another post seeking recommendations

[Anonymous]

Other hen-lit authors I enjoy are Catherine Mckenzie and Katherine Center. Also loved Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a book called, "One Italian Summer" by Rebecca Serle.

It is about a woman whose mom died recently. The woman goes on vacation to Italy and sees her 30 year old mom there.

I haven't read it yet. I have just seen it on my library website and thought it seemed appealing.

This was a sweet book, not mind blowing, but easy to read.

Happy Place by Emily Henry is really good.

Beautiful Ruins is a wonderful book that takes place in Italy.

[Anonymous]

Have you read The Hating Game? If not, I think it is just what you are looking for.

[Anonymous]

OP here, thank you all!

[Anonymous]

The Housemaid
The Housemaid's Secret (sequel)

[Anonymous]

The Villa is set in Italy.

[Anonymous]

Here is one that surprised me and my MIL, who recommended it after picking it up randomly at a garage sale: Playing for Pizza by John Grisham. Neither of us read Grisham, and neither of us are US football fans, but this is a very sweet book that left both of us with the warm fuzzies. I read it on vacation at my ILs’ cabin. Short and sweet holiday read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m going to Tuscany this summer, and looking for some fun books to read while there (and on the plane).

I enjoy “chick-lit.” I enjoyed the early books from Emily Giffin, Nancy Thayer, Sophia Kinsella, but somewhere along the way they lost my interest… whether they became too formulaic or I outgrew them, I’m not sure. I really enjoyed What Alice Forgot and The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty (didn’t read but enjoyed Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers miniseries), but a lot of goodreads reviews don’t give me confidence in many of her other books. I know Elin Hildebrand is recommended a lot, but I could never get into her books. And while not chick-lit, I’ve enjoyed a lot of Nick Hornby books.

I also enjoy mysteries, particularly ones with a lot of character development, though I’m having a hard time coming up with a list of these. I also like thrillers like Gone Girl, Girl on the Train, etc. but I’m not sure I want a thriller for this trip. I’d rather have a lighthearted mystery. Finlay Donovan is Killing It is on the list of possibilities.

I've enjoyed plenty of other fiction books, but I’m essentially looking for a beach/vacation read type book, bonus points if it’s set in Europe.

FYI, we have similar tastes and I didn't finish that book because I hated the main character so I gave up about halfway through (and I almost never do that!).

I agree with you on Emily Giffin and Sophie Kinsella - I'm over them now.

Have you ever read Jodi Picoult? I just went on a bit of a JP kick and I really enjoyed Mad Honey, The Book of Two Ways, and the Storyteller. Wish You Were Here was also good but it wasn't as "deep" as the other ones. I did NOT enjoy Sing You Home (and didn't finish it - I swear I really don't give up that often!). The best book of hers (not a particularly easy read) I think is Small Great Things.

In terms of Liane Moriarty, I think her best two are the ones you read plus Big Little Lies (I actually didn't love Nine Perfect Strangers as a book but really enjoyed the miniseries). I liked Three Wishes and Truly Madly Guilty as well as The Hypnotist's Love Story and The Last Anniversary. I didn't like Apples Never Fall, but most people I know did.

Have you ever tried Lauren Weisberger? The most famous is The Devil Wears Prada, which was good, but When Life Gives You Lululemons, Chasing Harry Winston, and Everyone Worth Knowing were also good. I did not like Where The Grass is Green and the Girls Are Pretty, for what that's worth.

Another author you may like is Jennifer Weiner. I enjoyed The Summer Place, Mrs. Everything, and That Summer, but didn't love Big Summer.

I've never really gotten into Elin Hilderbrand, although her books are constantly on my wish lists, but I did really enjoy The Identicals. I'm going to check out other books of hers at some point.

As for mysteries set in Europe, have you read Wrong Place Wrong Time? That was quite good. I also enjoyed The Night She Disappeared. I have read two of Lucy Foley's books (The Guest List and The Hunting Party) and didn't really like either of them, although they are both murder mysteries set in Great Britain. The Family Holiday is another European mystery. It was pretty good. Finally, Ruth Ware writes British mysteries. I liked It Girl well enough. It wasn't a favorite but I liked it enough to want to check out more of her books.

Lastly, Kate Quinn wrote The Rose Code and The Alice Network, both of which take place in Europe during WWII (and other times). I LOVED both of these. Full disclosure - I did NOT like The Huntress, so I'm not batting 1000 with her.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all so much! And a special thanks to 10:55 for connecting all the dots for me for the various authors and books!

[Anonymous]

It’s old (like this post), but I just returned from Italy, and picked up The Reluctant Tuscan to read along the way.

It is definitely light, but I enjoyed how it helped me consider why life is different there than here.

Does anyone have suggestions for well written travel books? (Romance and an older female protagonist would be a bonus!)

[Anonymous]

If you go to Tuscany, you must read “Under the Tuscan Sun,” a memoir about restoring an old villa!

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza

Sara Marsala barely knows who she is anymore after the failure of her business and marriage. On top of that, her beloved great-aunt Rosie passes away, leaving Sara bereft with grief. But Aunt Rosie’s death also opens an escape from her life and a window into the past by way of a plane ticket to Sicily, a deed to a possibly valuable plot of land, and a bombshell family secret. Rosie believes Sara’s great-grandmother Serafina, the family matriarch who was left behind while her husband worked in America, didn’t die of illness as family lore has it . . . she was murdered.

Thus begins a twist-filled adventure that takes Sara all over the picturesque Italian countryside as she races to solve a mystery and learn the story of Serafina—a feisty and headstrong young woman in the early 1900s thrust into motherhood in her teens, who fought for a better life not just for herself but for all the women of her small village. Unsurprisingly the more she challenges the status quo, the more she finds herself in danger.

As Sara discovers more about Serafina, she also realizes she is coming head-to-head with the same menacing forces that took down her great-grandmother. At once an immersive multigenerational mystery and an ode to the undaunted heroism of everyday women, The Sicilian Inheritance is an atmospheric, page-turning delight.