Absolutely lovely story, full of sunshine on a cold winter's day. Romance and mystery is a fabulous combination. Loved it!

Kate and her family have always loved the painting of a woman in their dining room. But her parents can't resist it when offered £20,000. Sadly, this is only a fraction of its worth and Kate finds herself without a boyfriend or job. Inspired by the painting she travels to Rome to walk in the footsteps of the woman from the painting.
Rome For The Summer is a mix of romance and history, art and travel. The majority of the story is told from Kate's perspective but we also have sections set 200 years ago so we can see Charlotte's experiences. The art world and setting of Italy have been richly researched and provide a vivid backdrop for the plot developments.
Kate is quite rightly devastated by her ex's deception and needs some space to heal her heart and consider the future. She is attracted to the artist in residence in Rome but is reluctant to give romance a chance, leading to a gentle and slowly developing relationship.
The tone and style of the novel are warm and light hearted but full of emotion. Kate and Charlotte have both been betrayed by the men they love. Yet they face the future and make the most of their situations. I found myself liking both women and wanting a happy outcome for them.
Rome For The Summer is a delightful story about fresh starts.

This was the perfect escapism read with gorgeous characters, an extremely fun premise and a whole lot of romance.

A brilliant read and one I really enjoyed. The characters are loveable and varied, the plot is one that is engaging and medium paced. I found myself completely drawn into the story and enjoyed the writing style.

This was not only a lighthearted and wholesome read, but it provided the perfect escape - actually taking you along for a more immersive experience, because I genuinely felt as though I was the one in Rome!

This was my first read by Shelby, and while the history aspect of it made it take a little longer for me to fully get into the book, it happened nonetheless. I found myself really engrossed in this delightful summer travel romance - both for the escapism element, and of course - the romance that DOES NOT DISAPPOINT! Both characters are very likeable and genuinely seem good together as a couple, which is just enhanced by the slow burn throughout. I found myself excitedly anticipating a happy ending for the characters I had grown to love.

If you find yourself going through a stressful period and want a break, or want to get out of a reading slump, Rome for the Summer is a must read.

A good summer read that has charming characters. Escapism at its finest, I now want to spontaneously travel to Rome.

The writing was good, but the story wasn't really for me.
There was too much emphasis on art history for my liking, especially at the start.
I enjoyed the writing style enough to want to try other books by this author, where art history does not play any role at all.

I have two favourite genre's, romance and historial fiction and even better if this is combined with a travel theme or a dual time-slip story. So imagine my delight when I realised that Lynne Shelby has ticked every box here for me with Rome for the Summer.
At the start of the book there is the villain Gabe who is Kate's boyfriend, but not for long... which leads her to take a job in Rome. Then there is the painting of the Italian Girl which is surrounding in mystery and intrigue and let's face it, who hasn't looked at a painting and wondered what story it had to tell. The description of Charlotte Browne drew me into her painting and with Kate's present journey around the eternal city this is quite simply a brilliant dual timeline that is interwoven perfectly. I couldn't wait to read each chapter and flick between the present day and the nineteenth century. There must have been a lot of research done by the author and it was so worth it as the descriptions of all the paintings, sculptures and artefacts that Kate came across really does bring the story to life, as does the vivid setting of the highlights of Rome which having visited I could picture perfectly. (If you haven't visited then this book lists all the places you need to make a note of to see.) Then there is Kate's friendship with Jamie which made me want to find out if anything happens between them, which was yet another reason to not be able to put this book down, I even took it to a soft play centre to keep reading. In fact the only problem with the book is that I did not want it to end, which of course it did and everything was unravelled at the end perfectly. This is my first book by this author and I have now already bought two more novels by her on my kindle that I cannot wait to start reading - Love on Location and Meet me in Paris.

Readers will fall head over heels in love with Lynne Shelby’s delightful new charmer, Rome for the Summer.

