Roman Crazy

by Alice Clayton and Nina Bocci

A delicious, sexy, laugh-out-loud modern romance about a newly single woman and her journey to find love again, from New York Times bestselling author Alice Clayton and debut author Nina Bocci.

Avery Bardot steps off the plane in Rome, looking for a fresh start. She’s left behind a soon-to-be ex-husband in Boston and plans to spend the summer with her best friend Daisy, licking her wounds—and perhaps a gelato or two. But when her American-expat friend throws her a welcome party on her first night, Avery’s thrown for a loop when she sees a man she never thought she’d see again: Italian architect Marcello Bianchi.

Marcello was the man—the one who got away. And now her past is colliding with her present, a present where she should be mourning the loss of her marriage and—hey, that fettuccine is delicious! And so is Marcello…

Slipping easily into the good life of summertime in Rome, Avery spends her days exploring a city that makes art historians swoon, and her nights swooning over her unexpected what was old is new again romance. It’s heady, it’s fevered, it’s wanton, and it’s crazy. But could this really be her new life? Or is it just a temporary reprieve before returning to the land of twin-set cardigans and crustless sandwiches?

A celebration of great friendship, passionate romance, and wonderful food, Roman Crazy is a lighthearted story of second chances and living life to the fullest.

• ISBN10: 1501117645
• ISBN13: 9781501117640
• Publish Date: 13 September 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Gallery
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 Stars

I love a good second chance romance, and this, this was a stupendous second chance romance. Just when her marriage was crumbling, the universe reunites Avery with her one true love, Marcello. I love the idea of there still be time for them to have that happily ever after, that eluded them so many years before, and it was done so beautifully in this book. It was great to see Avery putting her needs first too. She compromised and sort of lost herself during her marriage, and this was her chance to reclaim her life for herself. So many things were worth highlighting, and the authors gifted me with such a lovely ending too. All the feels AND they took us on a tour of Rome as well. I adored it!

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[EBookObsessed]

This is the kind of story that points out just how much your life sucks. Hey, wait a minute…

I finally took the time to read Roman Crazy this summer and I while I enjoyed the story, I can’t help thinking that Avery’s new life in Italy is so incredible. So incredible that I end up feeling crappy about my own life and I was on vacation. Hey! I don’t often put down a romance and end up feeling bad about myself.

Avery is an attractive woman from a rich family. She marries her college sweetheart but she was meh about their relationship. She would have continued her life of meh except she walked in to find him having sex with his secretary. So Avery leaves him and decides it is time to go visit her best friend from college who is currently working in Italy.

Avery was an artist. It was a part of herself that she set aside to support her country club husband and become the perfect corporate wife. Once Avery arrives in Italy, it doesn’t take long before she wants to create once again. She also happens to have the necessary experience and credentials to volunteer on the project her friend is working on, uncovering frescos and restoring art. Avery is reborne and enjoying herself for the first time in years. (Grumpy Lucy says: Isn’t it nice to have the money to volunteer to do something you love and not worry about paying bills, etc.)

Of course, her first night in Italy, Avery and her friend, Daisy, go out to dinner with work friends and who shows up but gorgeous, Italian Marcello Bianchi and his beautiful date. Marcello turns out out to be the man who Avery had an affair with while taking courses in Spain during college. And yes, by affair, Avery was dating the man she eventual married and who cheated on her, but after bumping into young, sexy Marcello, they bonded and had lots of I’m-not-attending-my-classes-because-I-am-too-busy-having-sex sex. (So yes, it turns out that Avery cheated on the man she was divorcing because he was cheating. Hmmm.) At the end of the semester, Avery returns home to Boston and falls back into old habits with her soon to be husband while poor Marcello waits to hear from her.

Obviously, after being left behind, the reconnection between Marcello and Avery is a bit rocky and takes some time to get back to their perfect match that Avery walked away from all those years ago. But before Marcello and Avery start with the hot and sweaty “bonding” once again, Avery takes walking tours of Italy in between her volunteer days, where she sits around drawing lovely scenes of Italy while drinking fabulous wine and eating amazing Italian food.

Avery is so happy immersed in art and shagging Marcello, she is actually not walking around Italy, she is floating on a cloud of bliss. Avery’s cheating husband is the best thing that every happened to her.

It was an enjoyable story and I am certain it wasn’t their intention to make me jealous of fictitious characters, but Avery’s life was so over-the-top fabulous, it was hard not to be.

See more at EBookObsessed.com

[whisperingchapters]

This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.


Roman Crazy gave me a serious case of wanderlust! All I wanted was to pack my bags and disappear to Rome, and possibly live there. I had never read a book that gave such vivid details of a place that I had all my five senses involved in this story.

Avery finds her husband cheating on her with his secretary. When she talks to her best friend who's in Rome, she suggests that Avery should pack her bags and go to Rome. Avery does just that and falls in love with everything that Rome is. One night out with Daisy, her best friend, she sees Marcello for the first time in years. Marcello and her had met in Spain while she was abroad and what had started as something physical, turned to more, but Avery left and never came back. Now, Marcello is angry, hurt, but above all that, he wants Avery back.

There was always the tiniest nugget of hope that maybe someday, somehow, we'd cross paths. And in my optimistic daydreams, I never imagined that our unexpected reunion included me being on my ass on the floor in the middle of a dinner party.

Avery is a character that I immediately gravitated towards to. Her reaction to her husband cheating was priceless, and once she's in Rome, she lets her true self be free. Avery's character growth was so gratifying to read—from someone who had put a stop to her dreams to a woman who went after what she wanted and desired. Her passion for the art form could be felt off the pages. The way she would talk about any project she'd pick up to restore was of a woman who found appreciation in the smallest things and could see the bigger picture of what she could create with her hands.

Marcello was every bit of charming, charismatic, romantic, and totally swoon-worthy. He's so dedicated to his work. You could feel his enthusiasm when he would talk about Rome's culture or any project he was working on, just as Avery. They were the perfect fit!

Avery's best friend, Daisy, was a great friend. She encourages Avery to go after what she wants, which is art and Marcello. Daisy is a friend that anyone would love to have. She's very energetic and will always be there for you, no matter the time zone difference. I'm really hoping she will have her own book in this series!

The Italian setting was done to a perfection. I could taste and smell the food, I could feel myself walking on the streets of Rome with Avery and Daisy and hear all the chatter of the people surrounding them, especially at the market. I felt like I was restoring one of Avery's projects with my hands. It surprised me just how involved I was in this story. Not only did I feel like I could imagine everything with all the descriptions, I could feel like I was there!

Don't get me started on the food! Whenever I go to Rome, I'm taking Roman Crazy with me so I can visit all the restaurants, especially this coffee shop that Avery would go to pretty much every day. The descriptions of the food had me salivating! I got hungry on various occasions while reading this book. It's impossible not to! I'm also using this book as a guide. Not only that, I plan to do what Avery would do: arrive somewhere that she didn't know and just pick a direction at random. She saw so much of Rome that way so I'm taking notes.

Roman Crazy is a phenomenal second-chance story at love and life, and a woman's journey to go after her dreams. It will give you wanderlust, will make you hungry for all the Italian food, will have you laughing, will have you swooning. Alice and Nina wrote a fantastic start to Broads Abroad series.

I received a manuscript from the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.

[Cocktails and Books]

4.5 Cocktails

This book is everything I look forward to in a sexy romcon. Marcello is to die for ❤️ ❤️ Full review to come.