Dreaming of Florence- T A Williams

I’m delighted to be a part of the blog tour for Dreaming of Florence, by T A Williams, published by Canelo on 8th January 2018.

When Debbie Waterson’s bicycle crashes into handsome doctor Pierluigi, she wonders if her luck has changed. Determinedly single after ending a long relationship, at last, a man worth bumping into!

Inspired to visit Florence, she soon runs headlong into that old foe: reality. But is Pierluigi the man of her dreams? Then there’s her booze obsessed boss, his forbidding secretary and her noisy inconsiderate neighbours. But could her luck be about to change? Will she find love after all?

 

With thanks to the author and the publisher for my ARC.

Review:

As a self-confessed Italophile, anything with the promise of a return (albeit metaphorical) to this spellbinding country is certain to catch my eye.

The main character, Debbie Waterson, is an English teacher who has hankered over visiting Florence for years after missing out on a school trip to the Italian city as a child. While her dreams are filled with the idyllic image she has created in her mind, as yet, she has never dared to visit in case it fails to live up to her expectations.

When she encounters Pierluigi one afternoon, after cycling into him in the midst of a daydream and discovers that he hails from the city of her dreams, her passion to finally pay a visit is ignited. When problems arise at work and her job comes under threat, she sees it as the perfect opportunity to make her dream a reality.

Accepting a job in an international school, Debbie makes a bold move and changes the course of her life in ways she would never have imagined.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable novel. The author, T A Williams, evokes a vivid picture of Florence and its beauty in his descriptions, effortlessly transporting the reader there even if they have never been themselves. Details of tourist areas, wine, food and culture are seamlessly woven into the narrative.

Debbie’s journey encourages us all to realise our dreams and take that courageous step, even when things seem uncertain and we are not sure what the outcome will be. A deliciously easy read.

Alice in Brexitland- Lucien Young

This has to be one of my favourite reads of 2017! Filled with satire and contemporary humour, this is a marvellous Brexit twist on a classic tale.

Lying on a riverbank on a lazy summer’s afternoon – 23rd June 2016, to be precise – Alice spots a flustered-looking white rabbit called Dave calling for a referendum. Following him down a rabbit-hole, she emerges into a strange new land, where up is down, black is white, experts are fools and fools are experts…

The punchy narrative is enhanced through the fabulous illustrations which leave little doubt as to the intended characters and the ‘immigration’ scene where Alice finds her motives questioned is poignantly relevant in the current climate.

And then there’s Trumpty Dumpty; a man who ‘had orange skin, squinty eyes and a puckered little mouth that reminded Alice of her cat’s bottom. On top of all this lay a thatch of golden hair, much the same colour as Alice’s, but of a texture that she had never seen before.’

The ‘poems’ lend an authentic nod to the original text but with a uniquely relevant slant.

This is certainly a must-read, especially if you want a laugh-out-loud experience!

 

Small Great Things- Jodi Picoult

Picoult rarely strays from tackling difficult subjects in her novels and this latest offering is no exception.

Ruth Jefferson is a nurse on a maternity ward in a hospital in Connecticut, who finds herself relieved from her duties when she goes to check on a new-born. The parents are white supremacists who have taken exception to the fact she is African-American and refuse to allow her to care for their child. The following day, the infant goes into cardiac arrest and Ruth is the only person present. Does she intervene or comply with the parents’ request?

What follows is a thrilling legal case as Ruth finds herself imprisoned, charged with a crime only she knows whether she committed. When she is told by her white attorney, Kennedy McQuarrie, that mentioning the race issue in court is not likely to pay dividends, Ruth is placed in an almost impossible situation.

An impeccable narrative which tackles a raft of thorny issues and challenges the reader to consider the key themes of race, justice, privilege and prejudice, this is Picoult at her very best.

A real page-turner!