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The Invitation
An evocative love story set along the Italian Riviera about a group of charismatic stars who all have secrets and pasts they try desperately -- and dangerously -- to hide.
Rome, 1953: Hal, an itinerant journalist flailing in the post-war darkness, has come to the Eternal City to lose himself and to seek absolution for the thing that haunts him. One evening he finds himself on the steps of a palazzo, walking into a world of privilege and light. Here, on a rooftop above the city, he meets the mysterious Stella. Hal and Stella are from different worlds, but their connection is magnetic. Together, they escape the crowded party and imagine a different life, even if it's just for a night. Yet Stella vanishes all too quickly, and Hal is certain their paths won't cross again.
But a year later they are unexpectedly thrown together, after Hal receives an invitation he cannot resist. An Italian Contessa asks him to assist on a trip of a lifetime -- acting as a reporter on a tremendous yacht, skimming its way along the Italian coast toward Cannes film festival, the most famous artists and movie stars of the day gathered to promote a new film.
Of all the luminaries aboard -- an Italian ingénue, an American star, a reclusive director -- only one holds Hal in Stella. And while each has a past that belies the gilded surface, Stella has the most to hide. As Hal's obsession with Stella grows, he becomes determined to bring back the girl she once was, the girl who's been confined to history. An irresistibly entertaining and atmospheric novel set in some of the world's most glamorous locales, The Invitation is a sultry love story about the ways in which the secrets of the past stay with us -- no matter how much we try to escape them.
Rome, 1953: Hal, an itinerant journalist flailing in the post-war darkness, has come to the Eternal City to lose himself and to seek absolution for the thing that haunts him. One evening he finds himself on the steps of a palazzo, walking into a world of privilege and light. Here, on a rooftop above the city, he meets the mysterious Stella. Hal and Stella are from different worlds, but their connection is magnetic. Together, they escape the crowded party and imagine a different life, even if it's just for a night. Yet Stella vanishes all too quickly, and Hal is certain their paths won't cross again.
But a year later they are unexpectedly thrown together, after Hal receives an invitation he cannot resist. An Italian Contessa asks him to assist on a trip of a lifetime -- acting as a reporter on a tremendous yacht, skimming its way along the Italian coast toward Cannes film festival, the most famous artists and movie stars of the day gathered to promote a new film.
Of all the luminaries aboard -- an Italian ingénue, an American star, a reclusive director -- only one holds Hal in Stella. And while each has a past that belies the gilded surface, Stella has the most to hide. As Hal's obsession with Stella grows, he becomes determined to bring back the girl she once was, the girl who's been confined to history. An irresistibly entertaining and atmospheric novel set in some of the world's most glamorous locales, The Invitation is a sultry love story about the ways in which the secrets of the past stay with us -- no matter how much we try to escape them.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published August 2, 2016
3845 people are currently reading
37586 people want to read
About the author
Lucy Foley
24 books37.9k followersHello and welcome to my Goodreads page! I’m the author of the murder mystery thrillers The Midnight Feast, The Paris Apartment, The Guest List and The Hunting Party — as well as the historical novels The Book of Lost and Found, The Invitation and Last Letter from Istanbul.
I came to writing through a love of reading — I previously worked with books as a fiction editor, a literary agent’s assistant, a bookseller and a literary scout!
Inspired by trips to the West Country and local folklore I began plotting my latest novel, The Midnight Feast. A midsummer heatwave, a setting with a past, a reunion that takes a dark turn. And so The Midnight Feast came to life.
Thanks to brilliant readers around the world, my novels have sold over five million copies, and been translated into multiple languages. I’m also a No 1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller. A life-long Agatha Christie fan, I also contributed to Marple, a collection of short stories featuring the legendary detective.
Follow me on social media at:
Instagram @lucyfoleyauthor
Facebook @LucyFoleyAuthor
Twitter/X @lucyfoleytweets
I came to writing through a love of reading — I previously worked with books as a fiction editor, a literary agent’s assistant, a bookseller and a literary scout!
Inspired by trips to the West Country and local folklore I began plotting my latest novel, The Midnight Feast. A midsummer heatwave, a setting with a past, a reunion that takes a dark turn. And so The Midnight Feast came to life.
Thanks to brilliant readers around the world, my novels have sold over five million copies, and been translated into multiple languages. I’m also a No 1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller. A life-long Agatha Christie fan, I also contributed to Marple, a collection of short stories featuring the legendary detective.
Follow me on social media at:
Instagram @lucyfoleyauthor
Facebook @LucyFoleyAuthor
Twitter/X @lucyfoleytweets
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,576 reviews
June 25, 2021
Awesome, awesome book.
Talk about a book that truly takes you to another place. I felt consumed in this story by the detailed descriptions. One of the most beautiful imagery in a book I have ever read!
I also loved that it had mystery undertones as well to keep you compelled. Although mostly a romance/love story, there weren’t any tacky, over the top sex scenes and focused a lot more on the emotional side of love than the physical which I liked.
Sometimes, historical fiction can go a bit over people’s heads (mine included), but I felt this book made no unfamiliar references. Although long, an easy book to read even if you’re not the most historically proficient person.
I loved this book and it definitely made me want to go to Italy!
Talk about a book that truly takes you to another place. I felt consumed in this story by the detailed descriptions. One of the most beautiful imagery in a book I have ever read!
I also loved that it had mystery undertones as well to keep you compelled. Although mostly a romance/love story, there weren’t any tacky, over the top sex scenes and focused a lot more on the emotional side of love than the physical which I liked.
Sometimes, historical fiction can go a bit over people’s heads (mine included), but I felt this book made no unfamiliar references. Although long, an easy book to read even if you’re not the most historically proficient person.
I loved this book and it definitely made me want to go to Italy!
August 24, 2019
A wonderful historical read that evokes the period of the 1950s.
Rome 1953: Hal and Stella meet by chance at a glittering party hosted by the Contessa, a fundraiser for her film project.
They spend the night together. Hal feels he has met someone special but to his dismay, Stella disappears as quickly as she appeared
Later, the Contessa invites Hal, to be the journalist on a fabulous trip – a yacht, skimming its way along the Italian Riviera towards the Cannes film festival, for the launch of her new film.
The guests on the yacht are the beautiful but precocious leading lady, the drunken male lead, the director, photographer and the loud American who is the sponsor for the film and his beautiful, but familiar wife...... Stella!
Hal’s obsession grows with every passing day, with devastating results .........
This is a beautiful book with stunning locations Portofino, Liguria, Cinque Terre, Genoa.....I loved soaking in the vibrant feel of each destination. So much so, it felt like a luxurious travel book. I’m already planning a long trip.
A must read.
Rome 1953: Hal and Stella meet by chance at a glittering party hosted by the Contessa, a fundraiser for her film project.
They spend the night together. Hal feels he has met someone special but to his dismay, Stella disappears as quickly as she appeared
Later, the Contessa invites Hal, to be the journalist on a fabulous trip – a yacht, skimming its way along the Italian Riviera towards the Cannes film festival, for the launch of her new film.
