I really struggled to finish this book. In my opinion, it was too wordy and it did not hold my attention. I was intrigued initially by the blurb but the story seemed to drag on and on without ever really going anywhere. I appreciate the opportunity to read the book and look forward to reading more books from Atria.

This was an okay read. I thought the story was a bit long, and tended to drag as well. Therefore, the story was a bit boring at times. I thought that the characters were okay. I did not love them, or dislike them. I did not feel relatable to them. The ending was good, but I thought it could have been better. I think the author, Andrea De Carlo, has potential. I cannot wait to see what he writes next. Overall, an alright read.

"Imperfect Delight" is extremely wordy. So much that it is hard to follow and remain engaged. I suspect this may be because it is a translation from Italian to English, a language that usually more concise. For those that can, I suggest trying this book in Italian or translated to a language more compatible with this style, like Spanish.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have chosen not to finish or review this title. As always, I appreciate the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. Unfortunately, I am not able to rate the book favorably and have chosen to leave the book unfinished.
Thank you,
Laura

Milena was a gelato maker who had her own shop and thinking how it was easy to tell the tourist season was over. Then the lights went out and there was no power in the gelateria or anywhere in the town. Maria went back inside as she shared a puzzled look with her assistant Guadalupe. Maria decides to dish up her gelato and pass it out before it no longer good but not many seemed to care for her gelato not like tourist season. Then Maria got a call from a foreign lady who said she had heard some amazing things about her gelato and proceeds to read an article by Liam Bradford who was a fine food blogger . then she gives Maria an order for ten two pound containers of gelato to be delivered and she hurries to tell Guadalupe to help her fill the order for the gelato. Nick drives his motorized tricycle along the path in the olive trees . He is hung over from the night before. The motorized tricycle was a gift from Italy -probably thinking it would be used in a photoshoot or music video of Nick's. Nick life seems to be made up of paradoxes. Nick is getting a feeling of imminent catastrophe with the electricity being out completely in the whole town. Over the course of his career with the band he could have died several times - from overdose, suffocating in his own vomit, drowning in a pool or many other ways.
I could not get into this book at all. It just wouldn’t keep my attention I tried to put it down and came back to it a couple different times but still didn’t hold my interest

The plot of the story is too long in my opinion, the main part starts after the middle of the novel.
What I like about the book is it is written in a few different languages.
Hopefully, the author will improve next book.

I had major difficulties with this - even with the promising blurb.... An aging rocker on the far side of disillusionment with the whole "career' thing, a lesbian couple with one's passion for gelato-creation being unheard by her partner, the dual point of view and the plot - which actually went nowhere for most of the book. I could have lived with all of those issues - multiple perspectives, a somewhat trite set of 'relationship and personal' challenges for every character, even the lack of connection that each character seemed to have to their partners, and to their own 'concerns' - but it was over-written and too many elements kept adding to the complexity - most of which went no where and didn't actually serve a purpose to the overall story. The book read like a first novel, and I think that the actual 'intrigue' in the title was lost in translation - where much of the nuance didn't come over as intended. That being said - I don't feel as if I should review this book as I stopped at about 50% and didn't have any urge, after a few days away - to return.

Not sure why but this didn't gel for me. There's a lot of elements- a British rocker and his fiancé planning their wedding, a charity concert, a lesbian gelato maker and her partner who are about to try for a baby, and well, then things get turned around. It just seemed as though DeCarlo was throwing too many issues at a lovely setting in Provence. I liked Milena and Viviane but Nick and Aileen not so much. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I really thought I was going to love this book. Once I started reading it, I got a little bogged down in the wordiness of it. I felt as if the author was going on and on about something and then 15 paragraphs later would come back to what we were originally reading about. I loved the story idea and wanted to really love the book, but I just didn't love it. Setting was perfection, and who doesn't love gelato, but the almost overwriting caused me to just want to finish the book and move on to another one.

I would try the author again but this book just was not for me.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to review.