After a sudden death in the family, Kat takes a spontaneous trip to Italy to connect with her family’s roots and find her way back to herself.

I thought the story does a wonderful job of capturing family dynamics, and it’s truly written like a love letter to Italy, even though half of it takes place in Lake Como, New Jersey.

Adriana’s previous book, The Good Left Undone, is still one of my all-time favorite historical fiction books, so I admittedly began this book with higher hopes. Sadly, I didn’t quite feel the same way about this one. There were several sudden changes that felt unnecessary and nonsensical, choppy sections within each chapter, and a forced romance subplot that I just couldn’t get past.

Overall, this is a nice tale of family and finding your own voice, but I wanted a bit more from the story and main character.

Another stunning story by this author. You can “smell” the food, “see the sights” and vividly imagine family life.
Thanks to NetGalley and #TheViewFrimLakeComo for advanced digital copy.

I enjoyed the The View From Lake Como. The story is about family, secrets that families keep and finding yourself after these secrets come to light. I felt sometimes the jumping around of timelines could be confusing but it didn’t take away from the story, I will be recommending this book. Another winner by Adriana Trigiani. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton.

BOOK REVIEW: The View From Lake Como by Adriana Trigiani
Published by PENGUIN GROUP Dutton. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Reading The View From Lake Como felt like sitting down at a long table for a chaotic, emotional, loud, unforgettable Italian family dinner—complete with arguments, laughter, food, and love. Adriana Trigiani has always had a gift for writing stories that hit the heart, but this one might be my favorite yet. Jess Capodimonte Baratta is the kind of character you want to hug and also gently shake. She’s recently divorced, back in her childhood home (read: her parents’ basement), and slipping into the expected role of dutiful daughter while quietly losing herself. I saw so much of real life in Jess—from her bone-deep exhaustion to her habit of putting everyone else first, especially her loud, complicated, loving family. She’s not a victim, but she is stuck. And when her beloved Uncle Louie dies and leaves her both his marble business and a plane ticket to Italy, the story shifts. What begins as a story of loss becomes a journey of rediscovery.

Trigiani’s writing is so layered—equal parts humor, heartache, and honest-to-God beauty. She captures the rhythm of big families so well: the overlapping voices, the guilt trips disguised as love, the traditions that comfort and choke at the same time. I felt like I knew these people. I grew up with some of them. Jess’s mother Philomena, especially, was maddening and perfect. She’s the kind of mother who will feed you, criticize you, and love you fiercely—all in the same breath. And her dynamic with Jess had such depth and tension. Trigiani doesn’t make their reconciliation easy or neat. She lets them be messy and real.

Then comes Italy—and with it, the magic. Carrara, Milan, Lake Como… the way Trigiani writes about place is like turning pages in a travel journal that smells of espresso and marble dust. But it’s not just pretty scenery. The marble trade becomes a metaphor for Jess’s transformation. She’s carving a new identity from the blocks of what came before—family, betrayal, grief, and resilience. And then there’s Angelo, the Italian goldsmith who brings his own quiet intensity. He isn’t some idealized savior. He’s a mirror, someone who sees Jess for who she is and who she could be. Their romance is a slow burn, grounded in mutual respect and creative spark. It doesn’t overpower the story—it enhances it.

One line that really stuck with me was: “A worldview doesn’t do you much good when you live in a small town, unless your passport is current.” That hit home. Jess’s story isn’t about escape—it’s about expansion. She’s not running away from her family or her failures. She’s choosing to build something new, something hers. It’s a reminder that reinvention isn’t betrayal—it’s survival.

What I appreciate most about this book is that it never loses its balance. It honors the past while embracing change. It lets its heroine be imperfect, unsure, and still incredibly strong. There’s no dramatic makeover, no magical fix. Just a woman doing the hard, beautiful work of putting herself back together with new tools.

I laughed out loud more than once—Trigiani’s humor is spot-on, especially when it comes to the family dynamics. And I teared up a few times too, especially in the quiet, reflective moments when Jess looks at what’s been handed down to her—both literally and emotionally—and decides what to carry forward and what to let go. The twist toward the end involving her family’s secrets added just enough mystery to keep the final chapters flying by.

I would recommend this book to anyone who’s ever felt stuck in someone else’s expectations, or anyone craving a story about starting over—not from scratch, but from experience. It’s also the perfect armchair travel companion. You’ll want a bowl of pasta, a glass of wine, and maybe a plane ticket to Tuscany by the time you’re done.

DNF

When Jess loses her uncle, she is devastated, but that is quickly overtaken by the fact that he left the business to her. Well, the business, and his shady business dealings. Now the FBI is looking into it all and Jess is in the crosshairs. He also left her a plane ticket to Italy, and after finding out the ways her family hurt her future, Jess decides to go.