The guests on the yacht are the beautiful but precocious leading lady, the drunken male lead, the director, photographer and the loud American who is the sponsor for the film and his beautiful, but familiar wife...... Stella!
Hal’s obsession grows with every passing day, with devastating results .........
This is a beautiful book with stunning locations Portofino, Liguria, Cinque Terre, Genoa.....I loved soaking in the vibrant feel of each destination. So much so, it felt like a luxurious travel book. I’m already planning a long trip.
A must read.
March 29, 2018
Reading The Invitation was another experience of time travel such as I’d enjoyed with Anton DiSclafani’s The After Party. But on this round the time warp was vicarious. Lucy Foley’s book reminded me so much of another that affected me hugely as a teenager, Lawrence Durrell’s Justine, which some sixty years ago introduced my boyish imagination to a fictional world of incredible sophistication. The parallels are remarkable. In both an expatriate English writer exiled penuriously to a Mediterranean city has a passionate relationship with the beautiful wife of a wealthy man, a woman whose background is a mystery. Their affair begins in an exotic ancient city, Alexandria in Justine, Rome for The Invitation. And in both cases the aftermath of their affair drives the Englishman to seek solitary refuge on the other side of the Med – a Greek island for Durrell, Morocco for Foley. So as I was currently reading The Invitation as a historical, my sixteen year old self was enjoying it as a contemporary, depicting a world he could only fantasize about ever experiencing. I did get to France and Italy a couple of years later, tho’ my adventures were rather tamer. Still, I’d seen enough for The Invitation to bring back some vivid memories, especially of Rome in the summer of ’60.
Some things didn’t seem quite true. Stella wouldn’t have been “jet-lagged” in Rome. Trans-Atlantic passenger aircraft were still powered by piston engines then (my first was in a DC-6 in 1958 – stopping in Shannon and Gander before reaching New York) and people like Mr & Mrs Truss would have travelled 1st-class on an ocean liner such as the Andrea Doria anyway. Also, I doubt a water-ski craft would be built of teak. Too heavy. Again, as with The After Party, I paid much more attention to the evocation of time and place than I did to the artistic effects, so aesthetically this book is hard to rate, but I think I’ll hold at four stars. The subplot about the 16th-century Genoese sea captain seemed both awkward and pretentious. Some readers will surely like the ending, but I found it a bit tepid. All in all, tho’, Lucy Foley showed a real feeling for the time and place, and whether read for escape or nostalgia, this is a most pleasurable story. Fortunately I had both the audible and the ICPL hardcover, so could read episodes over again. But I must give kudos to Emma Gregory for her narration. In general she narrated in Posh English dialect, but I was so agreeably surprised by the voice she gave Stella. English readers so often give American characters a really nasal ugly generic American accent, but Stella sounded both ingenuous and melodious, tho’ quite authentic, with the sort of voice we would dream of for an American beauty of the period.
Some things didn’t seem quite true. Stella wouldn’t have been “jet-lagged” in Rome. Trans-Atlantic passenger aircraft were still powered by piston engines then (my first was in a DC-6 in 1958 – stopping in Shannon and Gander before reaching New York) and people like Mr & Mrs Truss would have travelled 1st-class on an ocean liner such as the Andrea Doria anyway. Also, I doubt a water-ski craft would be built of teak. Too heavy. Again, as with The After Party, I paid much more attention to the evocation of time and place than I did to the artistic effects, so aesthetically this book is hard to rate, but I think I’ll hold at four stars. The subplot about the 16th-century Genoese sea captain seemed both awkward and pretentious. Some readers will surely like the ending, but I found it a bit tepid. All in all, tho’, Lucy Foley showed a real feeling for the time and place, and whether read for escape or nostalgia, this is a most pleasurable story. Fortunately I had both the audible and the ICPL hardcover, so could read episodes over again. But I must give kudos to Emma Gregory for her narration. In general she narrated in Posh English dialect, but I was so agreeably surprised by the voice she gave Stella. English readers so often give American characters a really nasal ugly generic American accent, but Stella sounded both ingenuous and melodious, tho’ quite authentic, with the sort of voice we would dream of for an American beauty of the period.
August 14, 2024
The Invitation is not a typical Lucy Foley book, in that it is not a twisty-mystery/psychological thriller. I found it to be a well-written, bittersweet book about hope and happiness.
November 28, 2016
I would love to go to Italy. I thought this book might take me there, but it only put me to sleep. The story was soooooo slooooooow. I can't even tell you what it was about. I'd read a sentence several times - my mind was wandering. It didn't keep my interest at all. DNF @ 34%.
February 24, 2021
Glamorous and gorgeously written... but vaguely improbable, repetitive and (dare I say it?) a little superficial.
In my opinion, this is by far Foley’s most accomplished work yet. Having been relatively unimpressed by The Book of Lost and Found and Last Letter from Istanbul, I was dubious at first - but the temptation of the Italian Riviera was too good to resist. In this aspect, I was certainly not disappointed. The Mediterranean setting is wonderful and the ambience is stunning; Lucy Foley has an exquisite talent for elegant and immersive descriptive writing. Where her work falls short for me is plot and characterisation.
The Invitation is more compelling in comparison to Foley’s other historical fiction; the mystery is intriguing and the conflict is clear and convincing. I especially enjoyed the element of the Spanish Civil War, although this wasn’t as thoroughly explored as I would have liked. This facet of the novel is what makes it compelling. My main criticism, however, is that Hal’s story felt irrelevant and unnecessary - he’s very much a Mr Utterson kind of figure. His sole function is to operate as an unlikely confidant so other characters divulge their secrets, or else as a romantic distraction for the only vaguely interesting character in the entire novel, Stella. This ‘romance’ develops ludicrously fast with no apparent foundations: the couple fail to connect on any sort of psychological level, having only the quintessential emotional baggage in common. In short, the one dimensional characters and their romance are utterly uninspiring.
On a re-read (yes, the weather in Southern England at the moment is particularly foul, I needed some escapism), I found myself really struggling through the 'filler' material, to the extent where I skimmed between the more compelling plot points. I was also struck by how poor the editing was for this one: there were some particularly glaring continuity errors that should have been ironed out. For example, (and this isn't a spoiler, you find out on page 24) Hal notices that Stella has lost two fingers on her left hand, the ring and the little finger. I only really remembered this because it struck me as maybe philosophically or metaphorically significant: Stella cannot wear the wedding ring that would represent her marriage to her domineering husband. Then, on page 197 when Stella herself is recounting the accident, she describes an injury to her right hand. It just frustrates me that an editorial frickin' team did not pick up on this.
A light and glamourous read, but my total lack of emotional investment undermined my enjoyment.
In my opinion, this is by far Foley’s most accomplished work yet. Having been relatively unimpressed by The Book of Lost and Found and Last Letter from Istanbul, I was dubious at first - but the temptation of the Italian Riviera was too good to resist. In this aspect, I was certainly not disappointed. The Mediterranean setting is wonderful and the ambience is stunning; Lucy Foley has an exquisite talent for elegant and immersive descriptive writing. Where her work falls short for me is plot and characterisation.
