4.0 ⭐
Take a 352 page vacation to Italy this summer! 🍋 🇮🇹

If you like descriptive writing, self-reliant leads, supportive and healthy relationships with supporting characters, as well as a sweet romance, It Takes a Villa is your book. This book takes place in Italy and does a wonderful job at transporting its readers to such a beautiful country. One of the most memorable aspects of this book for me was the residents of Zavona; Blades' characterization of the characters, from our leads to the side characters, helped to create a vivid picture in my mind. I loved the short but often sweet moments Natalie would have with shop owners or workers, namely the furniture shop owner and the Fiorello brothers. It made it feel as though we were getting to know the locals alongside Natalie. I also appreciated how the book was written in a dual, third person point of view.

It Takes a Villa started off a bit slowly as Natalie tried to settle in, and it wasn't until her first interaction with Pietro that I was fully drawn in. I feel as though the synopsis on Goodreads can be a bit misleading. (Minor spoilers ahead!) I was expecting at least a minor enemies-to-lovers from the descriptions of Pietro "critically watching her every move" and how he "reluctantly agrees to pitch in," but this was not really the case. In fact, Pietro seemed to be rather willing to help her once he (quickly) got over an early moment of frustration with his father. It was a surprise, but honestly, ended up being a welcome one. I really liked the supportive friendship and relationship between Pietro and Natalie. The dual point of view allowed us to see some very adorable thoughts from the two of them, especially Pietro. It was so cute to see how enamoured Pietro was with Natalie, and the things he said about her to himself was very endearing. Although, the ending of this book did feel a bit abrupt. I hadn't realized I was almost on the epilogue until... well, I was on the first page of the epilogue! There were some missing moments and conversations which I felt were built up towards, but were never truly addressed/resolved. It was nice to see a resolution of Natalie's family mystery though, albeit perhaps a tiny anti-climatic, and I do wish we got to see Pietro propose since it was mentioned enough times.

In regards to the more "steamy" scenes, this is a romance novel, so it should not be surprising there will be some in it. Frankly, I was even expecting the scenes to be more descriptive than they were. Compared to other books in this genre, the sex scenes in this book were very tame. Most of these moments received quick mentions/summaries, as well as the fade-to-black treatment. I do not think this a bad thing – many people prefer the fade-to-black.

Overall, I really enjoyed It Takes a Villa! I highlighted many romantic lines on my Kobo... I have many memorable quotes to refer back to when I want to relive this charming, sweet romance. 💕

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own! :)

3.5 Stars!

It Takes a Villa transports readers to the beautiful and unforgettable Amalfi Coast where Natalie has just gotten herself the deal of a lifetime. Armed with a 6-month renovation plan and a detailed spreadsheet, Natalie’s ready to make her dreams come true. However, with local architect, Pietro, watching her every move, things don’t go quite as planned.

It Takes a Villa pulled me in from the very first page. I loved the idea of this story and all of the complications that could arise from renovating in a foreign country. I thought the author did a really good job with her description of things and found it very easy to visualize everything.

I adored Natalie’s ambition. She was tough and didn’t let much knock her down. Pietro loves his hometown and will do whatever it takes to stop renovators from ruining his town. Together, I thought that Pietro and Natalie had some wonderful chemistry. I enjoyed the tension between the two of them. If I had any complaints it would be the slow-burning romance. I’m not the biggest fan of slow burns, but when done right, I really find them enjoyable. Unfortunately, this one didn’t work for me. In other words, the slow burn was too slow for this reader.

Overall, I thought this book was an ok read. I enjoyed the setting, the renovation drama, and the intrigue along the way. The chemistry and tension between Pietro and Natalie was on point, but for me, the slow burn fell flat.

*I was provided an ARC copy of this book via the publisher & NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review*

This was a sweet, quick read. Natalie fulfills her dream of purchasing a villa in Italy to renovate. We get to experience the process with her and her new friends. I enjoyed that she was an independent woman taking on many of the reno projects herself. Pietro is the dreamy Italian who tries to rescue her, even when she doesn’t always need it.

