"Sex and the City meets Moonlighting" raved People magazine and that praise, coupled with the name Adriana Trigiani, is enough for me to rush to pick up her latest book, the first in a new trilogy, Very Valentine. In VV, Trigiani introduces us to the Roncalli and Angelini families, a vibrant cast of colorful characters who navigate tricky family dynamics with hilarity and brio, from magical Manhattan to the picturesque hills of bella Italia. The Angelini family owns the venerable Angelini Shoe Company, a maker of fine wedding shoes, and one of the last family-owned businsses in Greenwich Village. Thirty-three year old Valentine Roncalli is trying to bring the business into the 21st century and save it from financial ruin.
While juggling a budding romance with dashing chef Roman Falconi, her duty to her family, and a design challenge presented by a prestigious department store, Valentine returns to Italy with her grandmother to learn new techniques and seek one-of-a-kind materials for building a pair of glorious shoes to beat their rivals. There, in Tuscany, Naples, and on the Isle of Capri, a family secret is revealed as Valentine discovers her artistic voice and much more, turning her life and the family business upside down in ways she never expected. Very Valentine is a sumptuous treat, a journey of dreams fulfilled, a celebration of love and loss filled with Trigiani's trademark heart and humor.
Trigiani is a book club favorite. She's the first author who really took the author-calling-in-to-a-book-group concept and ran with it, making many calls, famously, while in her pjs and doing the laundry. Her novels, including the Big Stone Gap Trilogy and Lucia, Lucia (which I read on my honeymoon) are all reading group favorites.
Very Valentine is the perfect book for this Valentine's Week--why not ask your honey to pick it up for you along with a box of chocolate and bottle of good wine? If you don't want to rely on him, here's a chance to win the book along with a signed poster of the cover: Post a comment about your favorite Trigiani novel and I will pick ten random winners from all the comments received by midnight Thursday February 12th to receive the book and poster!
Hear about Adriana's inspiration for this new triology in her tour of Greenwich Village below. Catch her on tour near you, and browse inside the book now!
Book Club Girl is: a member of a book club and an avid reader who spent most of her childhood immersed in a book, an English major who considered library school until she realized it was all about computers, so turned to publishing, where she now works (but she vows to talk about books from all over and not to simply flog those from her own house). She was single, lived in the city, met a man, moved to the 'burbs, and is now a wife, a stepmother, a mother, and in her spare time, a fledgling blogger dedicated to sharing great books, news and tips with book club girls everywhere.
My Review Policy
I review fiction and nonfiction that is appropriate for book clubs. This includes literary and some women's commercial fiction as well as memoir and narrative nonfiction. I do not review self-help, thrillers, mysteries, horror, or fantasy. I have a fondness for YA literature and while the blog is not devoted to it (well, except for my obsession with the Betsy-Tacy series), I will occasionally review some YA books. The best way to reach me to request a review is to email me at bookclubgirl AT gmail DOT com.