The Invitation is more compelling in comparison to Foley’s other historical fiction; the mystery is intriguing and the conflict is clear and convincing. I especially enjoyed the element of the Spanish Civil War, although this wasn’t as thoroughly explored as I would have liked. This facet of the novel is what makes it compelling. My main criticism, however, is that Hal’s story felt irrelevant and unnecessary - he’s very much a Mr Utterson kind of figure. His sole function is to operate as an unlikely confidant so other characters divulge their secrets, or else as a romantic distraction for the only vaguely interesting character in the entire novel, Stella. This ‘romance’ develops ludicrously fast with no apparent foundations: the couple fail to connect on any sort of psychological level, having only the quintessential emotional baggage in common. In short, the one dimensional characters and their romance are utterly uninspiring.
On a re-read (yes, the weather in Southern England at the moment is particularly foul, I needed some escapism), I found myself really struggling through the 'filler' material, to the extent where I skimmed between the more compelling plot points. I was also struck by how poor the editing was for this one: there were some particularly glaring continuity errors that should have been ironed out. For example, (and this isn't a spoiler, you find out on page 24) Hal notices that Stella has lost two fingers on her left hand, the ring and the little finger. I only really remembered this because it struck me as maybe philosophically or metaphorically significant: Stella cannot wear the wedding ring that would represent her marriage to her domineering husband. Then, on page 197 when Stella herself is recounting the accident, she describes an injury to her right hand. It just frustrates me that an editorial frickin' team did not pick up on this.
A light and glamourous read, but my total lack of emotional investment undermined my enjoyment.
June 13, 2023
The Invitation is an early novel written by Lucy Foley, an author whose thrillers and family dramas have entertained me many times the last two years. Set in 1950s Italy, the story revolves around a film being produced and all the intricacies of behavior in the time period. An older woman, The Countess, brings together an eclectic group of visionaries, actors, backers, and journalists to make her movie a success, but on the journey, love intervenes and leads to death. At first, I found the piece missing a plot, though it was atmospheric and intriguing. By three quarters into the book, there is still little plot other than will two lovers be together or be separated by forces between them. Definitely not a thriller or suspense novel yet still heavily laden with moments of drama and curiosity. Shows Foley's early signs of writing best sellers, but it also shows her marked improvement and innate ability to focus on character development. I have one more to finish from her early book list (Last Letter from Istanbul) but the plot doesn't fully interest me, so it will be a while before I get to it. That said, I recommend this one for its time period and overall focus on a character's plight to find love.
July 19, 2020
This was honestly one of the most boring books I ever read. I have loved other books by this author, but this one just dragged on and was insanely dull. . I kept on with it simply because I thought that surely it would get better. It did not.
March 21, 2023
The Invitation by Lucy Foley was an okay read. It kept my attention but did not grab onto me. It was confusing at times not knowing who was who. I just kind of went where it took me.
August 10, 2017
This book is so conflicting. I wanted to like this book a lot. The setting is interesting, the cover is stunning, the era is interesting, but there is just too much of could have been.
Let me explain:
-The romance between two people struggling with their past has the potential to be interesting.
-Exploring the innerworking of the film world and rich circles in Italy as oppose to Hollywood is doubtlessly worth reading as well.
-And post WWII Europe is a place that allows for endless stories, recoving from the war, social mobility, women's rights, voting rights, technological advancement etc.
But now we come to the two or two and a half star issue. The characters and especially Stella made this a 2 and a half star book. Despite her interesting background she couldn't but bore me. I have a suspicion that she was likely broken beyond repair from the moment we met her in 1951. She managed to escape the Spanish civil war (with the help of her husband) and married him, but after that things turn stagnant. She is a rich wife first, second and third.
If she had been a mother, if she had had a job, an activist for something, anything really. That would have helped to make her more interesting. As things stand she was a rich wife.
Which brings me to why I don't get why Hal was so very into her. He was willing to think the worst of her husband and see her as the embodiment of all that was good. Much good it did him in the end.
That ending BTW was, well you'll have to read it for yourself. Let me just say it was a neat trick or not so neat at all depending which way you look at it.
Let me explain:
-The romance between two people struggling with their past has the potential to be interesting.
-Exploring the innerworking of the film world and rich circles in Italy as oppose to Hollywood is doubtlessly worth reading as well.
-And post WWII Europe is a place that allows for endless stories, recoving from the war, social mobility, women's rights, voting rights, technological advancement etc.
But now we come to the two or two and a half star issue. The characters and especially Stella made this a 2 and a half star book. Despite her interesting background she couldn't but bore me. I have a suspicion that she was likely broken beyond repair from the moment we met her in 1951. She managed to escape the Spanish civil war (with the help of her husband) and married him, but after that things turn stagnant. She is a rich wife first, second and third.
If she had been a mother, if she had had a job, an activist for something, anything really. That would have helped to make her more interesting. As things stand she was a rich wife.
Which brings me to why I don't get why Hal was so very into her. He was willing to think the worst of her husband and see her as the embodiment of all that was good. Much good it did him in the end.
That ending BTW was, well you'll have to read it for yourself. Let me just say it was a neat trick or not so neat at all depending which way you look at it.
November 6, 2024
“Things happen. And they happen whether or not we’re there to influence them. And we can either let them eat away at us, and destroy us. Or we can go on living. Sometimes that is braver.”
Have you read “Beautiful Ruins” by Jess Walter? If so, there is a feeling of déjà vu in this story with Foley building through her writing, what appears to be a love story to Italy that incorporates movie stars as some of her characters. Not that the two stories are similar in any other way, but I was reminded of that one as I read the beautiful descriptions of how the characters see Italy…
“Now the city is at its loveliest. The crowds of summer and autumn have gone, the air has a new freshness, the light has that pale-gold quality unique to this time of year. There have been several weeks of this weather now, without a drop of rain.”
I wasn’t sure I was going to read this one, thus, it wasn’t placed on my “currently reading” shelf. Reviewers seem to describe it as a romance novel, and having read a few recently, I wasn’t sure I was up for another one. Yet. But as I got into the novel, it seems more like a story focused on 4 things…obsession, possession, secrets and control over women. Does that sound like a romance novel?
There are 2 P.O.V.’s that are alternated between, Hal a journalist escaping his past, and attempting to make some kind of existence in Rome; and, someone named “Her.”
Hal meets a beautiful woman at a party and has a one-night stand with “her.” Will he ever see “her” again? And, what will become of Hal?
The second P.O.V., as mentioned, is “Her.” The woman who had the one-night stand at a party with Hal. How will she play into this story? Is she married or available? Or is there something more for readers to want to understand about “her?”
And, why did the author choose to entitle the chapters “Her” without a name? Does that “trick” make readers more curious about “her?” And, what past is “her” hiding from?
This is a slow build reading experience. Will readers become interested in who “her” could possibly be and her past and how it affects the present? And possibly wonder…what will be discovered in this slow, tension building, scenic mystery?
