Release Date: 2 November 2023
Cleo Arendse: You know how almost every movie set in Italy seems to be about a woman who travels to Tuscany and is swept off her feet by a charming, gorgeous but arrogant aristocrat? Well, that’s not this story.
Luca Fioravanti: Challenge accepted.
British Banker Cleo Arendse is nothing like the women lawyer Luca Fioravanti is used to – both because she’s only in Tuscany to oversee his family vineyard’s business and because she’s impervious to the charm that has never failed him before now. But Luca has never shied from a challenge, and when circumstances arise that allow him to step in as Cleo’s knight in shining armour, he leaps…right into a fake marriage! The romance may be a ruse but the passion burning between Luca and Cleo is very, very real, and as the ‘honeymoon’ glow envelops the pair, all bets are off…
Luca Fioravanti: Challenge accepted.
British Banker Cleo Arendse is nothing like the women lawyer Luca Fioravanti is used to – both because she’s only in Tuscany to oversee his family vineyard’s business and because she’s impervious to the charm that has never failed him before now. But Luca has never shied from a challenge, and when circumstances arise that allow him to step in as Cleo’s knight in shining armour, he leaps…right into a fake marriage! The romance may be a ruse but the passion burning between Luca and Cleo is very, very real, and as the ‘honeymoon’ glow envelops the pair, all bets are off…
My Review 5 STARS
**My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**
Although this book can be read as a stand alone book, a lot of the characters were introduced to us in Last of the Summer Vines which is Sarah and Tomato's story.
Cleo in her mid thirtie is one of Sarah's friends who works at the bank and is sent over to Italy by her boss in order to help sort the Vineyard out after Giovanni has a stroke and is in recovery. It is Cleo's job to let them know if the Vineyard is a lost cause and if she can work her magic and get the job done, especially as she grew up on the Vineyards in South Africa.
Luca is the son of Giovanni and he is a confirmed bachelor getting closer to his forties. He has been well known as the man who will not settle down and has never found a woman that holds his interest for long. He oozes Italian charm, has GQ looks and is very smart. Although he works hard, he excels at making it look like he doesn't do much and lives down to his the expectations people have of him.
Cleo however turns everything upside down. First, she seems immune to Luca's charm, then after little white lies, she ends up living in his house and worming her way under his skin whilst she works hard and finds that she misses this simpler way of life.
Both characters grow as individuals, get stronger with someone fighting their corner and realise at points what their lives have been missing. Cleo is not afraid to ask the hard questions, but often hides her own true feelings.
We get some surprises, a good plot and a story that brings you in, wraps you up and takes you on a journey where you may even learn a little about wine without meaning too.
I really enjoyed this book and really hope that the author brings out another book based within the Tusan hills of Italy.
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