I enjoyed the cast of characters and the beautiful setting. There is a family tradition with lemons that is sweet. The writing style was wonderful. There was also a separate story dealing with Natalie’s grandmother and an inheritance, which added an extra layer.

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Grams and Natalie had a dream to go to Italy and buy a Villa. Grams lived in Italy years ago and that's where she met Natalie's Grandfather. Now both Grams and the Grandfather are gone and Natalie has decided to go to Italy and for a dollar she has brought a property with the intention that for it to become hers she has to fix it up in a certain amount of time. So she is determined to make that work.

Another part of the contract that she agrees to is that she will open a business to help bring life back to the little town where her property is located. She is determined to make this work and she meets Pietro who is on the Council for the project that she is part of.

I have not read anything by this author before but I will certainly be reading more of her books in the future. Once I started it I could not put it down. The story line and the characters are so well written that I could almost picture the Villa as it is being restored.

This was a new author to me. I really enjoyed this romance and escaping to Italy. It gave me a little of Under the Tuscan Sun vibes.

Pietro and Natalie will have you thinking about going to Italy in this descriptively well written story. It draws you in and keeps you glued to the pages as your mind conjures up villa's. Natalie comes to the Amalfi Coast to renovate a villa within the six-month space given but fine print on the contract may have her going back home and leaving behind Pietro an architect that she has grown very close to. Will they lose each other over fine print? I am volunteering to leave a review for an ARC of this book

A Slow Burn Romance In Italy
You'll enjoy getting to know Natalie and Pietro. Life brings them together in Italy when she purchases a villa near the coast and begins a renovation. He's a local architect who steps in to help when she seems overrun with obstacles. This is a slow burn romance with no shortage of drama or steam. The townspeople were wonderful and helpful, but the town council not so much. This was a good read that I read as a complimentary advance copy via Net Galley and the author and I voluntarily chose to review it.

While this is a romance between Pietro and Natalie, this is also a love story about Italy, specifically the Amalfi coast. The imagery of the country, the description of the people, even the sound of the language was a testament to the beauty of this region of Italy. There was even the added mystery of Natalie’s grandmother’s benefactor. While I like spice in my stories, I felt the heat level of the intimate scenes a little out of place. The rest of the story read more like a chick lit so the detailed sexy times felt out of place. I also found the ending rather abrupt. I kept turning the page expecting more to the ending. Now I’m off to search out more information about restoring villas in Italy for real!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This book makes me want to buy my own villa for $1 and have my own adventure. I was totally caught up in this book and I could not put it down to the very end.

An abandoned villa on the Amalfi Coast on the market for $1 - would you buy it?

Natalie Malone, an actuary from Urbana, Illinois, takes on a risky investment and finds herself needing to rely on the sexy architect, Pietro Indelicato, to meet renovation deadlines. Natalie purchased Pensione Benone, an 18th-century classic Renaissance-style villa, with dreams of restoring it to its former glory. Unfortunately, the fine print on the contract set out by the Economic Development Council made finishing and owning the property very difficult.

I liked that the author didn’t portray Natalie as an American damsel in distress needing to be rescued by a sexy Italian. Natalie is capable, knows what she wants, and doesn’t allow a bump in the road to derail her plans. The sense of atmosphere was fabulous and I felt like I was sitting on the patio at Cafe Ludo enjoying a caffe con panna. I giggled at the chicken and I got frustrated when she was in the permit office. The family mystery, secrets, mysterious painting and lemon groves, cooking lessons, and rumours of mermaids held my attention.

