May Flowers at The Three Coins Inn by Kimberly Sullivan

 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 countryside, but will the inn’s atmosphere allow hurts to heal and friendships to blossom?

 

MY REVIEW:

Loved this! How tough it must be to write a character-driven book, yet the author has absolutely risen to this challenge.   She has created characters who are interesting, flawed, and relatable to keep the reader engaged, and she focuses on how the characters evolve internally.

This is the third book in the series, and I feel, the best. The premise of the series is about three women who meet up by chance in Rome at a 1950s movie night – Three Coins in A Fountain, a romantic comedy drama film, based on a famous legend that there are three key reasons for tossing coins into the Trevi. The first is that it will bring you back to Rome again, someday, and the others are that you will find love or romance while in Rome and happily marry there. Emma, Tiffany and Annarita form an unlikely friendship. 

Four years later, in Book 2, Emma is managing the Three Coins Inn while Annarita and her husband run the hotel’s cooking classes.

This then is our starting point, and what a beautiful setting we have. An idyllic small hotel in the charming Umbrian village of Tod with a spa, sauna, jacuzzi, offering massage treatments and cooking classes. Where do I book?

‘A small fountain gurgled. Flowerbeds boasted colourful tulips alongside lilies of the valley. The stone structure was perfectly maintained with Provencal blue shutters opened optimistically to guests. Above the inn, the town of Todi reared its medieval silhouette against heaven.’

A new set of guests checks in. Guests with personal and emotional struggles. Relationship breakdowns, unresolved past issues. All kinds of intriguing characters who feel as real as anyone you might meet at any retreat. Will the hotel's appealing charm and warm atmosphere captivate the guests, break down barriers and create an unforgettable experience?  Read on..

The author gives the background for each character, chapter by chapter, enriching and developing the story.

 We start with Lisa in upstate New York. She is having to attend the wedding of a fiancé who jilted her at the altar. Matt asks if they can stay friends. The betrayal and pain she feels are beautifully described with pathos and sensitivity.

‘Lisa felt the flame of anger burn within.  It was one thing to attend this wedding, one thing to put up with all the stares and looks of pity all night long, but now she had to embark on a friendship with a man who single-handedly ruined her life. She bit her lip. Why did he keep whittling down her dreams if he never planned on staying with her?’

Lisa is going to Italy to mend her broken heart.

Next is Antonio, a rather aged, cantankerous artist from Rome. He’s impatient, irascible, not a particularly likeable character. The author doesn’t want him to be. She describes him as a ‘sophisticated, world-weary Bohemian artist’ who, for most of his life, wore a mask to disguise his peasant and lowly upbringing. He has achieved fame and fortune, but there is some darkness in his past that has shaped his character. As the story unfolds, we discover what this is.

Another guest is Sharon, who lives a privileged life on the tenth floor of a luxury apartment on Fifth Avenue, who fills her days with charity events, designer shopping and running a household of cooks and nannies to take care of her son Josh. Her absentee husband has decided she needs to have a bonding holiday in Italy with her son. The author describes the feeling of disconnect with her nine-year-old brilliantly. It is the right tone, the right amount of coldness and emptiness to convey their relationship.

‘Josh, don’t let your food get cold.” Sharon watched him tuck into chicken and cornbread. Maria was an excellent cook, but Sharon did not feel hungry tonight.  Josh nodded without speaking, his attention focused on his food, his eyes not meeting hers as she spoke to him. Josh had never been a talkative boy, but the rift between them seemed to grow with each passing year, their dinners alone increasingly bathed in awkward silence.’

Shy, invisible Margherita. An author from Rome with writer's block and an anxiety disorder. Following the submission of a mediocre manuscript, her agent is putting pressure on her to ‘put herself out there and connect to the real world' which is clearly torture for anyone with borderline agoraphobia.

I really liked the fact that the story takes place in the present, but the author adds layers to the story by delving into the past of each person, chapter by chapter.  The past has an undeniable influence on our present lives, shaping our thoughts, behaviours, and emotions in profound ways, so weaving in different elements of the story creates depth, complexity, and engagement as we learn what shaped the characters from the past.  Antonio sets off into the fields before dawn each morning to paint. He is driven, focused and purposeful, but the reader needs to know why.

‘The fingers of light were multiplying. Still dark but ever lighter. Antonio sped along faster with the long strides of his youth. Painting in this place, he felt like a younger man. A better man. He wanted to replicate that feeling and hoped today he could paint a better canvas. With early rays warming his shoulders, he had no desire to ponder death. This was a place for youth, optimism and new beginnings.’

Margherita finds it difficult to interact with anyone, but her editor has asked her to observe people and listen to their conversations. This was the only way to create strong, memorable characters and improve the quality of her writing. Her anxiety is overwhelming.