Ok friends, new goal. Give up on books I am not enjoying earlier. I keep trying to push through and end up DNF’ing at like 70% which is such a waste. So I am going to try and let myself drop books earlier from now on. I so wanted to love this book, but I found it to be pretty choppy which kept throwing me off. I didn’t feel like there was enough to let us know when we were jumping around, which eventually I was able to figure it out but I found myself drawn to certain timelines and they weren’t coming up enough to keep me invested. I wanted to know more about her uncle and his shady business dealings, and more about her family and why they did what they did. Surprisingly my least favorite part was when she was in Italy, I just didn’t feel like we got the true Italy vibes, and we didn’t dive far enough into the beauty and wonder that is Italy. So this one was a DNF for me, but I know so many people that loved it, so check out reviews from your fellow book twins. This could also have been my fault since my reading is struggling these days.

Thank you to @duttonbooks for my gifted copy of this book!

Adriana is the queen of authors on Italian family dynamics. He humor and insight is evident once again in The View From Lake Como. Jess is the eldest daughter living up to her family 's expectations while divorcing, then discovering her true passions.

This is my first book by this author and I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to read one of her books! I loved this one. It started off a bit slow but I eventually became so engrossed with the story! I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommend

In Italian culture, family is everything. But what happens when your hopes and dreams misalign with their expectations? Adriana Trigiani’s new book, The View from Lake Como, braids together family history, rich descriptions of life in Italy, and the inevitable tensions that come with paving your own path into an endlessly intriguing plot full of well-placed twists and turns. Following Jess’ deeply heartening journey from one Lake Como to the other is nothing short of gratifying – her familial pressures coupled with her sharp sense of humor make her deeply relatable and easy to root for. Frequenters of New Jersey and Italy alike will appreciate pointed references to familiar landscapes, whose vivid descriptions can’t help but make the reader feel a deep connection to the places that so intensely define the Capodimonte and Baratta families. Once again, Adriana Trigiani delivers audiences a beautiful escape into a world full of love, adventure, and self-discovery.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance ecopy of this title. Jess is a typical Italian-American daughter trying to keep her family on track and herself sane in Lake Como, NJ. She has moved back home after a divorce that disappointed the families and the whole town. She works in the family business with her Uncle Louie, and feels like she may be getting her life on track when Louie dies. The business is left to her, but there are some financial an legal irregularities that she also inherits. Jess is overwhelmed, and decides to take a trip to Italy (planned with Uncle Louie) alone to help her heal, and move the business forward. In Italy, Jess finds family, a path forward for the business, a sense of self, and love. Adriana Trigiani is a master at weaving a story that feels both personal and universal, and populating it with characters that we all know so well. This is all done with humor, sensitivity, and wonderful descriptive language.

What a beautiful story of love, loss, friendship, travel and finding oneself. From the first Trigiani I read - Lucia, Lucia, to the most recent The View from Lake Como I am captured by her ability to use place as a character to transport us to both time and place for the benefit of the feelings! This story of Jess finding her way from her home in NJ to her escape to Italy is a great example of this talent. Family places such a strong role here and is filled with family - both endearing and tolerated - which make for both laughter and tears. Well done!

Take a relatable FMC add in a setting the makes you swoon and a story that just feels like you’re having lunch And drinks with the girls

The Queen of Italian novels is back with another winner! I felt as if I traveled right along beside Jess as she found her courage to leave the hold of her Italian mother and set off on a direction of her own. I absolutely love Trigiani's writing style, and can see the characters and settings as I read thanks to her vivid descriptions . This View From Lake Como will make you feel as if you too are seeing all the wonders of Italy from Jess's balcony as well as taste the delicious flavors of the foods she enjoys in the piazza. Meravigliosa! Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the DRC. I cannot wait to hand sell this one upon publication!

Adriana Trigiani has done it again - created strong independent characters who you quickly fall in love with. It was such a treat to follow Jess as she learned who she was and what she loved and wanted to do with her life. The interactions with her Italian-American family were wonderful and often made me smile or laugh out loud. The best parts of this book were when Jess described her family relationships - the moving back home and living in the basement, and the way her parents and siblings interacted was priceless. I also love that even though this was a romantic comedy, it isn't about Jess finding love so much as about Jess finding out who she is and where she belongs in the world. Watching her grow strong was beautiful, as were the gorgeous descriptions of Italy - I want to go to Siena and travel around the countryside after reading this novel! I highly recommend this novel to fans of Trigiani or to readers who have yet to pick up one of her books. It is a treat - so take an afternoon and pour yourself an espresso or cappuccino, grab an Italian pastry, and immerse yourself in the world of Jess Capodimonte Baratta. Thank you to NetGalley and @duttonbooks for this e-arc!

