A fun, light-hearted enemies to lovers romance. I definitely got summer vibes from this book - I loved that most of the book took place in Italy (the descriptions were really well done).

I so enjoyed this humorous book with cute, quirky characters! I was totally addicted to the Italy setting and felt at times, as I was there. Recommend this light-hearted, spirited romantic story as a fun, beach-read this summer!

I finally got to this book (apologies to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the delayed review).

Honestly. I did not love this book. I read it "not liking" it for probably the first 70% and then I finally started to like Violet and Matt's story... and the book ended. Violet felt so immature, and one dimensional. And I had a hard time believing that they went from their terrible meet-cute - to basically living together as "enemies" to then falling for one another.

I really enjoyed "Talk Bookish to Me" and I think I went in with high expectations.

Not for me. Even having it set in Rome wasn't enough to win me over.

2.5 stars.

(sorry)

This was such an adorable romance book to read and it hit most of my favorite tropes. Also featuring the worst meet-cute ever!

One of my favorite tropes: grumpy sunshine! A quick and easy read set in a location I can only dream about visiting one day, Rome. The snarky-ish and flirty banter seems to be the favorite for everyone, and it makes romcoms SO much better and believable. The author did good there!

This was a cute rom-com with a strong sense of place. I really enjoyed the setting and all of the characters. I didn’t really see Violet and Matt’a hate for each other, but enjoyed the fun banter. Overall a great read!
Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing, Graydon House for the copy through NetGalley in exchange for a review.

I enjoyed this one a lot! I'm a fan of Kate Bromley generally, so I knew this would not disappoint. Emily in Paris vibes on this one but put a fashion girly in Rome. A little enemies to lovers and I personally was HERE for it.

In my humble opinion, Kate Bromley is a romantic comedy queen. CIAO FOR NOW shows how the author can develop fun, heartfelt, and swoon-worthy stories perfect for any romance lover. Though the premise of the book isn't new, this book is fresh and witty. I will continue to read anything Bromley writes.

This was such a cute read where the people in their thirty’s act like teenagers. There’s was potential but it flopped badly.

Ciao for Now is about fashion student Violet Luciano, who scores a once-in-a-lifetime internship at a fashion house in Rome for the summer. Approaching 30, she's older than her classmates and feels like she has more to prove. A disastrous run-in with her professor's son on her first day in Rome throws her into the same orbit as Matt, who she can't stand and now has to spend the summer sharing a home with. This book was fun and flirty with a strong sense of place. I felt it tried to hard to be an enemies to lovers story, though. I just didn't get the hostilities between Matt and Violet. They seemed, at worst, mildly annoyed by each other but would often say "I hate you"- it just didn't match up. Overall the book was fine, but ultimately a little forgettable.

This was a good read - I really enjoyed this book. I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

This was such a cute romcom. I loved how it took us to Rome, and made me want to book a flight out there myself! This had a lot of fashion/design to it based on the FMC, and I am not into fashion, but I dug it! Kate writes such great romcoms with the perfect amount of spice. I can't wait for the next book!

Ciao for Now made me want to go on an Italian Adventure. There is flirty banter and cheeky humor and overall endearing characters. The perfect rom-com.

I loooooove books set in Italy, so when I saw the title of Ciao for Now my eyebrows immediately shot up and I was interested. I loved the idea of a fashion intern falling for her boss’s grumpy son, and I also really liked the idea of an almost-30-year-old college student. Most college romances involve characters in their early twenties (or maybe 18/19), so I was excited to meet Violet. Ciao for Now also has multiple tropes that I love: grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, and a mild enemies to lovers (just how I like it). While there were a few things that prevented this book from being a brand new favorite of mine, I did enjoy many parts of it and ultimately enjoyed my reading experience. I had so much fun walking the streets of Rome and riding the waves in Capri.

1. Right off the bat, I knew I was going to simply adore Violet’s best friend, Marco. He is a shining, shimmering sunbeam and I could not get enough of him. He’s one of the three interns in this design competition, and I would have been happy if there was no romance at all and the story just focused on him and his friendship with Violet. His snark and humor and personality shot off the page and into my heart, and he was definitely the most dynamic and interesting person in this book. I need a best friend named Marco.

2. Marco and Violet arrive in Rome together and almost immediately Matt enters the scene with one of the cutest and most embarrassing meet-cutes I’ve read. I seriously had so much second-hand embarrassment for Violet, who stumbles and ultimately destroys Matt’s laptop in a cafe. They sit and chat for a while, and the banter was off the charts. My grin was as huge as Marco’s as I read the interactions between Violet and Matt. It was so electric and exciting. Shortly after this unfortunate (yet delightful) encounter, we discover that Matt is the son of Violet’s boss and they will be living in the same house for the entirety of Violet’s one-month stay in Italy. Neither one of them is very happy about it.

