Without even knowing it when I accepted it, I realized within a few chapters of Brigid Pasulka's The Sun and Other Stars that this was the book I'd been waiting to read for a long time. A coming-of-age story set in Italy, mixed with the peculiarities and blessings of a small town, I was swept away with its love and grief. What a lovely story.

Etto, the butcher's son in a tiny seaside resort town on the Italian Riviera, is lost. Suffering the recent deaths of both his twin brother and his mother, Etto and his father find themselves slowly growing further apart. Cynical and doubtful of supposed good intentions, Etto distances himself even further from his friends and the residents of their small town, who always think they know what's best. It's only when his father's favorite soccer player, Ukrainian Yuri Fil, seeks sanctuary in San Benedetto to hide from a scandal, that Etto realizes there just may be hope for each of them, no matter how much of an outsider they might be.

There are few things that make me jump at the chance of reading a book offered by a publisher, but the story's setting in Italy is a sure thing for me. When the publicist kindly reached out, I did jump at the chance, even though I've been steadily declining most book offers over the past year. Returning back to work from maternity leave was of course another distraction, but Brigid Pasulka's The Sun and Other Stars seemed like the perfect story to settle in with. And it was. It was worth every single moment.

Written casually yet beautifully, Etto speaks directly to the reader and allows his negativity to take center stage at the beginning, showcasing quite the chip on his shoulder. Like most complex characters, however, the peeling of the onion delivers more layers, and it's clear Etto is not only heart-breakingly devastated by the loss of his brother and mother, but sweet and sensitive as he allows himself to fall in love with Yuri Fil's younger sister.

Most successful stories are able to create a character out of the town itself, and Pasulka does just that with the quirkiness of San Benedetto. Every character, from the nonne (grandmothers) who gather outside of church on Sundays to share in local gossip, to Martina, the owner of the bar everyone goes to in order to watch soccer and cheer for victories or argue and lambast for defeats, provides such substance and support to Etto's overall growth, rebuilding his lost faith and his connection to them. While a tiny village can sometimes either be a curse or a blessing, most times it's the only place to heal. The journeys Yuri, Etto, and his father each need to take to realize how much they do fit, that recovery is possible, is a reminder that perhaps a small town isn't such a bad thing after all.

This is one to remember. I highly recommend this, and I urge you to check it out. I loved everything about it, with Italian thrown into the dialogue and description, I felt like I was right back in Rome five years ago on my honeymoon. Ahh. To move there one day is the goal.

Anyway, you won't regret reading this one. You'll learn how soccer is like a religion, that love can heal, and that small towns and big families of friends and neighbors will always give you the strength you need.

Passages of Note:

I sit through the next round, watching them, and I feel a little like Nonna must feel, like I've got my face pressed to the glass looking in on everybody else. (p.158)

The beaches are empty this early in the morning, the sea so flat, I could fold it up into an envelope. (p.159)

That's another thing they forget to tell you about grief, that every loss you feel after the first is not added but multiplied, like what they tell you in school about drinking and taking drugs at the same time. And after squaring so many fraction and fractions of fractions, you find out you've used up your lifetime allotment of both pain and joy, and all that's left is an emotional flatline and the deep conviction that you will never, ever try anything with the potential to intoxicate you again. (p.295) 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: February 4, 2014
Pages: 336

FTC Disclosure: I accepted this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. If you can't tell from the above, I loved this book.

About the Author (from her website)

Brigid was born and raised in rural Illinois and has lived in Poland, Russia, Germany and Italy. Her debut novel, A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True won the 2010 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award and was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. Her second novel, The Sun and Other Stars, was an Indie Next pick for February 2014. Brigid lives in Chicago with her husband and son and runs the writing center at a public high school.

Visit her:

• On her website
• On Facebook
• On Twitter

Merry Christmas! I hope all who celebrate enjoyed their day with family, friends, and good food and mirth. I enjoyed my day the same, but my thoughts and prayers continue to be with the families of all those affected by the  horrible tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Two months ago, the incomparable Marie from The Boston Bibliophile organized the Europa Challenge Holiday Swap and I immediately signed up. Maria also is the creator and organizer of the Europa Challenge, and with a recent visit to Europa's offices on her trip to Italy, I am beginning to feel the motivation to join the challenge for 2013. I was a bad participant in this year's holiday swap as I somehow missed a pile of packages to be sent out in the first part of December that were hiding in my office, so the recipient of my Europa Holiday gift will find their UPS package today. My apologies to Marie and to Bibliosue for my embarrassing delay.

