MADreads

Love, Italian style

March 2nd, 2009 Lesley - Central

Very Valentine, the first in a new trilogy from bestseller author Adriana Trigiani (Big Stone Gap), features the Roncalli/Angelini family of Manhattan’s Greenwich Village.  33-year-old Valentine, the middle sister referred to as the “funny one” since childhood, finds herself living with her 80-year-old grandmother, Teodora Angelini, in an apartment above the family’s struggling wedding shoe business.  Valentine’s engagement and career as a teacher ended in disappointment and she is ready to start over learning the family business.

The Angelini Shoe Company founded by her grandfather in 1903 is in financial trouble and Valentine needs a plan to keep her older brother Albert from selling the building for a quick profit.  A solution presents itself in the form of a contest among area businesses to design wedding shoes for an upcoming window display at the Bergdorf-Goodman store on Fifth Ave.  In the midst of Valentine’s busy life in the shop, she meets restaurateur Roman Falconi, whose many hours at the popular Ca’ d’Oro leave little room for romance.

Very Valentine is really a love story; not only romantic love but love of family, tradition and Old World craftsmanship in the 21st century.  The many colorful characters made for a fun book and I’m glad to know that there are two more planned featuring the Roncalli/Angelini clan.

Entry Filed under: Recreational Fiction, Romance