Tempesta's Dream by Vincent B. "Chip" LoCoco

The subtitle of Tempesta's Dream is A Story of Love, Friendship and Opera.  The Tempesta of the title is Giovanni Tempesta, a twenty-five-year-old Italian man living in 1979 in Milan, Italy.  Giovanni dreams of becoming a world-class opera tenor, but he earns a living as a clerk by day, and an opera-café singer by night.

The Prologue explains how Giovanni came to discover opera:  through his father, a consummate romantic and opera aficionado.  Franco Tempesta explains to his young son how opera is romance and raw emotion put to poetry and music.  Opera also touches how the man teaches his son about love.

When you fall in love, Giovanni, always respect that trust the girl places in you.  You would only expect the same from her.  For it is from trust, that true love finds its roots.  And love is what gives our life poetry.

 Puccini is Giovanni Tempesta's favorite composer, so I will feature images of Puccini opera posters with the review .

Without realizing it, Franco rears his son to be something of a throwback to an earlier idea of male-female relations.  That formal, respectful attitude to women, love, and relationships was out of place even in 1979.  It reminded me a bit of the 1999 film Blast from the Past, which was about a young man who grew up since the 1960s with his mother and father in a bomb shelter, and only entered the world in 1999. 

Giovanni has the same sweetness and intensity about him, so that we can almost forgive his following his love-at-first-sight woman home.  Giovanni is, as the author says:

...a passionate romantic living in a very unromantic world.

And when Giovanni serenades the woman:

He was a throwback to a lady's old romantic notion of how a man should act.

Falling in love pushes Giovanni to pursue his dream with more conviction.  With ups and downs, lessons and sudden lesions, successes and failures, we follow Giovanni's progress to his ultimate success.  The satisfying, joyous ending has a truly operatic feel to it, musically, situationally and emotionally.  It is a big-opera finish.

A few years back there was a novel written for young adults that had a father teaching his daughter about the history of philosophy.  Many adults read the book for the easy-to-grasp explanations.  Tempesta's Dream has the same feel to it, but for a history of opera.  The book's coyness about sex makes it a suitable book for both adults and young-adults.  The opera history and entertaining anecdotes that Giovanni's teacher, Alfredo, shares with his eager student make learning easy for the reader, too. 

The author brings opera to life on the page, which he achieves through the use of the libretto texts, and rich descriptions of the music and of the emotions the music creates.  What I would love to see is a Spotify playlist created by the author to accompany the book.  When reading the book and a piece of music is mentioned in the text, one could then click on a music player and hear the music.  It would be a lovely accompaniment to the text, which is about the music, after all.

Perhaps after reading the book and listening to the music, the readers will be like Giovanni:

Giovanni always had music running through his head.  Moments he experienced in life recalled for him scenes from operas.

A small part of the story takes place in the city of New Orleans, in the southern U.S. state of Louisiana, the author's hometown.  The flavor of the unique city comes through in the locations, food, history, people and music included in the story.  

The large Italian-American (Sicilian-American) community in New Orleans may be a surprise to some readers.  The immigrants richly contributed to the local culture.  It was just one of the reasons I accepted a review-copy of this book.

Here is the book's trailer:

Italian culture and Italian-American culture are often intertwined with a Catholic up-bringing.  I applaud the author for including Giovanni's faith in the book, and treating it as an aspect of his character.  Too many authors are afraid that if they allow their character's faith to appear in a book, the book will be labeled a "Christian Novel". 

Giovanni believes in God and in destiny.  Destiny for Giovanni is not un-Catholic "fate".  Destiny for Giovanni is what happens when we use to the utmost all the gifts God has given us.  Giovanni feels that God has given him a voice that moves people, so he feels compelled to develop that gift to its utmost.  It is one of the things that fuels Giovanni's ambition.

The book is attractively presented, well-edited, and offered in various formats, including an audio book.  The omniscient narrative prose is not always the smoothest it could be, and the dialog can be stilted at times, but the directness of the prose suits direct and single-minded Giovanni Tempesta, and in the end, this is Giovanni's story. 

True to the opera it honors, the book is full of strong emotions, heart, tears, love, ambition, friendship and an underlying decency.  I enjoyed it and it had me turning to my opera recordings, which is always a good thing!

