Chasing the Italian Dream by Jo Thomas #BlogTour

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?

From the bestselling author of Escape to the French Farmhouse comes a
deliciously feel-good story about making your dreams come true.

My Thoughts

I have read all of Jo Thomas’ books and fallen in love with each and every one of them, so when given the opportunity to read this latest novel I jumped at the chance!.

Chasing the Italian Dream takes us on an adventure with Lucia – who has been working herself hard for years as a lawyer, desperately seeking the promotion to partner within the law firm she gives her all to every day. Knowing she has done all that she can to earn this promotion – which she has already earnt twice over in my opinion! – Lucia decides to take a break to Italy, visiting her much loved grandparents.

But when Lucia arrives in Southern Italy where her grandparents reside, there are many shocks awaiting her – the biggest one being the return of her estranged husband Giacomo – someone who she has managed to avoid for quite some time now, following their romance fizzling away.

Alongside this, Lucia also learns that Giacomo has reappeared in her life with the sole purpose of taking over the pizzeria that her Nonno has owned his entire life. Realising he is at the point of retirement, and with no son to pass the family business on to, Nonno decides that Giacomo is the next best thing – after all, he is still a part of their family as Lucia’s husband.

But Lucia is far from happy with this arrangement, and the situation seems to give her the push that she needed to realise that her heart is not in her current job as a a lawyer – it is in fact fully invested in keeping her families legacy alive here in Italy. Deciding that it is only fair to give them both a fair chance, Lucia and Giacomo must work alongside each other to prove they are the right person for the job.

I absolutely adored this story from the very beginning. Jo Thomas has such an immersive writing style that makes you feel as though you are living within the world in which she has created. The characters are authentic and well developed, each of them having flaws and difficulties to overcome – factors in which make them all the more human. The setting was an absolute dream, which once again was brought to life wonderfully by the author – I could certainly picture myself taking a much needed break there too!.

A gorgeous, heartwarming story that has you hooked to the very end. I adored this book!.

About the Author

*Thank you to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours, Transworld Books and Jo Thomas for providing me with an ARC of this book in return for my honest review. All thoughts are entirely my own and not influenced in any way.*