A Very Italian Wedding is a breezy, feel-good summer romance that’s as warm and sparkling as a glass of Aperol Spritz on a sun-drenched Italian afternoon. Donna Ashcroft delivers a delightful enemies-to-lovers romp set in the picturesque village of Bellemilia, where wedding chaos, meddling friends, and sizzling chemistry collide.

Rose is a rule-following romantic skeptic determined to stop her best friend’s impulsive wedding. Ben, the charming best man with a devilish grin and a hidden heart of gold, is equally determined to see the nuptials through. Their bickering banter and undeniable tension had me grinning from the very first meeting. As they zip through winding Italian streets and stumble through wedding mishaps, their emotional walls slowly (and sweetly) come down.

The setting is pure escapism—vivid descriptions of golden beaches, lemon trees, and gelato-filled afternoons make this a perfect vacation-in-a-book. While the plot leans into rom-com tropes, it does so with heart and humor, and the emotional payoff is worth the ride.

Ideal for fans of Jenny Colgan or Sarah Morgan, this is a story about letting go, taking chances, and finding love when (and where) you least expect it. You’ll want to book a flight to Italy by the final chapter.

Thank you to netgalley and Bookouture for provisionen me with an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! Rose and Ben are well developed main characters and you get to know them as well fleshed out characters. They have flaws and had experiences that have made them refuse to believe in love but meeting each other makes them open up again. They have great chemistry and are not afraid to be vulnerable with each other. Without them realising, they trusted each other with their fears and heartbreak and their relationship builds on that. There are multiple plot lines going on at the same time but Donna Ashcroft manages to perfectly sync them and have them work together to finish the story of Ben and Rose.

This book is an absolute delight—full of stunning settings and plenty of heartfelt romantic moments that kept me hooked from start to finish.

Rose, who calls herself a love doctor, is thrown for a loop when her friend Luna gets engaged to Rose’s own fiancé in less than a month. Alarmed, Rose sets out to open Luna’s eyes, armed with her carefully crafted relationship rules designed to protect hearts—her top rule being that couples should know each other for at least a year before getting serious. With years of experience guiding couples, Rose is firm in her beliefs and rarely bends her own rules.

I found myself agreeing with Rose’s logic, though I’m also someone who thinks rules are sometimes meant to be broken. Things get complicated when Rose crosses paths with Ben—the handsome best friend of Luna’s fiancé—and sparks start flying, all while Marco’s clairvoyant Aunt Aurora and her late husband add an unexpected twist to the story.

I loved the blend of classic romance tropes and the strong friendships woven throughout the plot. Despite the fast pace of the relationships, the romance felt genuine and believable. While I initially rooted for Rose’s mission, I soon found myself cheering for Luna’s happiness as well.

Rose and Ben’s story truly captured my heart, and even with the rules challenged, I was invested in seeing everyone find their happily-ever-after.

A Very Italian Wedding offers everything I look for in a romance: charming characters, laugh-out-loud moments, and a joyful, satisfying ending. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t recommend it enough

Overall this was a fun read. I feel like the beginning was a little confusing and just jumped right in to the FMC and MMC meeting and almost seeming like they had known each other. The premise is fun and the underlying themes of family trauma causing present day walls being put up by the FMC.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have read and enjoyed a lot of books by Donna Ashcroft and this book was no exception. I enjoyed it so much that I plan on buying a copy so I an read it again!

A Very Italian Wedding felt like a sunny escape to the Italian coast, filled with laughter, family, and a little bit of chaos. From the moment Rose arrives in the charming village, I was drawn into a story that’s as warm and inviting as a summer afternoon by the sea.

Rose’s mission to stop her best friend’s wedding quickly becomes much more complicated when she meets Ben, the charming best man. Their slow-building connection felt real and heartfelt, full of moments that made me smile and root for them both. I loved how the story balanced the excitement of the wedding with the deeper emotions of trust and healing.

This book is a perfect feel-good read—sweet, romantic, and full of heart. If you’re looking for a charming story that feels like a warm hug, A Very Italian Wedding is exactly that. It left me wanting more Italian sunsets and happily-ever-afters.

I enjoyed this book. It was heartwarming, fast-paced, cozy, loved the setting. If you are looking for a book light book with not much thought to it, then this is a, perfect one.

