Author:  Adriana Trigiani
Publisher: Harper
Genre:  Women’s Fiction              
Source: Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

Goodreads:  Meet the Roncalli and Angelini families, a vibrant cast of colorful characters who navigate tricky family dynamics with hilarity and brio, from magical Manhattan to the picturesque hills of bella Italia. Very Valentine is the first novel in a trilogy and is sure to be the new favorite of Trigiani’s millions of fans around the world.

In this luscious, contemporary family saga, the Angelini Shoe Company, makers of exquisite wedding shoes sincFour e 1903, is one of the last family-owned businesses in Greenwich Village. The company is on the verge of financial collapse. It falls to thirty-three-year-old Valentine Roncalli, the talented and determined apprentice to her grandmother, the master artisan Teodora Angelini, to bring the family’s old-world craftsmanship into the twenty-first century and save the company from ruin.

While juggling a budding romance with dashing chef Roman Falconi, her duty to her family, and a design challenge presented by a prestigious department store, Valentine returns to Italy with her grandmother to learn new techniques and seek one-of-a-kind materials for building a pair of glorious shoes to beat their rivals. There, in Tuscany, Naples, and on the Isle of Capri, a family secret is revealed as Valentine discovers her artistic voice and much more, turning her life and the family business upside down in ways she never expected. Very Valentine is a sumptuous treat, a journey of dreams fulfilled, a celebration of love and loss filled with Trigiani’s trademark heart and humor.

Ope’s Opinion:  This is the first of a trilogy of the Roncalli and Angelini families.  Adriana Trigiani writes with such detail, I feel like I can see exactly what she is writing about.  Throughout the whole book I felt like I was right in the middle of this family.  It was fun to feel like I was a part of it, but looking from the outside.

If you love details and a lot of description, you will really enjoy this book.  There were times when I got lost in the description and forgot where I was in the story.

I am anxious to see where Adriana Trigiani takes the family in the next book.

Rating:  Four Chairs – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.