really have to choose carefully from the author's books, since she features different women from the law firm in each book.  To help you out, I've done the research for you.  Here are the protagonists of all the books in the Rosato & Associates series and the Rosato & DiNunzio series.

Rosato & DiNunzio

1. Accused (Mary DiNunzio)
2. Betrayed (Judy Carrier)
3. Corrupted (Bennie Rosato)

Rosato & Associates

1. Everywhere That Mary Went (Mary DiNunzio)
2. Legal Tender (Bennie Rosato)
3. Rough Justice (Marta Richter)
4. Mistaken Identity (Bennie Rosato)
5. Moment of Truth (Mary DiNunzio)
6. The Vendetta Defense (Judy Carrier)
7. Courting Trouble (Anne Murphy)
8. Dead Ringer (Bennie Rosato)
9. Killer Smile (Mary DiNunzio)
10. Lady Killer (Mary DiNunzio)
11. Think Twice (Bennie Rosato)

You can visit the author's website where there is lots of information on the author's website for book clubs.  And here is a link to a chatty interview the Lisa Scottoline and her daughter who is often her co-author.