However, what started out as a 5-star read, quickly plummeted. I became disappointed at the 54% mark when a sweet story that I’d become readily invested in turned crass and unnecessarily steamy. It’s unfortunate that assumptions are made that this is what sells a romance. It’s a turnoff, for many of us. If I’d wanted a story like this, I’d have picked up one with a risque half-clothed enraptured couple on the cover - you know what I’m talking about. The charming cover did not reflect the relationship or inner content. I felt this story could have also benefited from a dual timeline where we’d read Natalie’s nonna’s story. Sadly, the story failed to live up to my expectations and I finished feeling deceived.

“Welcome to Italy. We do things different here.” - that’s for sure!

I was gifted this advance copy by Kilby Blades, Entangled Publishing, LLC, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

There’s so much I loved about this book, and a few I didn’t like so much. First off, this is a new author for me, and I really enjoyed her writing. The backdrop of this charming little town in Italy truly transported you to that magical place as Natalie embarked on a new challenging chapter in her life without her grandmother. Personally, I would have found it absolutely daunting going to a new country and not speaking the language with what she was planning to do with her villa remodel project. Things I adored about this book was the town itself along with the town’s people, especially Nonna, Natalie’s fellow tenants were the kind of friends you want to be surrounded with in a place you’re new to, loved the way the author made you feel like you were right there working along with Natalie and Pietro and walking in the lemon groves, very romantic. Loved the way their attraction turned into something pretty special, and how Pietro’s experience in his field brought these two unlikely people even closer. What I didn’t particularly care for were the conditions on the renovations the Council put on the tenants, just seemed weird to me that they’d only give these people who wanted to improve the small town three months to complete their projects, and if they didn’t, they would lose everything. I was also not a fan of the way the book ended, literally just left you hanging there, although it looks as if this book might be the start of a series, I still think the ending could have gone a bit further with these two characters and that final meeting. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and if it is a series, will very much like to read the next installment.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC copy of this book.

* Received copy for review.*

I wanted to love this book so much. It has a lot of gorgeous description about Italy. However, the chemistry between the main characters was missing. Both characters were rather flat. I know more about their agenda than about the people.
It just did not work for me.

This book was such a delightful read that captivated me right from the start with a wonderfully written storyline and characters that were so engaging that I remained totally invested until the turn of the very last page!

I really enjoyed this story of a young American woman following her, and her late grandmother’s, dream and attempting to renovate a villa in Italy. The realistic characters and evocative descriptions sucked me in, and there was additional interest from an old mystery involving Natalie’s grandmother and her connection to the area. My only minor quibble was that the pacing sometimes seemed a little erratic, but overall this is a fresh, fun read.

Ever since I first saw that small towns in Italy were selling homes for $1, it's been a wild dream of mine to buy and fix up one of the homes, even though I know it's a dream that will never come true. But when I saw that Kilby Blades' new book is about just that, I was hooked. And let's take a moment to take in the gorgeous cover of this book! Upon finishing the first chapter, I was hooked and ready to head to Italy. Seriously. So in love. As the story progressed, I enjoyed the concept behind the love connection - Natalie, the $1 home buyer and Pietro, the architect opposed to the home selling program in the town. That being said, I was quite as invested in their story as I was in the story of Natalie and the process of her home buying and renovating process. It looks like this will be the beginning of a series, so I can't wait to see what will come next!

4.5 STARS

It Takes a Villa was a treat. It takes you right to Italy. This story sucked me in and did not let me go. The vibe, setting, story, and characters were charming and endearing. My only issue is with the spice. There were sometimes details and sometimes not. It didn’t seem to meet the standards of the rest of the book. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed my time reading this.


I voluntarily read an early copy.

This is a sweet and engaging love story that has Natalie restoring a villa in Italy, while Pietro is an architect opposed to the program that sells Natalie her villa for $1. Sparks fly, and before long Pietro is helping her with her restoration.

I enjoyed their romance and the meandering path is took. I thought the characters were likable and wanted them to get their HEA ending. However, I didn't feel invested in them and found this book easy to pick up and put down. My favorite part of this book was the Italian setting and culture - I found myself wanting a glass of limoncello and would have enjoyed it while reading.

Fans of the genre will enjoy this novel.