Ljeto u hotelu Portofino - Ljubavnici i lažljivci

Hotel Portofino #2

by J.P. O'Connell, Andrea Šimunić (Translator)

Dobro došli u očaravajući hotel Portofino na slikovitoj talijanskoj rivijeri, gdje vas očekuju ljubav, spletke i opasne ambicije Ljeto je 1927. Počela je nova sezona i hotel Portofino radi punom parom pod vodstvom vlasnice Belle Ainsworth. Dok Bella nestrpljivo iščekuje dolazak sina Luciana i priliku da s njim porazgovara o budućnosti hotela – željela bi hotelski podrum prenamijeniti u otmjeno kupalište – neočekivano se pojavljuje Cecil, njezin odbjegli suprug. Tijekom nekoliko vrućih tjedana talijanskog ljeta Bella je prisiljena donijeti odluku o svom braku sa Cecilom i odrediti u kojoj je mjeri spremna suprotstaviti se društvenim normama kako bi dobila ono što želi. I dok se svakodnevno trudi udovoljiti svojim zahtjevnim gostima, starim i novim, boreći se pritom s korumpiranom talijanskom vlašću, Bellu uznemiri vijest da u hotel stiže anonimna inspekcija Zelenih vodiča, utjecajne publikacije za britanske turiste, čija kritika može ozbiljno utjecati na budućnost hotela Portofino. Uživajte u novom nastavku uzbudljive povijesne drame smještene u dvadesete godine prošlog stoljeća. Savršeno štivo za sve vas koji obožavate britanske serije kao što su Downton Abbey, Kruna, Durrellovi...

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

310 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2024

Reviews

[Ioana]

The second part for the Hotel Portofino series was another beautiful book for me.
Shorter but sadder than the first, this book brings back the characters that I fell in love with in the picturesque Italy for another summer season at the hotel.
As I said, this was a bit sadder and the main characters have more conflict and self doubt compared to the first book.
I liked how Bella took more control of her life, I'm not sure how I felt about Lucian's attitude towards Rose and I felt like punching Cecil and Danioni.
Poor Rose and poor Nish...
The ending was left up in the air yet again and I hope that means that there will be a third book. I do hope a 3rd one will come, because I really enjoyed this series so far.

[Martine Tieleman]

Een heerlijk vervolg op deel 1. In de jaren ‘20 op vakantie in Portofino. Drama en liefde.
Zou er nog een deel 3 komen?

[Mary Anna]

As mai fi vrut încă vreo 10 volume ....

[Rebecca Cartwright]

Going into this I knew it was the second book in the Hotel Portofino series, but after reading reviews, I felt confident it would work as a standalone. Perhaps starting with Hotel Portofino would have made a difference, but as a standalone, Lovers and Liars didn’t quite deliver for me.
Unfortunately, I struggled to connect with the numerous characters and found the drama at the hotel underwhelming.

[Lillian Vella]

I enjoyed this book. I didn’t realise it was a second part when I started it. There were references to the previous story but I don’t think I lost anything by not reading the first one. I seek out the first book

[SUSAN WATSON]

Love, life, death and Italy

More than a holiday read, beautifully set in the culture of 1920s Italy, Well observed and a human story line told, watts and all.

[Czytam_i_kartkuje]

Po przeczytaniu Hotelu Portofino obiecałam sobie, że gdy tylko wpadnie mi w ręce druga część, sięgam po nią niezwłocznie. Zatem, idąc za ciosem, położyłam swoje łapki na kolejnej części, którą wyszperałam w wersji angielskiej gdzieś w odmętach Internetu. Zatem spieszę donieść, co też ciekawego mnie tam spotkało.

Jeśli nie czytaliście pierwszej części to będą tu spoilery.

