REVIEW: One Hot Italian Summer by Karina Halle

A writer looking for inspiration in Tuscany. 

One hot Italian single dad. 

This summer is going to be a scorcher.

One Hot Italian Summer by New York Times, Wall Street Journal & USA Today Bestselling author, Karina Halle is now live! 

After the death of her best friend and writing partner, Grace Harper is struggling both with grief, and with her next novel, the first one she’ll have to write alone.

Fortunately, her new powerhouse agent, the formidable Jana Lee, has a solution for her. She can stay at her villa in Tuscany for a month, soak in the sunshine, relax, and find her confidence again. After all, Jana has a lot riding on Grace’s next book, and the last thing she wants is for her reputation as a “super-agent” to be tarnished.

At first the villa is a dream come true for Grace – that is until Claudio Romano shows up one day with his ten-year old son, Vanni, in tow. Turns out, this is Claudio’s house, and Claudio happens to be her agent’s ex-husband from long ago. Thanks to their annual father and son bonding trip being cancelled, Claudio and Vanni are here to stay.

So is Grace.

With the three of them sharing the same house, Grace’s writing plans are thrown out the window. But even if she’s not pounding the keyboard, she’s still finding beauty and inspiration... in none other than Claudio. He's unlike any man Grace has met before. He’s smart, charming, and wickedly sexy, plus a great father to Vanni. He’d be the perfect summer fling – if only he wasn’t completely off-limits.

But as the hot Italian summer wears on, Grace and Claudio are destined to succumb to the heat, no matter how hard they try to resist each other. One steamy encounter with Claudio could affect Grace’s chances of starting her career over.

Or he could be exactly what she needs.

OUR REVIEW:

If One Hot Italian Summer isn't the perfect summer read, I don't know what is. This novel is so swoony and lush that you can't help but feel completely fulfilled and satisfied when you put it down. 

The love story of Grace and Claudio begins with one hell of a meet cute and it just is filled with smiles from that point on. Karina Halle writes Claudio as someone who is the epitome of heart, strength, vulnerability, and hot Italian man. SIDE NOTE: If I weren't married and we weren't in the midst of a global pandemic annnnd I had all the time and money in the world, I'd be jumping on the next plane to Italy to find my own Claudio. GAH. He was that wonderful. And with Grace? Well, a writer writing about a writer couldn't be more perfect. She captures the anxiety of trying to produce under a deadline when your muse isn't showing up...and then the blur of time that passes when she does and you're words are practically shooting out of your fingers. Grace was complex with her grief and her fear and her kindness and quiet but strong spirit--I really liked how she was written. I felt her grief and anxiety and I felt like I understood her fear and when she let herself let it all go? The wooosh of happy emotions were such a great payoff.

In addition to being a love story of Grace and Claudio, it was a love story of Italy. I've never wanted to visit a country more than I do now. I felt like I could feel the hot air, smell the roses and citrus, taste the pasta and wine, and see the world in shades of vibrant colors all because of Karina Halle. I swear one day she just needs to write a travel guide because she always makes me fall in love with the settings she writes about. 

A final random note, am I the only one picturing Karina Halle and her cutie poo husband as these characters? Not in a creepy way but in a tribute to how much they love each other. I could totally see Karina in her beautiful dresses and her husband concocting a delicious cocktail for her with Italy as their backdrop. If you don't believe me just go peep on her Instagram and you'll get it, I promise.

I'll end as I started: this really is a fantastic, sexy, swoony romance. It's the perfect summer escape--so grab a cocktail and prepare to fall in love.

  Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

   Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2X37Gpy

Amazon WW: http://mybook.to/OHIS

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/OHItalianSgr

Meet Karina

Karina Halle is a former travel writer, music journalist & screenwriter, and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal & USA Today Bestselling author of over 55 bestselling novels, ranging from horror and suspense to contemporary romance. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband, and her adopted pitbull Bruce, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books.

Halle is represented by the Root Literary Agency and is both self-published and published by Simon & Schuster, Hachette & Montlake. Her work has been translated and published in 20 languages. 

Hit her up on Instagram at @authorHalle, on Twitter at @MetalBlonde and on Facebook. You can also visit www.authorkarinahalle.com and sign up for the newsletter for news, excerpts, previews, private book signing sales and more.

Connect with Karina

Website: https://authorkarinahalle.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4785031.Karina_Halle

Amazon: https://amzn.to/31HMztJ

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Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/912577838806567/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorhalle/

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Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/karina-halle