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Ask Me If I'm Happy
Emily Miller is forced to spend a day in Bologna when she'd rather be catching her flight to the US. Determined to put ten years in Italy and her marriage behind her, she wants to have nothing to do with anything-or anyone-Italian ever again.
For Davide Magnani, chivalry isn't yet dead. He accompanies Emily to Milan, if only to reassure himself of her safe arrival. The following morning, he's stunned to realize he's fallen in love with someone he's only known for twenty-four hours-and it seems that she feels the same way.
One year later, Emily and Davide reunite. As their relationship strengthens, unforeseen events reveal deeper, troubling connections all around, which drive Emily away from the first man she's ever really trusted. Can she forgive the lies she's been told, or the truths which have been hidden from her? And how can Davide prove to her, once and for all, that Italy is precisely where she needs to be?
For Davide Magnani, chivalry isn't yet dead. He accompanies Emily to Milan, if only to reassure himself of her safe arrival. The following morning, he's stunned to realize he's fallen in love with someone he's only known for twenty-four hours-and it seems that she feels the same way.
One year later, Emily and Davide reunite. As their relationship strengthens, unforeseen events reveal deeper, troubling connections all around, which drive Emily away from the first man she's ever really trusted. Can she forgive the lies she's been told, or the truths which have been hidden from her? And how can Davide prove to her, once and for all, that Italy is precisely where she needs to be?
- GenresItaly
ebook
First published November 11, 2010
2 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
Kimberly Menozzi
3 books27 followersAn aspiring writer from the age of eight, Kimberly Menozzi began writing her first stories instead of paying attention in school. While her grades might have suffered, her imagination seldom did. She managed to keep most of her stories together for years, then lost them after a move when she left a trunk full of papers behind. (She meant to go back and get them, but circumstances prevented her from doing so.)
So, she started over again. And lost those, too.
After a trip to England in 2002, she began work on A Marginal Life (Well-Lived), inspired by the music of Jarvis Cocker and Pulp. The novel was completed in 2003, and is undergoing rewrites with hopes of publication in the near future.
Also in 2003, she met and fell in love with an Italian accountant named Alessandro. She married him in 2004. This necessitated her arrival in Italy and she has lived there ever since. After several months of working for language schools and writing blog entries for her family in the US to read, new story ideas began to develop.
Finally, in 2007, she began work on a new project, inspired by her love/hate relationship with her new home. The novel Ask Me if I'm Happy was completed in 2009 and was first published in the UK in 2010, before its US release in 2011.
Kimberly's most recent release was 27 Stages, a novel set in the world of professional road cycling.
She is currently at work on another prequel novella for Ask Me if I'm Happy, titled "None So Blind".
So, she started over again. And lost those, too.
After a trip to England in 2002, she began work on A Marginal Life (Well-Lived), inspired by the music of Jarvis Cocker and Pulp. The novel was completed in 2003, and is undergoing rewrites with hopes of publication in the near future.
Also in 2003, she met and fell in love with an Italian accountant named Alessandro. She married him in 2004. This necessitated her arrival in Italy and she has lived there ever since. After several months of working for language schools and writing blog entries for her family in the US to read, new story ideas began to develop.
Finally, in 2007, she began work on a new project, inspired by her love/hate relationship with her new home. The novel Ask Me if I'm Happy was completed in 2009 and was first published in the UK in 2010, before its US release in 2011.
Kimberly's most recent release was 27 Stages, a novel set in the world of professional road cycling.
She is currently at work on another prequel novella for Ask Me if I'm Happy, titled "None So Blind".
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 6, 2011
I’ve started reading ‘Ask if I’m happy’ this morning and am enjoying it a lot already. On page 26 and before she realizes what the last reason is why he watched her… I think I realized it too and went to check in the previous pages. At the moment I have this joy of what might come going through me … and instead of preparing to go out and buy groceries, clean the flat….. I continue reading and enjoy to be in Bologna at least in the story if not in real. I guess it is a compliment if you feel like you are there or feel sad not to be there, where the story is happening …. It just feels so real and I can feel, smell the atmosphere of Bologna.
