Title: The Italian Job
Author: Kathryn Freeman
Publisher: One More Chapter
Publication date: May 6th, 2022
385 pages
4/5 stars
Goodreads Synopsis
Dream job. Dream house. Fake fiancé.
A year in a gorgeous Italian castle…
When Anna Roberts’ life implodes, an online search leads her to an ad for the ultimate dream job – management of a gorgeous castle on the shores of Lake Como, accommodation included. The only catch? Anna can’t do it alone…
…With the last man on earth she’d choose!
The castle owners will only accept a couple as caretakers, which means Anna needs a man on her arm at the interview. Enter her neighbour, Jake Tucker. Though Anna and Jake have never seen eye-to-eye, Jake’s had a rough few years and an escape to Italy sounds ideal. Yet, when they get the job and jet off, Anna and Jake face an unexpected challenge. Pretending to be a couple is difficult … but pretending the tension simmering between them doesn’t exist is quickly proving impossible!
Review
The Italian Job is a chaotic story about two neighbors who really do not like each other moving to an island in Italy together to pretend to be a couple in order to get a job and change their lives. Outside of being fairly unrealistic, this was a pretty good book. I wasn’t a huge fan of the characters but I’m always here for an enemies to lovers romance.
Anna and Jake grew up as neighbors and were never friends, they are very different people and there were a lot of misconceptions and miscommunications between them. After Jake gets out of prison and Anna catches her boyfriend & boss cheating on her, they both need a break from life and some easy work. They decide to fake date and get a job care-taking for an island together, using both of their skills. And then over time they realize the errors of their beliefs about the other and fall for each other.
Again, not saying there is anything realistic about the romance, but it was fairly entertaining. It brought up the question of how much your past should define your present and future, especially for Jake and his criminal record. Overall, another solid romance by Kathryn Freeman.
Thank you to One More Chapter & Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.
Happy reading, folks!
Baltimore Bibliophile 