Very Valentine

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Overview

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 since 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.

Adriana Trigiani

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

This first-in-a-trilogy is a frilly valentine to Manhattan's picturesque West Village, starring a boisterous and charmingly contentious Italian-American family. Valentine Roncalli, adrift after a failed relationship and an aborted teaching career, becomes an apprentice to her 80-year-old grandmother, Teodora Angelini, at the tiny family shoe business. While Valentine struggles to come up with a financial plan-and shoe design-to bring the Old World operation into the 21st century, her brother, Alfred, is pushing Gram to retire and sell her building for $6 million. It's not all business for Valentine, of course: handsome and sophisticated Roman Falconi, owner and chef at a posh restaurant, is vying for her heart. Bestselling Trigiani channels ambition and girl-power, but is surprisingly reserved-and retro-when it comes to romance: "[O]ur relationship has to build slowly and beautifully in order to hold all the joy and misery that lies ahead," thinks Valentine. Still, this genteel and lush tale of soles and souls has loads of charm and will leave readers eager for the sequel. (Feb.)

More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews

From The Critics

In Trigiani's (Big Stone Gap; Rococo) launch of a new trilogy, 33-year-old Valentine attempts to save her family's custom shoe business while dealing with family and relationship dramas set against the backdrop of New York City and Italy. If she's going to realize her dream of becoming a master shoemaker, Valentine must come up with a plan to rescue the financially troubled family wedding shoe business and prevent her brother from selling the building (located in Greenwich Village and worth millions) for a quick profit. In addition, Valentine has a new man in her life, sexy restaurateur Roman, who is just as dedicated to his business as Valentine is to hers-leaving little time for romance. In the midst of it all, Valentine travels to Italy with her grandmother Theodora to buy supplies and later rendezvous with Roman for her birthday. Things go well for Valentine professionally, but her personal life is more up in the air. This, as well as the many entertaining characters introduced, leaves plenty of material for the two books to come. Nicely written with vivid images of high fashion, New York City, and traditional Italy, Trigiani's latest is sure to be eagerly anticipated by her many fans and attract some new readers. Recommended for all public libraries.
—Karen Core

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780061257056
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 2/3/2009
Pages: 384
Sales rank: 360,849
Series: Valentine Trilogy
Product dimensions: 6.20 (w) x 8.90 (h) x 1.40 (d)

Meet the Author

Adriana Trigiani

An award-winning playwright, TV writer, and documentary filmmaker, Adriana Trigiani is especially known for her bestselling novels that explore Italian-American families living and loving in America's heartland, most notably her beloved Big Stone Gap trilogy.

Biography

As her squadrons of fans already know, Adriana Trigiani grew up in Big Stone Gap, a coal-mining town in southwest Virginia that became the setting for her first three novels. The Big Stone Gap books feature Southern storytelling with a twist: a heroine of Italian descent, like Trigiani, who attended St. Mary's College of Notre Dame, like Trigiani. But the series isn't autobiographical -- the narrator, Ave Maria Mulligan, is a generation older than Trigiani and, as the first book opens, has settled into small-town spinsterhood as the local pharmacist.

The author, by contrast, has lived most of her adult life in New York City. After graduating from college with a theater degree, she moved to the city and began writing and directing plays (her day jobs included cook, nanny, house cleaner and office temp). In 1988, she was tapped to write for the Cosby Show spinoff A Different World, and spent the following decade working in television and film. When she presented her friend and agent Suzanne Gluck with a screenplay about Big Stone Gap, Gluck suggested she turn it into a novel.

The result was an instant bestseller that won praise from fellow writers along with kudos from celebrities (Whoopi Goldberg is a fan). It was followed by Big Cherry Holler and Milk Glass Moon, which chronicle the further adventures of Ave Maria through marriage and motherhood. People magazine called them "Delightfully quirky... chock full of engaging, oddball characters and unexpected plot twists."

Critics sometimes reach for food imagery to describe Trigiani's books, which have been called "mouthwatering as fried chicken and biscuits" (USA Today) and "comforting as a mug of tea on a rainy Sunday" (The New York Times Book Review). Food and cooking play a big role in the lives of Trigiani's heroines and their families: Lucia, Lucia, about a seamstress in Greenwich Village in the 1950s, and The Queen of the Big Time, set in an Italian-American community in Pennsylvania, both feature recipes from Trigiani's grandmothers. She and her sisters have even co-written a cookbook called, appropriately enough, Cooking With My Sisters: One Hundred Years of Family Recipes, from Bari to Big Stone Gap. It's peppered with anecdotes, photos and family history. What it doesn't have: low-carb recipes. "An Italian girl can only go so long without pasta," Trigiani quipped in an interview on GoTriCities.com.