I leave it to readers to decide.
My review “The Guest List” is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Have you read “Beautiful Ruins” by Jess Walter? If so, there is a feeling of déjà vu in this story with Foley building through her writing, what appears to be a love story to Italy that incorporates movie stars as some of her characters. Not that the two stories are similar in any other way, but I was reminded of that one as I read the beautiful descriptions of how the characters see Italy…
“Now the city is at its loveliest. The crowds of summer and autumn have gone, the air has a new freshness, the light has that pale-gold quality unique to this time of year. There have been several weeks of this weather now, without a drop of rain.”
I wasn’t sure I was going to read this one, thus, it wasn’t placed on my “currently reading” shelf. Reviewers seem to describe it as a romance novel, and having read a few recently, I wasn’t sure I was up for another one. Yet. But as I got into the novel, it seems more like a story focused on 4 things…obsession, possession, secrets and control over women. Does that sound like a romance novel?
There are 2 P.O.V.’s that are alternated between, Hal a journalist escaping his past, and attempting to make some kind of existence in Rome; and, someone named “Her.”
Hal meets a beautiful woman at a party and has a one-night stand with “her.” Will he ever see “her” again? And, what will become of Hal?
The second P.O.V., as mentioned, is “Her.” The woman who had the one-night stand at a party with Hal. How will she play into this story? Is she married or available? Or is there something more for readers to want to understand about “her?”
And, why did the author choose to entitle the chapters “Her” without a name? Does that “trick” make readers more curious about “her?” And, what past is “her” hiding from?
This is a slow build reading experience. Will readers become interested in who “her” could possibly be and her past and how it affects the present? And possibly wonder…what will be discovered in this slow, tension building, scenic mystery?
I leave it to readers to decide.
My review “The Guest List” is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
December 11, 2020
An invitation to journey on a yacht along the Italian Riveria to the Cannes Film Festival. What’s not to like?
The scenery is breathtaking. I have been fortune enough to recently visited theses beautiful towns. It brought back memories for me.
This is the compelling story of two strangers who meet by chance and the secrets that they have kept.
Hal and Stella first meet in Italy at a cocktail party for the rich and famous.
Hal is there under false pretenses. Hal doesn’t feel he belongs there.
He is only there to write a story as he is a journalist.
Stella is an invited guest. She is alone. She is very mysterious and Hal is drawn to her. They spend the evening together, but Stella disappears the next day.
Hal never sees her again.
Until the invitation comes to go on the Pygmalion, Stella is shocked to see Hal What is he doing here?
They are both invited to the premiere of a film to be shown at Cannes.
Stella is with her husband who is an investor for the film. Hal is on the yacht to do a story. Hal did not know that Stella was married. Oh no!
As Hal and Stella’s stories are unveiled, we see a similarity to story in the film.
Hal is a war torn solder escaping ghosts of the past.
Stella has survived the Spanish Civil War.
Their secrets are revealed but a mysterious event occurs. What happened at Cannes?
This book is very well written although I did guess what happens in the end
Perfect summer read.
The scenery is breathtaking. I have been fortune enough to recently visited theses beautiful towns. It brought back memories for me.
This is the compelling story of two strangers who meet by chance and the secrets that they have kept.
Hal and Stella first meet in Italy at a cocktail party for the rich and famous.
Hal is there under false pretenses. Hal doesn’t feel he belongs there.
He is only there to write a story as he is a journalist.
Stella is an invited guest. She is alone. She is very mysterious and Hal is drawn to her. They spend the evening together, but Stella disappears the next day.
Hal never sees her again.
Until the invitation comes to go on the Pygmalion, Stella is shocked to see Hal What is he doing here?
They are both invited to the premiere of a film to be shown at Cannes.
Stella is with her husband who is an investor for the film. Hal is on the yacht to do a story. Hal did not know that Stella was married. Oh no!
As Hal and Stella’s stories are unveiled, we see a similarity to story in the film.
Hal is a war torn solder escaping ghosts of the past.
Stella has survived the Spanish Civil War.
Their secrets are revealed but a mysterious event occurs. What happened at Cannes?
This book is very well written although I did guess what happens in the end
Perfect summer read.
August 3, 2024
Written in 2016, The Invitation is another wonderful story by Lucy Foley.
Rome 1953: Hal (a writer) is asked to attend the party of a famous Contessa in replacement of another writer who is unable to attend. Living paycheck to paycheck, Hal decides to take the gig. Once there, he not only meets the spunky Contessa but has a chance encounter with a mysterious woman named, Stella. The two end up having a one-night stand and she quickly leaves in the morning.
Italian Riviera 1954: A year later the Contessa invites Hal to Italy to write about a movie she is producing. Once he arrives, Hal is shocked to discover that Stella has been invited along with her husband. Not only is he saddened by the fact that she is married, but her husband seems to have her in some sort of subservient hold. She is a completely different person to the carefree girl that she was that night in Rome.
Spanning their time in Italy with flashbacks of both Stella and Hal's past, this is a love story for the ages.
_________________________________________
I loved this so much! Lucy Foley never disappoints. 💙💙
Rome 1953: Hal (a writer) is asked to attend the party of a famous Contessa in replacement of another writer who is unable to attend. Living paycheck to paycheck, Hal decides to take the gig. Once there, he not only meets the spunky Contessa but has a chance encounter with a mysterious woman named, Stella. The two end up having a one-night stand and she quickly leaves in the morning.
Italian Riviera 1954: A year later the Contessa invites Hal to Italy to write about a movie she is producing. Once he arrives, Hal is shocked to discover that Stella has been invited along with her husband. Not only is he saddened by the fact that she is married, but her husband seems to have her in some sort of subservient hold. She is a completely different person to the carefree girl that she was that night in Rome.
Spanning their time in Italy with flashbacks of both Stella and Hal's past, this is a love story for the ages.
_________________________________________
I loved this so much! Lucy Foley never disappoints. 💙💙
August 13, 2018
Genuinely one of the worst books I’ve ever read.
May 28, 2023
Set in the film world of 1950s along the Italian Riviera, author Lucy Foley sweeps readers up into a world of luxury at the Cannes Film Festival.
The historical fiction references to the Spanish Civil War, love scenes and mystery aspect were all in great balance and I loved revisiting places I’ve ticked off my bucket list; Portofino, Cinque Terre and Genoa. Foley pulled through and this was an immersive read with rich description.
However, I did struggle with pacing, skimming through filler scenes and connecting with the characters. This, ultimately, hampered my enjoyment level.
I left this book in a LFL in Skagway, Alaska.
The historical fiction references to the Spanish Civil War, love scenes and mystery aspect were all in great balance and I loved revisiting places I’ve ticked off my bucket list; Portofino, Cinque Terre and Genoa. Foley pulled through and this was an immersive read with rich description.
However, I did struggle with pacing, skimming through filler scenes and connecting with the characters. This, ultimately, hampered my enjoyment level.
