Sophia's Reviews > The Little Italian Hotel
The Little Italian Hotel
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Phaedra Patrick has been a favorite since I read her debut book, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper. Focusing on ordinary people and their lives, her stories are engaging, heartwarming, and insightful into the human condition. I was eager to read about a middle-aged woman who knows all the answers and has the perfect life learn what a charade that truly is before she embarks on a soul-searching trip to Italy to share a small, faded hotel with five strangers.
Ginny has always had the gift of empathy and married her high school sweetie. But the years have brought her to a crisis point with her husband. They are practically strangers and now he wants a separation for them both to figure out if there is anything worth saving. Ginny is shocked and completely unsettled. She chooses to use the trip that was meant for an anniversary gift to Italy with four struggling strangers like herself. Forced to evaluate her entire life, Ginny is on even footing with her fellow guests and their host.
I loved seeing the magic of shared experiences and life stories get each of this odd assortment of people to open up with each other and start to heal a little. Ginny might have gotten complacent with her life back in England, but she truly does have a gift of empathy for others and each of those others has a gift to contribute to the group, too. It was neat discovering what lay behind the façade of each. The hotel proprietor and his daughter are also part of the healing group.
This is all about people and their relationships, but it is not romance. There are romantic moments, but the focus is Ginny and the others healing and able to find a measure of joy and peace with what life through at them. The gentle pace and tone of the character-driven story set against a beautiful Italian village and tourist locales all came together to make a satisfying read. Contemporary Fiction and Women’s Fictions fans would most appreciate The Little Italian Hotel.
My full review will post at Caffeinated Reviewer June 23rd.
Ginny has always had the gift of empathy and married her high school sweetie. But the years have brought her to a crisis point with her husband. They are practically strangers and now he wants a separation for them both to figure out if there is anything worth saving. Ginny is shocked and completely unsettled. She chooses to use the trip that was meant for an anniversary gift to Italy with four struggling strangers like herself. Forced to evaluate her entire life, Ginny is on even footing with her fellow guests and their host.
I loved seeing the magic of shared experiences and life stories get each of this odd assortment of people to open up with each other and start to heal a little. Ginny might have gotten complacent with her life back in England, but she truly does have a gift of empathy for others and each of those others has a gift to contribute to the group, too. It was neat discovering what lay behind the façade of each. The hotel proprietor and his daughter are also part of the healing group.
This is all about people and their relationships, but it is not romance. There are romantic moments, but the focus is Ginny and the others healing and able to find a measure of joy and peace with what life through at them. The gentle pace and tone of the character-driven story set against a beautiful Italian village and tourist locales all came together to make a satisfying read. Contemporary Fiction and Women’s Fictions fans would most appreciate The Little Italian Hotel.
My full review will post at Caffeinated Reviewer June 23rd.
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Reading Progress
March 4, 2023
– Shelved
May 4, 2023
–
Started Reading
May 21, 2023
–
Finished Reading