Her heroines are also ardent readers, so it comes as no surprise that book groups love Adriana Trigiani. And she loves them right back. She's chatted with scores of them on the phone, and her Web site includes photos of women gathered together in living rooms and restaurants across the country, waving Italian flags and copies of Lucia, Lucia.

Trigiani, a disciplined writer whose schedule for writing her first novel included stints from 3 a.m. to 8 a.m. each morning, is determined not to disappoint her fans. So far, she's produced a new novel each year since the publication of Big Stone Gap.

"I don't take any of it for granted, not for one second, because I know how hard this is to catch with your public," she said in an interview with The Independent. "I don't look at my public as a group; I look at them like individuals, so if a reader writes and says, 'I don't like this,' or, 'This bit stinks,' I take it to heart."

Good To Know

Some fascinating, funny outtakes from our interview with Trigiani:

"I appeared on the game show Kiddie Kollege on WCYB-TV in Bristol, Virginia, when I was in the third grade. I missed every question. It was humiliating."

"I have held the following jobs: office temp, ticket seller in movie theatre, cook in restaurant, nanny, and phone installer at the Super Bowl in New Orleans. In the writing world, I have been a playwright, television writer/producer, documentary writer/director, and now novelist."

"I love rhinestones, faux jewelry. I bought a pair of pearl studded clip on earrings from a blanket on the street when I first moved to New York for a dollar. They turned out to be a pair designed by Elsa Schiaparelli. Now, they are costume, but they are still Schiaps! Always shop in the street -- treasures aplenty."

"Dear readers, I like you. I am so grateful that you read and enjoy my books. I never forget that -- or you -- when I am working. I am also indebted to the booksellers who read the advanced reader's editions and write to me and say, "I'm gonna hand-sell this one." That always makes me jump for joy. I love the people at my publishing house. Smart. Funny, and I like it when they're slightly nervous because that means they care. The people I have met since I started writing books have been amazing on every level -- and why not? You're readers. And for someone to take reading seriously means that you are seeking knowledge. Yes, reading is fun, but it is also an indication of a serious-minded person who values imagination and ideas and, dare I say it, art. I never thought in a million years when I was growing up in Big Stone Gap that I would be writing this to you today. Books have always been sacred to me -- important, critical, fundamental -- and a celebration of language and words. And authors! When I was little, I didn't play Old Maid, I played authors. They had cards with the famous authors on them. Now, granted, they didn't look like movie stars, but I loved what they wrote and had to say. I can boil this all down to one thing: I love to tell stories -- and I love to hear them. I didn't think there was a job in the world where I would get to do both, and now thank God, I've found it."

1. Hometown:
  
  New York, New York
1. Education:
  
  B.A. in Theatre from Saint Mary’s College
2. Website:
  
  http://www.adrianatrigiani.com

Read an Excerpt

Very Valentine

Chapter One

Leonard's of Great Neck

I'm not the pretty sister.

I'm not the smart sister either. I am the funny one. I've been called that for so long, for so many years, in fact, that all of my life I thought it was one word: Funnyone.

If I had to die, and believe me, I don't want to, but if I had to choose a location, I'd want to die right here in the ladies' lounge at Leonard's of Great Neck. It's the mirrors. I look slimsational, even in 3-D. I'm no scientist, but there's something about the slant of the full-length glass, the shimmer of the blue marble counters, and the golden light of the pavé chandeliers that creates an optical illusion, turning my reflection into a long, lean, pale pink swizzle stick.

This is my eighth reception (third as an attendant) at Leonard's La Dolce Vita, the formal name for our family's favorite Long Island wedding factory. Everyone I know has been married here, or, at least everyone I'm related to.

My sisters and I made our debut as flower girls in 1984 for our cousin Mary Theresa, who had more attendants on the dais than guests at the tables. Our cousin's wedding might have been a sacred exchange of vows between a man and a woman, but it was also a show, with costumes, choreography, and special lighting, making the bride the star and the groom the grip.

