The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani
Harper
2012
Format: Paperback, 470 pages

First Line: The scalloped hem on Caterina Lazzari’s blue velvet coat grazed the fresh-fallen snow, leaving a pale pink path on the bricks as she walked across the empty piazza.

From the inside cover: The fateful first meeting of Enza and Ciro takes place amid the haunting majesty of the Italian Alps at the turn of the last century. Still teenagers, they are separated when Ciro is banished from his village and sent to hide in New York’s Little Italy, apprenticed to a shoemaker, leaving a bereft Enza behind. But when her own family faces disaster, she, too, is forced to emigrate to America. Though destiny will reunite the star-crossed lovers, it will, just as abruptly, separate them once again- sending Ciro off to serve in World War I, while Enza is drawn into the glamorous world of the opera…and into the life of the international singing sensation Enrico Caruso. Still, Enza and Ciro have been touched by fate- and, ultimately, the power of their love will change their lives forever.

A riveting historical epic of love and family, war and loss, risk and destiny, inspired by the author’s own family history, The Shoemaker’s Wife is the novel Adriana Trigiani was born to write.

My Thoughts: This book enveloped me from the moment I turned to the first page. It was my first time reading Trigiani and I had a hard time putting it down from beginning to end. The characters are so relatable and captivating. They give off a sense of realness, like you have known them before. The story follows the love story of Ciro Lazzari and Enza Ravanelli through their childhood struggles, heartaches, immigration to American, the Great War, illness, and new beginnings.

Ciro and Enza fall in love from the moment they meet at age fifteen. They are torn apart when Ciro is forced to emigrate to American and work as an apprentice to a shoemaker where he learns a new trade that he thoroughly enjoys and will later become his profession.  Enza chooses to go to America with her father to make a better life for their family but falls ill on the voyage over seas. Ciro and Enza are reunited when Ciro runs into Enza and her father, Marco, at the hospital. They are broken up and reunited by fate several times throughout the story, but after serving America in the war, Ciro comes back ready to steal Enza’s heart once and for all, by making her his. Once he arrives home, he realizes he is almost too late when he hears Enza is about to be married to another man. He finds her in the nick of time and makes her his. They decide to move to Minnesota with friends, Luigi and Pappina, to be shoemakers and create a new life with each other. Will they ever make it back to their mountain in Italy? You will have to read for yourself.

If you like historical fiction, and romance novels, this book is for you. It was an enjoyable read for me. I loved hearing a piece of history and it intrigues me how our ancestors immigrated to America and all the hardships they went through to build this beautiful country that we so often take for granted. I give this book 5 stars and think you should all add it to your reading list. I am a new fan of Adriana Trigiani and thank her for sharing this story so close to her heart and letting us in to her family history.

(I purchased this book)

Happy reading!

-LC

Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts
Pages: 306

First Line: Grief came in waves, hard and choppy, buffeting and breaking the heart.

The Bride quartet series follows four best friends – Mackensie, Emma, Laurel, and Parker – through their love stories. When they played wedding day as children, they never dreamed they would one day own a successful wedding business named Vows. Happy Ever After follows Parker Brown, the ring leader of the four friends.

Parker Brown is extremely organized, prompt, and always put together, so when she falls for her brother’s friend and mechanic, Malcolm Kavanaugh, she is caught off guard. Parker has become very good at making others happy, but struggles when it comes to her own happiness and romance. She has a hard time figuring out Mal because he is not exactly an open book, but Parker figures out how to peel back the layers. Malcolm realizes that Parker has made him a better person and is the one he wants to spend his life with. At times their relationship is aggravating, and at others it’s amusing. This is a beautiful and honest love story of two people taking a risk and betting on love.

I was reluctant to start this book as I did not want this series to end. You fall in love with the characters and will feel like the girls could  be your friends.  If you have never thought about being a wedding planner, you will after reading the Bride Quartet. If you’re a hopeless romantic, you will love reading this feel-good series.

Peace, Love, and Books,
-LC

I love to read all kinds of books but mostly “girly fiction” (as I call it) and mystery novels. One of the reasons I decided to create this blog was so I could talk about and review the books I have read. So here goes my first review.

Safe Haven is a romantic novel about a woman and man coming together after heartbreaks, larger than most people have to deal with, and creating a beautiful love story. I was literally on the edge of my seat while reading this book and found myself cheering at the end. I definitely recommend this book to all women – after all, what woman doesn’t want to read a book that includes make-ups, break-ups, abuse, death, love, secret identities, and romanticism?

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks
Pages: 292

First Line: For Dawson Cole, the hallucinations began after the explosion on the platform, on the day he should have died.

The Best of Me is a story about high school sweethearts breaking up over matters out of their control and reuniting years later when a mutual friend passes away. The book ends in tragedy, like several of Sparks’ other novels. This book is too sad for my taste. I don’t like crying throughout a story and feeling depressed when it ends. However, that is exactly how this book made me feel. 


What are your thoughts?

Peace, Love and Books,
-LC