What a hard story to read this one is going to be for me….. Needing to close the book , wanted to read on and not wanting to read on because each page I read is one less to read.
It is like eating a home made mascarpone dessert. Following Emily on her way through Bologna, being in one of the stations of Milan with her, while she is dealing with a painful past and a very special guide filling her present.
Emily or Emilia like Davide calls her in Italian, is leaving Italy after having lived there for ten years. She can’t wait to leave Italy, the Italians and everything else around her and go back to the States. That special day in Bologna where a typical Italian train strike makes everything go wrong, will also change her life in a huge way.
Back in the States, back where she should feel home Emilia can’t stop thinking about Italy, the Italians or a certain Italian and like the author writes it so correctly, she feels a nostalgia not only for the coffee at the bar in the morning but also for the typical things you don’t have in Italy which could make you go crazy. Those typical, in some way negative, Italian things like shops closed on Sunday or long closing hours during noon … they make her want to go back. But what can she expect back in Italy? She left Italy after ten years, being married and divorced … now she goes back to finalize the sell of the house. Back to Bologna, to where a day, a year ago, everything changed for Emilia.
Her visit back in Italy is like coming home and she knows she made the correct decision, but ten every story has a ‘but’. The but for Emilia is that suddenly everything goes unexpected, her visit back goes like a whirlwind of emotions, unexpected situation. The end of the story felt so intense that I was scared to learn how it would happen.
Kimberly, thank you so much for sending me your book. I absolutely loved it. I loved the story and the feeling it gave me of really being in Italy. Next time I see Nettuno on the piazza in Bologna… I might watch for the ring.
Oh and, I loved the creation of Davide. Who wouldn't?
What a hard story to read this one is going to be for me….. Needing to close the book , wanted to read on and not wanting to read on because each page I read is one less to read.
It is like eating a home made mascarpone dessert. Following Emily on her way through Bologna, being in one of the stations of Milan with her, while she is dealing with a painful past and a very special guide filling her present.
Emily or Emilia like Davide calls her in Italian, is leaving Italy after having lived there for ten years. She can’t wait to leave Italy, the Italians and everything else around her and go back to the States. That special day in Bologna where a typical Italian train strike makes everything go wrong, will also change her life in a huge way.
Back in the States, back where she should feel home Emilia can’t stop thinking about Italy, the Italians or a certain Italian and like the author writes it so correctly, she feels a nostalgia not only for the coffee at the bar in the morning but also for the typical things you don’t have in Italy which could make you go crazy. Those typical, in some way negative, Italian things like shops closed on Sunday or long closing hours during noon … they make her want to go back. But what can she expect back in Italy? She left Italy after ten years, being married and divorced … now she goes back to finalize the sell of the house. Back to Bologna, to where a day, a year ago, everything changed for Emilia.
Her visit back in Italy is like coming home and she knows she made the correct decision, but ten every story has a ‘but’. The but for Emilia is that suddenly everything goes unexpected, her visit back goes like a whirlwind of emotions, unexpected situation. The end of the story felt so intense that I was scared to learn how it would happen.
Kimberly, thank you so much for sending me your book. I absolutely loved it. I loved the story and the feeling it gave me of really being in Italy. Next time I see Nettuno on the piazza in Bologna… I might watch for the ring.
Oh and, I loved the creation of Davide. Who wouldn't?
April 14, 2012
Ask Me If I'm Happy revolves around those tiny insignificances in relationships which, if left unattended, grow into insurmountable barriers between lovers, friends, even.
I read the first few chapters of this when Kim put them up on the authonomy web site a few years ago, and have always wondered what the whole story would be like.
