VERY VALENTINE - Adriana Trigiani, narr Cassandra Campbell

From the back of the BOCD: Meet the Roncalli and Angelini families, a vibrant cast of colorful characters who navigate tricky family dynamics with hilarity and brio. In this luscious, contemporary family saga set in Greenwich Village and bella Italia, the Angelini Shoe Company, makers of exquisite wedding shoes since 1903, is on the verge of financial collapse. It falls to thirty-three-year-old Valentine Roncalli, the talented and determined apprentice to her grandmother and master artisan Teodora Angelini, to being the family's old-world craftsmanship into the twenty-first century and save the company from ruin.

While juggling a budding romance 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 material to build 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.

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Luscious is the key word here. O..M..G!!! I have never felt a desire to live in New York City until reading this book. I want to live in the city where the Angelini shoes are created and where the Roncalli and Angelini families reside. Trigiani totally makes me want to pick up sticks and move to flippin' Greenwich Village!

And I love the idea of living in Tuscany or the Isle of Capri some day, especially if I can make friends with the people who befriended Valentine.

I laughed, smiled, cried a bit, wanted to smack some of the people around and hug others throughout the whole time I listened to this wonderfully warm story. I fell in love with the families and friends.

I have been a fan of Adriana Trigiani since I first read BIG STONE GAP several years ago. I gave copies of the whole series to my mom and my sister. And now I will be getting this trilogy for them to love.

Five wonderfully HUGE Italian diamonds.....