I left this book in a LFL in Skagway, Alaska.
dnf
August 21, 2016 I received this via Goodreads FirstReads giveaways in exchange for an honest review.
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Just didn't grab me:(
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Just didn't grab me:(
Read
July 29, 2021I had a lot of nitpicky issues with this—things that kept taking me out of the story—but overall it was pretty good. (I need to stop choosing historical fiction and expecting it to read like fiction from a historical period.) This was just cheesy enough that I could never forget I was reading a novel, but if that's not something you find bothersome, I'd say give this a spin. It was definitely a bit dopey and try-hard, but not embarrassingly so, and I liked it more than I was annoyed by it.
Here are some of the notes I made along the way:
--I picked this book *because* it seemed to be a Certain Type of Book (directionless, penniless writer gets in with a rich crowd full of People with Secrets, against a gorgeous European setting), but right off the bat I was already afraid it would be too cliched. (At 5 percent in, our hero has fallen in love at first sight with a mysterious damaged goddess who peels an orange in a single strip. *eye roll*) A lot of the characters seem like stock types (the wise but mischievous old heiress, the blowhard American, etc.), and while that takes some pressure off both the writer and the reader because we can concentrate more on the plot, I expect more from authors, and I want them to expect more from me.
--The narration is unfortunately super entrenched in the male gaze (and largely uncritical of it), and this is especially a bummer considering that it was written by a woman. (Compare this with "The Weight of Ink," where the casual misogyny is brushed off *until* the character himself develops some perspective and awareness of it.)
--I dislike the structure of third-person narration that allows the reader to know all the character's thoughts EXCEPT when the author wants to strategically keep a secret from the reader (e.g., "It reminded him of that one traumatic afternoon he spent at the sea with his father, a point that is hugely important to the story that's unfolding, but he didn't want to think about that now, tra la la"). I get that this is how you structure a book so it has something that keeps your audience reading and wondering, but too often this setup of making a reader want/need to find out what some big secret is turns out to be the *only* momentum the book has, and that's disappointing. Now, characters who need to find out the secrets of other characters? Fine. Stories in which characters need to solve mysteries for themselves? Great (especially if those mysteries are *about* themselves). Stories with no secrets at all? Even better. (Not everything needs to have a mystery or a twist!) But this false way of selective revelation and teasing is almost always off-putting to me.
--The melodrama weakens the story (real people don't talk and act and think like this), and the uneven, often sloppy writing weakens it further. (An antique compass enters the narrative at one point, and over the space of just six paragraphs we're told that "[Hal] is at once unnerved by it," "There is something about the needle that unnerves him," and "Something about it unnerves him." BUT IS HE UNNERVED THO?
--I hate them. These falsely dramatic sentence fragments. That try to create tension. By stuttering in this way. Annoyingly.
--Ugh, here we have a relationship based not on two people talking and getting to know each other but on (for the man) simply looking at the woman and liking how she makes him feel, and (for the woman) a human connection that is mostly a distraction/escape, whether temporary or permanent, from her sad reality. Yet we're supposed to believe this is an epic, fated, superlove. Bleh. He likes her because she's beautiful and mysterious and fragile and broken, and because she's the only one he can share his big secret with. Those things are all about HIM, not her. *thumbs down*
--I think I let out an audible groan when a second, parallel narration appeared, and then a sneaky third one later on. It felt lazy? I don't know.
I really didn't hate this, I just wanted it to have higher standards for itself (and for its readers), I guess. It could have been great rather than simply good, and that's frustrating.
Here are some of the notes I made along the way:
--I picked this book *because* it seemed to be a Certain Type of Book (directionless, penniless writer gets in with a rich crowd full of People with Secrets, against a gorgeous European setting), but right off the bat I was already afraid it would be too cliched. (At 5 percent in, our hero has fallen in love at first sight with a mysterious damaged goddess who peels an orange in a single strip. *eye roll*) A lot of the characters seem like stock types (the wise but mischievous old heiress, the blowhard American, etc.), and while that takes some pressure off both the writer and the reader because we can concentrate more on the plot, I expect more from authors, and I want them to expect more from me.
--The narration is unfortunately super entrenched in the male gaze (and largely uncritical of it), and this is especially a bummer considering that it was written by a woman. (Compare this with "The Weight of Ink," where the casual misogyny is brushed off *until* the character himself develops some perspective and awareness of it.)
--I dislike the structure of third-person narration that allows the reader to know all the character's thoughts EXCEPT when the author wants to strategically keep a secret from the reader (e.g., "It reminded him of that one traumatic afternoon he spent at the sea with his father, a point that is hugely important to the story that's unfolding, but he didn't want to think about that now, tra la la"). I get that this is how you structure a book so it has something that keeps your audience reading and wondering, but too often this setup of making a reader want/need to find out what some big secret is turns out to be the *only* momentum the book has, and that's disappointing. Now, characters who need to find out the secrets of other characters? Fine. Stories in which characters need to solve mysteries for themselves? Great (especially if those mysteries are *about* themselves). Stories with no secrets at all? Even better. (Not everything needs to have a mystery or a twist!) But this false way of selective revelation and teasing is almost always off-putting to me.
--The melodrama weakens the story (real people don't talk and act and think like this), and the uneven, often sloppy writing weakens it further. (An antique compass enters the narrative at one point, and over the space of just six paragraphs we're told that "[Hal] is at once unnerved by it," "There is something about the needle that unnerves him," and "Something about it unnerves him." BUT IS HE UNNERVED THO?
--I hate them. These falsely dramatic sentence fragments. That try to create tension. By stuttering in this way. Annoyingly.
--Ugh, here we have a relationship based not on two people talking and getting to know each other but on (for the man) simply looking at the woman and liking how she makes him feel, and (for the woman) a human connection that is mostly a distraction/escape, whether temporary or permanent, from her sad reality. Yet we're supposed to believe this is an epic, fated, superlove. Bleh. He likes her because she's beautiful and mysterious and fragile and broken, and because she's the only one he can share his big secret with. Those things are all about HIM, not her. *thumbs down*
--I think I let out an audible groan when a second, parallel narration appeared, and then a sneaky third one later on. It felt lazy? I don't know.
I really didn't hate this, I just wanted it to have higher standards for itself (and for its readers), I guess. It could have been great rather than simply good, and that's frustrating.
June 3, 2019
I wanted to love this book and on the face of it I thought I would but it bored me to tears. There was no story of any great depth and the people who wrote such lovely things about it on the back must have been paid
I thought it would make me want to go to Italy but no such thing. And I felt no investment in the characters
I thought it would make me want to go to Italy but no such thing. And I felt no investment in the characters
October 14, 2017
The Invitation is definitely one of those books that takes you to another time and place. I really felt like I was travelling through post war Europe with the characters, experiencing all the sights with them. I now really hope to travel through Europe at some point and visit all the countries they did.