The View From Lake Como evoked in me a sense of late but powerful liberation. Jess’s story is not only about breaking free from family and social constraints, but also about rediscovering one’s roots to find oneself. Adriana Trigiani seems to have cleverly linked traditional craftsmanship (working with marble) with a journey of self-discovery, a subtle metaphor for “carving” a new life from the fragments of the past. I was particularly drawn to the author’s use of geography from humble Lake Como in New Jersey to the majestic Carrara Mountains as an internal journey.

The View From Lake Como is a heartfelt and beautifully written novel that captures the importance and beauty of self-discovery.

The book is focused on a woman in her 30s, newly divorced and navigating a difficult chapter of her life. When the chance to travel to Italy arises, she embraces it. Through this experience, she begins to fall in love with herself again.

Adriana Trigiani’s storytelling is vivid, and deeply intentional. Her words paint each image so clearly.
It's relatable, moving, and the perfect poolside read.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book. The View from Lake Como by Adriana Trigiani was a nicely written book with developed characters, locations, and story line. It was a joy to read and feel as if I was right there in the middle of the story. The one thing the story lacks is a feeling of “I can’t put this book down”. For me that came once in the book. I would have liked to see it more.

I gave it 4 stars. My recommendation is to read The View from Lake Como. I think you will enjoy it!

A recently divorced and uninspired Italian-American woman, Giuseppina Barratta, finds herself caught in a purgatory of a transition period amid a sudden and unexpected change in her tight-knit family. As the youngest of three siblings, her life was always seemingly laid out for her until she is left with a gift from her uncle, a plane ticket to her ancestral home in Carrara, Italy. Ready to connect with her roots, see the marble quarry her uncle worked in with her own eyes, and figure out who she is if not a member of the Barratta and Capodimonte clans of Monmouth County, New Jersey, Giuseppina sets out on a journey of recovery, discovery, and in search of a real love and passion for her life. Adriana’s latest book is a brilliant confession of what it feels like to grow up even if you’ve already experienced adolescence. Giuseppina’s experiences of heartbreak and loss are relatable and healing. Her complex relationships with her family are reminiscent of classic Italian-American loyalty highlighting the love and care of a big family along with the nuances and guilt which come along with fleeing that nest. Not to mention, Giuseppina’s enrollment in online therapy offers the perfect amount of humor and humanity to make the book relevant to today’s world. Yet again, Adriana’s vivid descriptions of Italy take readers on a detailed mental vacation while the plot tells a beautiful story of transformation, resilience, loss, and love. I cannot recommend it enough!

Ms Trigiani has this abilty to pull you in the lives of the people in the her stories. She makes you care about them and become involved in their lives to the point that i felt I Know Jess Capodimonte Baratta. Jess Is has always gone along with the wishes of other ,her mother then her husband family must come first. Jess has divorse the "pefect husband" and is floating . Her Uncle Louis believe in her ablity to run the business and think all she just need to get better clothing and maybe see Carrara, Italy. When tragedy strikes Jess make the decision to go to Italy and learn about family secrets and also find herself.

Guiseppina (Jess) is a good girl. She faithfully stayed home in Lake Como, New Jersey to help her Italian American family, married the local heartthrob she grew up with and worked for her Uncle's marble business. Her marriage is over, she is living in her parent's basement and Uncle Louie has just died leaving her the business. Jess needs to break free (and let the FBI sort out some of the business dealings) so she heads to her ancestral home of Carrera Italy. She finds new family, a deep connection to the land, stone and history and a deeper connection to at least one other. This is a coming of age story that begins with a woman in her thirties. Jess learns what she wants, what is important and what to let go of. The joyful mishmash of big personalities who meddle with love blend with the mouthwatering food, incredible scenery and art of Italy like a good bottle of Super Tuscan red with homemade pasta and gravy. Readers of HELLO BEAUTIFUL, 7 OR 8 DEATHS OF STELLA FORTUNA and Adriana Trigiani's faithful fan base will all eat this up. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

The View From Lake Como is Adriana Trigiani at her best. She incorporates an extended family drama with humor and insight into this novel about finding yourself and what’s actually important to you. I love all the NJ references since I am a forever resident and can easily relate. Her characters come alive and I found myself rooting for many of them. Secrets are slowly revealed as the story progresses and I found myself totally surprised with an Italian secret and let out a little gasp. Love her writing style and found a little Stephanie Plum written into this tale! Whether you are Italian or not there is so much to enjoy in all her vivid descriptions.Well done and highly recommended! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.
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