Mary T. considers herself Italian-American royalty, so she had the Knights of Columbus form a crossing guard for our entrance into the Starlight Venetian Room.

The knights were regal in their tuxedos, red sashes, black capes, and tricornered hats with the marabou plumes. I took myplace behind the other girls in the pro-cession as the band played "Nobody Does It Better," but I turned around to run away as the knights held up their swords to form a canopy. Aunt Feen grabbed me and gave me a shove. I closed my eyes, gripped my bouquet, and bolted under the blades like I was running for sane.

Despite my fear of sharp and clanging objects, I fell in love with Leonard's that day. It was my first Italian formal. I couldn't wait to grow up and emulate my mother and her friends who drank Harvey Wallbangers in cut-crystal tumblers while wearing silver sequins from head to toe. When I was nine years old, I thought Leonard's had class. Never mind that from the passing lane on Northern Boulevard it looks like a white stucco casino on the French Riviera by way of Long Island. For me, Leonard's was a House of Enchantments.

The La Dolce Vita experience begins when you pull up to the entrance. The wide circular driveway is a dead ringer for Jane Austen's Pemberley and also resembles the valet stand at Neiman Marcus, outside the Short Hills mall. This is the thing about Leonard's: everywhere you look, it reminds you of elegant places you have already been. The two-story picture windows are reminiscent of the Metropolitan Opera House, while the tiered fountain is strictly Trevi. You almost believe you're in the heart of Rome until you realize the cascading water is actually drowning out the traffic on I-495.

The landscaping is a marvel of botanical grooming, with boxwood sheared into long rectangles, low borders of yew, privet hedges in cropped ovals, and bayberry sculpted into twirly ice- cream-cone shapes. The manicured shrubs are set in beds of shiny river stones, an appropriate pre-motif to the ice sculptures that tower over the raw bar inside.

The exterior lights suggest the strip in Las Vegas, but it's far more tasteful here, as the bulbs are recessed, giving the place a low, twinkling glow. Topiaries shaped like crescent moons flank the entrance doors. Beneath them, low meatball bushes serve as a base for the birds-of-paradise, which pop out of the shrubs like cocktail umbrellas.

The band plays "Burning Down the House" as I take a moment to catch my breath in the ladies' lounge. I'm alone for the first time on my sister Jaclyn's wedding day and I like it. It's been a long one. I'm holding the tension of the entire family in the vertebrae of my neck. When I marry, I will elope to city hall because my bones can't take the pressure of another Roncalli wedding extravaganza. I'd miss the beer-battered shrimp and the pâté rillettes, but I'd survive. The months of planning this wedding nearly gave me an ulcer, and the actual execution bestowed on my right eye a pulsating tic that could only be soothed by holding a frozen teething ring I bogarted from cousin Kitty Calzetti's baby after the Nuptial Mass. Despite the agita, it's a wonderful day, because I'm happy for my baby sister, who I remember holding, like a Capodimonte rose, on the day she was born.

I hold my martini-shaped eve-ning bag covered in sequins (the wedding-party gift from the bride) up to the mirror and say, "I'd like to thank Kleinfeld of Brooklyn, who knocked off Vera Wang to strapless perfection. And I'd like to thank Spanx, the girdle genius, who turned my pear shape into a surfboard." I move closer to the mirror and check my teeth. It ain't an Italian wedding without clams casino dusted in parsley flakes, and you know where those end up.

My professional makeup job provided (at half price) by the bride's best friend's sister-in-law, Nancy DeNoia, is really holding up. She did my face at around eight o'clock this morning, and it's now supper time but I still look fresh. "It's the powder. Banane by LeClerc," my older sister, Tess, said. And she knows: she was matte through two childbirths. We have the pictures to prove it.

This morning, my sisters, our mother, and I sat on folding chairs in front of Mom's Golden Age of Hollywood mirror in the bedroom of their Tudor in Forest Hills, pretty (almost) maids all in a row.

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patoxley

Posted February 15, 2009

I Also Recommend:

Another winner from Adriana!

I can hardly wait for the second book in this trilogy. What a fun and heartwarming book. I love Italy and felt like I was there. The characters were believable and very likeable! Go Adriana -- keep those books coming!