The fact that this novel is set in Italy is such a plus, as it avoids the parochial type of literature which often comes out of the US. In fact, the few small parts of the book set in the US evoke a feeling of claustrophobia and small-mindedness the reader, and the main female lead, Emily Miller, are always happy to escape. Bologna, by stark contrast, is a place where emotions can be given free reign, where to enjoy food, love and passion isn't something to be frowned on, but something to be rejoiced in.
Emily and her suitor, Davide Magnani, are perfectly-drawn characters, their behaviours and weaknesses so real they frustrate us, because we want them to understand how perfect they are for each other.
It is wonderful to read a book where the focus is the characters' inner lives, and where descriptions of landscape, soundscape, of food, of touch, are counterpoints which emphasise even more the struggles of the soul. Too many contemporary books are forced along at a ridiculous pace which gives the reader no time to savour plot, character, or setting.
I found Magnani to be the more simpatico of the two characters, and I don't think that's because I'm a man. I think Emily grated on me occasionally when she became the brash, focused American with no regard for her or Davide's feelings, though I found myself immediately warming to her again when she became, with Italy's and Davide's help, the soft, sensitive woman she was born to be.
This is a very good book.
I read the first few chapters of this when Kim put them up on the authonomy web site a few years ago, and have always wondered what the whole story would be like.
The fact that this novel is set in Italy is such a plus, as it avoids the parochial type of literature which often comes out of the US. In fact, the few small parts of the book set in the US evoke a feeling of claustrophobia and small-mindedness the reader, and the main female lead, Emily Miller, are always happy to escape. Bologna, by stark contrast, is a place where emotions can be given free reign, where to enjoy food, love and passion isn't something to be frowned on, but something to be rejoiced in.
Emily and her suitor, Davide Magnani, are perfectly-drawn characters, their behaviours and weaknesses so real they frustrate us, because we want them to understand how perfect they are for each other.
It is wonderful to read a book where the focus is the characters' inner lives, and where descriptions of landscape, soundscape, of food, of touch, are counterpoints which emphasise even more the struggles of the soul. Too many contemporary books are forced along at a ridiculous pace which gives the reader no time to savour plot, character, or setting.
I found Magnani to be the more simpatico of the two characters, and I don't think that's because I'm a man. I think Emily grated on me occasionally when she became the brash, focused American with no regard for her or Davide's feelings, though I found myself immediately warming to her again when she became, with Italy's and Davide's help, the soft, sensitive woman she was born to be.
This is a very good book.
Read
September 28, 2011I'm going to follow the lead of my fellow writers and say this:
I wrote it. Of course I would give it five stars. However, I really do think it's a good read, and it's worth it to a reader to spend some time with this story if they think it'd be their sort of thing.
If you don't trust my word - and why should you? - take a look at other reviews and see what they thought. Read the free first chapter available on my website (www.kmenozzi.com) and see if that interests you. My work has to speak for itself.
But there's no harm in my speaking up for it as well, is there?
I wrote it. Of course I would give it five stars. However, I really do think it's a good read, and it's worth it to a reader to spend some time with this story if they think it'd be their sort of thing.
If you don't trust my word - and why should you? - take a look at other reviews and see what they thought. Read the free first chapter available on my website (www.kmenozzi.com) and see if that interests you. My work has to speak for itself.
But there's no harm in my speaking up for it as well, is there?
March 9, 2011
One of the best stories I have read in years. Refreshing in it's realistic approach to romance. This book can, and should, be turned into a movie. The characters are real. You can relate to them. Once I started to read the first few pages I was hooked. It was difficult to put the book down. Hours would pass easily as I lost myself in the storyline. Kimberly Menozzi is a word artist. She can create a canvas so realistic you could swear you lived it. I highly recommend this book.