‘She sat silently in a chair before a large window. She had been up for three hours, terrified to go down to the bustling breakfast room, jostled and nudged by fellow guests. Her blood pressure nudged up at the mere thought.’

Why has she always been the shy, lonely girl at school, the one no one picked for sports or class projects and had only books for friends? After the death of her beloved Nonna, she retreated further into herself and away from the world.

I am fully invested in wanting to know more about each character and to see how positive influences surround and empower the hotel guests.  Firstly, Emma, the hotel owner, focuses on a personalised service to ensure guest comfort and takes great care to create a welcoming and memorable environment. Another reason I know only too well is the Italian lifestyle. It has a magic that whispers to your soul, and the author has perfect descriptions of the Italian dolce vita sprinkled throughout the book. Sipping a Negroni in an Italian piazza is a quintessentially Italian experience, a perfect intersection of history, art, and sensory pleasure. Time slows down and slowly seduces people with past traumatic memories into a place where they no longer hold power over you. Again, lovely imagery from the author.

‘Patrizia, the tour guide, slipped on her sunglasses, looking like she was ready for a close-up of the cover of a lifestyle or travel magazine. Or maybe that’s just how everyone looked here. Not frazzled or worrying about bills or career moves but living in the moment.’

Booking a holiday at the Three Coins Inn is the common bond that brings the characters together; it helps build friendships that also seem to help with carving out some happiness that was missing from their lives, and the interaction doesn’t feel in any way forced or convenient. Friendships can sustain us through trauma, love changes after loss, and the guests begin to navigate the evolution of close relationships. The reader gets all of this from the story and more. 

 

Why I recommend this book:

Many years ago (in the 1990s), I was captivated by a book by Maeve Binchy called Evening Class. The narrative revolves around the transformative impact of an Italian class on a diverse group of people, ending in a trip to Italy. This for me, is why I absolutely loved this latest offering by Kimberly Sullivan. It's engrossing and driven by well-developed, relatable characters whose lives intersect at The Three Coins Inn. The tone is charming, reflective, and light-hearted, perfect for a cosy, heartwarming read. It focuses on personal discovery, the impact of a restorative holiday, and finding happiness and new beginnings. It's captivating, warm and about human connections and resilience.

It has many themes to draw in readers who perhaps have experienced something similar. It is a story which reminds us that we are strong enough to move forward through anything that seems impossible to overcome, and there is always hope in dark times. In Antonio, in particular, the author explores the irony and the lasting impact of past mistakes. For me, his story evokes the most compassion, but the author’s revealing insights into human nature give the book immediate appeal, as it requires a deep understanding of psychology and a consistent emotional vibe, rather than just planning out cool action scenes.

Todi is described with vivid imagery, and the author focuses on sensory details to illustrate the beauty of this Italian town.

‘Antonio had a perfect view up to medieval Todi, capturing the walled city in the glow of that perfect spring day, arched against a brilliant blue sky, enhanced by the swoop of sparrows through the air, the clanging of church bells, he couldn’t capture on the canvas but which he was certain, those who gazed on his canvas would hear in their heads.’

I feel this book would resonate with most readers who want to feel challenged, yet who want to feel comforted and reassured. You are transported into a vivid and beautiful world, where the character's emotions are authentic, and the story explores fundamental human experiences like love, loss, fear and resilience.

‘Do not be afraid; our fate cannot be taken from us; it is a gift"

(Dante Alighieri)

 

AUTHOR BIO:

Kimberly is the award-winning writer of six novels and one short story collection. Kimberly is also the co-editor of two historical fiction anthologies in the Feisty Deeds series. She writes the women’s fiction stories she loves to read, both contemporary and historic tales of women and the rich lives they lead along their journeys of self-discovery. A lifetime admirer and longtime resident of Italy, Kimberly is often guilty of sneaking the bel paese into her stories.

Purchase Links

Amazon US: Amazon.com: May Flowers at The Three Coins Inn eBook : Sullivan, Kimberly : Kindle Store

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0GLTQ967Q

All links: May Flowers at The Three Coins Inn | Kimberly Sullivan

Until 31^st May you can purchase May Flowers at the Three Coins Inn for a special release price of 99 cent/99 pence.

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Goodreads: Kimberly Sullivan (Author of Dark Blue Waves) | Goodreads

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OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR:

Three Coins (Oct 2021)

Easter at The Three Coins Inn (Dec 2024)

In the Shadow of the Apennines (Oct 2022)

Drink Wine and Be Beautiful: Short Stories (May 2023)

Rome's Last Noble Palace ( Dec 2023)