3. After the initial meet-cute, though, Violet’s and Matt’s chemistry fizzled and I never got fully back on board with the two of them. What started out as exciting and sexy kind of spiraled down into… well, not much of anything. They really just don’t like each other and I never understood why. Did they not like each other just so the book could be marketed as the ever popular enemies-to-lovers trope? I mean yes, Violet accidentally destroyed his laptop and he lost a lot of his work (he’s a writer for a popular sexy space TV show) but he never gets mad at her for it. He’s actually way nicer than anyone would expect. Because he was so nice, Violet has no reason to hate him. She caused all the problems and he was nice about it. lol. I actually had no idea this was supposed to be enemies-to-lovers. I thought they left the cafe happy to have met, and I assumed they would be happy to run into each other again. This mutual hatred came out of nowhere for me.

4. While Violet and Matt do have some great moments together and some really fun banter, I didn’t feel like the romance was strong enough. These two also seem much younger than the 29 (Violet) and 32 (Matt), neither one of them acted mature enough to convince me they were the ages they were supposed to be. Violet in particular grated on my nerves. Yes, she’s going through a growing phase in her life but she just came off as selfish and immature. We learn about Matt’s past, which I think was supposed to add depth to his character and explain why he’s so surly, but I didn’t buy it. I think their lack of maturity made the inevitable third-act break-up much more dramatic than it needed to be.

5. BUT. I loved the friendships in this book, and that’s what propelled my reading forward. I’ve already mentioned Marco, but there’s also Holly, the third intern. I really liked her, and she gets a cute little side romance that I found myself wishing was the main romance because she is so likeable and the guy is pretty swoony. Violet also becomes close friends with Mina, an employee at the design firm. Mina introduces her to a group of other women who work in fashion, and they have the coolest support system and friendship. Then there’s the woman who own the fabric shop down the street, who has so much wisdom and gives great advice. And Violet’s boss was amazing! She’s like the opposite of Miranda Priestly, with her brightly colored flowing dresses, her bubbly enthusiasm, and her propensity to rain showers of compliments and affection down on everyone around her. Ciao for Now has the strongest cast of secondary characters ever–possibly the strongest cast I’ve ever read about.

6. Italy delivered for me. I loved when the characters were sightseeing, and found it to be so much more entertaining than all the fashion talk. Violet, Marco, and Holly take the city by storm for an assignment and visit so many touristy spots in Rome that I’ve been to, so I could picture everything in my mind so perfectly. Violet and Matt go on a weekend trip to Capri and stay in what sounds like the most magical oceanfront hotel in existence. I loved the descriptions of all the scenery and the things they did. The characters spend time walking the streets and sitting on the balcony working in the evenings. I loved these parts of the story the most.

So all in all, I enjoyed Ciao for Now! I really think my only problem with it was that I didn’t like the two main characters, so the romance didn’t work for me. Sometimes I skimmed their long discussions because I didn’t care about them. But I loved the secondary characters so much that I felt so many happy feelings while reading. Kate Bromley did such a great job with the cast of characters and their friendships and banter and love for one another, and she did such an amazing job writing about Italy that I didn’t even care that the main characters and their journey to find love didn’t work for me. And honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever been able to say that before. So I’m surprised and happy to say I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a kind of Devil Wears Prada-esque fashion story set in Italy, with a slew of characters to fall in love with.

Unfortunately, this romance novel was not for me. It just didn't come together in a way that compelled me to keep reading, to follow the trail of breadcrumbs to HEA. Other people have loved it -- especially if you love novels set in Italy -- so I still recommend checking it out if you're looking for a light, fun read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of Ciao for Now by Kate Bromley.

KATE BROMLEY DOES NO WRONG! This book was SO darn cute! Matteo and Violet were such a fun (and grumpy) little couple and I could not stop reading. Another fun read from Kate!

Fly me to Rome and give me all the romance!

Violet and her fashion school friends Marco and Holly have earned internships at a premier fashion house in Rome. They will staying at Professor Leoni’s high-rise apartment, where they will also be working on designs for a competition. The book takes right off when Violet stops at a cafe, this is where she has a horrible run-in with a grumpy stranger. They have a very awkward exchange, and she’s thrilled when Marco rescues her. Once she’s at Professor Leoni’s, Violet is floored when the professor introduces them to her son, Matteo, or Matt - and you guess it he’s the grumpy handsome man from the cafe. Violet begins spending her days working and learning and determined win the competition, but Matt seems to be in her space and her thoughts. It’s hard to concentrate when she and Matt have undeniable chemistry, plus they’re forced to spend a summer of parties, adventures through Rome and throw in sharing a home.
As Violet chances to win the competition slipping out of her grasp, Violet has to decide whether to say ciao to Matt or ciao to her dreams.

As someone who grew up during the height of the Lizzie McGuire movie I could not pass up the opportunity to read a romance set in Italy. This is such a cute and fun read.

I adored this book. I love Italy and this book does such a great job of transporting the reader there. The characters were realistic and believable and I would up falling in love with them, especially Violet and Matteo. Following their journey was so sweet.