December 13, 2010
When Emily Miller's fairytale marriage ends in betrayal, she's anxious to put Italy, her home for the past ten years, behind her and return to America. Fate seems to be working against her, and a transportation delay leaves her stuck in Bologna for a day. There she meets Davide Magnani who entertains her by introducing her to the city. When the trains are moving again, Davide accompanies her to Milan, loath to say goodbye until he absolutely must. Even after her return to America the two keep in touch, and when Emily must return to Italy, the two are happy to reunite. But her business in Italy uncovers an unwelcome link, and Emily's fragile trust is tested.
This book has so much to offer I'm not sure where to begin. With Emily, Ms. Menozzi gives us a woman who is has found her own quiet strength. I love the way this strength is portrayed, now with and overwhelming show of force, but with a gentle nudge and a firm backbone. The balance is portrayed with great skill.
I have to mention the wonderful way Ms. Menozzi captures Italy, its sights, people, and the little quirks of the culture.
This book is highly recommended. I loved it and look forward to more titles by this author.
This book has so much to offer I'm not sure where to begin. With Emily, Ms. Menozzi gives us a woman who is has found her own quiet strength. I love the way this strength is portrayed, now with and overwhelming show of force, but with a gentle nudge and a firm backbone. The balance is portrayed with great skill.
I have to mention the wonderful way Ms. Menozzi captures Italy, its sights, people, and the little quirks of the culture.
This book is highly recommended. I loved it and look forward to more titles by this author.
October 19, 2011
Ask me If I'm Happy ...A great book to read! Once I started I could not stop until I was finished reading it. First it made me want to learn Italian. The language is so beautiful and the way she described Italy...I felt as if I was literally there. Secondly, It was nice to see how love can sometimes come so easy in your life, but baggage from your past doesn't allow you to see whats right in front of you.I also enjoyed how these two people crossed paths as strangers but were already connected in that its-a-small-world kinda way. As I read this book, I secretly hope these two made it and did not fall victim to past failed relationship issues and that Miss Emily stayed in Italy. This is a MUST read!!!!!
December 4, 2010
A wonderful debut novel by a talented writer.A lovely literary read with a strong romantic core.
November 27, 2012
Kimberly Menozzi is an American author who moved to Italy after falling in love. That to me is a crucial feature in the development of this book.
The story of what happens when Emily Miller's world crumbles in Italy and the subsequent love story with a new Italian man is told with such intimately, and innately, delicate way that it is an absolute treat to read. A chance meeting brings the protagonists together, but something more than chance has to be behind it - you cannot deem otherwise. This is a book in the same vein as some of the classics - be it Wuthering Heights or any Austens - in that you have to take this slow.
Ms Menozzi spends much time setting the scenes, but it is done right, and it is all done for a reason. Emily is not falling just for Davide. She is falling again for the entire mindset that comprises the country, the people, the way they live and love. And when the author spins the tale that becomes Emily and Davide, you get to see so many sights of Italy and eat and have coffee at so many places that you sense the scents already, just by reading this.
The final episode is one that has you dropping the urge to take it slow, but it too is written with a deft hand and delivers all the punch that was so carefully built up during the book. I recommend this book to anyone who likes her books well written, immaculately researched and with such a pull that you feel transported into the scenes.
My only gripe, which is also my pet peeve with any book and not in any way exclusive to this book, is the way we are allowed to see into the protagonists' thoughts. I have always felt myself a Peeping Tom when I have been given that option, and I do believe the actions of the characters are written so well that the peek into the head is a little superfluous.
But that is definitely minor in the grand scale of things. 4.5 stars, if only I could do that. I wish Ms Menozzi gets this book into the hands of a good modern Hollywood director and we all have a treat coming.
The story of what happens when Emily Miller's world crumbles in Italy and the subsequent love story with a new Italian man is told with such intimately, and innately, delicate way that it is an absolute treat to read. A chance meeting brings the protagonists together, but something more than chance has to be behind it - you cannot deem otherwise. This is a book in the same vein as some of the classics - be it Wuthering Heights or any Austens - in that you have to take this slow.
