Sunflower Publishing Book Reviews

    A Venice Summer   By Lynne Shelby SUMMARY: Art conservator Rose Bennet is still reeling from a bad break-up when she is offered a dream job in Venice, restoring an art collection in the Ca’ D’Ambra, a six-hundred-year-old Venetian palazzo. Despite her fears about travelling to a foreign country on her own, Rose is soon heading to Italy for the summer. While she is awestruck by the breathtaking beauty of Venice, Rose finds the owner of the palazzo, the arrogant and short-tempered Luca Casserini, insufferable. When he questions her ability to do her work, she almost heads straight back to London, but decides that she won’t let herself be intimidated or driven away before she’s even had a chance to ride in a gondola. Losing her way in Venice’s picturesque maze of canals and alleyways, the last person Rose wants to see is her employer, but when they meet by chance and, to her surprise, he offers to show her around the city, she feels it would be churlish to re...

    Italian Rules   By Tom Benjamin   SUMMARY: When Hollywood comes to Bologna, La Dolce Vita turns into sweet murder... A famous Hollywood director arrives in Bologna to remake a cult film, and the city's renowned cinema archive decides to mark the occasion with a screening of the original... only to discover it has disappeared. After English detective Daniel Leicester follows the trail of Love on a Razorblade to an apparent murder-suicide, he begins to suspect there may be more at stake than just missing negatives - could the film contain a clue to one of the city's most enduring mysteries? Together with a Hollywood star from the upcoming remake, Daniel moves from the glamour of Venice Lido to the depths of Bologna's secret tunnel system as a sinister network closes in. Daniel is about to learn that, for the ultimate 'director's cut', some people are ready to kill.   TERRI’S REVIEW:   What do you get when Hollywood movie elit...

 May Flowers at The Three Coins Inn  by Kimberly Sullivan   SUMMARY: Glorious spring has arrived in Todi. Will friendship and hope blossom as well? After a successful seasonal opening in April, friends Emma and Annarita are eager to welcome a new set of guests to their Umbrian inn during the full bloom of May. Upstate New Yorker Lisa needs an escape from betrayal and the prying eyes of her small-town neighbours. Elderly, reclusive artist Antonio hopes leaving Milan for a country sojourn will spark his long-dormant creative muse. Manhattan socialite mother Sharon grudgingly embarks on a country holiday with her young son, Josh, with whom she shares few interests. Roman author Margherita prefers time spent alone, but her career may depend on a stay in bucolic Todi among fellow guests. And Emma and Annarita are anxious to embrace their close friend Tiffany on her brief stay in the heart of Umbria. The swallows may have returned, and colourful petals now dot the c...

    Il Lupo By Gregory Alexander Sharp SUMMARY: When Nick Frobisher's father reveals he is dying, Nick reconnects with his old friend Charlie Mortimer. Now wracked with grief, Nick invites Charlie to join him on a trip to the Amalfi Coast in Italy. When they arrive, it becomes clear that Charlie suffers with anxiety and panic attacks, yet a self-medicating Frobisher steers them into harm's way. Bar fights, a night in the cells, drunken behaviour, and Charlie's anxiety only increases. Just when it seems things can't go much worse, they do, as Nick and Charlie find themselves confronting a man who is believed to be a werewolf. This man's name is Telemaco Russo, and wherever he goes, trouble follows. Now, with the full moon approaching, Charlie must find a way to protect those he loves, and save his own soul - but first, he must take on Telemaco, and somehow survive the experience. And what of Fredo Esposito? Fredo is a man whose family has been decimated by...

    Gently Jolene By Angela  Scipioni SUMMARY: Have you ever dreamed of starting over in a new place? Jolene acted on that dream, and now she’s travelling to Italy on a one-way ticket. Jolene is a woman in her prime, brimming with hope for her future despite a broken marriage, a failed business venture, and the loss of her parents. Eager to leave her past disappointments behind, Jolene takes a leap of faith and accepts Filippo’s unexpected proposal to travel back to Italy’s fabled Cinque Terre with him. Thrilled at the prospect of a new life with her new love in one of the world’s most enchanting travel destinations, Jolene can't wait to begin the adventure of working alongside Filippo at Locanda Luisa, his family’s hotel in the village of Manarola. On her arrival, Jolene enthusiastically throws herself into learning the Italian language, adapting to the Ligurian culture, and figuring out how to relate to her future in-laws. But as she explores t...