In this book we follow Rose who becomes the living breathing definition of if it can go wrong it will go wrong. We follow along as she travels to go to her best friends wedding and this poor girl goes though everything and anything to support her best friend the best way she knows how of following her rules for love and trying to talk her friend out of possibly making a mistake. But along the journey she starts to realize that maybe she isn’t right with all her rules maybe it’s her past trauma that is getting in the way from some of her biggest couples (aka her parents) from getting over their issues and for her to find love. Between the found family, love, a crazy demon dog, a fertility statue, and Italian traditions this is a fun rom com. I highly recommend this book to those who love love. Thank you Netgalley, Bookouture, & Donna Ashcroft for choosing me to be an arc reader for this book.

2 stars ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

unfortunately i didn’t like this one very much. the story setting was lovely but way too much of this story felt extremely predictable and convenient.

the plot also felt nonsensical at times, eg. the justification of the wedding date even though they’re still basically strangers, the dog not liking rose, the clairvoyant aunt who conveniently ends up sharing information relevant to progress the plot along.

idk this was just a miss for me.

I’m happy to be here today to promote this new title from Donna Ashcroft. I don’t read too many rom-coms, but this was a good one, with multi-dimensional characters and a wedding at its center. Plus it takes place in one of my very favorite places: Italy! This is the perfect summer treat. Thank you for my copy and having me as past of the tour.

Book: A Very Italian Wedding

Author: Donna Ashcroft

Pub Day: June 5th 2025

Buy Link (not affiliated with BBNB): https://geni.us/B0DZHTFLRXsocial

About the Book:

Escape to Italy, to golden sand and a glittering sea, to wedding bells chiming in a tiny hilltop town… Can Rose heal the heartbreak from her past, and take a chance on love?As the sun sets over a villa in Tuscany, an engagement party is in full swing. The bride-to-be gazes up at her groom, her glass of prosecco glinting in the evening light as she toasts their happy future; but as Rose watches her best friend Luna swoon over her handsome new fiancé, she can’t help feeling worried. Life has taught Rose that love ends in heartbreak, and all she wants is to protect herself and Luna. That’s why she came up with her Rules for Love: follow these and happiness is guaranteed.

Only Luna is breaking all the rules. She only met Marco a month ago. Rose is sure that love at first sight isn’t real… until she sets eyes on Ben, the best man. Towering above her, with tousled blonde hair and wide, powerful shoulders, he’s irritatingly charming, relentlessly positive and insists that love really can conquer all. Rose’s head is in a spin.

She has learned to never open her heart, never to trust, but Ben is becoming harder to resist…
Will breaking the rules end with Rose breaking her heart? Or will the magic of Italy bring her the happy ending she’s always dreamed of?

I always look forward to a new Donna Ashcroft book, and was not disappointed with this one. Delightful characters who blended together perfectly

Rose wants her best friend to reconsider her hasty decision to marry. Ben is best friends with the prospective groom and wants him to be happy, so he is immediately at odds with Rose in this enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy. It's a tale full of unexpected incidents, quirky characters and a growing attraction between Rose and Ben that neither expects nor wants. It has a vividly described Italian setting and a vibrant cast of characters, led by Aunt Aurora, the clairvoyant, who adds humour, poignancy and wisdom to this emotional story. I like the emotional journey the two main characters experience, the Italian setting and the cast of entertaining characters.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

I enjoyed the sense of place in this book. I was ready to jump on an international flight within the first few chapters. I found the MMC to be charming and swoon worthy. The FMC was complex and I liked the depth of character. The spicy scenes were wonderfully spicy. My favorite characters had to be the zany aunt and her dead husband, they brought a fun whimsical aspect. I did feel that the book dragged on a bit in the middle and the back and forth of the wedding being on and off was a little tedious but overall it was a fun read.

Rose heads to Italy to attend her friend’s wedding, which came together after a whirlwind romance. She has no plans to just sit back and watch it happen. She is determined to stop the wedding before her friend makes a mistake. Enter Ben, the charming and wildly flirty best man, who is equally determined to make sure the wedding goes off without a hitch.

