Tell Me Something by Adele Parks

by Adele Parks

Elizabeth has wanted two things her entire life to keep her happy and fulfilled – an Italian husband and lots of rosy-cheeked bambini. The first is ticked off, now she’s bagged dark and sexy Roberto, the second is proving harder to achieve.

But when Roberto loses his job and decides to leave London for romantic Italy and the family business, Elizabeth hopes the change in lifestyle might help her relax and boost her chances of conceiving their longed for child. Except, no matter how much ice cream she eats in the sun drenched piazza, it’s impossible to relax when her wily mother-in-law (the original black widow) seems hell bent on destroying her marriage. The language barrier is proving tricky too, as is Roberto’s beautiful, significant ex who practically lives next door.

Is Elizabeth’s ferocious hunger for a baby enough to hold a marriage together or is it ripping it apart? And why is she suddenly craving the company of a gorgeous, blonde American stranger? Her filthy, flirty thoughts about him are totally inappropriate.

Yet, undeniably, temperatures are rising…

Genres: Chick Lit, Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Womens Fiction, Adult, Audiobook

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Adele Parks MBE is one of the most-loved and biggest-selling women's fiction writers in the UK. She has sold over 4 million books and her work has been translated into 30 different languages.

She has published 21 novels, all of which have been London Times bestsellers.

Adele has written 19 contemporary novels and 2 historical ones, Spare Brides and If You Go Away, which are set during and after WW1. Her latest novels, Both of You, Just My Luck, Lies Lies Lies, I Invited Her In, The Image of You and The Stranger in My Home are twisty, domestic noirs. Adele likes to scrutinize our concepts of family, our theories on love, parenting and fidelity.

During her career Adele has lived in Italy, Botswana and London. Now she lives happily in Surrey, UK with her husband, son and cat.

If you want to stay in touch you can find Adele on Twitter @AdeleParks, Instagram @Adele_Parks or Facebook @OfficialAdeleParks. You can sign up to her newsletter at eepurl.com/cI0l and there’s lots more info about Adele and her books on www.adeleparks.com.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite authors and never disappoints and this book is no exception. Loved it.

Five stars.

[Katrina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never read a book with a more irritating, selfish, stupid, naïve and moronic main character! I listened to this book as an audiobook which I hired through my local library app so the only saving grace is that I didn't have to pay for it in cash....I did however pay in time and patience! I don't honestly know why I persisted to the end except to say that I really don't like to leave things unfinished.
Elizabeth is a stupid twit who has one focus in life, having a baby. The first third of the book basically drones on and on about wanting a baby. It's painful, boring and annoying. I know a lot of women who want babies and have trouble conceiving but not a single one of them is completely devoid of personality, hobbies or interests in the way that Elizabeth is.
The second third of the book details what a total prat her husband is and focuses on some stereotypes about the Italian culture. I'm personally not offended by the stereotypes because I have lived with three Italian families in different regions of Italy and I actually know the stereotypes to be generally true. The part that I struggled with there is that she actually makes life choices and decisions based entirely on stereotypes. She actively decides not to see what is right in front of her and deliberately tries to avoid reality. She is just utterly painful.
In the last third of the book we're supposed to see her growth journey but, nah, I just saw an idiotic woman in her 30's being as useless and self indulgent as ever. No drive, no passion (except for the eternal need to have a baby) and no redeeming qualities.
In the end she gets everything she ever hoped for and I want to call bulls#!t because no interesting, well travelled, educated man would want anything to do with such a boring, vacuous idiot.
I know this review contains spoilers but suffice to say I haven't spoiled this book for you, it did it all on it's own.
100% would not recommend.

[Maria · Rating 1 out of 5]

I always try to find some positive aspects of a book when reviewing. And Adele Parks is a wonderful author – I’ve enjoyed quite a few of her previous works. But completing ‘Tell Me Something’ proved to be a painful process.
Our protoganist Elizabeth decides, that she has fallen in love with Italy and is determined to achieve her two life goals of having an Italian husband and lots of rosy-cheeked bambini. The first possible issue with setting such a goal is that Elizabeth does so at the age of 14, based on one holiday to Italy. Hmm, while I’ve read that our musical tastes are formed by the age of 14 (hopefully, this explains my fondness for Blur!), it seems improbable that a decade later, the protoganist would still be making major life decisions based on a holiday. Still, this is the premise of the story so we shall continue onwards.
And then we discover Elizabeth’s tendency towards stereotypes. Which on several occasions are boarderline racist. And then we arrive in Italy, where the author seems to revel in stereotypes of the Italian mother, loyal son, leering men ……..
I’ve lived in Italy for several years and yes, while stereotypes are created for a reason, there is so much more to the country than the characters created by Parks. Was this book intended as a work of humour? The only redeeming feature was her frequent description of the beautiful countryside, Verona and Venice.
An irritating and annoying protagonist who continually fails to see the viewpoint of others, yet reveals her own flaws on a regular basis, this book was predictable and a highly disappointing read from a usually well-respected author.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Tell Me Something' is the perfect beach read. Laying by the pool, under a clear blue sky, sipping on a long cold drink is the best way to enjoy this story.
At the start of the story Elizabeth appears to be just another shallow, glamourous, high flyer. From the age of fifteen when she went to Italy on holiday she has made it her goal in life to marry an Italian and have a brood of beautiful babies. She found her Italian in Roberto and they have been married for years now, he's succesful, she's a waitress just waiting for the day that she becomes pregnant. Every month passes in tears as she finds that yet again there is no baby. Then Roberto is made redundant and they make the massive decision to give up life in London and return to Roberto's home town in Italy and run the family business. Elizabeth believes that this will be the perfect place to get pregnant, raise her family and live happily ever after.
Of course, things don't work out like that. For one, Italy is not all sunshine, for two; Roberto's mother hates her and for three; Roberto's beautiful ex girlfriend - perfect, Italian and loved by her mother in law.
The story is funny in places, enough to giggle out loud and it is also very sad in parts. On the whole, a great holiday read that kept me entertained for a good few hours

[Sammi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t like the main character from the start, and pretty much everything she did made me like her less…
I considered giving up reading it a couple of times, and probably should’ve done. All a bit predictable.

[Catherine Makin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really struggled to get into this book. It’s normally my type of genre to. I found it very slow going and i wanted to slap Elizabeth!!! She was all me, me, me!!

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very disappointed with this, which keeps happening when I read Parks' latest books. It was very cliched, stereotypical Italian and mother-in-law (which she obviously realised then tried to explain away by getting the main character to have numerous conversations about her stereotyping). I didn't like the main character, Parks did not tie up any of the main threads of the book, and the ending was entirely predictable from about page 10. Formulaic, get the impression she is just churning them out now and can't be bothered to think too hard. I've only given it 2 because I finished it.

[Cecile Paddle · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️ Such a self centred b***, that Elizabeth 😤

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real enjoyable tale that reminds us that what we want from life never always gives us exactly what we want or go totally to plan. What I enjoy about Adele Parks is that her novels could be completely true. A great read with plenty of emotion.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the book which was in our holiday apartment in Lake Garda Italy.

[Damelapin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitively not my favorite. You can’t help but dislike Raffaella, and then Roberto.
I couldn’t warm to Elizabeth, she’s too full of clichés. And I hate when the villain (mum in law) gets her way^^

[Travice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook

[Kerryrosalia · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy summer read

[Goddess Of Blah · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a chick lit read - this book is brilliant. It has a few errors, particularly Italian dialogue etc but if you're looking for chick lit (but not mushy or silly) than this book is for you. Its not a typical chick lit either so don't worry.

The one thing I liked about this book is that the characters aren't usually what you would expect a a hero and heroine to be. The book starts off as though it will be a Mills & Boon with a rather pathetic and silly blonde heroine who is swept off her feet by a dashing dark Italian.... And then reality hits and we see that life isn't like a fairytale...

The heroine isn't anything extraordinary and the hero isn't the dashing dark Italian you'd expect.

The book is emotional, funny and sweet. It has lots of chick lit moments but it also defies the chick lit genre because the dashing handsome Italian isn't the Mills & Boon hero we thought he'd be...

[Emily Bates · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I haven't read an Adele Parks book for years, and this one just happened to be in a hotel library when I'd read all my books I'd taken with me on hols. It re-introduced me to her, didn't feel it was cliched and stereo-typical as some other reviewers have suggested. Chick-lit by it's very nature is escapism and fantasy romance, and this book does exactly what it says on the tin.

[Miss Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am reading Adele Parks books from the newest to the oldest.

As I get further back I’m enjoying them less and less. I’m bored of books about women obsessed with having babies and IVF.

This book is particularly unrealistic what man would want a who wish so shallow and has no other interests or any redeeming qualities.

Sorry if the spelling is bad I can’t find my glasses.

Anyhow I might stop here.

[Kimberly #Audiofile · Rating 2 out of 5]

Awww crap it I normally love this author but this fmc os one of the worst I’ve ever read. She’s absolutely horrible.
No backbone
Weak
Judgemental
Naive
Stubborn
Honestly she doesn’t grow at all during the book and doesn’t get herself out of a horrible situation.

I struggled through and finished the book but god dam was it hard to do.

[Fatima Asif · Rating 1 out of 5]

Initially the book was interesting but then it became so boring that i was waiting desperatley to get to the end......
i would not recommend this book to anyone
it was my first and last of ADele parks book

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a real page turner. A good read for all.

[Ericakwek · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good romantic novel. Never expect the ending will be like this but it's good. It's show that romantic won't stay forever.

[Kelly Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book, throughly enjoyed it from start to finish. Adele Parks is one of my fav authors.