9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
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LCH47

Posted April 19, 2010

I Also Recommend:

WHAT A JOURNEY!

Thirty-three year old Valentine Roncalli is an apprentice to her grandmother in the family-owned Angelini Shoe Company, in Greenwich Village. The two women make custom wedding shoes, a good business, but one which has lost its marketing power to larger companies which make mass-produced shoes. It has all the ear marks of bankruptcy. Valentine's brother is a successful businessman and is trying to convince them to sell their office building and discontinue the business. Her Grandmother is tired of trying to keep the business afloat but Valentine is determined to keep the company going. She studies up on management and finance in the middle of family crisis and other tensions that life has a habit of throwing at us. Then there's a boyfriend, Bergdorf's competition, an eye-opening, exciting journey to Italy.beautiful! Naples, Capri.exquisite fabrics and new beginnings.A wonderful storyline!

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted March 2, 2009

I Also Recommend:

Boring!

I loved Lucia, Lucia and really wanted to love this book. I forced myself through the book and skimmed most pages. I ended up skipping the last 5 chapters and sure enough, everything was recapped in the last chapter. Too bad....

4 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted February 15, 2009

I Also Recommend:

A great story!

This one is very compelling. It pulled me right in and made me care about the characters and wonder about what was going to happen next. I see that this will be the first in a trilogy for this author, so I am defintely looking forward to reading more!

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted September 23, 2008

VIVIDLY VERY VALENTINE

For all of Trigiani's fans and for newcomers get ready for a wonderful novel in 2009! VERY VALENTINE which I had the privilege and pleasure of reading recently is a story that comes alive with real life characters and situations led by the protagonist, Valentine Roncalli. Val is a female who makes us proud! What a gal! Devoted to family and tradition she leads her life with strength and commitment. As her grandmother's apprentice she designs and builds wedding shoes - custom made works of art, just ask Bergdorf Goodman. The business was begun by Val's great grandfather and continued by her grandfather. Now, it's Gram and Val working side by side with Val trying to hang on to the business and the building. Aware of her advancing years - she's a very old 33 - she becomes involved with Roman, a chef. Two demanding careers don't make for a successful romantic relationship - imagine seeing Capri without your lover! Val's mother reminds me so much of Toot from Adriana's novel, ROCOCO because of her fashion non-sense and her wit. I could tell you more and spoil it for you but I'll leave it here by saying, 'Come ride the waves with Val, Gram and her boyfriend, Dad's illness, Bergdorf Goodman's contest, the wisdom imparted by an Italian cobbler and the beautiful poetic descriptions throughout the book by our beloved author. The cover design is beautiful, too.

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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tee-em-dee

Posted March 16, 2009

What's Not to Like????

I LOVED this book; and am thrilled it's a triology; I can't wait for the others to come out. This book, like AT's others (I've read all of them) is a page turner; each chapter left me wanting more. Being an Italian NYer, I loved that the story took place in NY, and the family business was SHOES -very different storyline, and as usual, her detailed writing, from the scenery to the shoes to the clothes put you "there". AT defintely leaves you with clear images of all the characters. The reference she made to LUCIA, LUCIA was fun; I'm sure all AT readers will enjoy that. I thought this book contained the most humor out of all of her books(it actually made me laugh out loud).
The chapters in this book are longer than her others, but still a great read!! Highly recommend it!

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted February 9, 2009

I Also Recommend:

What a letdown.

Trigiani has lost her pizzaz. Big Stone Gap was so good. Lucia, Lucia was good as well. The last couple of books have been horrible. Reminds me of Barbara Taylor Bradford who spends more time detailing the cut of the cuff, length of the sleeve, starch in the shirt instead of telling us a story.

Don't bother. I can't believe People magazine gave it a good review. I usually trust them.

Sorry, Adriana. I have read the last book of yours.