The setting is a true highlight. The descriptions of the Italian countryside, the food, and the wedding festivities had me fully transported. A few side characters added a lot of charm and heart to the story as well.

The leads were a bit harder to connect with. Rose felt overly rigid at times, very stuck in her ways. Ben leaned heavily into the flirt role and came off a little too much. Their dynamic had moments, but overall I found myself more interested in everything happening around them.

Despite that, the story was fun and breezy. It’s a light read with good vacation vibes and just enough drama to keep things moving. Worth picking up if you’re looking for a destination rom-com with a little tension and a lot of Italian flair.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

💐 🥂BOOK REVIEW 💐🥂

𝖠 𝖵𝖤𝖱𝖸 𝖨𝖳𝖠𝖫𝖨𝖠𝖭 𝖶𝖤𝖣𝖣𝖨𝖭𝖦
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Out Now on KindleUnlimited

𝐸𝓈𝒸𝒶𝓅𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝐼𝓉𝒶𝓁𝓎, 𝓉𝑜 𝑔𝑜𝓁𝒹𝑒𝓃 𝓈𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶 𝑔𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝑒𝒶, 𝓉𝑜 𝓌𝑒𝒹𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒷𝑒𝓁𝓁𝓈 𝒸𝒽𝒾𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓃 𝒶 𝓉𝒾𝓃𝓎 𝒽𝒾𝓁𝓁𝓉𝑜𝓅 𝓉𝑜𝓌𝓃… 𝒞𝒶𝓃 𝑅𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒷𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓀 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓅𝒶𝓈𝓉, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝒶 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝑜𝓃 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒?

🩷 Thank you to @netgalley for this sweet ARC! I so much enjoyed this Italian #romcom and enjoyed the beautiful descriptions of the sceneries and settings. Although I did have a hard time connecting to the FMC, Rose, I did enjoy the banter between her and the MMC, Ben. As a whole, the story was super cute and an enjoyable summer read.

🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻

As the sun sets over a villa in Tuscany, an engagement party is in full swing. The bride-to-be gazes up at her groom, her glass of prosecco glinting in the evening light as she toasts their happy future; but as Rose watches her best friend Luna swoon over her handsome new fiancé, she can’t help feeling worried. Life has taught Rose that love ends in heartbreak, and all she wants is to protect herself and Luna. That’s why she came up with her Rules for Love: follow these and happiness is guaranteed.

Only Luna is breaking all the rules. She only met Marco a month ago. Rose is sure that love at first sight isn’t real… until she sets eyes on Ben, the best man. Towering above her, with tousled blonde hair and wide, powerful shoulders, he’s irritatingly charming, relentlessly positive and insists that love really can conquer all. Rose’s head is in a spin.

She has learned to never open her heart, never to trust, but Ben is becoming harder to resist…

Will breaking the rules end with Rose breaking her heart? Or will the magic of Italy bring her the happy ending she’s always dreamed of?

#summervibes☀️ #italianwedding #netgalleyreviewer

Quick synopsis:
Rose, a relationship therapist who doesn't believe in healthy relationships, flies to Italy to attend her best friends' wedding, determined to stop her from marrying a guy she's just met.
Insert Ben, the groom's best friend who's determined to make the wedding happen no matter what!

They're both the complete opposite and the only thing they have in common is: their fear of falling in love, so what happens when they start catching feelings?

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW:
- A very light summer read, full of warm family vibes, adventures and lots of funny scenes! For me, it made me think of 2000s movies, so simple yet mesmerising 😍

- Loved being inside Rose's head as a therapist and how that affected her judgement and actions.

- Ben's love for Rose felt more genuine than hers for him, I felt like she was more physically attracted to him, but their love story is still nice.

- Aurora's character was so much fun! I adored her and her "husband" Aldo! Each character was actually really unique and interesting, they were all very well-written 💕

- THERE'S A DOG IN THIS BOOK.
And it plays an important role towards the end!

- The book is a dual pov written in third person, I really liked it, but I wish the author showed more when describing the characters emotions than telling how they feel.

