As Brava, Valentine begins, snow falls like glitter over Tuscany at the wedding of her grandmother, Teodora, and longtime love, Dominic. Valentine’s dreams are dashed when Gram announces that Alfred, “the prince,” Valentine’s only brother and nemesis, has been named her partner at Angelini Shoes. Devastated, Valentine falls into the arms of Gianluca, a sexy Tuscan tanner who made his romantic intentions known on the Isle of Capri. Despite their passion for one another and Gianluca’s heartfelt letters, a long-distance relationship seems impossible.

As Valentine turns away from romance and devotes herself to her work, mentor and pattern cutter June Lawton guides her through her power struggle with Alfred, while best friend and confidante Gabriel Biondi moves into 166 Perry Street, transforming her home and point of view. Savvy financier Bret Fitzpatrick, Valentine’s first love and former fiancée who still carries a torch for her, encourages Valentine to exploit her full potential as a designer and a business woman with a plan that will bring her singular creations to the world.

A once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity takes Valentine from the winding streets of Greenwich Village to the sun-kissed cobblestones of Buenos Aires, where she finds a long-buried secret hidden deep within a family scandal. Once unearthed, the truth rocks the Roncallis and Valentine is determined to hold her family together. More so, she longs to create one of her own, but is torn between a past love that nurtured her, and a new one that promises to sustain her.

I was first introduced to Adriana Trigiani when I read for a book discussion Viola In Reel Life – which I loved!  When offered the chance to read and review Brava Valentine, all I had to do was see the name Trigiani and I knew I was in.  Isn’t that what every author hopes for in a reader?

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Nothing like good characters to set the mood of a book and Adriana Trigiani brings the characters I came to love from Very Valentine (my review is here), back in this trilogy.

You open up this lovely book and here is the first line that is treat for your eyes:

”The most magical thing happened on the morning of my grandmother’s wedding in Tuscany. It snowed.”

Do you not just love that? I am a nut for great first lines to books and this one was like going to a great restaurant and having your dessert first. I stopped and savored this line.

I adore the writing style of this book and the many (many) laugh out loud moments as Valentine Roncalli becomes part owner of the family shoe business, and looks through her old boyfriend file for dates to family functions.

On the more serious side of the book, there is also a family scandal, and real relationship struggles that make this a well-rounded book.

I enjoy characters that make me wish I could just hang out with them in their world for a while,  and that is what Adriana brings to the table.  Bigger than life characters and a story line that will leave you hoping for a third helping.  I enjoyed this second book in the Valentine series even more than the first.

My Amazon Rating

I received my review copy from TLC Book Tours