One Hot Italian Summer

This summer is going to be a scorcher.

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1. ONE HOT ITALIAN SUMMER by Karina Halle

SYNOPSIS

After the death of her best friend and writing partner, Grace Harper is struggling both with grief and with her next novel, the first one she’ll have to write alone.

Fortunately, her new powerhouse agent, the formidable Jana Lee, has a solution for her. She can stay at her villa in Tuscany for a month, soak in the sunshine, relax, and find her confidence again. After all, Jana has a lot riding on Grace’s next book, and the last thing she wants is for her reputation as a ‘super-agent’ to be tarnished.

At first, the villa is a dream come true for Grace – that is until Claudio Romano shows up one day with his ten-year-old son, Vanni, in tow. Turns out, this is Claudio’s house, and Claudio happens to be her agent’s ex-husband from long ago. Thanks to their annual father and son bonding trip being canceled, Claudio and Vanni are here to stay. So is Grace.

With the three of them sharing the same house, Grace’s writing plans are thrown out the window. But even if she’s not pounding the keyboard, she’s still finding beauty and inspiration... in none other than Claudio. He’s unlike any man Grace has met before. He’s smart, charming, and wickedly sexy, plus a great father to Vanni. He’d be the perfect summer fling – if only he wasn’t completely off-limits.

But as the hot Italian summer wears on, Grace and Claudio are destined to succumb to the heat, no matter how hard they try to resist each other. One steamy encounter with Claudio could affect Grace’s chances of starting her career over. Or he could be exactly what she needs.

BOOK REVIEW

Karina Halle did it again and I’m not mad about it. The author never fails to amaze me by creating feel-good contemporary romances that are deliciously passionate, and yet adorably cute. One Hot Italian Summer was no exception. A forbidden love story between an awkward author with a writer’s block and a hot Italian single dad with an artistic soul. The main characters were extremely well-written. They had a particularly unique feel to them, especially Claudio (he felt very much Italian, I was pleasantly surprised). And I absolutely adored the stunning Tuscany setting for the story (I lived vicariously through Karina’s characters since CoVid ruined my summer as it did for millions of people all around the world).

The premise of the story seemed similar to that of Beach Read by Emily Henry. Grace Harper was going through grief after the loss of her best friend/co-author, accompanied by writer’s block and just general confusion as to what to do next with her life. So when her new agent offered her an escape from gloomy Scotland to beautiful Italy, Grace was all in for it. A change of scenery and some alone time were supposed to help with a muse. But it turned out that she had to live with a brainy kid and a moody artist in closed proximity, not exactly what she had signed for...

When I was around him, whatever zest and passion he has for life rubs off on me, until I see things the way he does, like the world is one big canvas waiting for me to paint it. Like I’m worthy of holding the brush.

Grace Harper was doomed to fall in love with Claudio Romano. She had no chance to resist the sexy artist from the very beginning. And she knew about it perfectly well but made a mistake to believe that to him, she was just a project, something to mold. Grace thought that she was like another piece of clay, ready for a transformation. When in reality, she was indeed the art Claudio desperately needed to unearth but at the same time, she was better than the art itself.

I know that encouraging any feelings toward a man that is completely off-limits is a bad idea and I’ve done what I can to ignore it, but it’s getting to the point where it’s a battle. A battle against my body. I don’t want to lust over Jana’s ex-husband—but I do. I don’t want to feel this bubbly sensation, like my body is flowing with sweet champagne. But I do.

Claudio Romano had that effect on women in general. But his connection with Grace was something one of a kind. Something that was destined to bless his life at some point after years of his sacrifices. I was in such an awe with his love for Vanni and respected the hell out of Claudio for his understanding of his ex-wife. I absolutely loved his artisticism and one-step-at-a-time approach to life. His sincerity and passion. What can one want more from a man of any girl’s dream?

“You ruin nothing. Don’t you see, Grace? You are everything to me. And I have a possessive heart. It wants only you.”

Claudio and Grace had undeniable chemistry together, scorchingly hot (SPOILER! The pottery scene from Ghost caused butterflies in my stomach). The sex drive was crazy. The ‘creativity’ was admirable, to say the least. The forbidden aspect only added to all the feels, having me crossing fingers in hopes for their genuine but very complicated love for one another to overcome everything (Grace’s low self-esteem, Claudio’s sincere passion, sort-of violated work ethics, family complications, and many more). Because the two just fit in such a way that it seemed terribly cruel that they had not found each other earlier. Because they already missed out on so much by not being together...

I genuinely enjoyed every single aspect of One Hot Italian Summer. Every single character alongside with the main couple was well-developed and interesting, especially Vanni (OMG how I adored that brainy kid). Vivid descriptions of Italian cuisine that made me drool over my iPad, exciting very touristic-like sightseeing and of course, free Italian lessons, made the story feel impressively real. I just couldn’t put this book down, and highly recommend all of you check this amazing summer read out! I cannot wait for more from Karina Halle!