Never Too Late by TA Williams

                                                                     Never Too Late   

By TA Williams 

SUMMARY

A second chance to realise her dreams..   A classically trained pianist, Steph works as a recording engineer for a small studio when she is offered a job of a lifetime. Travel to the Italian Riviera to help the world-famous band, Royalty record their reunion album after a decade-long hiatus. Steph could certainly do with the distraction. Her boyfriend, who happens to be her boss, is increasingly unreliable and erratic and she is waiting for news from her doctor after a recent biopsy. So an all-expense paid trip to Italy is the perfect escape. What she doesn't expect is an instant connection with the son of Royalty's lead singer. With her career and her heart at a crossroads, what path will Steph follow?

MY REVIEW:

The glamour of Hotel Portofino,  the sex, drugs and rock and roll life of the Osbournes and a twist in the plot from a Barbara Cartland novel to keep readers guessing although there was always going to be a happy ending! Never Too Late is a fusion of all of those, set in Italy! What’s not to like?  

The reader learns that a comeback album is going to be made by an aging rock band called Royalty who were as big as Pink Floyd or Queen in their day so our heroine, Stephanie,  a talented, beautiful half-Italian recording engineer is given the opportunity of a lifetime to assist in this project. 

It is an interesting story with unfolding layers. Perfectly plausible that burnt-out and faded rock stars should want to recreate those moments of adulation and fame and chase the high that rock music once gave them. However, sex drugs and floods of money have not always been the best ingredients to happy, contented family life as we learn throughout the story and there are undercurrents of sibling rivalry. Keith Bailey, the band’s leader, is renowned for his outrageous and difficult behaviour but as Steph arrives at his luxurious Italian villa, she wonders if she is going to like him and his entourage.

'Hopefully, Keith had mellowed with the passage of the years. She had met enough arrogant overpaid performers over the past few years to know that the prospect of spending up to a month among such people might not turn out to be a bed of roses'

As the story unveils itself, we take a liking to most of the characters and the bond which develops between Steph and the remaining band members.

The author mentions that one of the band, Vince the keyboard player took his own life which is how Steph, starts to fill the void, as a fill-in pianist for the new album. In subliminal undertones, the author comments that death was always part of the whole legacy, part of the deal with the devil that rock stars made. They partied hard, lived rough, lived the fullest of lives and made fantastic music, but many paid for it by dying young.

We can take a guess that the illusive handsome and musically talented son, Robert who lives in the house off the headland will be part of the story somehow and why not?

“Steph could not escape the fact that she found Keith’s younger son unexpectedly appealing, but she knew she would do well to steer clear of someone like Robert. Firstly, he was rich and famous and secondly because she was well aware of his reputation as a ‘donnailo’ or womaniser”

The romance which develops between the Robert and Steph is realistic and engaging. Although the author shows a clever use of a tried and tested ‘friends to lovers’ device by incorporating emotional conflict and a project which distracts them so they don’t get together until the end, there is however, emotional depth and vulnerability revealed in both characters.  Steph must fly back to London after a health scare and over dinner one night, Robert reveals his own insecurities.

“I’ve spent the last few years living a hedonistic lifestyle, an artificial, superficial life. That’s ok for a while, then the day comes when you realise there has to be more”

 

Why I recommend this book

Sig Williams excels at cosy storytelling and he really should have his own genre named uplifting escapism. He provides a gateway to another world that is different from yours,  a go-to when you just want to escape from your own reality. The author effortlessly blends the gorgeous Italian landscape and its alluring glamour with the indulgences and extravagance that fame brings.

The story does encompass serious themes albeit in a light-hearted way. The subject matter in this book is quite a clever play on the mystique of rock stars and their search for eternal youth. Rock stars live to perform. Their creativity and talent can never be suppressed and seek immortality in their music. The book has warmth and wisdom.

But as always, Sig Williams captures the intoxicating and authentic flavour of Italy, the lifestyle and that is not easy unless you have lived there.  Italians are passionate about life’s pleasures and the author excels in his descriptions of this hedonistic way of living.  Food represents the biggest expression of Italian culture as a way to enjoy and socialise around a nice meal, a festival, a family celebration, or an event.

'Beppe returned with a huge plate of hand-carved ham and salami. Along with it were slices of melon, fresh figs and a pot of goat’s cheese. He mumbled a quiet buon appetito and withdrew. Antipasti were followed by pappardelle ai Carciofi – wide strips of pasta covered in a creamy sauce made with fresh artichokes from Beppe’s garden'

Never Too Late is a comforting and enjoyable read.

 ‘Fiction can show you a different world. It can take you somewhere you've never been.  And escapist fiction is just that: fiction that opens a door, shows the sunlight outside, gives you a place to go.’

Neil Gaiman

 

AUTHOR BIO:

 TA Williams studied languages at university, then lived and worked in France and Switzerland before going to Italy for seven years as a teacher of English. He and his Italian wife returned to the UK with their little daughter (now long-since grown up) where he ran an English language school for many years. Now he lives in a sleepy little village in Devonshire. He has been writing almost all his life but it was only seven years ago that he finally managed to find a publisher who liked his work enough to offer him his first contract.

The fact that he writes escapist romance is something he still finds hard to explain. His early books were thrillers and historical novels. He says that maybe it’s because there are so many horrible things happening in the world today that he feels the need to provide something to cheer up his readers. His books provide escapism to some gorgeous locations.

Social Media Links –

Website: www.tawilliamsbooks.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/tawilliamsbooks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrevorWilliamsBooks/

 

BOOK BLURB:

Published by Canelo Escape (2 March 2023)

Paperback and e-book available on Amazon

 https://amzn.to/3IXWItN

OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR:

Second Chances in Chianti

Secrets on the Italian Island

Dreaming of Italy

Dreaming of Tuscany

Under a Sienna Sun

A Little Piece of Paradise

Dreaming of Rome

An Escape to Remember