Very Valentine

This is another fun book by a wondeful author. Ms. Trigiani captures the essence of Italian American life in the NYC area -I've been to Leonards many times! Her descriptions of Italian food had me salivating! Its a light happy story that will boost your spirits! The reader is sublime!

I looked forward to the publicatin of this book and never paid any attention to the Publisher's summary. Maybe I am an old fogey, but being like Sex in the City is not an attraction to me. And maybe that is why this book was not one of the best I have read by this author.

I found the main characters family relations and love pssions erratic. How can she so adore her grandmother and so hate her brother? How can she be so one sided as a lover in America where the two of them are young and building their careers and then be so relaxed in Italy with another man?

My sense is the book was not a complete story because of it being part of a trilogy. Too many fillers had to added to make it "big enough" by itself, yet many critical pieces are withheld to save for the next parts.

I couldn't wait to read Ms. Trigiani's latest book. I have read or listened to all of her books, and I prefer her voice to Ms. Campbell's. I found her voice monotonous and her Italian accents weak. I felt I was listening to a teenager.

The story was just ok. It seemed like I had to listen for a long time for very little to happen. I hope the next two are more action packed!

I LOVE this author and was very excited to have something new from her. I enjoyed this story which, like her others, has a strong Italian-American female as her protagonist. Trigiani is very visceral in her writing. Her love of her Italian heritage, fabrics and food and hand-crafted artisanship comes through on almost every page. Her stories center on strong, intelligent women dealing with the sort of decisions and issues most of us have faced which gives her a universal appeal. What makes this story even more wonderful for me is that about a fourth of it takes place in Italy and I always enjoy another opportunity to visit bella Italia

I so look forward to a new Trigiani. Her descriptions of a time, a place or a person are so clear and compelling - you feel like you are immersed in someone else's life as soon as you start to listen to one of her books. This is one of the really good ones. (My personal favorite will probably always be The Queen of the Big Time!)

What a light and enjoyable book. I enjoyed the details included in the narrative. Characters believable and interesting. Makes me long to go to the isle of Capri.

I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as the 'Stone Gap" series because it isn't read by the author herself but, halfway through, I realized that Cassandra Campbell does an excellent job of staying in character while she reads the various characters' lines.

Eagerly, I then purchased Brava Valentine in order to follow the family evolution which I have enjoyed as though reading factual history instead of fiction.

But the best of the batch is LUCIA, LUCIA and I'm looking forward to the rest.

Carol Szuch
The Villages, Flloriida 32162

The weird thing is I liked this book when I first started reading it. The first hour or so was fine. Then it just seemed to be devolve into another retelling of "life in the typical Italian-American family". And that was too bad. The plot and characters were worth learning more about. More than their ethnic background.

The only un-stereotypical thing about the book was that it wasn't about a crime family. But ... "hey, at least there aren't any mafioso in it" is hardly a ringing endorsement.

I am sure there are fascinating quirks about Italian-American families, or Irish-American or African-American, but there is also a lot of commonality. And I get tired of reading books that as soon as you know the ethnic background of the family of characters you can start writing the dialog yourself. But that probably doesn't bug me nearly as much as it bugs someone actually in that ethnic group.

Some lovesick women

Something with a better story and performance.

I found her accents to be irritating.

Disappointment. I read the critiques and still purchased it.

Sumptuous detailed descriptions

Just love her voice

Lovely story, wonderful details of food, fabric, love and family