Enjoyed this more than I actually thought I might! The setting, mostly in Lake Garda, sounded absolutely idyllic and was so descriptive I felt like I had visited myself.

Brie is a best-selling romance author, her books are packed with sex and romance and I loved that it was made very clear to other authors (& the readers of this book!) that as much research and effort goes into writing them as an historical novel for example. Anyway - I digress - Brie is called upon to join Arran Jamieson at his luscious villa near Lake Garda as a last-minute replacement for a writer's retreat. The idea being that fellow authors or aspiring writers visit and have masterclasses with both Arran and Brie as well as some epic sightseeing.

I have neglected to tell you that Arran is also an author but is struggling with some of the romance in his story as it is not his forte so his agent, Carrie, has deliberately sent Brie (Carrie is also her agent) to assist not only with the retreat but also with polishing off some of Arran's story. The effort that clearly goes into not only writing the story in the first instance but then the editing and re-reading process before it even goes to your agent and prospective publisher is immense and was an eye-opener that I really appreciated.

Along the way Brie and Arran fall for one another, I loved their romance and Arran, despite saying he was not romantic, really made me swoon!

There were supposed to be 4x 1-week retreats run consecutively but halfway through the novel we were still being treated to the first retreat and those guests and it started to make me wonder if the story was going to be rushed as I knew Brie was going to have to return to the UK but what about Arran? Could she really leave him behind?

As much as I enjoyed reading about the retreats, Brie's dad ends up in hospital and she has to return home quickly to be with him which gave the story a turning point. This also gave the opportunity to see if their relationship was the real deal and not just a whimsical holiday romance- you got the feeling from the outset this one was special though.

I adored this whole story, it was simply perfect and I felt like I was learning so much along the way too so it was quite educational both in terms of writing and Italy itself! I couldn't recommend this enough, what are you waiting for?! Please pick up this heart-warming, romantic and very interesting novel!

My many thanks to Aria and NetGalley for providing me with this advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was first drawn to the cover. Who wouldn't like that appealing cover? I cannot understand the covers of some of the stories I read. So drab, so unreasonable for want of a better description.

Brie Middleton is a successful author of romance fiction, hot dashing heroes and steamy love scenes. Her personal life is in a shambles right now. Let down by a boyfriend who was more interested in image than her sterling qualities, he wanted sexy arm candy and when her weight started ballooning he ditched her. Brie went into hibernation, could hardly write and had no self confidence at all.

Her agent pushes her to go into a working conference in Salo, Italy helping out a fellow author in a crisis. How meeting Arran, working again with other writers and to be authors helped Brie to change her life around. She found a new love, a new focus in her life and it helped that the setting was so idyllic.

This book ticks so many boxes for me, As someone who has always wanted to write a book, I found this on a separate level to be a fantastic insight into the life of a writer, irrespective of the main story.

The story revolves around Brie, a bestselling author of steamy romances, whose family and friends stage an intervention after a messy and very public break up leads to her losing her way and becoming more reclusive than was healthy for her. As she begins to rebuild her life, she is sent by her agent Carrie to assist as a teacher on a writing retreat, set in an idyllic villa in Italy, working alongside the owner, fellow writer and historian, Arran.

I found both characters complex, because they both had issues which made them multi-dimensional and very interesting, but it was also really nice to get to know the participants on the writing retreat too. I don't think I've ever read a book where one of the main characters is a writer and their writing processes are considered in such detail, so I loved the way you could see Brie develop the two books she was writing at the same time, and how people in her real life inspired her characters.

If you want to read a book that is both fascinating, and a feel good romance, then this book is for you. It certainly was for me!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Aria for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this book because I was curious to read how the Lake Garda was represented and I can say the writer did a very good job.
On a general level and it's a pleasant and entertaining read, a feel good book that works wonderfully when you need some good escapism.
I liked the style of writing and I liked the characters.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Aria and Netgalley for this ARC

I really enjoyed this book, the story of two authors finding love while running a writing workshop on Lake Garda was engaging and well written. The setting was gorgeous and evocative and the characters believable. Thank you!

This has to be a dream book for a book lover, or anyone with any sorts of writing aspirations, or those who love Italy, or sexy heroes, or just an all around fabulous story.

I have no idea where to start in waxing lyrical about all aspects of this book, I really don't think I could fault anything.

I mean Brie is a romance writer that verges more towards the hot and steamy side of things, but her real life persona is a lot quieter, she is struggling after a rather high profile break up, to the extent her friends and family need to stage an intervention.

Throughout the book we get to know a lot about her writing process, and how the characters come to life in her head. She is writing two books at the same time, and gets involved in another one too, so that is a lot of Brie's fictional characters we get to know as she writes her books.

Thankfully, unlike some books where authors are the main characters, there isn't a full book within a book style approach here, which I am grateful of, as I always find it confusing, and besides hearing about the creative process was far more interesting to me.

The book really gets going when she takes over last minute as a teacher on a writing retreat for a month in Lake Garda, Italy. Such a stunning inspirational location, and the Villa which is so central to the story is owned by the rather more academic author Arran, who is not at all like Brie was imagining.

I loved getting to know the participants for the first week of the writing retreat, and also learning all about Arran too. Not to mention the gorgeous backdrop, interesting information about publishing from some of the workshops, plus Carrie - both Brie and Arran's agent, the Italian food, the couple of planned excursions.

And yet you may be thinking I'm portraying a rather simple book - but that couldn't be further from the truth as both Arran and Brie are complex characters, with all manner of things in their backgrounds that are influencing how they are.

Plus Arran is instrumental to so many of they key story lines. I couldn't get enough of our pair of authors, and was always eager to return, when real life dragged me away from the book.

Words... or at least my words can not do this book justice. You really need go read it for yourself to fully enjoy its wonderfulness!

Thank you to Netgalley and Aria for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This is definitely a feel good book. Easy to read, hard to put down. Makes me want to go to Italy. Luckily I have been to Lake Garda, so I could easily envision where they were and there side trip to Verona. Loved the characters of Brie and Arran.

Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
I felt this book lacked substance and direction safely not for me

A very sweet cosy romance. Brie and Aaran seemed to fit well together. Id be interested in reading more about the supporting characters.

I really enjoy Lucy's style of writing, it's quite formal in a way but at the same time really relatable. With this new one set in Italy it was so sunshiny and overall just really enjoyable and easy to read. This wasn't my overall favourite of Lucy's but it was still a nice read.

A simply beautiful love story about a woman who chose to live rather than exist. Because of that, she opened her heart and mind and in doing so, created a life far better than the love stories she writes about. I would read this many times.

I had been really looking forward to reading this book. But I just found it difficult to read from the word go. It was very long winded and I found it boring. It just wasn’t the book for me sadly