“To me, love is more like a lending library. To keep it, we must continually renew it. Otherwise we pay a hefty fine.”
There is a purported family curse that afflicts the Fontana family – that second-born daughters will never find true love and wed. When their estranged great-aunt Poppy promises to break the curse if they accompany her on a trip to Italy, Emilia and Lucy’s lives change radically.
This was a warm and engaging read about a trio of women who are misfits within their complicated family. While Em and Lucy have let their beliefs about the curse dictate the trajectory of their lives, Poppy has managed to break free somewhat. I enjoyed the interactions between these three, especially as the younger two came to respect each other, which was certainly not the case before.
I also enjoyed the writing, which was vivid without becoming overwrought. Though Em endeavors to find herself throughout the story, her journey is complicated and did not always progress how I imagined it would. Though I was able to guess the big twist pretty early on the story, it did not affect my enjoyment of the story.
However, I did find the depiction of Rosa and Daria to be quite irritating. Both of them treat their family members poorly, manipulating them without shame, and though Daria may have been merely misguided, Rosa came across so evil it was quite unrealistic. I didn’t precisely relish wanting to shake an eighty-something woman vigorously by the shoulders. Therefore, I did not at all like the various reconciliations that occurred, even though I suppose resentment festers. I believe some toxic people ought to remain cut out of one’s life. I also found much of the romance one-note.
Ultimately an enjoyable read that reminded me a lot of a rom-com.