Drogi Cecila i Belli Ainsworthów rozeszły się, a choć nieoficjalnie, to wydawało się, że na dobre. Cóż, nic bardziej mylnego. Na dokładkę dowiadujemy się, że również życie nowożeńców nie maluję się w kolorowych barwach. Po raz kolejny na arenę wkracza także Danioni i jego poplecznicy, czeka nas także zaskoczenie sezonu ze strony Alice, oraz pewniak w postaci czuwającego nad wszystkim hrabiego Albani. Rok po wydarzeniach z pierwszej części, Hotel Portofino przechodzi częściowy remont, który ma pozwolić mu wkroczyć w przyszłość, jednak zbyt wiele czynników stara się stanąć na przeszkodzie. Jak wybrnie z tego Bella? Co dalej z targanym emocjami Lucianem?

Od tej części nie mogłam się wprost oderwać. Fabuła płynie dosyć wartko, dużo się dzieje na wielu płaszczyznach, które sprytnie się przenikają. Obok dobrze znanych postaci pojawiają się także nowe, które ubarwiają historię i wnoszą do niej sporo rozterek i własnego bagażu. Rozgrywają się tutaj dramaty osobiste, zręcznie przeplatane z ciemnymi interesami i to chyba klucz do płynnej fabuły, która ani na chwilę mnie nie znudziła. Cały czas kibicowałam Belli i jej staraniom, aby nie dać się stłamsić naporom z zewnątrz-szczęściem, poradziła sobie koncertowo! Trochę żałuję, że hrabia Albani pojawił się tym razem głównie w tle, jednak rozumiem, że inni też muszą mieć swoje pięć minut.

Jeśli trafiliście już na tę część w wersji polskiej to dajcie znać. A jeśli nie, to trzymam kciuki za wydawnictwo Marginesy, aby szybko to nadrobiono 😉

[Thebooktrail]

Discover the locations in the novel here


Following on from The Hotel Portofino, we are back at the hotel and Bella is now head of the hotel empire. The sun shines from the first page and it’s an Italian delight as the water shimmers, the hotel sheets are pressed and the guests start to arrive. One of these guests is Bella’s son Lucian. Bella has plans to change part of the hotel and introduce a spa. I thought that sounded very nice!

A young man called Lucian, a spa in an Italian hotel? Well, that all sounds nice but then someone called Cecil turns up. The DAD no less. Their relationship is interesting to say the least.

It’s all about surprising guests who just turn up and then life changes accordingly. A travel guide inspector turning up might just be the best or most awkward uninvited guest yet. However, by the end of the book, it was a close call!

This was a nice, sunny follow up to The Hotel Portofino and the setting was wonderfully evoked. I realise this is on telly now but the book just evokes the setting with style. It’s a calm, gentle novel for the most part – like Downton Abbey in the sun, and that was just what I needed!

Now, where’s my glass of Pinot Grigio?

[Oana Lambrache]

Am revenit pe riviera italiană, la superbul hotel Portofino, alături de personajele deja cunoscute din volumul precedent, fiecare suportând consecințele propriilor alegeri și acțiuni. Bella Ainsworth devine o femeie mult mai puternică față de cum mi-o aminteam, luându-și viața în mâini prin decizii curaoase și planuri mărețe pentru hotelul pe care îl vede ca pe un copil. La polul opus, Cecil, soțul ei, se afundă în afaceri ilegale, Lucian, fiul ei, are probleme în căsnicie, deși doar ce s-a căsătorit cu Rose, o tânără plăpândă, care pare mai tot timpul bolnavă și nefericită. Li se adaugă o varietate de personaje pestrițe, de la personalul hotelului la cei care fac legea în oraș, de la musafirii bogați la cei care poartă măști pentru a părea ceea ce nu sunt.

