The Blurb:
A summer she’ll never forget…
When Olivia Montague’s grandmother passes away, she decides it’s finally time to make some changes in her own life. So she breaks up with her ‘going nowhere’ boyfriend and embarks on a journey to her Nonna’s home in Tuscany.
Until now, Olivia has always believed that she’s incapable of love, after being abandoned by her parents as a baby. But with each day spent at the gorgeous villa nestled in the rolling Italian hills, she feels her heart begin to flutter…
And when handsome antiques dealer Hugh St. James arrives on the scene, she realises things might be about to change forever!


My Thoughts:
Karen Aldous always has such beautiful book covers and this is one of them. Olivia is on her way to Tuscany to clear the contents of her recently passed Nonna's villa. On the plane over she meets an Italian man Alberto, who she has an attraction to and when she arrives in Tuscany her first viewer of the villa is an antiques dealer by the name of Hugh, who she also has an attraction to. Both men form the story with Olivia. Aswell as getting vivd descriptions of the Tuscan countryside and surroundings, we learn of family secrets and get some romance along the way. Will Olivia end up with either one of these men?. You will have to read it to find out. Looking forward to more from Karen Aldous.

4☆ A charming story of change and new beginnings.

When Olivia decides enough is enough and her relationship isn't going anywhere, she decides to break it off.

Deciding what to do next she hops on a plane to Tuscany to get her Grandmothers home in some kind of order, ready to sell it.

It's here she meets Alberto and Hugh.
Both very different men, both with very different agendas, but they both have something in common.... they share a spark with Olivia.
Who will she chose?
Alberto who she met on the plane, is over confident, strong, a tad controlling and a lil over the top.
Or Hugh the sensible, reliable, hardworking, kind, Antiques dealer.

Olivia doesn't expect to maybe fall in love, she only plans to stay a little while.
But as the story develops secrets are uncovered and Oliva has to face them.

This a a beautiful story about new beginnings, second chances, family, secrets, romance, friendships and exploring the beautiful Tuscany surroundings.

I would most definitely recommend this book it has a charming, warm feel to it.
Not to mention the exquisite cover. It oozes charm and character.

I recommend this book to readers who enjoy Chick Lit, romance, new beginnings, family, the perfect Summer read.

Olivia has broken up with her long term boyfriend. She is taking a short trip to Tuscany in order to clear out and sell her late grandmother's home. She is a very self contained 40 year old woman who makes notes about everything. She envisions her future as a woman alone in the world and she is making peace with that future.
Which meant I was surprised when she gets on the plane to fly to Italy, and suddenly is having a lustful thoughts about a handsome man. When he describes their future together and their children, she simply goes along with it.
Later there is another man who wants to buy her Nonna's home and the minute she sees him, she is immediately enamored.
All of this seems to me to be rather out of character for the woman who has been described to us. For me, this complete turn around was jarring.
A great deal of this story is a journey for Olivia as she seeks to find out her family's history. There are surprises and things she thought she understood are not as they appeared. People were not exactly who they seemed.
The book is well written. The plot seems to bog down at times, but the basic plot is interesting. The character development seems to go in fits and starts. I think I would have been more comfortable with the story if Olivia had gradually changed her attitude. I am not sure it is human nature for someone who is so cautious in life to suddenly decide to jump into relationships.
I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are my own.

2.5 stars
Much as I like the setting - Tuscany, Florence, sun-drenched vineyards & olive groves - this book and I simply do not match.

Possibly I had too much "Bella Tuscany" on my mind. I am a sucker for "makeover stories" and I expected more "interaction" between the MC, Olivia and her surroundings (her getting interested in cultivation, renovation, etc.).
But the focus of the novel lies elsewhere: it is Olivia's and her family's past and how she's dealing with all the skeletons falling out of the family closet plus the attentions of two eligible men turning up on each others' heals. However, I couldn't really connect to her and her story failed to draw me in. Also I found her relationship with one of her love interests totally implausible. He was a walking collection of Italian-male-clichés (and his wanting to marry her after meeting her 3 times was far-fetched even by the standards of romantic tropes) which is pretty much a meh-category for me.

