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Lost in Europe #3
Lost in Rome
When Lucy heads to Rome for the summer, she's is in for pizza, pasta, and a little amore in this M!X novel from the author of Lost in London.
Lucia "Lucy" Rossi thought she was going to be a camp counselor for the summer, but, thanks to a very fortunate twist, she ends up in Rome, Italy, helping out at her aunt's restaurant, Amore Pizzeria. Lucy can't wait to see some ruins, eat all the gelato she can, and maybe say a few buongiornos to some cute Italian boys.
But Lucy arrives to Italian trouble. Her aunt is in danger of losing her business, thanks to a flashy new pizzeria down the road that is all style, but no substance. In order to try and save the shop, Lucy decides to employ a very unique version of matchmaking—making matches based on customer's pizza preferences. Soon, word of the American matchmaker gets out, and it looks like the business might be saved! Or so she thinks—until someone decides to try and sabotage the newfound success of Amore pizza. Can Lucy figure out who might be behind everything? Or will her family be saying ciao to Amore Pizzeria for good?
Lucia "Lucy" Rossi thought she was going to be a camp counselor for the summer, but, thanks to a very fortunate twist, she ends up in Rome, Italy, helping out at her aunt's restaurant, Amore Pizzeria. Lucy can't wait to see some ruins, eat all the gelato she can, and maybe say a few buongiornos to some cute Italian boys.
But Lucy arrives to Italian trouble. Her aunt is in danger of losing her business, thanks to a flashy new pizzeria down the road that is all style, but no substance. In order to try and save the shop, Lucy decides to employ a very unique version of matchmaking—making matches based on customer's pizza preferences. Soon, word of the American matchmaker gets out, and it looks like the business might be saved! Or so she thinks—until someone decides to try and sabotage the newfound success of Amore pizza. Can Lucy figure out who might be behind everything? Or will her family be saying ciao to Amore Pizzeria for good?
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
40 people are currently reading
860 people want to read
About the author
Cindy Callaghan
13 books178 followersCindy Callaghan is an award-winning and producer. She's best knows for Just Add Magic and Just Add Magic 2: Potion Problems which were developed into an Emmy-nominated Amazon Original series distributed worldwide via Nickelodeon. She has also published five mega-popular Lost in books: London, Ireland, Paris, Rome, and Hollywood, and two stand-alones: the award-winning Sydney MacKenzie Knocks ‘Em Dead and Saltwater Secrets. Saltwater Secrets is set up with a major studio.
The Girl Who Ruined Christmas has been an Instagram sensation.
Be on the lookout for My Big Heart-Shaped Fail this fall.
When asked what it is about her books that tweens love, she chuckles and says, “The funny! Without a doubt, it’s the funny situations, characters and dialogue.”
In addition to writing, Cindy’s passions include animal advocacy, running, movie-going, reading, podcasts, wine and girlfriends, all of which take a backseat to her three children, husband and menagerie of rescued-pets.
Cindy holds an MA and MBA, and has over twenty years of business experience. The Delawarian (by way of Los Angeles (USC)) is a Jersey girl at heart. She lives in Wilmington, and escapes to her PA mountain retreat whenever time will allow.
The Girl Who Ruined Christmas has been an Instagram sensation.
Be on the lookout for My Big Heart-Shaped Fail this fall.
When asked what it is about her books that tweens love, she chuckles and says, “The funny! Without a doubt, it’s the funny situations, characters and dialogue.”
In addition to writing, Cindy’s passions include animal advocacy, running, movie-going, reading, podcasts, wine and girlfriends, all of which take a backseat to her three children, husband and menagerie of rescued-pets.
Cindy holds an MA and MBA, and has over twenty years of business experience. The Delawarian (by way of Los Angeles (USC)) is a Jersey girl at heart. She lives in Wilmington, and escapes to her PA mountain retreat whenever time will allow.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
June 30, 2021
this book single-handedly started my italy phase five whole years ago and i will forever worship it; an all-time favourite and rico has my whole heart pls <3, a definite 2334231329/5 stars
May 24, 2025
2.5⭐️
August 30, 2015
You see, the only reason I have this book in my hands is because my sister won the giveaway of this book and I'm so glad that she did! Gosh, it's been awhile since I like a book so much that I want to drop everything that I'm doing and sit down, relax and read this book! I love Lucy since I can relate to her so much with her. She loves making and exaggerating stories like me and also has a sister that is a DIY queen like me! Yup, we're two peas in a pod. I love when I'm a reading a book and the protagonist and I seem to be best friends, it's as if I can see my myself inside her. A really cool feeling if I say so myself.
