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How is your day going?’ Rafaella asked as she began wiping down the table where she’d just been working. Philippa considered Rafaella’s words. ‘You think they’re well suited?’ she asked directly, though she had asked this question many times before, and always received the same answer. Nonsense, that can wait.’ Salvatore waved away his wife’s words. ‘The wedding will take care of itself, everything is in hand.’ Carina had lived here all her life – except for her university days studying business in London – and her existence had been a charmed one. She and Giorgio had grown up together and it seemed natural that their friendship would blossom into something more as they matured into adolescence, with the accompanying rush of hormones. It was a union strongly encouraged by their parents, and Carina felt the weight of expectation – that it was their destiny to unite the two wine dynasties. They would marry at her family’s palatial hillside property in Amalfi: the Villa Amore.
PDF / EPUB File Name: Secrets_of_the_Villa_Amore_-_Carol_Kirkwood.pdf, Secrets_of_the_Villa_Amore_-_Carol_Kirkwood.epub I came to tell you both the news,’ Salvatore announced. ‘I’ve signed a deal with Heritage Estates. They’ve agreed to be the exclusive distributor for Casa di Russo across the whole of North America, with an agreement to increase the supply year on year over the next decade. We’ll have to expand the vineyard and increase production, but this is what we’ve been working for, yes? It secures our future – for the whole family, but especially for you, number one daughter,’ he told Carina.The book is set around Carina's wedding to Giogio, her childhood sweetheart. Carina knows in her heart that something is not right but feels that the two families are expecting this union to bring their vineyards together.
The writing style is easy, almost too easy, and highly simplified. While this adds to the pace, it doesn’t evoke enough emotions to connect with the characters. Still, I wanted Giorgio to get his due for being an absolute douchebag, so one character did inspire strong emotions in me. The parallels between Phillipa and Carina’s lives are interesting. Though it doesn’t do justice to their ‘intelligence’, it offers a little something to ponder about in a mother-daughter relationship. (Not sure if this was intended, but anyhoo). Jon said: "It is indeed, Carol. And Nina. We are going to be talking about - people might be reading books over the bank holiday... Read More Related Articles Her eyes were drawn beyond the vineyard to the Avella mountains beyond; seeing their majesty and beauty never failed to lift her spirits.
Summary
The two soldiers had fled along with the others, peeling off down an alleyway, their hearts heaving in their chests as they concealed themselves in a doorway, the whistles of the carabinieri could be heard close by. It’s Bianca,’ she explained, naming Carina’s wedding planner. ‘You need to decide about the stemware for the champagne reception. Flutes or coupes?’ To summarize, Secrets of the Villa Amore is an easy and light read despite the complex plot. It’s nothing great or memorable, though. A time pass read.
Can’t it wait until later?’ Philippa interjected, her voice taking on a firmer edge. ‘We were discussing the wedding.’ Then he ran too, and kept on running, and didn’t stop until he was far away from that dreadful moment. BBC Breakfast weather host Carol Kirkwood made a huge career announcement on Wednesday, revealing that she's writing another book.Carina stiffened, knowing her mother would react like this. ‘Yes, and I’ve just had the same conversation with him, but there’s nothing he can do.’ Sono sorpreso ! You were always supportive of him, and you knew he had to build up his business. I think you would have understood, as Carina does.’
Carina had a sharp business brain too, and her father had rewarded her devotion to the company by making her brand director of Casa di Russo. She’d more than risen to the challenge, recently overseeing an international campaign with Brad Pitt to raise the company’s profile in the US. It had been a huge investment, but Carina had convinced her father it would pay off in terms of brand awareness and sales. Now it seemed she’d been proved right, and she was thrilled. Whenever Philippa tried to talk to him about Carina and Giorgio, Salvatore shut her down immediately. He seemed determined that this wedding should go ahead, as did Rafaella, and Philippa couldn’t understand why it was so important to them or why she felt that everyone was in on something apart from her. In all the years she’d lived with the Russo family, she had never felt excluded once. Now, for the first time, she was starting to feel like an outsider. Glancing out of the kitchen window, she saw Salvatore and Carina stroll across the terrace, passing the fountain with its statue of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and festivity, on their way to the vineyards beyond. Sometimes, Philippa felt that she loved and hated those grapes in equal measure. Yes, they had given her a wonderful life, with two beautiful houses, holidays to the South of France and the Seychelles, as well as the opportunity to mingle with interesting and cultured people, but it felt as though she was forever coming second to a pile of fruit – at least in her husband’s eyes. It seemed to be a theme with the men in her life, she thought wryly. Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins UK (Fiction), for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.Rafaella shook her head. ‘It was a long time ago, it doesn’t matter now . . . after the war—’ She clamped her lips tightly shut. ‘No, this is not the time.’ And went about her kneading with renewed gusto. The Scots presenter was getting on with her usual day job when she let slip to viewers she's got another exciting project on the go. I have read a couple of Carol's books before and I really enjoyed this one. There were bits that I found a bit disappointing but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book.
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