That being said, I don't want to discourage anyone from giving this book a try. Most readers will probably find it enjoyable and relatable - it is an easy read with happy ending guaranteed.

Inspired by a sepia photograph of her Italian grandmother and grandfather, Olivia decides that she’s settled for ‘second best’ in relationships for long enough. So she dumps her current boyfriend and determines to make the need to sort out her late grandmother’s estate in Italy the start of a new, and independent, chapter in her life. However, it isn’t long before Olivia discovers unsettling information that means she must confront long buried secrets about her family and battle her own insecurities in the process.

Thankfully, help arrives in the form of two very different men, each of whom has their own particular attraction. Olivia is drawn to Alberto, not only because he is drop dead gorgeous and wants to spoil her rotten, but because he can offer her inclusion into the close-knit family she has always hankered after. Hugh is equally hunky but seems to Olivia more of a kindred spirit. He is supportive and can empathise with the situation she finds herself in because of his own family background. Quite a nice choice to have! However you’ll have to wait until the end of the book to find out which, if any, Olivia ends up with.

Alongside the romantic story line and the descriptions of luscious Italian landscapes, the author writes convincingly about Olivia’s struggles to overcome her lack of self-confidence (although I couldn’t really picture Olivia as the forty year old woman she is stated to be - I imagined her to be in her late twenties or early thirties). I liked the book’s hopeful messages about the importance of family, the possibility of second chances and the value of friendship.

I received an advance reader copy courtesy publishers, HQDigital, the author and Neverland Blog Tours in return for an honest review.

They say not to judge a a book by its cover, but you can't help but swoon at the gorgeous cover to this.

What's equally as stunning is the images of the southern Italian countryside. I've long had aspirations to go to Italy and this has only cemented it for me really. I want nothing more than to go and stand at the shore of Lake Garda.

I found a kindred spirit in Olivia, who likes to be organised and is a big lover of lists.

Alberto seems like a PUA. I found him to be incredibly controlling, manipulative, and possessive, right from the moment we meet him early in the book. I'm not a fan of his, and I was not rooting for he and Olivia to get together.

I thought some of the dialogue is a little flowery, and not the way people would naturally speak. I wasn't either a big fan of the letters Olivia's mother wrote to her parents - they felt a little formal and cathal to be going to parents, especially ones who seemed as strict as these.

There were just a little too many potential romances for me. I have to agree with Chiara in this book, Olivia reads a little more like a 16 year old than a 40-something.

Three and a half out of five overall. I felt like the first third of this book dragged a little, but the action really picked up just before halfway. This book is perfect for reading while on your own Mediterranean break.

Rightly or wrongly, often the first thing that will attract you to a book is the cover. Now the cover for Under a Tuscan Sky just screams summer at me, and in particular hot sunny days and Italy. And I am delighted to say that the contents inside the cover, carry on that theme and more, providing a sumptuous story of Olivia discovering a lot more about herself than she ever bargained on, and even has two incredibly different gorgeous men after her too.

Olivia loves making lists, she loves being organised and prepared, so in theory going over to Tuscany to sort out her beloved Nonna's villa should be nice and simple. She already has an estate agent and viewings lined up after all, and shes only heading over to Tuscany to clear the contents of the villa.

However it soon becomes apparent that not everything goes to plan. On the plane over she meets Alberto a suave Italian man who awakens her hidden inner female! And then the first person to view the house in antiques dealer Hugh. Both become integral to the plot and to what Olivia is doing in Tuscany.

Between them we discover family secrets which is where the book really kicked up a gear and became very intriguing to read, and we also get a tour of the Italian countryside, and get to take in a lot of places, which is what I love in fiction, being able to travel from my armchair!

Under A Tuscan Sky is a lovely story and another great book from Karen Aldous.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and HQ Digital for this copy that I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

The death of Olivia Montague’s grandmother serves as a catalyst for her to make some major changes to her life. She leaves her commitment phobic boyfriend and heads to Tuscany, and her Nonna’s home. Every day at the villa brings a new surprise, the weather, the old house and the charming locals. Maybe there’s even a chance for a new romance. This is a charming and gentle story set in the beautiful Tuscan countryside. A perfect summer read