Michael from Vancouver, a documentary filmmaker currently creating a series on art in public spaces, sent me my delightful package and was much more prompt and considerate as I received his gift a few weeks ago with specific instructions to not open until Christmas. As much as I eagerly wanted to open up the package, I minded my manners (very hard for me to do at times) and opened up my gift last night. I had put my list together of options for the swap and was hoping one in the top of the order would be selected so I was thrilled The Nun was selected! The Nun is written by Simonetta Agnello Hornby and translated from Italian by Antony Shugaar. I cannot wait to dive into the story. Don't these covers selected by Europa Editions just call out to you? The painting is entitled Reflection, and the artist is John Francis (1808-1886).

Thank you  again, Michael, I so appreciate it. Happy Holidays and New Year to you and all my friends. Here's to a healthy, happy and, most especially, safe 2013.

Here's the description of The Nun from Europa Editions:

August 15, 1839. Messina, Italy. In the home of Marshall don Peppino Padellani di Opiri, preparations for the feast of the Ascension are underway. But for Agata, the Marshall’s daughter, there are more important matters at hand. She and the wealthy Giacomo Lepre have fallen in love, and her mother is determined to obstruct the consummation of their love. When Marshall don Peppino dies, Agata’s mother decides to ferry her daughter away from Messina, to Naples, where she hopes to garner a stipend from the King and keep her daughter far from trouble. The only boat leaving Messina that day is captained by the young Englishman, James Garson. 

Following a tempestuous passage to Naples, during which Agata confesses her troubles to James, Agata and her mother find themselves rebuffed by the king and Agata is forced to join a convent. The Benedictine monastery of San Giorgio Stilita is rife with rancor and jealousy, illicit passions and ancient feuds. Agata remains aloof, devoting herself to the cultivation of medicinal herbs, calmed by the steady rhythms of monastic life. She reads all the books James Garson sends her and follows the news of the various factions struggling to bring unity to Italy. Though she hasn’t chosen to enter a convent, and is divided between her yearnings for purity and religiosity and her desire to be part of the world, something about the cloistered life reverberates within her. Agata is increasingly torn when she realizes that her feelings for James Garson, though he is only a distant presence in her life, have eclipsed those for Lepre. 

For more of this week's Saturday Snapshots, visit Alyce with At Home With Books.

Since I miss missing perusing my pictures from Italy two years ago, and since Instagram has made me stamp my foot, here are two more of my favorite shots of the Vatican. Beautiful sky. I loved everything about our honeymoon because no matter when you took a picture, no matter what you took a picture of, it always looked so beautiful.

I may be romanticizing all the pictures from the honeymoon to Italy two years ago, however I love this train shot. You can see the train curving to the right on the left side of the picture, and the mountains in the background with the overcast sky, are just perfect to me. (Click on the picture to get a better feel for it). Mysterious, too, right? What an adventure it all was. We were leaving the hustle and bustle of Rome and heading south to Formia, which is where my husband's extended family lives. Formia is south of Rome, and about an hour and a half north of Naples.

For more of this week's Saturday Snapshots, visit Alyce with At Home With Books. Next week from me ~ more of Formia, Italy...

Here was our route: Roma a Formia a Napoli a Sorrento (Rome to Formia to Naples to Sorrento).

Tutto era bello. (Everything was beautiful).

Yet another picture from my honeymoon to Italy two years ago. This is the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II. Sometimes referred to by foreigners as "the wedding cake," and by local Romans as "the typewriter," it was completed in 1935 to honor the first king of a unified Italy. There is quite a bit of controversy surrounding the construction of this, since because of its vast size, they had to destroy a large section of Capitoline Hill and apparently a medieval neighborhood with it. People also think it's too big, but it is breathtaking when standing before it. Click here to see another one of my favorite shots of it at sunset.

For more Saturday Snapshots, visit Alyce with At Home With Books.

