Ciao Bella!

While we’re in the mood to immerse ourselves in La Bella Vita, and all good things Italian, I did some research on romance novels set in Italy and personally hand-picked a few I think look amazing.

I haven’t actually read most of these, but judging by the descriptions and ratings, I’m going to! I’ve added all eleven to my to-be-read file in Goodreads. You can follow me there by clicking on the link in the sidebar. I feel a binge coming on.

So, just for fun, here’s the list. They’re all romances, but I’ve included classics, contemporary, historical, paranormal, time travel, young adult, romantic suspense and even redacted Shakespeare. I hope you find something to interest you and this list will inspire your reading.

Arrivaderci!

Breathing Room by Susan Elizabeth Phillips 4.2 star rating

“She’s Dr. Isabel Favor, America’s diva of self-help.
He’s Ren Gage, Hollywood’s favorite villain.
Sometimes you just know that God has a sense of humor.”

Classic SEP absurdity, with fun and games to spare, I’ll bet.

 

Rosamanti by Noelle Clark 4.6 star rating

Mystery author Sarah Halliman answers a newspaper advertisement—For lease: Isolated villa on Capri, Italy. Must love cats and heads to Italy, where she gets know the locals and solves a mystery.

 

The Italian Wedding by Nicky Pellegrino 4.3 star rating

“Pieta Martinelli’s sister is getting married…As Pieta stitches and beads her sister’s wedding gown she uncovers the secrets that have made her family what it is and that stand between her and happiness.” A family drama and coming of age story.

 

A Room with a View by E M Forster 4.1 star rating

A social comedy set in Florence, Italy, and Surrey, England. Its heroine, Lucy Honeychurch, struggling against straitlaced Victorian attitudes of arrogance, narrow-mindedness and snobbery, falls in love-while on holiday in Italy-with the socially unsuitable George Emerson. A classic.

The Visitant by Megan Chance 3.8 star rating

Elena Spira is sent to Venice to escape disgrace and to atone by caring for the ailing Samuel Farber. At the crumbling and decaying Ca’ Basilio palazzo Elena finds herself entangled in a world where the past seeps into the present and nothing is as it seems. A Venetian historical ghost story. Sounds Gothic!

From Italy with Love by Jules Wake 4.5 star rating

‘This epic road-trip is full of glamour, romance and sizzling sexual tension, but at its heart is a truly heart-warming tale of self discovery.”

 

Juliet by Ann Fortier 4.1 star rating

“When Julie Jacobs inherits a key to a safety deposit box in Siena, Italy, she is told it will lead her to an old family treasure. Soon she is launched on a winding and perilous journey into the history of her ancestor Giulietta, whose legendary love for a young man named Romeo rocked the foundations of medieval Siena.”

The Lost Art of Second Chances by Courtney Hunt 4.5 stars

“When Lucy Parker’s eccentric grandmother, Belladonna, dies, she leaves one last request. Lucy must return a beloved painting to a mysterious man in Italy, leading her on a journey into the past to discover long-buried family secrets that could change everything.”

 

Homeport by Nora Roberts 4.4 star rating

“An art expert and a thief get caught in a dangerous game in this novel of daring deception and desire from #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts.”

 

The Juliet Club by Suzanne Harper 3.8 star rating

Kate Sanderson spends the summer abroad studying Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in Verona, Italy where she is thrown together with five other teens in the Juliet Club. Can Kate’s cool logic withstand the most romantic summer ever? YA

 

In My Lady’s Shadow (Lady of Asolo) by Siobhan Daiko 4.5 star rating

Fern’s vacation in Italy turns into a nightmare when she’s snatched back in time and lives the life of Cecilia, lady in waiting to Queen Caterina Corner. Time travel!

 

Let me know if you’ve picked up any of these books, or even if you’ve already read them. Tell me what you thought of it in the comment section below. And if you connect with me on Goodreads, give me a shout out to let me know where you found me.