Kate Harper has always loved the painting that has hung in her parents’ dining room for as long as she can remember. Kate never imagined that the painting could be worth anything – unlike her sleaze of an ex-boyfriend who absconds with the painting and cheats her family out of a sizeable fortune! Devastated, betrayed and humiliated, Kate is at her lowest ebb, but little does she realise that this painting could end up leading her to her own happy ever after…

Discovering that the girl in the picture was called Charlotte Browne, Kate begins looking in this muse’s life and discovers that the respectable English girl had run off to Rome with the artist. Intrigued by Charlotte’s life, Kate heads off to Rome to discover more about the girl who had been a fixture in her life for so long. When fate brings her together with English artist Jamie Taylor, the two begin to explore the city together in their search for the truth about Charlotte and the more time they spend together, the more they find themselves drawn to one another…

Will a summer in Rome help Kate’s broken heart to heal? Could Jamie make her forget about her ex? One thing is for certain: this summer is going to be one Kate will never forget!

Lynne Shelby’s escapist, enjoyable and entertaining romantic tales never fail to please and Rome for the Summer is the latest in a long line of fun, feel-good and hilarious page-turners that I couldn’t read fast enough! Full of humour, drama, intrigue and plenty of scandalous secrets from the past, readers will laugh, cry and be glued to the pages of Lynne Shelby’s fabulous new novel.

A dreamy, heartwarming and delectable romantic tale that is the next best thing to a holiday in the Italian capital, Lynne Shelby’s Rome for the Summer is a fantastic tale readers will simply adore.

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First time for me to read a book by Lynne Shelby! And it won't be the last time! I loved this book! I wasn't expecting to enjoy it that much. I thought it would be another vacation romance book but it's a lot more than that! There are a lot of intrigues in this book which I loved! And the story being partly in Rome made this book even more enjoyable to read! Also if you are into art and paintings you will absolutely adore this book! I am giving a 4 stars to this read!

Perfect for me- I’m going to Rome in three weeks and the descriptions in the book has given me heightened anticipation for my trip. This book was a slow burn but the combination of romance and mystery keeps the interest going. Perfect for the beach.

Rome for the Summer was, overall, a nice read.
I have always wanted to go to Rome, and the fabulous descriptions given in this book have only served to increase my desire to go.
I found the pace of the story a bit slow for my liking, and it took a good 25-30% of the way through before I became a bit more engaged with the story and with Kate and Jamie’s characters.
Obviously, there were good reasons why their relationship was slow in starting, but once it did it was quite sweet to see it develop.
This is a good summer read for people who enjoy a slow paced read.
My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review.

Rome for the summer felt exactly like a stroll through the piazza with your crush and your hands accidentally brush. It’s full of Italy and anticipation.

The romance is absolutely a slow burn, but it honestly should be as both individuals start the book with other significant partners.

I couldn't get enough of the scenery and the italian setting. Then Lynne Shelby added just a touch of history giving Rome for the Summer echoes from the past.

If you've never been to Rome, this book is like a literary tour, telling you everything you need to see. If you have been to Rome, like me, Rome for the Summer will make you want to go back. Apparently, there are treasure that I missed.

Super summer read that was engaging and fun.
I love books about travel and this was just a pure adventure. So much research must have gone into this book, I enjoyed the historical elements hugely.
Now I really need to go visit Rome for myself!

I found Rome for the Summer to be a pleasant read.it perfectly describes the sights of Rome and whilst the story unfolds nicely especially with the interaction between Kate and Jamie, I just felt the story didn’t totally grab me. Thank you to NetGalley, Headline and the author for the chance to review.

It took me a little longer than usual to get into this book than it normally would with these types of books, but I think that's purely because it involved quite a lot of history, which isn't really my sort of thing in books.
But about a third of the way through this book, I started to really enjoy it, and i wanted to find out what had happened to Charlotte Brownie as much as Kate did!
I have never been to Italy but its a place where I have always wanted to go, and reading the authors descriptions is the next best thing.
Great summer read with a bit more depth than the usual summer reads.

Set in the heast of an Italian Summer in Rome, this is a slow burn romance with a mystery thrown in! Kate has escaped to a summer job in Rome after her deceitful boyfriend cheated her family. Art is at the centre of her life and she sets out to rebuild her confidence and to try to unravel the story behind her parents' painting which is linked to her new place of work, The English House.

If you love Rome, you will recognise many of the landmarks which Kate visits during her time in Rome. I am sure much research has been made into the layout of the city and all it has to offer. Kate is a likeable central character, as are most of the people you meet in the story, ( ex-boyfriend excepted!). It is a lovely summer holiday read which will take you away to the Italian sunlight and entertain.

