It Takes A Villa by Kilby Blades

It Takes A Villa by Kilby Blades

Published by Entangled ISBN 9781649372086

Mass market paperback, $8.99, 352 pages

So many of us have yet to return to traveling, and if you want to travel to Italy without leaving your chair, Kilby Blades It Takes A Villa will have you feel like you are on the Amalfi Coast.

Natalie and her grandmother had planned to buy an abandoned villa in Amalfi. After her grandmother passes away, Natalie went through with their plans alone. Italy runs a program to encourage foreigners to buy homes for $1, with the stipulation that the buildings must be renovated within a six month time period or the buildings revert back to the towns.

Italy has a reputation for having a slow bureaucracy, which makes this program problematic. But Natalie is determined to renovate the abandoned villa on her own. It's go big or go home. She meets other Americans in the program, and as a group they support each other, sharing ideas, supplies, and work loads.

Natalie also meets Pietro, an architect and the son of the town's mayor, who is helping people (especially Natalie) renovate their buildings and manuever through the maze of regulations. Pietro wants this program and his town to succeed. He's also handsome, single and very attracted to Natalie.

Along with the traditional romance tropes, we get the added benefit of the lovely setting of the beautiful Amalfi Coast and the lessons of life lived in a different country and culture. That is what set this interesting novel apart from most books in the romance genre.

Fans of all the HGTV renovation shows will get an extra level of enjoyment from It Takes A Villa. And if you like Italian food, your mouth will water at the descriptions of the delicious food. This one would make a terrific Hallmark movie. 

Thanks to TLC Tours for putting me on Kilby Blades tour.