Ms Menozzi spends much time setting the scenes, but it is done right, and it is all done for a reason. Emily is not falling just for Davide. She is falling again for the entire mindset that comprises the country, the people, the way they live and love. And when the author spins the tale that becomes Emily and Davide, you get to see so many sights of Italy and eat and have coffee at so many places that you sense the scents already, just by reading this.
The final episode is one that has you dropping the urge to take it slow, but it too is written with a deft hand and delivers all the punch that was so carefully built up during the book. I recommend this book to anyone who likes her books well written, immaculately researched and with such a pull that you feel transported into the scenes.
My only gripe, which is also my pet peeve with any book and not in any way exclusive to this book, is the way we are allowed to see into the protagonists' thoughts. I have always felt myself a Peeping Tom when I have been given that option, and I do believe the actions of the characters are written so well that the peek into the head is a little superfluous.
But that is definitely minor in the grand scale of things. 4.5 stars, if only I could do that. I wish Ms Menozzi gets this book into the hands of a good modern Hollywood director and we all have a treat coming.
June 29, 2011
Ask Me If I’m Happy is a strong romantic novel strengthened by the setting and the use of the Italian language, which make this novel a perfect read, not only for fans of romantic novels but those who love all things Italian. The Italian presence is very evident and the author shares her flaws not just her beauty.
The two protagonists are Emily Miller and Davide Magnani they fall in love at first sight! I am not sure I believe in this actually being love when there is an instant chemistry between two people. I think love and true friendship is something that grows from those first attractions. It is not a simple relationship though as these feelings strike on the day Emily is leaving Italy to return to her native America, she thinks for ever after having had her heart broken by another Italian male. We all know that the path of true love is never simple and these two certainly have a rollercoaster of a relationship with coincidences, lies and hidden truths all getting in the way before Davide is able to convince Emily that Italy is where she should be.
Kimberley's writing is very realistic and her characters all feel very believable while her descriptions will make you feel you are in Italy. As I am not a great fan of too good to be true romance I was at times a little frustrated with their behaviour but I got caught up in the dream. I was a little surprised that I enjoyed this as much as I did. I think it was because of the talent of this young lady in her portrayal of a modern love affair.
More on my blog http://lindyloumacbookreviews.blogspo...
The two protagonists are Emily Miller and Davide Magnani they fall in love at first sight! I am not sure I believe in this actually being love when there is an instant chemistry between two people. I think love and true friendship is something that grows from those first attractions. It is not a simple relationship though as these feelings strike on the day Emily is leaving Italy to return to her native America, she thinks for ever after having had her heart broken by another Italian male. We all know that the path of true love is never simple and these two certainly have a rollercoaster of a relationship with coincidences, lies and hidden truths all getting in the way before Davide is able to convince Emily that Italy is where she should be.
Kimberley's writing is very realistic and her characters all feel very believable while her descriptions will make you feel you are in Italy. As I am not a great fan of too good to be true romance I was at times a little frustrated with their behaviour but I got caught up in the dream. I was a little surprised that I enjoyed this as much as I did. I think it was because of the talent of this young lady in her portrayal of a modern love affair.
More on my blog http://lindyloumacbookreviews.blogspo...
November 11, 2012
Emily Miller, the main character of Ask Me If I'm Happy, struggles constantly with the idea of home. While there are elements of this story that would appeal to readers of Romance, Ask Me If I'm Happy is literary fiction. It is a complex story of the growing relationship between Emily/Emilia and Davide with the ghost of Jacobo and a pending divorce looming over Emily.
Textually, the novel has interesting layers. Interior monologue lets the reader in to Emily and Davide's thoughts. The Italian language is also used a bit in the story--which was great fun for me since I speak a bit. Menozzi uses Italian deftly to create atmosphere and to show how Emily and Davide are actually talking to each other. Speaking a foreign language is also important to the theme of feeling alienated from home and self.
There's a surprise ending, so I guess that's all I say about it. I will say, however, that Menozzi builds the sexual tension between Emily and Davide so well--and the release of this tension is very satisfying.