From the book's description (some spoilers):

Tempesta's Dream is a novel by New Orleans writer, Vincent B. "Chip" LoCoco.  It is the story of an aspiring opera singer coming of age in Milan; a tender and moving love story; a testament to the bonds of friendship; and, at its core, a tribute to the beauty, majesty and miracle of opera.

Giovanni Tempesta always dreamed of becoming an opera tenor and one day singing from the stage of the La Scala Opera House in his hometown of Milan, Italy.  But with no real training, his dream has little chance for fulfillment . . .  One day, he meets and immediately falls in love with Isabella Monterone, a dark-haired beauty, whose father, a very rich and powerful Milanese Judge, refuses to allow his daughter to date a penniless musician . . .  At the lowest part of his life, Giovanni comes upon the Casa di Riposo, a rest home for musicians established by the great opera composer, Giuseppe Verdi . . .  It is at the Casa Verdi that Giovanni meets Alfredo del Monte, a blind, retired opera singer with a secretive past who gradually becomes his mentor . . .  Could Alfredo be the one person who could assist Giovanni in finding the break he needs? Or is Giovanni destined to be on the cusp of reaching his life long dream, only to find failure? . . .  Tempesta's Dream, at its core, is an Italian opera love story.  The author tells the story simply and swiftly with an ending that is both an emotional and poignant moment of both "amicizia e amore" (friendship and love.)

Here are direct links to the book at Amazon.com as paperback, e-book and audiobook:

Here is the book's audiobook trailer, which includes a sample of the audiobook:

 

Please visit the author's website and Facebook page,

I can't end a review of a book about opera without one opera video, so here is a music video of a piece that plays an important roll in the book, sung by someone who plays an even more important role.

This review is by Candida Martinelli, of Candida Martinelli's Italophile Site, and the author of the cozy-murder-mystery novel AN EXTRA VIRGIN PRESSING MURDER, and the young-adult/adult mystery novel series THE VIOLET STRANGE MYSTERIES the first book of which is VIOLET'S PROBLEM.

Limoncello Yellow by Traci Andrighetti

Limoncello Yellow is the first book in the cozy-murder-mystery Franki Amato Mystery Series.  The protagonist, Francesca (Franki) Amato, is a first generation Italian-(Sicilian)-American in the United States.  She grew up in Houston, Texas, with her parents, brothers, and her very-Sicilian paternal grandmother.  All that wonderful Italian ethnicity enriches Limoncello Yellow.

The first chapter of Limoncello Yellow introduces us to Franki, her family, and to her love-life and career problems.  Franki decides to take a leap to a new profession with an old friend.  That's when the murder-mystery begins, in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Throughout Limonello Yellow the author shows the reader the New Orleans sights, and introduces the reader to the city's unique culture.

First-person narration by Franki puts us in the protagonist's head.  We come to understand the saucy, sassy, brassy, but basically terribly insecure Franki Amato.  To be honest, at times I did not want to be in her head!  I would have liked seeing Franki from someone else's perspective.  But Franki's insecurities, excessive drinking, slothful habits and questionable detecting skills create plenty of opportunities for humor.

Franki drinks plenty of sweet Limoncello one night, with painful results

The private detecting firm that Franki joins is run by Franki's old friend, Veronica Maggio, another hyphenated Italian.  The two women bonded in college over "all things Italian", and they enjoy joking together about their ethnicity:

"You're a born cop, Frank.  I mean, you still need some experience and all, but you come from a Sicilian family, and you grew up in Houston.  If you don't know crime, who does?" she joked, trying to raise my spirits.

"Verrrry funny.  Need I remind you that you're half Sicilian too?" I asked, half-heartedly playing along.

"Yeah, but I'm also half Swedish, which tempers the Italian-ness, so you're screwed."

"You're just a laugh a minute, you know that?  I tell you what, let's leave ethnicity out of this," I replied, as though I believed that were possible.

