When an Italian grandfather she's never met wills her his Tuscan vineyard, home, and B&B, Erika travels to Italy to settle the inheritance — and finds she's required to stay for five months, living and learning the business for five months before she can do anything with it at all. Add in a handsome helpful estate and vineyard manager and... well, I'm sure you get the picture.

Casalvento: House of the Wind by Gudrun Cuillo is a book that takes you from New York City deep into the hills of Tuscany. If you are looking for a novel of escape, this book is perfect. I loved the setting and how it came alive in the story. This is a book of second chances. Readers of women’s fiction will love this book. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

I was transported to Chianti, Italy, in the lovely CASALVENTO by Gudrun Cuillo. The story of a young woman bequeathed a vineyard in Tuscany, interrupting her wonderfully curated life of lover and wedding planning, high-powered career, and the energy of New York City. Thrust into the quiet beauty and the entirely different culture of village life, she finds herself torn between the life she was living a short time ago, complete with fiancé and career and the life that she is drawn to with the deep family roots in a place she never knew and has come to love. I enjoyed this romantic perspective on the differing lives a person can choose to live, especially enjoying the connections with her grandfather and the vineyard, people, and different pace of Tuscany. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Casalvento is a nice story by Gudrun Cuillo. Follow Erika’s journey from life in New York to life in the vineyards of Tuscany. Easy to read and engaging,

This novel was like taking a trip to Tuscany!

Erika is a busy businesswoman in NYC, newly engaged to her long time boyfriend. Right after the engagement, she gets a letter informing her that her grandfather, who she never knew, died, and left her a vineyard in Tuscany. She goes to Italy, intent upon just selling the property, when she finds out the will stipulates that she must stay there for 5 months before the inheritance is enabled.

She stays after finding out her fiance cheated on her while she was gone, and quickly falls in love with Italy, wine, and the handsome estate manager!

I really enjoyed this novel. There is no overwhelming drama or angst, its a sweet love story with a very happy ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

Erika’s parents died when she was a young adult. Years later, when she was living in New York, she gets a letter saying that she inherited two small vineyards and a hotel, Casalvento and Livernano in Italy from her paternal grandfather. A man she never knew. Erika’s current job is turning properties around for a profit. She is also engaged to a man named Craig. She now has to fly to Italy to handle these estates, and everything that goes with them, while trying to juggle her life at home. It is a light and interesting book albeit a bit to predictable and too easy to believe for 5 months. I enjoyed all the food throughout this book and if definitely made me hungry, the recipes at the back of this book have definitely been added to my “to make” list. Cuillo does an excellent job of capturing the colorful spirit of Tuscany, as well as the breathtaking scenery and the extensive winemaking traditions. Readers can experience the sights, smells, and tastes of the Italian countryside by entering Casalvento through the author's meticulous attention to detail and descriptive writing style.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This book transports you right to Tuscany. If you are a fan of Italy, Vineyards, wine and maybe a must do list that teaches you that life in Italy is amazing and so are the people this is the book for you! I really enjoyed this book. As a first generation born American with Italian born parents this book really showed me the Italy I know and love. I think it was beautifully written and really draws you in.

An astonishing and atmospheric debut that kept me turning pages to reach the outcome. I loved the descriptions of Italy and found the plot to be very interesting.
Many thanks to Greenleaf Book Group and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Erika has her whole life planned out in New York. Successful career, about to marry her fiancé, and so on. Suddenly, she inherits an Italian winery from a grandfather she didn’t know she had, and everything she thought she knew is turned on its head.

I loved the vicarious Italian experience provided by this story. The story itself, however, was another matter. Erika was the embodiment of the ‘ugly American’ - extremely privileged, swooping into Italy, completely annoyed at the “inconvenience” of her inheritance, immediately and endlessly bossing everyone around with no respect for their expertise or general personhood. Everything continues to get handed to her, but somehow she mellows out a bit and becomes a slightly better person in the process- and finds a romance that we’re told is romantic, even if no chemistry is provided for the reader. And I didn’t love the convoluted ending.

If you’re craving a trip to Italian wine country and a serviceable story, this could work to pass the time.

Thank you Gudrun Cuillo, Greenleaf Book Group, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

Casalvento
House of the Wind
by Gudrun Cuillo
(This review is based on an ARC sent to me by Net Galley)

Erika Germoglio who lives in New York City with her boyfriend, Craig Bernhardt, whom she plans to marry soon, learns that her grandfather, whom she never got to meet left her two estates and a winery in Tuscany. Erika decides to go to Italy to appraise and sell both properties, but she quickly learns that her inheritance comes with one condition - she must stay in Tuscany for five months to learn more about Casalvento and Livernano, as well as the local culture, people, food, and her grandfather.
When Erika travels to Italy to settle the affairs of her inheritance, she meets Paolo, Casalvento's intelligent, handsome estate manager and wine maker. Erika has to decide if she should uproot her successful life and business in New York City.
Her Grandfather leaves her a series of letters which enlightens her about his life and how he came to acquire Casalvento and Livernano.
Erika feels torn about her feelings for Craig and Paolo.
This is a debut novel for the author, set in the real Casalvento (House of the Wind) of Radda and Livernano in Chianti Siera, Italy

The dialogue was so awkward. Why did they say each other's names every time they spoke? The romance was also very lackluster for me - probably because of the dialogue.