Textually, the novel has interesting layers. Interior monologue lets the reader in to Emily and Davide's thoughts. The Italian language is also used a bit in the story--which was great fun for me since I speak a bit. Menozzi uses Italian deftly to create atmosphere and to show how Emily and Davide are actually talking to each other. Speaking a foreign language is also important to the theme of feeling alienated from home and self.
There's a surprise ending, so I guess that's all I say about it. I will say, however, that Menozzi builds the sexual tension between Emily and Davide so well--and the release of this tension is very satisfying.
April 25, 2012
Emily Miller wants to say goodbye after living, for ten years in Italy. All she wants to do is to travel back home to the States and to leave her life and her marriage behind.
When Emily’s travel plans are delayed, she finds herself stuck for the day in a small Italian town called Bologna after a chance meeting with a kind stranger called Davide Magnani, he offers to act as tour guide and show Emily around the town that he lives in.
Emily and Davide soon connect and there is a strong chemistry between them. Is Emily about to discover that fate as more in store for her than she planned?
This is a beautiful, tender love story by Kimberly Menozzi. Set in Italy and with some use of the Italian Language in the dialogue, that really add to the feeling and romantic setting of the story .This is a really well written, well thought out love story. I really enjoyed reading this book.
When Emily’s travel plans are delayed, she finds herself stuck for the day in a small Italian town called Bologna after a chance meeting with a kind stranger called Davide Magnani, he offers to act as tour guide and show Emily around the town that he lives in.
Emily and Davide soon connect and there is a strong chemistry between them. Is Emily about to discover that fate as more in store for her than she planned?
This is a beautiful, tender love story by Kimberly Menozzi. Set in Italy and with some use of the Italian Language in the dialogue, that really add to the feeling and romantic setting of the story .This is a really well written, well thought out love story. I really enjoyed reading this book.
July 27, 2011
This is an absolutely beautiful book, a seamless blending of romance and literary fiction. The characters are well-portrayed and easy to relate to. The settings come alive and this is where the author's first-hand experience really shines. My only caveat would be to keep your Italian dictionary close at hand! (Though the inclusion of some Italian words and phrases does lend a wonderful sense of realism to the overall story.) Highly recommended!
March 15, 2012
Such a lovely story of finding love in the middle of heartbreak. It was a refreshing way for a story to unfold in the narrative of both protagonists.
I'm glad I stumbled upon this before our trip to Italy next month. It has caused the planning of a day trip to Bologna. I would love to take the tour Davide gave Emily. Please tell me I can find the best brioche I will ever have as well as a meal at Il Cuore della Grassa. Please tell me these places exist!
I'm glad I stumbled upon this before our trip to Italy next month. It has caused the planning of a day trip to Bologna. I would love to take the tour Davide gave Emily. Please tell me I can find the best brioche I will ever have as well as a meal at Il Cuore della Grassa. Please tell me these places exist!
March 21, 2012
I thought this was an atmospheric and highly romantic novel set in one of my favourite countries in the world - Italy. I think Kimberley Menozzi has achieved a very realistic feel for the setting.
I suspect too that there is a bit of 'true life' romance to the tale, which enhanced my enjoyment of the book.
This was a book which I enjoyed and was glad to have had the opportunity to read.
I suspect too that there is a bit of 'true life' romance to the tale, which enhanced my enjoyment of the book.
This was a book which I enjoyed and was glad to have had the opportunity to read.
December 11, 2012
I guess I would call this a genre of literary romance which I think is my Romance genre. The majority of romance novels are so boringly formulaic. This author gave you the feeling she was somehow in the story and it felt very true to life in the most beautiful of settings, Italy. I like all the relationships in the book, all seemed genuine.
July 9, 2012
Davide Magnani, believes chivalry isn't dead yet. love when Emily and Davide reunite its sweet 'troubling connections'...
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