Florence Legacy by Lauraine Snelling

 

Wouldn't it be fun to be gifted a trip to Italy? In Lauraine Snelling's latest book, The Florence Legacy, Breeanna Lindstrom has always dreamed of taking a trip to Italy to see "the David." Breeanna had trips planned with her writing friends a couple of times in the past but they fell through. Then her friend Jade passed away and left Breeanna and her friends in the writing group the money to finally take the trip.

Pierre-Rene Dubois is a widower with a dream of opening a coffee shop that will specialize in helping veterans. He is Breeanna's neighbor's brother-in-law--and he speaks several languages. Before leaving for her trip, Breeanna and Pierre meet and then work together to make sure Breeanna can speak some of the language she will need on her trip. Besides the language lessons, there are some sparks of interest between the two. But can they make a relationship work with all the two have going on in their lives?

The Florence Legacy is a character driven novel with a lot of setting description along with characters with real problems. I enjoyed meeting Pierre and Breeanna. Also, their friends and families. It was interesting to follow along with Breeanna on their trip to Italy as Snelling offers her rich descriptions of the adventures they had there. As a foodie, I especially enjoyed following along on their cooking class and restaurant adventures. I equally enjoyed watching Pierre set up his coffee shop and the challenges that went along with that. I didn't like Breeanna's daughter, Jessica, at first but I felt she had matured quite a bit as the book progressed and that seemed realistic.

I think the modern-day struggles between the characters and their families seemed fairly realistic. The trip also seemed to be fairly realistic although I have never been to Italy. There were places that the book moved slowly for me, but I think that happens in character driven novels sometimes. I felt The Florence Legacy had a satisfying conclusion and I did enjoy much of it but it was not a fast read for me.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Loyally Luke by Pepper Basham

Image
  Loyally, Luke by Pepper Basham is the third book in the epistolary series following Authentically, Izzy and Positively, Penelope.I have been anxiously awaiting this book and pretty much squealed when it came in the mail! Luke Edgewood is a guy who works in the construction industry and has remodeling skills. He wears flannel and he likes his dogs and he likes his sisters--but he isn't romantic like they are. Or so he says.In Loyally, Luke, Luke goes to Skymar to work a construction job on a orphanage that happens to be in a castle. He also has a run-in with a Princess as he comes in to the country with a migraine in desparate need of coffee--so yeah, that didn't go so well. Later, he finds out that the Grace Kelly look-alike coffee snob is also his co-worker on the orphanage project.Thus begins his own adventure in Skymar, following Izzy and Penelope.  I really enjoyed Loyally, Luke . I enjoyed this whole series. I do think the series is best enjoyed read in order to truly a...
Read more

Love Overboard by Shannon Sue Dunlap

Image
Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Love Overboard by Shannon Sue Dunlap, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours ! My Review: Four older women retire and live year-round on a cruise ship. Together, they are called The Shippers, and they are the matchmakers on the ship. Lacey Anderson is the ship's hostess and Jonathan King is the Cruise director of the ship. Lacey and Jonathan knew each other from another ship. Sparks fly but there are some complications that seem to be difficult to overcome--but The Shippers are a determined group of ladies. At the same time, there is a mystery of who is smuggling cocaine on the cruise line. Are they on this ship? Love Overboard offers a mix of romance, humor, and mystery to the reader. I enjoy older people so I especially liked The Shippers in this book. I also was rooting for Lacey and Jonathan. I enjoyed getting to know the ship crew as well as the other characters. There was a couple of twists near the end of the book that I didn't ...
Read more

Essential Speed Reading Techniques: How to become a Better, Faster Reader by Katya Seberson

Image
Essential Speed Reading Techniques by Katya Seberson is a small book that could pack a big punch in your reading life. Essential Speed Reading Techniques starts out by explaining what speed reading is and what it is not. If you thought speed reading was just skimming a book like I did, Seberson will define what it really means in this book and how to use it to your full advantage. While I read this book, I am not yet a better, faster reader. I am improving, but as the author shares, this is a process that takes time and is a skill worth learning. Seberson offers both advice and practice exercises in this book to help you learn and grow into the reader you want to be. I was impressed with Essential Speed Reading Techniques . I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone who wants to be a better reader. I think that as I use the techniques in this book that I will continue to improve in both my reading time and my comprehension. Essential Speed Reading Techniques releas...
Read more