Published 12 Feb 2018

Description

A feel-good story of self-discovery and love in the face of grief, join Mia in the beautiful Italian island of Ischia.

Since her mother died when Mia was a child, her dad has been her best friend and her idol. Now, the cancer he survived years before is back, and this time there’s no fighting it. To make matters worse her dad’s last request is for Mia to leave him and visit her mother’s family on the Italian island of Ischia so she doesn’t have to be there at the end.

Arriving at the sun-soaked island, Mia is embraced by the warm, crazy family she doesn’t know. While she waits for the phone to ring with the dreaded news, Mia desperately looks for a connection to the mother she never knew. Stumbling upon an antique shop run by the charming Antonio and his grouchy but handsome grandson Salvatore, she throws herself into helping with the shop restoration. As Mia and Salvatore’s bickering soon turns to chemistry, will she risk having her heart broken when she knows what’s waiting for her at home?

Thoughts

The setting of this book, the Italian Island of Ischia, caught my eye as I had been there a few years ago whilst on holiday near Sorrento. It is a beautiful island and somewhere I would happily visit again. Like to know more? a Guide to Ischia.

Mia is sent to Ischia by her father as he nears the end of his life when the cancer he once survived returns. She feels she has to honour his last request to her but is not happy to be sent to family she barely knows having only met them once before, shortly after her mother’s death, when she was a child. Only one member of the family – her mothers sister – knows why she is visiting.

There is a lot about loss. The loss of her mother, the imminent loss of her father, the loss of her dream to become an archaeologist. We see how she misses Savvy, her closest friend, who has moved away; how she misses Jacques, who is back in London, whilst on Ischia. We see that Mia seems no longer to be herself she is angry, yes, sad and somewhat thoughtless but then as time on Ischia goes by things change. She meets Antonio, who knows quite a bit about her mother, and his grandson Salvatore, she gets to know her Italian family, she finds her love of antiquities is rekindling her passion for archeology. And then there’s Salvatore. And then she makes some life-changing decisions. A story of loss, yes, but also of finding, of hope and of new beginnings – a gift from a father to his daughter.

A well written book with a wonderfully light hand allowing what could have been a torrid read to become softer, understanding that life goes on around you even through the sad times, that you can have happy times in the midst of the bad and that is OK.

Also, it reminded me of a wonderful holiday filled with happy memories.

Rating: 3.5*

With thanks to Canelo via NetGalley for an eARC in return fo an honest opinion.

Information

First published in the United Kingdom in 2018 by Canelo Canelo Digital Publishing Limited.

If you love Prosecco and Promises, why not read more about Mia’s best friend Savvy in Cocktails and Dreams? Out now!  Look for more great books at www.canelo.co

ISBN 9781911591313

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Author:  A.L. Michael is the author of 10 novels. Her most recent collection of books, The Martini Club Series, started with Cocktails and Dreams, to be followed by Prosecco and Promises, and Martinis and Memories. She likes to write about difficult women. Well, they say to write what you know. Andi works as a content writer, as well as a therapeutic facilitator. She has a bunch of degrees in stuff to do with writing, and wrote her MSc dissertation on the power of creative writing in eating disorder recovery. She truly believes stories can change your life.She is represented by Madeleine Milburn Agency, and you’ll be seeing a lot more from her in 2018.

http://www.almichael.com
@almichael_
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