Roman Crazy (The Broads Abroad #1) by Alice Clayton & Nina Bocci
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Avery Bardot steps off the plane in Rome, looking for a fresh start. She’s left behind a soon-to-be ex-husband in Boston and plans to spend the summer with her best friend Daisy, licking her wounds—and perhaps a gelato or two. But when her American-expat friend throws her a welcome party on her first night, Avery’s thrown for a loop when she sees a man she never thought she’d see again: Italian architect Marcello Bianchi.
Marcello was the man—the one who got away. And now her past is colliding with her present, a present where she should be mourning the loss of her marriage and—hey, that fettuccine is delicious! And so is Marcello…
Slipping easily into the good life of summertime in Rome, Avery spends her days exploring a city that makes art historians swoon, and her nights swooning over her unexpected what was old is new again romance. It’s heady, it’s fevered, it’s wanton, and it’s crazy. But could this really be her new life? Or is it just a temporary reprieve before returning to the land of twin-set cardigans and crustless sandwiches?
A celebration of great friendship, passionate romance, and wonderful food, Roman Crazy is a lighthearted story of second chances and living life to the fullest.
Avery Bardot seemingly had the perfect life. Married to her husband of eight years, she has played a supportive role in his career progression. His wealth has afforded them many luxuries, and her days are scheduled with lunches, garden clubs and cooking classes. What isn’t scheduled, is catching the man she sacrificed so much for sticking it to his secretary.
Summoned by her best friend Daisy, fleeing to Italy is the first of many spontaneous decisions Avery makes in this new uncharted chapter of her life. If that wasn’t overwhelming enough, her first night in Rome brings her face to face with a man from her past, whom she experienced some of the best times of her life with.
Marcello looked every bit like my greatest love and my biggest regret.
Rather than being a depressing story, it has the humour I relish so much from a Clayton novel. I enjoyed the experience of Avery discovering Rome all the while rediscovering herself. It’s not only a second chance at love, but a second chance at being the person she wanted to be in the first place.
I decided upon my rating because although I revelled in Avery’s rediscovery, I found her a tad indulgent at times. I also didn’t get a much of a sense of Marcello as I would have liked. There were also aspects to the story created to cause drama I could have happily done without.
Clayton & Bocci excelled at conjuring deep feelings of wanderlust. Italy’s tourism board need to add this as part of its arsenal as I can only imagine how many readers will want to experience the beautiful scenes and culinary delights so wonderfully described.
The Broads Abroad series is set to be a humorous exploration of characters introduced in this novel. I’m already looking forward to finding out more about the illusive Daisy and her trip to Amsterdam. And I would be remiss to forget Fiona’s potential exploits in Dingle.
Connect with Nina:
NinaBocci.com | Twitter | Face
ALICE CLAYTON worked in the cosmetics industry for over a decade before picking up a pen (read laptop).
She enjoys gardening but not weeding, baking but not cleaning up, and finally convinced her long-time boyfriend to marry her.
Now, about that Bernese Mountain dog.
FIND THE AUTHORS ON:
NinaBocci.com | Twitter | Face
AliceClayton.com | Twitter | Fa