I loved the Countessa! I thought she was such a fantastic character, so full of life (despite her age), welcoming, friendly and a tad mischievous. Her obvious care towards her guests and her meddling in their lives to increase their happiness, was lovely to read about. Her antics often had me laughing out loud at times, especially when it wasn’t at first clear what she was up to and her devious schemes were gradually revealed. All the characters have been affected by the war in different ways which was fascinating to read about, particularly as in their histories is mentioned a part of the war that i didn’t know much about. All the characters go on a personal journey throughout the book and it was lovely to see how much they had changed towards the end.
The building relationship between Stella and Hal was brilliantly done and seemed very real. Things seemed to happen at a natural time and pace for them and it wasn’t too over the top. It would have been easy for the author to write the relationship a lot more like a Hollywood movie and I was very pleased that she resisted this urge and created a much more everyday relationship. This is not to say that the relationship was boring, far from it! The many twists and turns and oppositions to their relationship kept the story very interesting. I felt intimately involved, almost like I was a friend of the couple trying to look out for them, and wanted to keep reading to find out what happened next. The relationship doesn’t dominate the story either, rather it is the group as a whole with their different backgrounds, experience of the war and how they interact with each other (often outside the class rules that were in place at the time) that makes the story a truly interesting one. I found that I liked all of the characters individually, even Stella’s husband (who i felt sorry for), and I found i was very interested in discovering more about them and their history.
There is a twist towards the end which I didn’t see coming and helped move the book in a completely different direction to the one i was expecting. I was very pleased with how it ended and thought it was a very appropriate ending for the book.
This is Lucy Foley’s second book, but it is the first I have read and I will definitely be reading more from her. I believe her third book, Last Letters from Istanbul is available in March and I will very much be looking forward to reading it. If you are a fan of Victoria Hislop of Kate Morton you will very much enjoy this book.
Huge thanks to Ann Bissell and Harper Collins for my copy of this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
I loved the Countessa! I thought she was such a fantastic character, so full of life (despite her age), welcoming, friendly and a tad mischievous. Her obvious care towards her guests and her meddling in their lives to increase their happiness, was lovely to read about. Her antics often had me laughing out loud at times, especially when it wasn’t at first clear what she was up to and her devious schemes were gradually revealed. All the characters have been affected by the war in different ways which was fascinating to read about, particularly as in their histories is mentioned a part of the war that i didn’t know much about. All the characters go on a personal journey throughout the book and it was lovely to see how much they had changed towards the end.
The building relationship between Stella and Hal was brilliantly done and seemed very real. Things seemed to happen at a natural time and pace for them and it wasn’t too over the top. It would have been easy for the author to write the relationship a lot more like a Hollywood movie and I was very pleased that she resisted this urge and created a much more everyday relationship. This is not to say that the relationship was boring, far from it! The many twists and turns and oppositions to their relationship kept the story very interesting. I felt intimately involved, almost like I was a friend of the couple trying to look out for them, and wanted to keep reading to find out what happened next. The relationship doesn’t dominate the story either, rather it is the group as a whole with their different backgrounds, experience of the war and how they interact with each other (often outside the class rules that were in place at the time) that makes the story a truly interesting one. I found that I liked all of the characters individually, even Stella’s husband (who i felt sorry for), and I found i was very interested in discovering more about them and their history.
There is a twist towards the end which I didn’t see coming and helped move the book in a completely different direction to the one i was expecting. I was very pleased with how it ended and thought it was a very appropriate ending for the book.
This is Lucy Foley’s second book, but it is the first I have read and I will definitely be reading more from her. I believe her third book, Last Letters from Istanbul is available in March and I will very much be looking forward to reading it. If you are a fan of Victoria Hislop of Kate Morton you will very much enjoy this book.
Huge thanks to Ann Bissell and Harper Collins for my copy of this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
August 10, 2024
1⭐️= Not For Me.
Audio.
A slow narrator and a slow storyline. I have travelled to Italy so thought I would find this interesting. Whilst the setting descriptions were good, they were not enough to balance out the uninteresting plot.
This is my first LF book but looking on this site, not a favourite of those that have read others by this author. I’ll definitely give another a go though.
Audio.
A slow narrator and a slow storyline. I have travelled to Italy so thought I would find this interesting. Whilst the setting descriptions were good, they were not enough to balance out the uninteresting plot.
This is my first LF book but looking on this site, not a favourite of those that have read others by this author. I’ll definitely give another a go though.
December 9, 2024
‘Things happen. And they happen whether or not we're there to influence them. And we can either let them eat away at us, and destroy us. Or we can go on living.’
“That spring was the start of everything, for me. Before then, I might have been half-asleep, drifting through life.”
‘I worked to extinguish every trace of my old accent, every vestige of the girl I had once been.’
‘Sometimes he thinks fame has a great deal to answer for. It rewards behavior that should otherwise be stamped out long before adulthood.’
‘So I watch them jealously, the families. These are people who have been bombed out of their homes, who think, perhaps, that they have lost everything. I wonder if they will come to realize that what they have here is everything that matters.
‘On the side of the promenade protected by the tight mouth of the harbour, the water is still calm. But on the other the sea is wild and dark, capped with foam like the froth on a madman’s lips.’
The Invitation by Lucy Foley is unlike any book I've read of hers. I started it thinking it would be another fast paced suspense type novel the author is known for. I realise now, this was not a new release, it was a novel written much earlier.
That being said, initially I read it at a luxurious pace…taking in the setting of 1950s Italy and immersing myself in the almost poetic descriptions pulling me into its time and breathtaking locations. Entangled underneath the passionate main plot, there is this lurking tension of obsession, grief, fragility, possessiveness and power. For a time the words allowed me to escape into this world with all its varying painted hues of color, of emotion…
Broken down into mostly two time periods, from the lavish wealth of 1950s famous and elite to the horrors of war torn Spain, it definitely had an effect on me.
The Invitation has more depth than meets the eye, from the characters themselves to the juxtaposition of the two time periods. It also delves into the caste system dividing the very wealthy and the poor, and how they're perceived at that time.
It very achingly describes the tragic effects of war, on both civilians and those in service…from the devastation and tremendous losses, to withheld secrets and the haunting ramifications that follow.
Although there was passion and romance, I would hesitate to call it a ‘romance novel’. Again, the juxtaposition of the two worlds often caught me off guard, at once haunting and yet depressing…
The characters are an interesting diverse group, from creative and introspective, like the writer, the director, the photographer…to secrets held tight under the fragile veil of beauty, to controlling and absolutely vile.
I'm not sure if the other timelines, in my opinion, really add anything beyond the sense of eerie mystery and intrigue that interlaces through the book…But then again, Lucy Foley is always the master of creating atmosphere and settings.
If you're looking for a fast paced, thrilling page turner, this is not that book. If you're looking for a book that slowly immerses you in another time, another culture where people are really not quite what they seem… and there is no rush to to explain…you may find yourself captured.
The slow, languish way I started the book, delighting in my senses, feeling the cold of the stone facades, gazing at the sun soaked sea's blue azure beauty to the inky, black turbulent, churling waters it became at night… lasted for a while.
I did succumb to what others described as finding it long winded, and despite the secrets and mysteries hidden among the characters and the story, I yearned to be more invested. I yearned to want to turn the pages faster…but this was not that story.