Quotes from A Very Italian Wedding by Donna Ashcroft:
" Wed in haste, repent at leisure is a mantra I share with all my clients."
" He wasn't used to having these feelings, wasn't ready - but for the first time in a long time, Ben wondered if with Rose, he could be? "
" Silence was the space where you learned the most interesting things. Pieces of puzzles people didn't always intent to share. It was irritating how much she wanted to get to know Ben, how much she suddenly wanted to flesh out and colour in the empty spaces of his life. "

A Very Italian Wedding is the perfect romantic escape! I wasn't a big fan of Rose, but Ben’s warmth and humor shine through every scene. If you’re looking for a sweet, feel-good escape that whisks you off to Italy, this one’s a must-read!

this book gave me ✨Italy-core✨ and i was so here for it. small villages, cliffside views, chaotic wedding energy? yes please. The atmosphere was doing all the heavy lifting—and honestly, I didn’t mind.

rose is flying in to talk her bestie out of sprinting into marriage, fully armed with logic and a slightly judgy vibe. but guess who’s on the same flight? ben—the best man, walking charm bomb, and firm believer in reckless romance. sparks fly, obviously. they clash, they flirt, they bond over shared trauma. classic.

ben was a sweetheart and totally carried the emotional weight of this story. i wanted to give him a hug. rose… was another story. she was so tightly wound and ruled by other people’s bad choices that i had a hard time connecting with her. she did start to soften, and i was almost rooting for them—until the dreaded miscommunication plot hit and I checked out. Hard. from that point on, I couldn’t root for the couple, no matter how cute the scenery was.

also—where was Luna’s storyline?! I needed more of her and marco. give me the actual whirlwind romance. aurora & coco were the standouts though—big personalities, fun energy, would read a spin-off with just them.

overall...messy but charming. i didn’t love the couple, but I liked the writing and I’d absolutely try something else by this author.

huge thanks to netgalley for the arc <3

Oh my! This book is gorgeous. Between the locations and the array of romantic moments, I loved everything about it.
When Rose, the self-proclaimed love doctor, learns that her friend has met and become engaged to her fiancé in the space of less than a month, every alarm bell rings in her head, and she embarks on a mission to make Luna see the light.
Rose has created an extensive set of rules curated to ensure that mistakes are avoided and the heart is protected. The most urgent of them is that a couple should know each other for at least a year before things get serious between them. With years spent counselling couples, Rose believes in her rules and never deviates from their structure.
I completely agreed with Rose and her rules because they made absolute sense to me. However, I’m also a great believer in the mantra that rules were made to be broken, so maybe I’m not the best judge. When Rose finds herself in a situation where she meets the incredibly handsome Ben, who happens to be the best friend of Luna’s groom, sparks begin to fly and become complicated by the added presence of Marco’s clairvoyant Aunt Aurora and her late husband.
I loved everything about this book, from the inclusion of many tropes to the relationships between the best friends. The romance felt real despite being accelerated by circumstances. I was fully invested in Rose’s mission until I found myself more interested in Rose failing and Luna finding happiness.
Rose and Ben captured my imagination, and despite the rules being put in jeopardy, I wanted to see a happy ending for them all.
A Very Italian Wedding has everything that I could have asked for, from beautiful characters and hilarious wedding guests to an incredibly happy ending. I loved it and cannot recommend it enough.

Tuscany, known for its breathtaking beauty, serves as the picturesque backdrop for this heartwarming tale of love and friendship. Rose, overjoyed for her best friend Luna’s recent engagement to Marco, can’t help but be concerned about Luna rushing into this significant milestone.

Amidst the festivities, Rose crosses paths with Ben, the soon-to-be best man. Determined to keep her heart guarded, she finds it challenging to resist Ben’s charm, positivity, and unwavering belief in true love. As Ben seems to embody every quality she desires, Rose grapples with the prospect of her heart being shattered.

“A Very Italian Wedding,” a captivating novel by Donna Ashcroft, transports readers to the enchanting landscapes of Tuscany. The story is a delightful exploration of new love, the excitement of a wedding, and the enduring power of love.

From the very first page, the story ensnares the reader, transporting them to the picturesque seaside of Tuscany. The sun’s radiant rays dance upon the water, creating a mesmerizing display of diamonds. Rose and Luna, the beloved characters, are portrayed with such depth and authenticity that they feel like close friends. The author’s skillful storytelling makes this a must-read for anyone seeking a heartwarming and entertaining escape. I highly recommend this lovely book.