But please tell me, "why is this book so hard to put down"? Even when you feel tired and need to fall sleep, yet your mind is telling you to keep on reading?! What is this madness? Lucy is who. Or am I just to easy to control by the characters inside of the book? Hmm, a serious question here... but let's not just talk about one of characters since they were more. Rico and Aj. The hotties of the book - They're my two favorites, though they're so different in their own way.
The only down side of the story is that I wish there was a little more of romance with Lucy between the guys or more reconsideration of her feelings between Rico and Aj. And that's when I remember that is just still a "middle grade" read. Man, the potential that could of have been between the triangle.
But please tell me, "why is this book so hard to put down"? Even when you feel tired and need to fall sleep, yet your mind is telling you to keep on reading?! What is this madness? Lucy is who. Or am I just to easy to control by the characters inside of the book? Hmm, a serious question here... but let's not just talk about one of characters since they were more. Rico and Aj. The hotties of the book - They're my two favorites, though they're so different in their own way.
The only down side of the story is that I wish there was a little more of romance with Lucy between the guys or more reconsideration of her feelings between Rico and Aj. And that's when I remember that is just still a "middle grade" read. Man, the potential that could of have been between the triangle.
November 4, 2024
I have the set of 'Lost in London, Lost in Paris, Lost in Rome' all in one book, so yeah :] generally, out of the 3, Lost in Rome was my favorite! I generally loved the pizza bcuz like, whenever reading I can literally feel as if I'm eating the pizza! hello?? But anyways, I love how whenever I'm reading it, I can hear in my head the Italian! Like them speaking, and the accent, of course. I love the romance part, but I just wished there was more romance. And I was of course a bit bummed out that AJ and Lucy didn't get together, but hey! Rico is cool as well :]
October 7, 2017
Lost in Rome is a very good book about romance, and trying to keep an old pizzeria alive. I like this book because it has adventure and plot twists.
July 5, 2020
This book was bad I didn’t like it, but the main character is silly injoyed this story is very interesting , but I personally didn’t like it Cindy Callaghan’s work was nice, but there didn’t say something about being lost however.
November 15, 2017
I have read many of the other books from this series, and this one was my least favorite. It does not have as much action and adventures as the other books. This book was good, but definitely not as great as I was expecting it to be. It is about a girl and her sister, who's great aunt has a restaurant in Rome. In the book, all that really happens is that they help work for their aunt in the restaurant, and learn how to cook and make her secret sauce. I would not recommend this book because it was just repetitive and a little bit boring. I kept reading it because I was expecting there to be a climax and to have a twist that would make it better, but that never happened.
October 8, 2016
To Rome! I'd hoped to read this before I went to Rome myself this summer, but alas, it was not to be. Still, fun to read after the fact.
One of the problems I've had with this series is that, for narratives focused on particular places, they aren't as atmospheric as they might be. Lost in Rome does a better job of that, although it still by and large skips the famous stuff—e.g., the characters see the Colosseum, but it's not really described; they seems perfectly content to be aware that there are ancient ruins and interesting markets and so on...and then go back to the pizza shop and talk tomato sauce.
Plot-wise, it's okay. In two weeks in Rome, Lucy and her sister somehow manage to save their aunt's pizzeria while running the competitor (the only other pizza place in Rome, apparently) into the ground. Lots of reliance on other tourists and other people who might reasonably speak English, and I find it a little head-scratching that virtually everybody who sets foot in the pizzeria has a love match who just happens to be there are the right time. (I'd be very curious as to what Lucy would make of me: vegetarian white pizza—or green; I love pesto—with minimal toppings, and I think I'm just a little bit gayer than any of the customers she deals with here.)
I've said before (and will probably say again, as there are more of these books) that I'm really too old for these, but they're still fun, so...
One of the problems I've had with this series is that, for narratives focused on particular places, they aren't as atmospheric as they might be. Lost in Rome does a better job of that, although it still by and large skips the famous stuff—e.g., the characters see the Colosseum, but it's not really described; they seems perfectly content to be aware that there are ancient ruins and interesting markets and so on...and then go back to the pizza shop and talk tomato sauce.
