Chasing the Italian Dream cover art

Chasing the Italian Dream

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Chasing the Italian Dream

By: Jo Thomas
Narrated by: Gwyneth Keyworth
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

From the best-selling author comes a deliciously feel-good story about making your dreams come true, set in sun-kissed southern Italy.

A summer escape she'll never forget....

Lucia has worked hard as a lawyer in Wales, aiming for a big promotion she hopes will shortly come her way. Finally taking a well-earned break at her grandparents' house in southern Italy, the sunshine, lemon trees and her nonna's mouth-watering cooking make her instantly feel at home.

But she's shocked to learn that her grandfather is retiring from the beloved family pizzeria and will need to sell. Lucia can't bear the thought of the place changing hands - especially when she discovers her not-quite-ex-husband, Giacomo, wants to take it over!

Then bad news from home forces Lucia to re-evaluate what she wants from life. Is this her chance to carry on the family tradition and finally follow her dreams?

Perfect escapism from the author of Escape to the French Farmhouse and The Honey Farm on the Hill.

©2021 Jo Thomas (P)2021 Penguin Audio Contemporary Contemporary Romance Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Romance Women's Fiction Dream Italy France Feel-Good Wales

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All stars
Most relevant  
My family are from a village outside of naples, this story brought back so many memories and nostalgia I was crying in every chapter. What a beautiful story!!!!! x

Nostagic

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Very frustrating and self absorbed main character. it's good writing that can provoke a reaction like this but infuriating all the same.

Very frustrating

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I listened to this over several days and was whisked away from some crappy English weather to the warmth and sunshine of Naples. The book brought technicolour to a dank, grey weekend and conjured the aromas of gorgeous Italian foods. A sweet easy listen ... great narration too.

Curl up in the Italian sunshine

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I like anything Italian but I knew the ending almost before the end of the first chapter. The reader had lovely Welsh and Italian accents and read well. That’s the best I can say about it.

I persevered

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Don’t waste your time on this book. I bought it as I was going on holiday to Italy and fancied a story that took me there. It did that, to be fair, and I enjoyed the detailed references to the Italian food. But that’s where the positives ended.

The story was so boring and predictable. It was soooo repetitive; with everything spelt out over and over, as if the reader needs spoon feeding. There wasn’t much plot to speak of and I guessed the schmaltzy ending from early on. The characters were bland and unbelievable, and the main protagonist was so annoyingly pathetic. The writing was clunky and unintelligent, with no nuance. And the underlying concept - that a woman couldn’t be taken seriously as a head chef in this day and age - was frankly ridiculous, which rendered the whole story pointless. Don’t bother.

Don’t bother :(

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This was formulaic and predictable. It was possible to predict the ending from hearing the first half an hour of the book. Lightweight and boring in the extreme.

Predictable

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