Some strange boot-shaped bottles of Limoncello from Ischia, Italy

The cover of the book is very cute, as is the title Limoncello Yellow.  The e-book layout is very clear and well-edited, with distinct paragraphs that begin with indents.  I have noticed that some e-books lack clear definitions between paragraphs, which makes it very difficult to separate dialog blocks and to know which character is speaking.  That is not a problem with the Limoncello Yellow review-copy e-book I read.  I would have preferred the non-English words italicized, for clarity and ease of reading.

Franki's parents and grandmother (nonna) like to play an active part in Franki's life, especially her love-life.  When Franki informs the family she is moving to New Orleans, nonna likes the idea of her spinster (a zitella at twenty-nine) grand-daughter going to the city where nonna lived previously:

"There are still a lotta nice Sicilian boys in New Orleans..."

Italian culture has a central role in Franki's and Veronica's identities.

• They have embraced the language of their families (well, Italian with some Sicilian words), and the food, wine, and fashion of Italy.
• Franki is dead-set against getting involved with an Italian-American guy, based on her in-depth knowledge of that "species". 
• Both women are lapsed Catholics but "once a Catholic, always a Catholic", which created, for me, one of the best laugh-out-loud moments of Limoncello Yellow.  I won't say more, so as not to spoil it for anyone.
• The women both recognize that "a Sicilian grandma is a formidable opponent".

Franki has a close encounter with a crawdad that leaves her worse for wear

Is this a so-called "chick-lit" book?  There are many mentions of clothing designers and popular culture.  Franki consumes too much high-calorie food and strong alcohol.  A love-life is in a mess and we get a "cute-meet" and a potential romance.  Plenty of female characters deal with home, work, family and men, all with a strong dose of sarcastic and self-deprecating humor.  But in Limoncello Yellow, the women also have to deal with crime and murder. 

An Italian lemon and pepper handbag, not the sort Franki and Veronica like

From the book's description, which gives a bit of the plot away:

From debut author, Traci Andrighetti, comes a tale of murder, mayhem, and meddling Sicilian grandmas...

Francesca "Franki" Amato is a tough-talking rookie cop in Austin, Texas—until an unfortunate 911 call involving her boyfriend, Vince, and a German female wrestler convinces her once and for all that she just isn't cut out for a life on the police force.

So Franki makes the snap decision to move to New Orleans to work at her friend Veronica's detective agency, Private Chicks, Inc.  But Franki's hopes for a more stable life are soon dashed when Private Chicks is hired by the prime suspect in a murder case to find out what really happened to a beautiful young boutique manager who was found strangled to death with a cheap yellow scarf.

When she's not investigating, Franki is hoping to seduce handsome bank executive Bradley Hartmann, but most of her time is spent dodging date offers from a string of "good Italian boys"—make that not-so-good aging Italian men—that her meddlesome Sicilian grandma has recruited as marriage candidates.

As Mardi Gras approaches and the mystery of the murdered shop girl gets more complicated, Franki must decipher the odd ramblings of a Voodoo priestess to solve both the murder and the mystery of her own love life.

This could well be Franki's motto!  ;-)

Limoncello Yellow is published by Gemma Halliday Presents.

We are a boutique publisher of light-hearted mystery, romantic suspense and romantic comedy novels, perfect for popping into your beach bag for a weekend away or cozying up beside a warm fire for a quiet night in.

Direct link to the author's page at GHP

You can purchase the Limoncello Yellow e-book via Smashwords in various e-book formats.  Smashwords is a major on-line e-book seller, that charges no surcharges for delivery of e-books outside-the-U.S., unlike some e-book sellers. 

Direct link to Limoncello Yellow at SW

Limoncello Yellow is also available as a paperback and Kindle e-book from Amazon.com.  Here are direct links to the editions:

The second book in the series is now out:  Prosecco Pink (Franki Amato Mysteries Book 2) .

Book three in the series is Rosolio Red.

Visit the author's website and Facebook page.


Limoncello is not difficult to make.  Here is an entertaining instructional video made by some East-Coast U.S. Italian-Americans, clearly proud of their heritage, and rightly so!

This review is by Candida Martinelli, of Candida Martinelli's Italophile Site, and the author of the cozy-murder-mystery novel AN EXTRA VIRGIN PRESSING MURDER, and the young-adult/adult mystery novel series THE VIOLET STRANGE MYSTERIES the first book of which is VIOLET'S PROBLEM.