At one point earlier, I almost DNF, but wanted to see how it resolved. I'm glad I finished it and the fact that I'm still thinking about it reveals that.
I'm also glad I got a glimpse into an earlier Lucy Foley. She's obviously a talented author, and I will always want to read what she writes.
“That spring was the start of everything, for me. Before then, I might have been half-asleep, drifting through life.”
‘I worked to extinguish every trace of my old accent, every vestige of the girl I had once been.’
‘Sometimes he thinks fame has a great deal to answer for. It rewards behavior that should otherwise be stamped out long before adulthood.’
‘So I watch them jealously, the families. These are people who have been bombed out of their homes, who think, perhaps, that they have lost everything. I wonder if they will come to realize that what they have here is everything that matters.
‘On the side of the promenade protected by the tight mouth of the harbour, the water is still calm. But on the other the sea is wild and dark, capped with foam like the froth on a madman’s lips.’
The Invitation by Lucy Foley is unlike any book I've read of hers. I started it thinking it would be another fast paced suspense type novel the author is known for. I realise now, this was not a new release, it was a novel written much earlier.
That being said, initially I read it at a luxurious pace…taking in the setting of 1950s Italy and immersing myself in the almost poetic descriptions pulling me into its time and breathtaking locations. Entangled underneath the passionate main plot, there is this lurking tension of obsession, grief, fragility, possessiveness and power. For a time the words allowed me to escape into this world with all its varying painted hues of color, of emotion…
Broken down into mostly two time periods, from the lavish wealth of 1950s famous and elite to the horrors of war torn Spain, it definitely had an effect on me.
The Invitation has more depth than meets the eye, from the characters themselves to the juxtaposition of the two time periods. It also delves into the caste system dividing the very wealthy and the poor, and how they're perceived at that time.
It very achingly describes the tragic effects of war, on both civilians and those in service…from the devastation and tremendous losses, to withheld secrets and the haunting ramifications that follow.
Although there was passion and romance, I would hesitate to call it a ‘romance novel’. Again, the juxtaposition of the two worlds often caught me off guard, at once haunting and yet depressing…
The characters are an interesting diverse group, from creative and introspective, like the writer, the director, the photographer…to secrets held tight under the fragile veil of beauty, to controlling and absolutely vile.
I'm not sure if the other timelines, in my opinion, really add anything beyond the sense of eerie mystery and intrigue that interlaces through the book…But then again, Lucy Foley is always the master of creating atmosphere and settings.
If you're looking for a fast paced, thrilling page turner, this is not that book. If you're looking for a book that slowly immerses you in another time, another culture where people are really not quite what they seem… and there is no rush to to explain…you may find yourself captured.
The slow, languish way I started the book, delighting in my senses, feeling the cold of the stone facades, gazing at the sun soaked sea's blue azure beauty to the inky, black turbulent, churling waters it became at night… lasted for a while.
I did succumb to what others described as finding it long winded, and despite the secrets and mysteries hidden among the characters and the story, I yearned to be more invested. I yearned to want to turn the pages faster…but this was not that story.
At one point earlier, I almost DNF, but wanted to see how it resolved. I'm glad I finished it and the fact that I'm still thinking about it reveals that.
I'm also glad I got a glimpse into an earlier Lucy Foley. She's obviously a talented author, and I will always want to read what she writes.
February 6, 2019
DNF.
The blurbs on the jacket describe this book as "luminous", and I guess that is true, if luminous means boring.
Somewhat interested in Hal, but then he goes and gets obsessed with Stella, and for some reason, I could not see why. She is not at all interesting. Beautiful, hops into bed with him..not a spoiler it happens in the first few pages! And, OK, so she has some horrible things that have happened to her when she was a teen in the war. Ug, I could tell that the foreshadowing was going to take forever, and I just didn't feel like reading about some spoiled rich woman with an abusive husband and a sad past. Oh, and we get foreshadowing about Hal's past, someone must have drowned............, but I discovered I did not care.
The blurbs on the jacket describe this book as "luminous", and I guess that is true, if luminous means boring.
Somewhat interested in Hal, but then he goes and gets obsessed with Stella, and for some reason, I could not see why. She is not at all interesting. Beautiful, hops into bed with him..not a spoiler it happens in the first few pages! And, OK, so she has some horrible things that have happened to her when she was a teen in the war. Ug, I could tell that the foreshadowing was going to take forever, and I just didn't feel like reading about some spoiled rich woman with an abusive husband and a sad past. Oh, and we get foreshadowing about Hal's past, someone must have drowned............, but I discovered I did not care.
March 27, 2022
This was an epic, old time, old fashioned, story set in the early 1950’s in Italy and France, with flashbacks to Spain years earlier.
It was akin to watching an historic, epic Hollywood movie, set in the days of romance and fine manners. Women were either the elite, the beautiful, and/or the quiet suffering ones amongst the rich and famous. Picture traveling on the Contessa’s yacht, along the sunny coast of Italy, sipping Prosecco. Yes, there’s an official, wonderful, and credible countess.
There are also beautiful and tragic events and people, where you get a sense of both privilege and wanting…and yearning. I stayed up to finish this beauty, and may add more tomorrow in my review once I’ve had the opportunity to have it sit with me.
Very different than Lucy Foley’s last two contemporary novels but equally compelling.
It was akin to watching an historic, epic Hollywood movie, set in the days of romance and fine manners. Women were either the elite, the beautiful, and/or the quiet suffering ones amongst the rich and famous. Picture traveling on the Contessa’s yacht, along the sunny coast of Italy, sipping Prosecco. Yes, there’s an official, wonderful, and credible countess.
There are also beautiful and tragic events and people, where you get a sense of both privilege and wanting…and yearning. I stayed up to finish this beauty, and may add more tomorrow in my review once I’ve had the opportunity to have it sit with me.
Very different than Lucy Foley’s last two contemporary novels but equally compelling.
August 2, 2016
A novel I picked up randomly in the bookstore to browse as the blurb seemed interesting and then I couldn't put down and had to read it until the end late in the evenings at home.
While it belongs to the "long ago" secrets sub-genre and it splits the action between the present (Rome and the Ligurian coast 1953, where the main characters meet and then go on a movie promotional trip on a yacht, he being an English expatriate, writer, journalist, though with an Italian mother and a brigadier father, war veteran and damaged by said war and its aftermath, she being a Spanish woman, damaged by their earlier war and who found a refuge that is more like a cage with a rich American husband, but also the secondary characters, the talented but scarred and elusive director, the Italian beautiful and seemingly spoiled movie star, The American drunk and famous male lead, the photographer with a secret, the Contessa whose ancestor's tale from a journal dated around Lepanto's time - 1570's - inspired her to make the movie in cause, the rich American financing the movie, who obviously is the husband and not least the 1570's characters whose lives have an echo today) and the past (1937 Spain, the war at sea and its aftermath, Italy under Mussolini, the aftermath of Lepanto 1574 and Genoa of the time), the novel depends more on characters' interaction and on the descriptions of the wonderful scenery of the Ligurian coast than on twists which are generally predictable - for example this novel made me regret not doing the San Fruttuoso hike described so wonderfully here when I visited the Ligurian coast in the spring of 2015 (had limited time true, but still thought of it, though we finally did just the Santa Margherita - Portofino walking trip and took the boat back...)