In short: Escape to Rome for a little romance
Thanks to the publiaher for a copy of the boo

Summer is always the perfect time to read a travel romance, and I remember very much enjoying my time on the Greek island of Kyros when I read the author’s previous book last year. But I also really liked her London-based books, where she showed a wonderful attention to detail as her characters explored the capital, creating vividly drawn settings that were far more than just a backdrop for the romance. And I’m delighted to report that she’s done it again. When I finished this lovely book, I really felt I’d been on a thoroughly enjoyable city break to Rome – it’s a long time since I visited in person, and she does a quite remarkable job of recreating the sights and that whole feeling of excitement and being part of history that I remember so well being an important part of my own holiday.

And if there’s one thing I might love even more than a perfectly written travel romance, it’s a well-handled dual timeline story, this time told through interspersed extracts from… but no, let me backtrack a little and catch you up on some of the story. You’ll have picked up the bare bones from the synopsis – the painting of “the Italian girl” Kate had always loved, a fixture in her parents’ dining room for as long as she can remember, shown to her rather slimy art dealer boyfriend who takes the opportunity to make a personal profit and cheat her family out of its true value. He’s (understandably…) not her boyfriend for much longer – but finding herself jobless after a rather dramatic confrontation, and now knowing more about the story behind the painting (the love affair between the artist and his mistress Charlotte Browne, their flight to Rome, and her subsequent abandonment – an unfinished story, rather lost in history), she grasps the unexpected opportunity to work for the summer as a tour guide in the English House where they made their home.

The book follows Kate over her time there – her explorations, her discoveries, the friendships she makes, her attempts at creating her own art, and the tentative beginnings of a romance with Jamie, the English House’s artist-in-residence, who helps her piece together the clues that will complete Charlotte’s story. It’s a lovely contemporary story, beautifully told, with a few interesting twists and turns along the way – the characters are universally likeable (other than one distinctly unwelcome visitor), and the romance steadily built into everything I wanted it to be in a heartwarming and very believable way.

But I also loved the way Charlotte’s story was explored and ultimately resolved – the pieces of the jigsaw slowly falling into place, both stories wrapped around each other. There’s a really nice balance to the whole book, neither thread taking over – the historical mystery is perfectly balanced within the lighter romance that surrounds it.

And I very much enjoyed the art – Kate’s own efforts helped along by Jamie’s guidance, and the elements of art and architectural history that are introduced into the story with the lightest of touches. It’s rare to come across a story where the historical and present-day elements sit so comfortably together – while this might not be a book for a real history buff, I thought it was all quite perfectly done. There are nice parallels between the two women’s stories too, gently handled – this book really is the work of a very accomplished author, and its many elements made this a story I thoroughly enjoyed. A really lovely read – and one I’d certainly recommend to all.

(Review copied to Amazon UK, but link not yet available)

I really enjoyed this story! It had such a fun connection between the past and the present. The parallel stories of Charlotte Browne with Kate, our heroine, both moving to Rome, was fun to follow the clues and little hints about what was going to happen. This was a fade to black romance, which isn’t really my usual type. In fact, Kate refused to even give in to having a little summer fling, and that was a bit frustrating for me.

However it was the romance of being swept away to Rome, but a man she loved for Charlotte, and a job to forget her ex for Kate. The author did a lot of wonderful descriptions of the settings and places in both Rome, but also every place in the story. Which definitely made sense with this being about artists of all sorts. For me it did make it a bit of a slow start though, and I just learned I was going to skim a bit as I was anxious to get to the story itself.

Jamie was definitely a swoony hero though. He was a wonderful friend for Kate, and even had some great advice for her as an artist, that I remembered is something I need to keep in mind for my own writing. Do it because you enjoy it, don’t necessarily do it because you want to be famous or have it as your career. Those things could happen for some, and that’s great, but if you enjoy it, then do it!

And the way that we ended up getting Charlotte Browne’s story all wrapped up and the puzzle pieces fit in was really what kept me turning pages at the end, having to know if the little clues dropped along the way meant that maybe, just maybe Charlotte got to have a happy life after the tragedy of what society did to her in those days.