3 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted March 16, 2009

For those who love Italian Characters and Italy

Once again Trigiani has given us a wonderful and typical Italian family to read about. Her characters are so easy to fall in love with and to miss once you've finished the book. The part of the book that is set in Italy was my favorite. Trigiani can make you feel as though you are actually there. Of course, typical Trigiani, you will be hungry throughout the entire book as you read about the delicious food of Italy.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted March 5, 2009

Good, with a some slow spots

The story was enjoyable, but the too descriptive details left me rolling my eyes and skimming the pages more often than I wanted to. Get to the point already!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted February 28, 2009

Another Adriana Classic, so glad there are more to follow

Adriana is my all time favorite author so I am a little partial from the beginning, but this is a wonderful story of romance and old-world charm. With so many of us looking for the quality and comforts of years gone by the characters of this book make you feel like you are part of their world. Fabulous settings throughout and characters that have you cheering for their success, this book is a must read. My heart still belongs to Lucia Lucia, but I am so glad there will be more to come in the Roncalli family. Thank you Adriana!!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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georgiaDT

Posted February 15, 2009

Love all her books!

I found this book to be written in the same style of all of Trigiani's books. She draws a great picture of all of the settings and the characters. I read this book while on vacation and had finished it within a weekend. Can't wait for her next one!

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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dhaupt

Posted May 24, 2010

more from this reviewer

I Also Recommend:

You will laugh, you will cry, but you will finish this book with a feeling of joy.

How can you call a novel about a 34 year old a coming of age story, well you'll just have to take my word for it because that's exactly the fact finding mission that Valentine Roncalli is on, to find her role in her family, in her career and in life in general.
Deep in the island known as Manhattan on a quiet street called Perry sits a quaint old building that houses the Angelini Shoe Company started in Italy in 1903 and built on the back of Valentine Roncalli's great-grandfather, grandfather and grandmother she now finds herself in the precarious position of next in line to take the reins of this now struggling family business.
A few short years ago Valentine quit her teaching job to start a new career one in her blood, that of creating one of a kind wedding shoes and in this struggling economy she needs to find a way to bring the business she loves into the 21st century and into the black. Along with her beloved grandmother she finds new and inventive ways to re-brand the name. Along the way she is met with the force known as her family and love she didn't expect to find. Her family is a solid feature in her Italian-American life, but love, not so much.
Adriana introduces her readers to her larger than life Italian family known as the Angelini/Roncallis and they are an immovable force and bring to life her wonderful tale of love, family and finding a place to belong. The characters are the real stars of this novel they are rambunctious, loud, loving, hateful. You name it you get it and each one is an integral part of the telling of her story. Her protagonist Valentine is the typical middle child, always the peace keeper and never quite finding the right spot in the hierarchy of the family. But she is a real three dimensional character and you will find yourself turning page after page to find out what madcap thing can happen to her next. Adriana's dialogue is flowing and prose like when describing her wonderful scenes of Italy and very boisterous when depicting the many family interactions. This is not a romance but there is a love story involved here and the author handles it with care and dignity and would not offend any reader.
This novel will delight any reader who loves literary fiction, a great family read, a love story and a coming of age long after it's due tale. And after you're finished with this then run don't walk to the next read in the series out now called Brava Valentine.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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JerseyGirlTX

Posted September 5, 2009

Hits home

As an Italian American from the east coast, there were many details of this little story that hit home for me. I smiled and chuckled through many chapters. It's a quick, easy read, a nice tribute to family (in all of its dysfunctions) and to staying true to yourself.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Pat827pa

Posted April 9, 2009

"Very Valentine" is a must read for book lovers!

Every once in a while you discover an author whose work makes you feel like you can't wait for their next book because the writing is so wonderful. Adriana Trigiani is that kind of author. I got hooked when I read "Big Stone Gap" and since then I've read every single one of her books. "Very Valentine" is a Valentine to Adriana's readers! It is beautifully written, her descriptions exquisite, and because it's so touching, lovely, and funny, you don't want it to end. I fell in love with the characters and am so glad that the book is part of a trilogy because I want to know more about their lives. It's a book for anyone and everyone! Ms. Trigiani has out done herself!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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BookChatterAndOtherStuff

Posted April 8, 2009

A treat for the soul...

Reading this book was like taking a vacation without leaving the comfort of my home. The story takes us to Greenwich Village where Valentine works as a cobbler, for a shoe company that she runs with her Gram. The workplace also happens to be her home as the building is situated with living space on top and even includes a beautiful rooftop garden. Trigiani takes much care to describe the environment to the reader. The smell of the leather, the oils used to keep them supple, etc. As I was reading about the shoe designs, I could SEE them in my mind as they were painted so vividly upon the page. I really enjoyed the descriptive detail.