The introduction of Adriana Trigiani's work for me has been with the two audiobooks for Very Valentine and Brava, Valentine. Let's put it this way - I am so enamored with the audio versions, that I just can't imagine the character of Valentine not voiced by the incomparable Cassandra Campbell. You better believe that when the final book comes out, I will be downloading the audio straightaway. Does anyone know when that third book is coming out?

In Very Valentine, The Angelini Shoe Company is part of the shrinking world of family-owned small businesses in Greenwich Village, and with their primary product being original designs of handcrafted wedding shoes, combined with mismanaged financials, it is soon uncovered that this business might not be around for too long. But Valentine is the last single woman in the Angelini family (as Trigiani calls her), and come hell or high water, she will do what she can to find a way to save the family business. With a new relationship forming with sexy chef Roman Falconi, Valentine travels back to Italy with her smart and sassy grandmother, Teodora, to learn new techniques and designs that she might be able to bring back to America to rejuvenate the business.

A fun and endearing story, Adriana Trigiani knocked it out of the park with this one for me. I was in the mood for a story about family and friendships, and combined with the Italian countryside, culture, and people, for a good part of the story, it just couldn't go wrong. It was hilarious, it was heart-warming, it just was all the things I needed to read right now. And the characters! Who can read this book (or listen to it), and not love Teodora, Valentine's grandmother? You have no soul if you can experience this book and just not fall madly in love with her.

These were characters so magically developed that to experience this in an audio format made it all so true to life and each one virtually bounded out of the story and into my heart. The angst between the in-laws and *the* family itself were superbly genuine, and when the story moves to Italy, it felt right.  (Although I might be a teensy bit biased with that since, well, I love all things Italia).

What we all know about Adriana Trigiani, is that what makes her stories so memorable and tug at our heartstrings, is her ability to describe the family dynamic perfectly. Trigiani is a master artisan herself, of character development and the intertwined relationships of the large Italian family. With that expert comedic flair, she just rounds out the story perfectly.

And what can I say about the über-talented Cassandra Campbell? Once again at the helm of another best-seller, Campbell voices the character of Valentine and the family with an authenticity that is unquestionable. Like Trigiani, there is nothing pretentious with Campbell's work - both are delivered phenomenally, and it is a solid performance all around. This is a good pairing, and I can't wait for more. I'm almost done with Brava, Valentine, and again I ask, when does the third one come out?

*Bonus*

You have to check out Adriana Trigiani on the Today Show - click here to see this clip of her promoting Brava, Valentine. It is this personality that comes out so resoundingly successful in her stories. She is hilarious!

About the Author

Adriana Trigiani is an accomplished author with thirteen books under her belt. Her bio on her website is filled with oodles of insight, so to really get to know this quirky and down-to-earth author, click here.

Millions of fans know her best for the Valentine series, and especially Big Stone Gap. I'm excited to read everything by her.

Click here to visit the author on her website.

Click here to visit the author on Facebook.

Click here to follow the author on Twitter.

FTC Disclosure - I downloaded this audiobook from iTunes. Go. Experience this fun for yourself, too.

From my honeymoon to Italy two years ago, a shot of the Vatican from the dome on top of St. Peter's Basilica. What I love most about this picture is not just the obelisk at the center and the immensity of the courtyard (is it called that?), but it is, in fact, the saints. It is those impeccable statues at the top lining the roof, almost keeping watch.

For more amazing Saturday Snapshots, please visit Alyce with At Home With Books.

For my recent reviews, including the audiobook for Kate Morton's The Distant Hours, click here.

From my honeymoon to Italy two years ago. This is part of Palatine Hill, the center most of the Seven Hills of Rome and looks over Circus Maximus. The sunset light made every picture so pretty, so it was hard to pick which one to share today.

For more Saturday Snapshots, visit Alyce with At Home With Books.

(So sorry on reposting, computer issues today!)
Even though my husband and I went on our honeymoon to Italy almost two years ago, I still feel like it was yesterday. I wish it was yesterday. We loved everything about our two week trip.

Visit Alyce with At Home With Books for more Saturday Snapshots.

On our honeymoon to Italy, we stopped in Formia an hour south of Naples, which is where my husband's family is from. We met with relatives for a couple of days and they graciously took us through the town. Even with clouds in the sky, it's absolutely gorgeous.