M-am îndrăgostit de frumusețea locurilor și a oamenilor, de descrierile din prima carte pe care, din păcate, nu le-am regăsit în cel de-al doilea volum. Poate și din cauza numărului mai mic de pagini, poate și pentru a lăsa loc imaginației alături de un final pe care îl consider deschis pentru un viitor volum din care să aflu cum va evolua relația dintre Lucian și Constance (și dacă va exista una), ce se va întâmpla cu Bella și Cecil (vor divorța? Cecil va ieși cu viață din păienjenișul contrabandei? Bella va trece peste infidelitățile lui Cecil și vor continua să fie împreună?), dacă își va găsi Alice (fiica Bellei) un partener, ce personaje colorate vor trece pragul hotelului Portofino.

[PaperBookLover]

Ohne den Teil 1 gelesen zu haben, konnte ich mich im Plot relativ schnell zurechtfinden. Bella, die Chefin des Hauses, führt ein prosperierendes Hotel in Portofino in den 30er Jahren, während ihr Mann Cecil , mit dem es in der Vergangenheit Vorfälle gab, in London weilt. Sie fühlt sich wohl mit ihrem Team, der resoluten Köchin Betty und der engagierten Constance , sowie dem Architekten Marco. Ihr Sohn Lucian, frisch und unglücklich verheiratet mit der kränkelnden Rose, und die Tochter Alice, verwitwet, beschließen beide sie zu besuchen, als auch Cecil überraschend vor der Tür steht . Während Alice sich mit einem neuen Mann an ihrer Seite zeigt, versucht Lucian, seine Liebe zu Constance zu zeigen, als seine Frau überraschend anreist. Zusätzlich ist sein alter Freund Nish in Turin schwer verwundet worden und bringt ihn ebenfalls in Schwierigkeiten. Windige Geschäfte und ein aufstrebender Lokalpatron bringen das Lebenswerk von Bella in Gefahr.
Ein interessantes Werk interessanten Einblicken in die Anfänge des Tourismus in Italien - mit einer starken Frau als Hauptperson. Über Bella selbst hätte ich gerne noch mehr erfahren. Leider war der relativ kurze Roman vollgepackt mit Personen, Schicksalen, Handlungssträngen. Hier hätte eine Reduktion dem ganzen Buch gutgetan. Vor allem die Geschichte von Nish und dem Attentat wäre mE nicht notwendig gewesen. So verlor sich die Hauptperson etwas in der Geschichte. Solide 3.4 Sterne für das Gesamtkunstwerk.

[Addie BookCrazyBlogger]

It’s the summer of 1927 and Hotel Portofino is prospering under Bella’s stewardship. As the season begins, she is looking forward to her son Lucien’s arrival and the chance to discuss with him the plans to create a new spa. But then her wayward husband Cecil shows up and all hell breaks loose. Over the course of the next several summer weeks, Bella is forced to confront her relationship with Cecil and to decide if she’s prepared to risk everything to get what she wants. As she welcomes new guests and old friends, an anonymous visit from a travel guide inspector threatens to make or break the hotel’s future. I love that this novel has so many characters but it’s a bit much at times to focus on all of them, and I felt like there could have been some good focus on just 4-5 characters, with longer backstories. However, that being said, I loved this novel! It was such a great cross between historical fiction and contemporary fiction, as it was based in the past but it felt very modern as well. I really liked this book but I wish the ending had been more solid. It felt very fluid and some things didn’t get wrapped up, making me wonder if there will be a third novel or if I’ll have to seek my answers through the TV show.

[Alexandra Gabriela]

O carte mediocră, cu o poveste foarte previzibilă, 100% politically correct. Avem familia nobiliara albă, un personaj de culoare, un personaj din comunitatea LGBTQ+ , un indian, toți întruniți într-o țară europeană : Italia. Și pentru o intrigă mai intensă: în timpul regimului fascist.
Povestea este searbădă și deși are mai multe ramificații, niciuna nu incită sau nu atrage cititorul să rămână “captiv” în derularea sa.
Pentru atâtea recenzii bune citite anterior, finalizarea cartii e dezamăgitoare. Desi exista partea a doua a cartii, am tras linie dupa vol 1.

[Mojca Rudolf]

Saga Belle in njene družine ter hotela v Portofinu v letu 1927 se nadaljuje. Bellin mož Cecile se vrne in ponovno povzroča preglavice. Prav tako osovraženi fašist Danioni. Vrstijo se zabavni skoki čez plot, ki jih tudi tokrat ne manjka. Pogrešala sem le dobre cinične dvogovore, vzvišenost gostov in njihova raznolikost. Nekaj novih gostov sicer spoznamo; predvsem Bello zanima, kateri izmed njih je ocenjevalec hotela in kakšne ocene bodo dobili. Simpatična saga, nedvomno bo fajn prebrati nadaljevanje.

[S Y]

I was entertained on my train rides though Europe by this telenovella in print. Unfortunately, there was limited narrative arch for the characters. Despite many storylines at once, none of the characters were developed enough to care about the semi-tragic ending. Perhaps it’s because I skipped the first book on accident. I wasn’t particularly moved by this text, but I would be intrigued to read what happens next… it’s more of a binge read. I recommend for some easy, light, casual reading.

[Anisia Udrea-Chesnoiu]

La fel ca prima parte, cartea este super usor de parcurs si lejera, te pierzi imediat in peisaje si in povestea personajelor.

Spre deosebire de primul volum, aici avem parte de mai multa actiune, lucru care mi-a placut enorm. Ritmul este mult mai alert, se intampla lucruri la tot pasul si vedem in sfarsit repercusiuni reale. Personajele devin mult mai dinamice pentru ca le descoperim direct prin fapte, nu doar prin descrieri. Personal, mi-a placut chiar mai mult decat prima parte.

[Daniella Bernett]

This engaging tale plunges the reader back into a complex milieu of scheming, romance, heartbreak and courage along the Italian Riviera in 1927. Some friendships are binding, while others are merely a façade of convenience. An undercurrent of danger lurks in the shadows.

[Luc Coldyard]

Ich habe es als erstes gelesen, ohne den ersten Teil zu kennen oder gar von seiner Existenz zu wissen. Es funktioniert aber tatsächlich auch mehr oder weniger als stand-alone. Es war eine schöne Lektüre zum einfach weglesen. Das Ende fand ich leider recht abrupt.

[Tulbure Alexandru]

“Totuși, să mai treacă acum prin asta, din partea cuiva atât de jalnic și bățos ca Rose, pentru care a avea greutăți înseamnă să rămâi fără ruj… Constance simți cum i se înroșesc obrajii de furie.”

[Petra Janeš]

4.25⭐️
So good to be back in this world with all the characters, it was just a bit boring at times but still very enjoyable.

[Wendy Zaar]

Mooi verhaal

[Georgette Hall]

Good story but I wanted to know more about the characters

[GWild]

Total blast.
What looks like a cheap B category book, is actualy true masterpiece, deeper than Portofinos sea.

[Denisa Podina]

Am citit cartea în română, dar deși primului volum i-am dat 5 stele, volumul 2 nu m-a prins nici pe departe așa tare. În plus, scrisul e foooarte mic, a fost destul de obositor de citit pt mine.

[Ali]

I enjoyed both of the Hotel Portofino books. They gave me Downton Abbey vibes. Looking forward to watching the show now.

[Valerija]

Previše toga je ostalo nedorečeno...možda kao mogućnost za treći nastavak.. Nisam čitala prvi dio, pa mi nedostaje bolji uvid u likove. Ukratko trojka

[Thea]

4,5

[Zari]

43%

[Terry]

The second one was better written. I liked the ending of the first book better, when compared to the second

[Greta F]

Volume 2 perfectly completes the first part of Hotel Portofino.
Although it has a sad ending, the book wonderfully exposes the evolution of the characters.

[catherine Riffice]

Loved the first 2 books! Can hardly wait to read the next book!