Given the above, I have to say that the book worked really, really well for me as I enjoyed everything - the prose, the characters, the description - and the ending was excellent (though again I thought it would go that way despite the first pages which start the recollection of the main character a few years later)
Overall, a deeply personal book that worked superbly for me and the only thing I would add is to give it a try and see if it works for you too.
While it belongs to the "long ago" secrets sub-genre and it splits the action between the present (Rome and the Ligurian coast 1953, where the main characters meet and then go on a movie promotional trip on a yacht, he being an English expatriate, writer, journalist, though with an Italian mother and a brigadier father, war veteran and damaged by said war and its aftermath, she being a Spanish woman, damaged by their earlier war and who found a refuge that is more like a cage with a rich American husband, but also the secondary characters, the talented but scarred and elusive director, the Italian beautiful and seemingly spoiled movie star, The American drunk and famous male lead, the photographer with a secret, the Contessa whose ancestor's tale from a journal dated around Lepanto's time - 1570's - inspired her to make the movie in cause, the rich American financing the movie, who obviously is the husband and not least the 1570's characters whose lives have an echo today) and the past (1937 Spain, the war at sea and its aftermath, Italy under Mussolini, the aftermath of Lepanto 1574 and Genoa of the time), the novel depends more on characters' interaction and on the descriptions of the wonderful scenery of the Ligurian coast than on twists which are generally predictable - for example this novel made me regret not doing the San Fruttuoso hike described so wonderfully here when I visited the Ligurian coast in the spring of 2015 (had limited time true, but still thought of it, though we finally did just the Santa Margherita - Portofino walking trip and took the boat back...)
Given the above, I have to say that the book worked really, really well for me as I enjoyed everything - the prose, the characters, the description - and the ending was excellent (though again I thought it would go that way despite the first pages which start the recollection of the main character a few years later)
Overall, a deeply personal book that worked superbly for me and the only thing I would add is to give it a try and see if it works for you too.
July 8, 2016
I was very lucky to receive a hardback - stunning cover photo! - copy of this book from the publishers Harper Collins, in return for a fair and honest review.
If you are looking for a holiday from the comfort of your own home this summer, then I can highly recommend this book! Set mainly around the Italian Riviera, this is a stunning story of romance, secret pasts, glamour and chance meetings. Some things are maybe just meant to be....
Hal and Stella are the two main characters of this book and we follow both their stories lines, both past and present, as their paths cross. First in Rome for one night they both can't forget, and then 2 years later aboard a yacht set for Cannes. Hal has been invited along by the Contessa as a journalist to report for a magazine on the glamourous lives of those on the yacht, and Stella is there as the wife of one of the major investors in the film.
As the lost souls find each other again, the story revolves around their pasts that they seem to be unable to shake, and their futures that they both seem unsure of whether they deserve happiness. The settings described are stunning and really transports you aboard to experience the trip with all the characters.
It is full of intrigue as their pasts are slowly revealed and how it has impacted on where they are heading with their lives and I found the flashbacks fascinating as they described much harder and darker times, which is the polar opposite of the wealth and glamour of the lives now.
This is the first book i've read by Lucy Foley and will definitely be looking to read more from her as I found her style of writing so evocative and appealing. Highly recommended!
If you are looking for a holiday from the comfort of your own home this summer, then I can highly recommend this book! Set mainly around the Italian Riviera, this is a stunning story of romance, secret pasts, glamour and chance meetings. Some things are maybe just meant to be....
Hal and Stella are the two main characters of this book and we follow both their stories lines, both past and present, as their paths cross. First in Rome for one night they both can't forget, and then 2 years later aboard a yacht set for Cannes. Hal has been invited along by the Contessa as a journalist to report for a magazine on the glamourous lives of those on the yacht, and Stella is there as the wife of one of the major investors in the film.
As the lost souls find each other again, the story revolves around their pasts that they seem to be unable to shake, and their futures that they both seem unsure of whether they deserve happiness. The settings described are stunning and really transports you aboard to experience the trip with all the characters.
It is full of intrigue as their pasts are slowly revealed and how it has impacted on where they are heading with their lives and I found the flashbacks fascinating as they described much harder and darker times, which is the polar opposite of the wealth and glamour of the lives now.
This is the first book i've read by Lucy Foley and will definitely be looking to read more from her as I found her style of writing so evocative and appealing. Highly recommended!
April 5, 2020
I got this from our neighborhood little library, with gloves on, sprayed it down with clorox solution and left it outside for five days. Unfortunately, it was not worth the effort. Plodding pace, shallow characters and completely predictable ending. I'll spray it down again and leave it for someone else left in the drought of closed public libraries.
August 24, 2018
I thought I was going to love this book, with its laudatory blurbs by Elin Hildebrand, Beatriz Williams, and Lucinda Riley on the back cover. Unfortunately, I just didn't get caught up in the story and was even a little bored at times.
April 3, 2022
Scarred from events of a war that shattered their lives, these two characters try to navigate through a new world, learning to find themselves, parts of them lost during the war. Their paths cross each other and secrets are revealed that make them whole. Lucy Foley does an amazing job transporting you away to an extraordinary time in history. Foley truly depicts the ways secrets of the past stay with us no matter how hard we try to escape them.
May 13, 2024
3.5 Stars- This started out very slow for me. It was not the typical thriller I was used to from Lucy Foley. This was set in Italy during the 1950s and featured more than one story. The main character Hal was a little hard to like. I was not drawn to him and found myself waiting to hear Stella's story. Hers was the story I found the most interesting. There was also a journal story that captured my attention. The book did get better and I found the last 100 pages more typical of what I am used to from this author. Overall, I enjoyed reading about the time period and the setting but Hal's story was a little slow for my taste.
February 18, 2022
DNF.. this story just dragged and dragged. Everyone has a secret and none of the secrets are very interesting. Stella was the most unbelievable character. A rich, submissive wife, but her backstory of having to survive and escape on her own as a teen would suggest the complete opposite. I could not relate to her and it was unbelievable to me that Hal was so taken by this married, aloof, cold, wimp of a woman. Why? The reader needs some reasons please. The book centers around this attraction that makes no sense
Bits of the war are also thrown in, but it cuts into the story with death and destruction and it is not a welcome interruption . I grew annoyed and bored to get the point I did not even slip to the end to see how this drab “love affair” that makes zero sense ends. I can only hope it ended with Stella finally drownings
Bits of the war are also thrown in, but it cuts into the story with death and destruction and it is not a welcome interruption . I grew annoyed and bored to get the point I did not even slip to the end to see how this drab “love affair” that makes zero sense ends. I can only hope it ended with Stella finally drownings
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