For more Saturday Snapshots, click here to visit At Home With Books.

Let me first start off by saying that I will most assuredly be gushing about this book. And it will be a lengthy post because there is so much to share. Debut author Elizabeth Loupas has hooked me in with The Second Duchess, which was just released this month. Go to the store, flip through the pages...

I was traveling to Portland, Oregon for a business meeting, so I had plenty of time to read while traveling from one coast to the other. Since I was only there for Monday's meeting, I had to make the most out of my air travel, which I was dreading. I brought along The Second Duchess although I had promised myself that the reason why I got my Nook Color was because it made traveling so much easier for my back (no hardcover or thick books to carry with my briefcase). But I just had to bring this one with me - I was emotionally invested in the storyline already and I craved more.

Scandal and murder... this was life in 16th century Italy, and more specifically, Barbara of Austria and her marriage to Alfonso. Thus, the Duke and second Duchess of Ferrara begin their marriage with a whispering servant in Barbara's ear...did you know that his first wife was murdered, and that he murdered her...

When Barbara of Austria marries Alfonso, the Duke of Ferrara, rumors wind their way around the Duke's previous marriage to Lucrezia de' Medici, a young fifteen-year-old girl from Florence. That marriage ended with an untimely death after the Duke confined her to a monastery. Barbara, intelligent and independent for a woman of her time, begins to secretly ask questions about what happened to Lucrezia, but as she begins her investigation, she herself becomes the victim of attempts on her own life.

With an intriguing character introduced into the story that I cannot give away, I found I was absolutely captivated. Elizabeth Loupas has developed an elegant whodunit wrapped in Italy in the 16th century. Detailed descriptions carry the reader into a comprehensive and enthralling story that I couldn't put down. While Barbara of Austria was compelling and engaging, and I enjoyed her spirit and intelligence as she slowly began to piece the puzzle together, I found that I was also pulled into the Duke's conflicted emotions and mannerisms. He was both very much a man of his day, but at times, so much a modern man of our contemporary times. Now this... this was a book. A book that I loved.

I sat on my four hour flight to Portland, Oregon and barely noticed my growling stomach, the flight attendants' offers of something to drink, the horrible turbulence on the flight. I soaked in the descriptions of the food and the clothing in 16th century Italy, and as I turned each page I got more and more swept up in the mystery. I kept questioning every character that graced the pages - did the Duke do it? What about his nasty sisters? Or that diplomatic sneak I couldn't stand? Who killed the first duchess and is trying to kill the second?

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, mysteries, and Italy... I loved this book!

Click here to read the first chapter on the author's site.

About the Author

Elizabeth Loupas has worked as a writer, producer, and executive in the broadcasting industry; in other times and other places she has been a librarian, a magazine editor, a teacher, and a marketing consultant. She holds degrees in literary studies and library/information science.

She lives on the Elm Fork of the Trinity River, halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth, with her husband and two beagles.

Visit Elizabeth Loupas on her website by clicking here.

Become a fan of Elizabeth Loupas on Facebook by clicking here.

And One More Thing...
Did you hear about the new Showtime mini-series called The Borgias? Pick yourself back up off the floor because I have one more exciting thing - Jeremy Irons is in it. Yes, I think I just heard you faint.

The Second Duchess will be one of the books featured in a Barnes & Noble and Nook Color promotional sweepstakes built around the Showtime mini-series The Borgias. You'll soon see commercials promoting the sweepstakes which will run nationally at the beginning of the shows throughout April and May. One of the prizes is a trip to Rome? Oh. My. Goodness. Yes, I will be watching! Barnes & Noble will also be promoting the sweepstakes with in-store end caps that will feature The Second Duchess.

Regular readers of this blog know how much I love Italy and how much I dream about moving there one day. So I think you can safely assume that I'll be watching this mini-series.

This book is one to include for my Italy in Books Reading Challenge hosted by Book After Book.

Happy Reading,

Coffee and a Book Chick

Rome, Rome, Rome. How I miss Rome.

My husband and I had quite a fabulous time on our honeymoon in Rome, and at this point, we had probably walked about ten miles that day and we were giddily tired...hence the goofy picture.

Happy Reading,
Coffee and a Book Chick