I quite liked this book, but I didn't love it. I remember reading I Love Capri a good few years ago now and I enjoyed that very much. One thing I really liked about that was how it was firmly set in a specific time owing to its topical references of Heat magazine, Simon Cowell and so on. That is a fab element of chick lit and something I love when I pick up a new to me book that may be a few years old; it's almost amusingly retro. Basic premise: Kirsty is a journalist and feels that her boyfriend doesn't show her any romance in life. She wants more, and jumps at the opportunity to report undercover on an expose of the Venetian "Love Academy" where Italians (Amores, no less) teach us behind-the-door Brits how to romance our partners. She also sees it as a chance to help out her lovelorn brother and pick up some ideas herself to improve her relationship. I was cross with her at first, thinking for goodness sake, think about how love is shown to you in real life! It isn't all about flowers, satin sheets and grand gestures!
This was good in parts. It wasn't as predictable as I thought it might have been at the outset and I felt the ending was the right one for all the characters. I just didn't "buy" all of it. The whole idea of the Love Academy didn't ring true. Would such a place exist in real life? I couldn't take it seriously. I also didn't buy that Kirsty, a journalist on "Hot" magazine (rather like Heat, I imagine) would really have had access to Sophia Loren, George Clooney and other A listers. Aren't they more likely to interview the likes of Mark Wright or people from Hollyoaks? Would such a magazine have the funding to pay for such luxurious accommodation? I wasn't convinced however, perhaps Belinda knows better having been in that line of work herself. I also thought there was far too much going on at the Love Academy - it was a completely exhausting whirlwind of activity.
What I did like a lot was Belinda's real life knowledge of the Italian settings. I've been to Venice, Verona and Garda and it made me nostalgic for my time there, the food and the drink. Her descriptions were flawless and I felt transported back there. I also loved the character development and the realisations that Kirsty comes to whilst in Venice. She veers from immaturity to understanding. She realises the truth about love and romance. One lovely scene is when she visits a cemetery and sees the graves of couples who have been together for years, and marvels at their lives together. She wonders why "love from a lover is held in such high esteem, almost more so than the love of a friend or a relative which is often more enduring or unconditional" and so do I. She realises that she may not have shown Joe everything she is expecting of him, and grows up a bit. Not a minute too late either at 36.
There was, of course, comedy which was for the most part believable, but I felt the most marvellous part of the book for me was the introduction to Raeleen D'Agostino and her real life book, Living La Dolce Vita. Now that really is is worth a read.
But I have to say a huge irritant was that people don't just speak. They "coo". Repetitively. Over and over. Belinda uses this verb so often it becomes screamingly annoying and I found myself looking out for it (and there were many occasions to become annoyed at) just to get it out of the way. She also uses it incorrectly when a character is being sarcastic - that isn't cooing! Please stop it!
I would recommend it for the information about Venice, the character development and the snippets of self-help in there that we can all learn something from. Love yourself first, before you try to love anyone else.