Gently Jolene by Angela Scipioni

  

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 the Cinque Terre’s cliffside vineyards, hikes up and down its spectacular trails and swims in its crystalline waters, Jolene also stumbles upon bits and pieces of disconcerting information. As her misgivings multiply, she grows more and more determined to discover the truth, and her quest ultimately lands her at the center of a family drama for which she is utterly unprepared.

Gently, Jolene is the inspiring story of every woman's need to hope, of learning how to let go of the past, take a second chance, and find the courage to follow her heart's path. If you love Italy and have enjoyed stories such as the classic A Room With a View, or Eat, Pray, Love and Under the Tuscan Sun, Gently, Jolene is a must-read.

As an American living in the Italian Riviera, Angela Scipioni writes with rare authenticity and insight about the pitfalls of multicultural romance and contemporary family life in Italy. She is co-author of the highly acclaimed Iris & Lily novel series.

 This review has been kindly submitted by Terri Mastrobuono

TERRI’S REVIEW:

Gently Jolene opens with a scene on an aeroplane that reveals Jolene’s deep fear of flying. Whether intentional or not, it calls to mind the feminist book by Erica Jong titled with these last three words. I found this to be apt, since Jolene subsequently confronts her metaphorical fear of flying in the unfolding relationship with her travel partner, a dashing Italian man with entrepreneurial dreams. 

Jolene is winging her way to the town of Manarolo in the Cinque Terre, the boyhood home of her fiancé, Filippo Garaventi. Once there, they plan to marry, renovate his parents’ outdated restaurant and hotel and offer their services to the hordes of tourists that visit the Cinque Terre yearly. Filippo is a driven and ambitious soul. Jolene is full of hope and excitement about realising her own ambitions by working with him to create a homey, family-run business.  Soon after arriving, however, Jolene begins to realise the difficulty in navigating the complexities of family dynamics, cultural acclimation, and the fishbowl world of a small local community. As she wends her way through these challenges, Jolene begins to wonder if all is not as it seems with her fiancé and his family. There are indications that Filippo is perhaps not who she thought he was. Jolene is a slow learner in this respect. The reader must have patience while travelling with her on her journey. But, like waiting to slowly warm up in front of a cosy fire, the time is worth it. Jolene is an affable enough protagonist that we are willing to stand by her through her adventures and discoveries, rooting for her all the way. 

The Cinque Terre, with its tourist veneer, has never appealed to me. However, Angela Scipioni’s skilful writing takes us beyond the surface of the towns and deep into the authentic life of the people who live there permanently: those who have built and maintained that life for generations. I appreciated and enjoyed her accounts of the fishing culture, the work of building the vineyards and harvesting their grapes, and the hard, yet loving work of running a restaurant. In them, you recognise the inhabitants of so many small Italian towns. The characters felt universal and authentic. They are easy to connect to, and Jolene provides the link to all of them as we follow her and them through the story. I would have liked, however, to have seen a greater arc in their development over the course of the book. The sum of Jolene’s discoveries makes up for this and provides what I found to be a satisfying and moving ending. 

 

 

AUTHOR BIO:

Making her entrance during a January blizzard in Rochester, NY, Angela Scipioni was born the seventh in a not-yet-completed lineup of snot-nosed, scraggly children. Like generations of romantically inclined young women before her, during a trip to Italy, Angela fell in love with everything. Instantly won over by the country's climate, its astonishing natural and artistic beauty, its people, language, flavours and flair, she knew this was a place to which she would return. Not yet 21, she was enchanted by fantasies of life in this sunny world filled with love and adventure - including a tall, dark and handsome Italian man. Within a year, she moved to Italy to live out her own fairy story, complete with happy ending. Well, more or less.

Angela's novel, Gently, Jolene, explores not only the beauty and lifestyle she seeks to embrace in Italy's fabled Cinque Terre, but her own coming to terms with the gaps between hope and disappointment, expectations and reality. Having lived in the Liguria region for many years, Angela's firsthand knowledge provides readers with a deeply descriptive experience of some of Italy's best-loved destinations, making every read a journey.

BOOK BLURB:

Scipioni Enterprises LLC

 OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR:

Three decades and many twists later, from her adoptive home in Camogli, a small Ligurian town in the vicinity of Portofino, the Cinque Terre, and Genoa, she co-authored the novel Iris & Lily with her sister, Julie Scipioni, working long-distance across the Atlantic for four full years. Though both women have been passionate writers throughout their lives, Iris & Lily is their first novel, a family saga told in alternating voices, and spanning four decades.

Iris & Lily is a three-book series available in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook formats. A special triple-decker ebook edition containing all three books is available as Iris & Lily: The Complete Series. Thanks to its international success in the English language, in June 2022, the Italian publishing house Baldini+Castoldi released Book One of the series in Italian, under the title Iris & Lily Due Sorelle. L'età dei Sogni, available both as a paperback and ebook.

For more information about Iris & Lily and Gently, Jolene, visit http://www.angelascipioni.com