Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Copyright: 2009

Pages: 384

Rating: 3.5/5

From the authors site:
Meet 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. In this luscious, contemporary family saga, the Angelini Shoe Company, makers of exquisite wedding shoes since 1903, is one of the last family-owned businesses in Greenwich Village. The company is on the verge of financial collapse. It falls to thirty-three-year old Valentine Roncalli, the talented and determined apprentice to her grandmother, the master artisan Teodora Angelini, to bring the family’s old-world craftsmanship into the twenty-first century and save the company from 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 f amily 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.

Book Review:
This is a book filled with laughs, sorrow, romance, and the love for your family and the love for shoes. They play a big part in this book and she presents those doing it the old fashioned way. A way that might be forgotten today. It’s the first book in a trilogy but it can be read as a standalone novel. The next book, Brava Valentine is out in February 2010.

Valentine gave up much to make shoes and she loves her job. It is what she was born to do. She a person easy to like for the reader, even if she herself does not always think so. She is the funnyone in her family, not the brain, not the beauty, and that has colored her. But she is in her best element when she is creative and making shoes. But it looks like the company might be going under, and they need help fast. A situation is presented that might give them a chance. She will be able to prove herself and make her family see that this is what she wants and is great at. The Angelini shoe company might live to see another day.

Trigiani knows how to write a compelling book. It has humor in hidden depths and it’s an easy book to read, but a hard book to put down. The family dynamics is real and they argue a lot, but they also love each other fiercely. Everything is not always that easy when it comes to family and love. Her grandmother is my favorite, she has spirit and she has a little story of her own in this book. A sweet story that is not to be missed.

The romance is not easy either in this book. It deals with real life and two very busy people. They hardly have time for each other and their budding romance. Valentine deserves her romance and even if this can be read as a standalone novel it does make you curious what will happen in the next one. How does the romance go, and what about their little shoe company? Because they do make the most remarkable shoes, and I do love shoes, and reading about them.

It’s a warm novel, and she knows what she is doing. She brings in a little of everything into the book so there is something for everyone and all ages. If you want some romance, some smiles, some hard times, and some shoes then this might be a book for you.


Thanks to Linda from Book Girl from Mur-y-Castell for this great review!