Erika has the perfect life- a consulting business with her best friend as a partner, a fiancé with whom she is planning their wedding and a beautiful New York apartment. Her parents are deceased and she has no extended family- so she thinks. This "perfect" life is about to change. She receives a registered letter one day at work informing her that she has inherited a vineyard and winery in Tuscany. She travels to Italy with the intent of staying a week and arranging for the sale of the Italian property.

When she arrives at this gorgeous, peaceful property, life changes and she changes. The caveat to inheriting the property is that she has to stay 5 months to truly learn the business, the region, the people. She returns to New York to inform her fiancé and business partner and receives a shock pretty much changing what she thought of as her perfect life.

Will Erika adjust to life in Tuscany? Will it become her permanent home? Will she find love again. This is a delightful, sweet story, but I don't want to give away spoilers. I enjoyed this book and envy the author that this is her life!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much for this ARC! Casalvento is one of my top books of 2023!

A beautiful story told within a beautiful setting. I began reading this book the day after doing a tour of the Chianti region myself. Reading the story AFTER my visit made the words on the page pure magic. Cuillo described the areas and the *feeling* of Tuscany so perfectly. The wine, food and friendships were so descriptive and I actually felt as if I were living alongside Erika.

This was a book that I did not want to be over and I quite literally sobbed at the end.

Please don't stop writing, Gudrun!

‘Casalvento’, by Gudrun Cuillo is a delightful and easy to read book. The story takes place in the Tuscany, Italy wine region, where New Yorker Erika has just inherited a winery and two properties from a grandfather she never knew/met. Ms. Cuillo incorporates the beauty of Tuscany, winemaking and romance into a wonderful story. Upon reading the authors notes, you come to realize that the story closely parallels her own life story. I highly recommend this book.

This was such a cute and dreamy premise for a book. An ultra-successful NYC businesswoman unexpectedly inherits an old Italian vineyard. She has to decide what to do about the vineyard, her career, and her future.

As she gets to know the staff at the vineyard, she learns a lot about them, their histories, and their work for her grandfather. Eventually she knows she’ll have to decide what her future holds.

What I loved: the setting, the characters, and how Ericka started to learn about herself and what she really wanted as soon as she left the hustle of NYC.

What I didn’t: The dialogue between most characters was forced and slow. There was a lot of time where the writing was telling the reader so much of what could have been described. The plot was also SUPER linear. Zero bumps in the road except a minor one at the beginning. I would have loved actual conflict or a decision point for the MC that was steeped in actual self-growth.

Overall, a really pleasant, feel-good read.

This is an epic journey of a successful American women’s search for her family and history in Italy. Although the story is a little predictable it is still a sweet, thoughtful story. The author researched and shared information about the grape growing and wine business that I found very interesting. The story does require some leaps of faith. An example would be how a successful nyc consulting partnership business could continue without one of its partners actively engaged for a couple of months. Although there are a couple twists to the story, I was able to anticipate them before they happened. Although it seemed a little long, I did find this an enjoyable read.

Erica is planning her wedding to her fiance Craig when she receives a letter telling her that she has inherited her grandfather's Tuscan winery and villa, Leaving her high-powered job and fiance in NYC, she travels to Tuscany to find out about the winery and the grandfather that she never knew. She comes in kind of "guns-a-blazin" ready to sell the whole property, but the area and the people capture her interest. She learns that she must stay for 5 months and get to know the business before she is allowed to assume ownership. This story was kind of formulaic and I could see where it was going but it was still was a very enjoyable read. It made me want to visit Tuscany again so it was definitely great escapism. I liked the author's note at the end which I won't spoil as I found it intriguing.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for my honest review.
3.5 stars!

I enjoyed this book, it was not great but it was good. It fits into the Under the Tuscan Sun genre, which has probably been exhausted at this point. Basically girl inherits Tuscan villa from a relative she didn’t know and must stay in Italy for a specific time period in order to receive the full inheritance. She of course doesn’t want it and only wants to deal with the sale and go home. But of course there is a handsome Italian man who she initially isn’t sure she likes but ultimately, well you know, falls in love with. The writing is very good, dialogue flows along nicely and the characters are easy to get to know. The ending was quite creative and not something I anticipated.

Overall, a fun, quick read. A little predictable but enjoyable.

All opinions are my own and not influenced by the electronic ARC I received from the publisher, through NetGalley.

I want to go there! Gudrun Cullio describes the vineyards in Casalvento in such a way that it took great restraint not to book a flight to experience the environment myself. When Erika Germoglio learns that an unknown relative has left her property in Tuscany, she sees it as a burden. She travels overseas to settle the estate quickly and efficiently, but the specifics of her grandfather's will requires her to slow down and get to know the land before she can take ownership. Erika's eyes are opened to the beauty of the area and soon she realizes that the life she had been living was not as wonderful as she had convinced herself. The ease of her transition to a vineyard owner is shocking and I kept waiting for something to go horribly wrong, but this love story is almost a fairy tale and a joy to read.

Unfortunately this book was not for me. Erica was very hard to like. At time she would try to come across as in charge and it was actually rude, and then at other times she seemed incapable of making decisions. The conversations and dialogue didn’t flow naturally and seemed too stilted. I also didn’t really love the twist ending. The book was kind of Hallmark, very surface level/contrived drama and completely predictable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Green Leaf Group Book Press for the ARC.