Plot-wise, it's okay. In two weeks in Rome, Lucy and her sister somehow manage to save their aunt's pizzeria while running the competitor (the only other pizza place in Rome, apparently) into the ground. Lots of reliance on other tourists and other people who might reasonably speak English, and I find it a little head-scratching that virtually everybody who sets foot in the pizzeria has a love match who just happens to be there are the right time. (I'd be very curious as to what Lucy would make of me: vegetarian white pizza—or green; I love pesto—with minimal toppings, and I think I'm just a little bit gayer than any of the customers she deals with here.)
I've said before (and will probably say again, as there are more of these books) that I'm really too old for these, but they're still fun, so...
January 9, 2017
Lucy Rossi and her older sister Gianna revisit Rome, Italy after many years to help their Aunt Maria in the family's pizzeria named Amore Pizzeria. They learn the business is faltering because of the new competition from a new, trendy pizzeria.
The girls come to the rescue by doing simple redesignsto the restaurant,;giving samples; and Lucy uses the name of the pizzeria (Amore/Love) to help with her scheme of making romantic matchups with the customers based on their choices of pizzas topped with their aunt's secret sauce.
I enjoyed how the characters zipped around Rome to get ingredients for the sauce and would have liked a map to see where they were. I would have also loved the pizza sauce recipe! This was a fun way to explore Rome and I think the series about European cities would be a good introduction to Europe for children.
The girls come to the rescue by doing simple redesignsto the restaurant,;giving samples; and Lucy uses the name of the pizzeria (Amore/Love) to help with her scheme of making romantic matchups with the customers based on their choices of pizzas topped with their aunt's secret sauce.
I enjoyed how the characters zipped around Rome to get ingredients for the sauce and would have liked a map to see where they were. I would have also loved the pizza sauce recipe! This was a fun way to explore Rome and I think the series about European cities would be a good introduction to Europe for children.
November 29, 2019
A fun travel series for tween girls. Each book takes place in a different city with a different main character so they can be read in any order.
Lucy and her older sister Gianni are headed to Rome for two weeks to help out in their aunt's pizzeria. It hasn't been doing so well since a competitor opened up a pizzeria on the main square. Lucy and Gi are sure they can turn things around. Gi uses her decorating talents to amp up the ambience and Lucy uses her matchmaking skills to bring customers together. Lucy pairs people based on their pizza topping preferences. But how good is she at finding her own match? There's A.J, a restaurant employee, and Rico, a boy she swears she's seen before. Even her sister has a crush...on the competition's grandson no less...and Lucy suspects him of sabotage.
There's some jaunts around Rome, which definitely enhance the story. Lots of action, especially in the market place. I love Lucy's attempts to match people by purposely mixing up their checks and making up stories about why they need to change tables. This series will easily find readers, especially tween girls who dream of traveling to exotic cities.
Lucy and her older sister Gianni are headed to Rome for two weeks to help out in their aunt's pizzeria. It hasn't been doing so well since a competitor opened up a pizzeria on the main square. Lucy and Gi are sure they can turn things around. Gi uses her decorating talents to amp up the ambience and Lucy uses her matchmaking skills to bring customers together. Lucy pairs people based on their pizza topping preferences. But how good is she at finding her own match? There's A.J, a restaurant employee, and Rico, a boy she swears she's seen before. Even her sister has a crush...on the competition's grandson no less...and Lucy suspects him of sabotage.
There's some jaunts around Rome, which definitely enhance the story. Lots of action, especially in the market place. I love Lucy's attempts to match people by purposely mixing up their checks and making up stories about why they need to change tables. This series will easily find readers, especially tween girls who dream of traveling to exotic cities.
May 16, 2019
Lucy and her sister Gianna are spending two weeks with her aunt helping to run Amore pizza her business in Italy!
Upon arrival though the girls discover business is dire so set to work advertising and soon their rival is onto them, causing their food to be sabotaged at one point!
As Lucy grows closer to Aj and Rico, her sister does to Lorenzo their rival's worker, however they discover Lucy has a skill in matchmaking by pizza preference and so sets about using their niche to help drum up business.
This was a fun idea of a book as being able to matchmake and accurately through pizza preference would be a cool life skill!
I enjoyed the rivalry and friendship that grows through the story of their stay and it was a quick light read perfect for teens.
Upon arrival though the girls discover business is dire so set to work advertising and soon their rival is onto them, causing their food to be sabotaged at one point!
As Lucy grows closer to Aj and Rico, her sister does to Lorenzo their rival's worker, however they discover Lucy has a skill in matchmaking by pizza preference and so sets about using their niche to help drum up business.