[Glynis · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Adele Parks and I loved it. Funny, sad but a good read even with the one typo error I spotted it is bored not board! A combination of Marian Keyes and Emily Barr.

[Yasmin Rofidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good, liked it!

[Haylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great read and could not put the book down. read it.

[CeeCee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a little while to get into this book, picking it up for few pages, then putting it down again. Suffice to say, it didn't grip me from the start. However, once the characters move to Italy, the story comes alive somewhat, albeit immensely annoying at times.
Like other reviewers, I empathised with Elizabeth now and again in her longing for a baby, but other times she came across as really really annoying, and I ached for her to get some backbone and tell the gruesome mother in law where to go. Instead, she seems to accept everything the family throw at her, without as much as a grumble, scrubbing loos because the cleaner hasn't turned up, doing 14 hour stints in the bar, not even getting the privacy of a lock on the bathroom door. Surely a born and bred London girl would have a bit of gumption and stand up for herself.
The plot is very clichéd at times, with the happy ending that you expect, no surprise there. However, we are not given any insight into why Roberto fell out with the family and felt the need to stay away, marry, and not see any of them for six years. Then at the drop of the hat, the prodigal son returns to their bosom and all is forgotten, with all the hatred focused on Elizabeth. I presume we are supposed to draw from this, that the mother blames Elizabeth for keeping him away. Who knows - we are never told.
Chuck the American squeeze is great - very likeable and sexy. However, even then, Elizabeth cocks it up with her self obsession. I was screaming at the book at the end, it was so frustrating.
So all in all, despite my misgivings, it was a fair enough read, not brilliant, but not too bad either. And a happy ending to boot.

[Roberta · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’d give this book zero stars if I could. While it’s well written, the main character—Elizabeth—quickly becomes unbearable. She comes across as selfish, naive, and ignorant, constantly making assumptions, failing to communicate, and never learning from her mistakes. Instead of showing any growth, she behaves more like a teenager (which would at least explain her behavior) rather than a woman in her thirties. She clings to outdated ideas and prejudices in a way that makes her both immature and exhausting to read.

At first, you might assume the book itself is outdated, given how narrow-minded and especially obsessed with babies Elizabeth is. But that’s not the case—the other characters are far more reasonable, grounded, and realistic, which only makes her flaws stand out more starkly.

There’s nothing wrong with a woman deeply wanting children, but Elizabeth’s single-minded obsession is written in such an exaggerated, irritating way that it becomes unbearable. On top of that, she’s incredibly dependent on everyone around her. She never takes initiative, never makes her own decisions, and spends the story being rescued by others.

In the end, she gets exactly what she wants without ever working for it—simply by being selfish and blaming others for her own behavior. There’s no growth, no lesson learned, no satisfying twist. And yet again, she’s “saved” by another character.

A well-written book, but with a terrible and deeply frustrating story.

[Nessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on audiobook.

I’ve always enjoyed Adele Parks books but this one was definitely not one of my favourites, it was a struggle at times just to get through it. The main reason for that was because of the main character Elizabeth, I went from liking her to not liking her quite a few times, her obsession with having a baby just took over everything and she became quite selfish and irrational because of it. It also bothered me how her husband and mother-in-law treated her and that she just took it most of the time, never fought her corner, not to begin with anyhow.

But despite all that, I did still enjoy a fair bit of the story and it was well written, the setting of Italy was a lovely touch, felt like I was there for real at times.

[amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Listened on audiobook and if I had read the physical copy I would’ve been bored I think so I’m so glad I listened!!

Weirdly I did find this book enjoyable, but the audiobook was 12hours long and I felt could’ve easily been about 4 hours shorter. It was quite repetitive.

I like the moral ambiguity of this- that our main character was pretty much cheating, never really read a book like this before. This kept the plot rather hooking.

I HATED Roberto’s mother omfggg. And Roberto too in the end! But loved Pauline bless her.

An interesting and different story but also a little bit boring and way to long… if that makes any sense!!

[Rain · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible book, wanted to DNF a lot but continued - it did not get better. None of the characters were likeable or believable (Chuck is likeable but not particularly believable). I wasn’t rooting for Elizabeth, she is a terrible human, not because of the infidelity but she is weak and pathetic and a terrible friend. She spouts anti fat crap that should have been left in the 90s and has horrendously stereotyped everyone including her best friend. This is commented on in the book and I guess we are meant to see her as naive and sweet but she’s pretentious and entitled.

Urgh. Terrible book, save yourself.

[Zoe Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a rollercoaster this book is, I raced through this book dreaming of Italy and the amount of different emotions I felt from feeling heartbroken along with Elizabeth by her not conceiving and then splitting with Roberto to then smiling manically and crying when she finally conceived and had her baby with Chuck, a brilliant book and definitely recommend to everyone. A wonderful and surprising love story.