Book Review: All That Glitters by Lily Zante

Italian Summer Book 2

Andrea's story, the second book in the Italian Summer Series Andrea Brunelli enjoys life. She loves her business and enjoys time with her friends. But make no mistakes, her business always comes first.

A weekend away at the Villa Costanza in Bellagio provides the perfect opportunity for her to unwind. But her friends are more concerned by her single status. Humiliated by her previous attempt at romance, Andrea has stepped away from love and chosen to concentrate on her business instead.

Until Riley James, a wealthy and handsome American staying at the same hotel, seeks her out and changes her mind. Considering herself to be unlucky in love, Andrea tries to take things slowly. But Riley has other plans. When he later shows up at her warehouse she is determined not to let him slip away and so begins a seductive Italian summer romance.

But her time with Riley is not without problems and the interference of her business partner leads to further tension. When her nights of passion lead to more than she had bargained for Andrea discovers that there is a price to pay.

Is her passionate new romance all that it is set up to be or is there more to it than meets the eye?

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My Review:

I’m not a fan of the love triangle. I’m sure it comes from being on the losing side of one. But I am a sucker for any story that can make me cheer for the bad guy. A villain as the hero is an entirely underrepresented area of fiction in all media. This story made me want the villain to win. It was an emotional roller-coaster as I fought with myself over that desire. Andrea, Riley and Leo are extremely complex characters. I’m making some assumptions about Leo since we don’t know a lot about him yet. But my beliefs about Andrea and Riley are proven out in this book. My heart hurt watching these three as they tried to find their places in their world. I wanted everyone to get what they wanted, even though there was no way for that to work out in the end. There’s a reason why the phrase “too good to be true” is so universal. There’s a fundamental truth that’s been proven over and over within it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Booksprout as part of the boxed set.