The Little Italian Hotel by Phaedra Patrick

The Little Italian Hotel by Phaedra Patrick

Published by Park Row Books ISBN 9780778387121

Trade paperback, $18.99, 320 pages

In Phaedra Patrick's newest novel The Little Italian Hotel,  Ginny Splinter spends her days giving advice to callers on her radio talk show in a small town in England. She loves helping people and believes that she can help them solve their life problems. There isn't a problem Ginny can't fix,

Ginny is married to Adrian, who sells high end sports cars at a local dealership. She is about to surprise Adrian with a special anniversary trip to Italy when Adrian tells her that he is moving out, he doesn't know if he wants to be married anymore.

This stuns Ginny, and when she discovers that Adrian has a profile on a dating website, she is even more shocked. How could she, the woman with all the advice for her listeners, have been so clueless as to what was going on her marriage?

When Ginny finds out that the trip is nonrefundable, she invites four listeners from her show to join her in Italy. Instead of a stay for two at a luxury hotel and spa in a small town outside Bologna, Ginny will be joined by four strangers at a little Italian hotel near the luxury hotel. The only catch is that each of these strangers must have their own heartbreak story.

The hotel is run by Nico and his teenager daughter Loretta. Nico's wife left them when he refused to sell the hotel after a deathbed promise to his mother to change nothing in the hotel. The hotel is charming, and  a bit lived in, nothing like the successful luxury hotel up the road run by Nico's best friend.

Edna, an elderly woman who dresses in black, is sharp as a tack. Eric is quiet and gets up early every morning to run in the Italian hillside. He carries a dog collar with him. Rachel is a vivacious young woman whose mother has Alzheimer's.  Curtis spends all his time on his phone and can be a bit rude to everyone.

The group is slow to come together, but once they do, they all become very supportive of each other. We get the backstories of each of them, what their heartache is, and each story is moving as we become emotionally invested in them. The Italian setting is so vivid, if you close your eyes you will see the Italian countryside and smell the delicious fresh foods that Nico prepares for the group.

When Adrian shows up unexpectedly, Ginny is torn. She has to take a good look at her life and decide what she truly needs to be happy. The Little Italian Hotel would be good for a book club discussion, and you could have a great Italian-themed dinner to go with it. 

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on their Summer 2023 Blog Tours.

The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead

The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead

Published by Gradydon House ISBN 9781525804960

Trade paperback, $18.99, 384 pages

One of the most popular tropes in the Romance book genre is the Fake Dating trope. Ashley Winstead elevates this in her latest novel, The Boyfriend Candidate.

The story opens with middle school librarian Alexis Stone who has just caught her boyfriend cheating on her again and for the last time. He of course blames her and says some cruel things to her that undermine her confidence. On this night Alexis puts on her sexiest dress and heads to a local Austin bar to pick up a guy and have a one night stand, something way outside of her comfort zone.

When she draws the attention of an obnoxious man who won't take no for an answer, a handsome man sitting at the bar scares off the creep, and he and Alexis spend the evening getting to know each other. Alexis makes up a name and backstory (one more interesting than her own life) and she and Logan decide to head to a nearby hotel for a tryst.

As things get hot and heavy, the fire alarm in the hotel goes off and Logan and Alexis flee outside in a state of undress. Alexis turns her ankle and Logan carries her outside, depositing her in an ambulance and fleeing without a goodbye.

While Alexis is hurt and upset, soon photos turn up online of her and Logan- who happens to be running for governor of Texas. In order to avoid a public scandal his campaign can't afford, Logan and his team convince Alexis to pretend to be Logan's girlfriend of six months, just until the campaign is over in two months.

What could go wrong? No one can know of their deception, and soon Alexis and Logan are fighting their feelings for each other. As is typical in these types of stories, you wish the two of them would be honest with themselves and each other, but what would be the fun in that?

There were so many interesting aspects to this story. I liked the setting of Austin, and the political background. Nora, Logan's campaign manager, is a great character, as is Alexis' sister Lee, a Texas state representative. The way that the author worked in the state of education in this country (the lack of funding for schools and lack of respect for teachers) was well done and topical.

Watching Alexis find her voice politically as a teacher and as a woman looking for a relationship worthy of her was empowering. The writing is crisp, and Ashley Winstead works in important topics with a healthy dose of humor along the way. My only criticism is that it was hard to believe that Alexis didn't know who Logan was when she met him, but I am willing to overlook that for the sake of this terrific story.

I adored The Boyfriend Candidate, and now I am looking forward to reading Ashley Winstead's 2022 romance, Fool Me Once. I highly recommend The Boyfriend Candidate.

Thansk to Harlequin for putting me on Ashley Winstead's tour.