Valentine, who is the only single sister left in a large Italian family, meets Roman Falconi. He's a chef for an up and coming restaurant in a very trendy neighborhood. Much of their time together is spent in his restaurant. He shares his passion for cooking by preparing exquisite meals for them to enjoy together. Reading these sections was like indulging in a decadent meal but without the guilt! As good as it is though, Valentine begins to question if their relationship can make it.

At the same time, Gram reveals to Valentine that the business is not doing so well, and its fate suddenly falls on Valentine to save it. In an attempt to do so, Valentine and Gram decide to design a custom shoe to submit to a big department store in the hopes of revitalizing the brand. They head to Arezzo, located in the south-east end of Tuscany to search for the materials needed, and while there, Valentine learns of a secret that her Gram has been hiding for nearly a decade.

I don't want to share too much more of the plot but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved the "big family" aspect and that all the women were so strong yet vulnerable at the same time. As I was reading this book it reminded me of two movies: My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) and Only You (1994). If you've seen these movies and enjoyed them, you will definitely enjoy Very Valentine.

Guess what? Very Valentine is the first book in a trilogy! I'm so looking forward to reading the other two novels as I really adored the characters and can't wait to find out what Trigiani has planned for them. If you shy away from traditional chick lit, give this book a try. It's much more than a boy-meets-girl type of story. I think you will enjoy it.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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LO353

Posted April 7, 2009

more from this reviewer

Better than I expected. As good as the review. Do not read if you are on a diet.

My first experience with this author. A few pages into the book, I thought I'd started another "always the bridesmaid" tale of woe but it was much better than that. My sister lived in NYC and I felt like I was right back there. It was funny, touching, colorful, sweet, romantic, and fun. I hope the next installment comes out soon. Oh, and the discriptions of sumptuous Italian food had me craving home grown tomatoes in March in Oregon.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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cherryred

Posted April 6, 2009

Loved the book.

I really enjoyed the book. I guess because of the family aspect and the
characters. It was wonderful to read about a craft being passed down,
especially shoes!!! The romance was good but I was also glad that she
didn't get engaged or married in this book yet, especially since it is
going to be a trilogy.

The characters her mom, sisters, and grandmother are what I imagine what
a close family would be like. The only thing I wasn't real excited about was the dad's cancer. Hopefully he will be cured and live to see his grand children. I know authors put this in books now a days because it is what is happening all around us but since it has touched my life way to often, I'd rather not dwell on it in a book.
I would recommend this book to everyone who loves tradition, romance and just a good story.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted March 23, 2009

I Also Recommend:

Very Valentine

I loved this book and this character can be as endearing as Ave Maria McChesney. Can't wait for the second in the series to be published.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted March 16, 2009

I Also Recommend:

Intriguing story

This is the first of a trilogy, and it promises to be a very good series. The characters are nicely developed and you get to know them pretty well in this first book. The storyline is unique and it takes you from NYC to Italy and back. It explores the world of tradition in a large Italian family, custom-made wedding shoes, the high-end fashion world, family values, competition and love. Valentine is a fascinating woman and seems to be coming into her own by the end of this book. Her grandmother is pretty special too. The author is obviously familiar with NYC and Italy, and her grandfather was a shoemaker which adds to the attention to detail displayed in the story. I hated for this book to end and am very axnious for the next instalment.

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Anonymous

Posted March 9, 2009

Very Valentine

I loved this book in a new trilogy. The characters are interesting and take me back to my youth in New York state. It reminds me of so many of my friends there. I waited, not very patiently, for this new book, and was not disappointed.

I would like to hear more in the Big Stone Gap theme as well and hope that more is coming there as well.

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Very Valentine

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Overview

Adriana Trigiani

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Meet the Author

Adriana Trigiani

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Another winner from Adriana!

WHAT A JOURNEY!

Boring!

A great story!

VIVIDLY VERY VALENTINE

What's Not to Like????

What a letdown.

For those who love Italian Characters and Italy

Good, with a some slow spots

Another Adriana Classic, so glad there are more to follow

Love all her books!

You will laugh, you will cry, but you will finish this book with a feeling of joy.

Hits home

"Very Valentine" is a must read for book lovers!

A treat for the soul...

Better than I expected. As good as the review. Do not read if you are on a diet.

Loved the book.

Very Valentine

Intriguing story

Very Valentine