This was a fun idea of a book as being able to matchmake and accurately through pizza preference would be a cool life skill!
I enjoyed the rivalry and friendship that grows through the story of their stay and it was a quick light read perfect for teens.
November 14, 2020
Lucy and her older sister head to Rome, Italy for the summer to help out at their Aunt's Pizzeria. To help drum up business to compete with a rival flashy pizzeria, Lucy decides to employ her matchmaking skills based on customers pizza toppings. But then someone seems to be sabotaging Amore Pizzeria's success, but who?
Tasty, with a dash of gorgeous scenery in Rome, adding 2 teaspoons of budding romance and a sprinkle of mystery. That's how I would describe this book. I liked the mystery at the end (not talking about the sabotage). The beautiful descriptions of Rome made me feel like I had been transported there.
If your middle grader likes travel, Italy, a little bit of romance, and some mystery, they will definitely enjoy this book.
Tasty, with a dash of gorgeous scenery in Rome, adding 2 teaspoons of budding romance and a sprinkle of mystery. That's how I would describe this book. I liked the mystery at the end (not talking about the sabotage). The beautiful descriptions of Rome made me feel like I had been transported there.
If your middle grader likes travel, Italy, a little bit of romance, and some mystery, they will definitely enjoy this book.
March 22, 2021
Again, I noticed connections in this book. The only one this time was Murielle duPluie. But in this one, she wasn't just a news reporter. We actually got to learn a little about her as a person, not just her been she is on the set of her career. I also noticed that this is the only book in the series that was not set in Wilmington, Delaware. This one was set in Pennsylvania. Anyway, this was easily my favorite in the series by Cindy Callaghan and I loved the story. Especially the recognition of Rico. And I love how the endings to Cindy Callaghan's books are always mysterious, yet delightful. I can't wait to read more of her writing in the future.
Read
August 14, 2017(E-Lib) Yes, this is for children, but it was still cute to read. It's like a YA cozy mystery! It was fun to read about the various Rome attractions through Lucy's eyes. Lucy sure seemed more grown-up than she was, but I guess that is to be expected. I wish there were a few more Italian words throughout to learn.
April 14, 2025
Ох, много обичам такива кратки интересни истории. Има от всичко: пица, паста и разбира се любов! Съчетани бяха и със спасяване на семейния бизнес, изгубена стара любов, намиране на сродни души спрямо предпочитания пица вкус, имаше и интрига накрая ☺️
Изслушах я за една разходка време.
Определено продължавам и с другите от поредицата!
Изслушах я за една разходка време.
Определено продължавам и с другите от поредицата!
July 22, 2019
This book I think I would've liked better if I read it when I was younger, I read it in about an hour, and it is 182 pages. Basically, the main character needs to find a way to save her relatives pizzeria before it closes down. I would recommend this book to ages 8-11 or 12.
September 24, 2021
This is a great tween-middle age travel series! Each book of the series has different main characters so theres no need to read in a certain order. Would definitely recommend this book, I've read multiple books in the series and plan to read rest of the "Lost in.." series.
January 9, 2026
One of the first books I read for myself and not for any school assignment. I remember stumbling upon this book in the library and absolutely loving this!
Just for the nostalgia feels and fun vibe, four stars!
Just for the nostalgia feels and fun vibe, four stars!
October 31, 2018
This is a fairly good book and would I recommend this book and the rest of the series to people.
March 26, 2020
Lucy and Gianna go to Italy to work at Amore Pizzeria, their aunt's business for summer.
April 23, 2020
I liked this book 📚 so much, that I have read it twice and more than likely will read it again. This is a good book for a fun and easy read. I recommend this book. 📚❤️📚
July 18, 2020
This story was cute and made me hungry! An adorable foodie, romance read set in Rome!
August 14, 2020
This was totes amazing darling
Want to read
March 14, 2021picked up at a little-free-library in Venice, Italy. 📚🗺
April 18, 2021
Loved the entire book.. absolutely loved it ! Such a fun easy n gripping read 😬😬
March 10, 2022
rico <33 seriously someone find this boy for me
May 14, 2022
Eh... probably what you'd expect. My ten year old really enjoyed it. I loved shouting "Mamma Mia!" robustly every time it was written in the book. It was a lot.
Read
September 22, 2022This was a very good, cozy book to read! The perfect book to read before going to bed.
August 25, 2023
Its good, very great ending
May 24, 2024
I love the matchmaking that Lucy does♥️, she loves her Aunt and she does not want it to close. 🙂😄
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews