The Little Italian Hotel by Phaedra Patrick

Ginny, a radio show host and agony aunt, surprises her husband Adrain with a trip to Italy for their silver wedding anniversary but he tells her he wants a divorce and leaves. She moves the trip to a cheaper hotel and invites four heartbreaken strangers to accompany her. For three weeks they visit lots of places in Italy and try different activities with lots of ups and downs along the way.

What a lovely book! I enjoyed this story so much - loved the characters, the setting, the gradual uncovering of each person's reasons for being heartbroken. And the ending was perfect! Very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

3.5⭐️

My first book by this author, who came highly recommended.

Feel good fiction is a genre that I haven’t read a lot of, I enjoy a palate cleanse.

Ginny is a radio agony aunt, giving advice to strangers. She planned a surprise Italian getaway to celebrate her 25th wedding anniversary, only her husband Adrian has his own surprise, a divorce!
On the spur of the moment she invites four heartbroken listeners to join her Heather, Edna, Curtis, Eric,

Bullet points for The Little Italian Hotel
📕uplifting read
📕sunny summer reading

We get the backstories of each of the characters, even the hotel owner Nico comes with his own problems. It shows the different forms of heartbreak. It’s a light read about second chances.

Eric and Nico were my favourite characters, although they all grew on me by the end, even the grumpy Edna.

I really enjoyed the ending, however I found the book too slow and a bit tame for me. I do have another book by this author so I’ll try that one.

Wow what a great summer book that transports you to Italy and is described so well you feel like you are there.
The story follows Ginny who works as a relationship expert on a radio show who is married with one daughter and for her 25th wedding anniversary she books a surprise holiday to Italy for herself and her husband. When she surprises her husband with the holiday he reveals he wants a divorce, shocked and hurt she invites 4 strangers along on the holiday.
Loved the description of Italy and the characters all have their own reasons for going on the holiday and I could emphasise with them as each story is revealed, this is a story that pulls you in and you can lose yourself and feel as if you are there.
Highly recommend this book for the summer look forward to more.
Thanks to NetGalley & HQ for a ARC for a honest review.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Ginny Splinter fixes everyone's problems but can she fix her own? A hugely enjoyable book.

I loved this book, it is a perfect summer read.

Ginny is an agony aunt on the radio when she gets a call about her husband. They are going off to Italy to celebrate their 25 year anniversary, but instead Adrien asks for a divorce. Ginny is very confused, can’t get a refund for her holiday so asks 4 strangers to go to another hotel with her. She meets new people, the sun is shining and all is forgotten.

A great book, you will read it with a smile on your face.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

This was a simple, fun, easy and quick read. The perfect type of book for your holiday, beach, pool kind of read. The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

I found The Little Italian Hotel to be a nice read. It had a great synopsis but I can’t say the novel really grabbed me. The characters were nice and the plot was ok but for me it just didn’t work. Thank you to NetGalley, HQ and the author for the chance to review.

3.5 Stars.

I wouldn’t really describe this solely as romantic fiction, in fact it wasn’t particularly romantic. It’s more the breakdown of a marriage than anything else. I admit I didn’t find it all that compelling. Ginny, as a character, was OK and likeable enough but I just felt it was too much about Ginny and her job, relationship with her daughter, a bit of a mid-life crisis and the fact her husband doesn’t want to be with her any longer. She felt they were drifting apart and booked a holiday in Italy so they could spend some quality time together while celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. Only Adrian, her husband, doesn’t want to go. He’s having a bit of a mid-life crisis of his own and has decided he needs to move out of the marital home and certainly doesn’t want to go on holiday.

Since Ginny is the host and agony aunt of a radio show she offers to take four ‘lucky’ listeners on the holiday to Italy if they can convince her why they need to heal a hurt.

There are a lot of descriptions of the places in Italy they go to. If you’ve been to Italy then they’ll probably bring some happy memories to the reader, but I haven’t, so descriptions of places don’t really appeal to me that much. I also like a lot of dialogue in the books I read, but I felt there was a little too much description of how Ginny was feeling. I found the four mystery travellers who accompanied her more interesting and would have liked to have heard more about them. There were interesting stories behind what had brought them on the holiday, however a lot of the book was about Ginny and her marital problems.

I seem to be in the minority with my thoughts on the book, perhaps just not my kind of story.

Ginny is a radio show host who specializes in helping relationships, as a surprise she booked a trip for her thirtieth wedding anniversary, but when she told her husband about it, he informed her that he was no longer happy with their marriage and wanted a divorce.


Ginny's producer decided to have a call-in for a show rather than the normal email enquiries which she answered on air... Miss Peach called and asked Ginny 'how well do you know your husband?'

While heartbroken and embarrassed because she fixes everyone else's problems but didn't know about her own, Ginny spontaneously invites any four listeners on the trip with her.

A heartwarming read that will have you falling in love with Italy and the characters who learned to care about others, learned to care about themselves, learned to not give up on their present-day situations, and learned to forget about the past.

The Little Italian Hotel by Phaedra Patrick is a feel good story about a small group of people who go on holiday together, who all have had some kind of heartbreak.
Ginny Splinter is a radio host and expert adviser, who when she surprises her husband with a holiday in Italy to celebrate their twenty fifth wedding anniversary, he wants a divorce and leaves the family home. That is when Ginny changes the hotel booking for a smaller hotel nearby and invites four viewers to join her on holiday.
This is their stories told and what they all now know about themselves after their holiday together. Each and every person is able to look at their lives and make changes for their futures.
Highly recommended

An unusual rom-com set in Italy and featuring more mature characters. It's well plotted, entertaining but there's some layer as it also talks about choices and how your life could change according to what you choose.
I liked the quirky characters and enjoyed the plot.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

This is an uplifting story about a group of strangers all trying to getting over various heartbreaks.

Each of them is on this 3 week holiday for a different reason, and what initially seems like an unlikely group of people, slowly starts to bond and with it, and their different activities and excursions we see them all start to heal.

I really enjoyed getting to know all of the characters, but the main focus was on Ginny and I can't help but wish at times it had been on one of the others. It's just that Ginny drove me slightly round the bend, and her indecision and neediness was really annoying.

Nico and his hotel are lovely, and I liked how he was joining in on some of the heartache activities too. Although I'd personally have preferred to stay in Ginny's original choice of hotel

The writing is warm and easy to read, and it's a truly lovely story. I spent a lovely time in the pages of this book being transported to Italy. And the day trip to Venice, well the descriptions matched what I remember seeing and my impressions when I visited on a cruise the other year. So excellent location details too.

I love this author's books and this was another good book from her.

Thank you to HQ and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Absolutely lovely summer holiday read! Ginny ends up on holiday with strangers in an unfamiliar and charming hotel. She soon learns a lot about her own relationship and of the others around her. A touch of the Shirley Valentine.

What a lovely story this is. Ginny, a local radio Agony Aunt, is asked a disturbing question live on air. She was giving advice when the caller questioned her ability to do so in her home situation. This caused her great concern and led to her realising that she spent too much time helping solve other people’s problems that she didn’t pay enough attention to her own life. As revelations come to light. Instead of taking her husband on a 3 week holiday to Italy to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary. She decides to find suitable listeners to her programme who are suffering a heartbreak to accompany her, as long as they can pay for their own flights. In Italy these people slowly reveal their troubles to the group and eventually become great friends. I could imagine being at that hotel enjoying Italian architecture and cuisine. Ginny’s problems are covered in great detail and the decisions she needs to make continue until the end. I thoroughly recommend this book.

A fabulous summer read!
Ginny Splinter spends her days advising the public about all matters in their lives and her evenings enjoying time with her husband, Adrian.
They appear to have a perfect marriage and are on the eve of celebrating their silver wedding anniversary, as well as the impending wedding of their daughter.
Until Adrian drops a bombshell that almost destroys Ginny.
Instead, she picks up the pieces of her life and finds herself on a three-week holiday in a little rustic hotel with four total strangers, each with their own heartache.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Ginny is at that time in her life, about to hit 50, thinking that everything is just as it should be. I guess it's rare to be in such a position, so when everything comes crashing down around her, I felt huge empathy for her.
The little hotel the motley crew end up in is quaint, lived in, and filled with some secret power that allows each of these guests to open up and accept their lot in life.
I loved Edna, the octagenarian, who brings so much wisdom to the group, what with all her experiences in life.
Did the ending totally convince me? I'm not sure. Maybe I would have liked it tied up a little more unless, of course, Phaedra Patrick is planning a sequel to let us all know what happens!
However, a beautiful book that I raced through easily in a day.
Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ for an ARC.

The premise grabbed me instantly, and the book was not a letdown. The location was as beautiful as the story. If you love relatable characters, second chances, and a gentle, comforting plot, you'll love this.

A lovely story set in gorgeous Italian countryside. The book explores heartache, loneliness and ultimately friendship and recovery through a wonderful set of relatable characters each with their own story to tell. A perfect summer read.

Problem solver Gilly Splinter has problems of her own, so when she decides to still go to Italy on what should of been a romantic holiday with her husband, but instead heads off with a group of strangers all with their own broken hearts, the Italian holiday turns into a wonderful adventure for each of them. Beautifully written, loved it.

"The Little Italian Hotel" is a heartwarming story set in an idyllic Italian town. There is a mismatched cast of characters who are all trying to deal with their own problems, but open up and help each other with the help of agony aunt Ginny. The hotel of the title also plays it's part in helping everyone, with owner Nico running it as a home from home, rather than a slick, bland place with lots of facilities (like friend Gianfranco's hotel).

There is lots to give you pause for thought, including the loneliness of the elderly bereaved widow and the younger women coping with a mother with dementia. There is even a lovable mutt.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

A wonderful summer read. Delightfully descriptive of summer in Italy with a beautiful story of a group of strangers thrown together. I loved how their individual stories were gradually teased out while Ginny's back story gradually reaches fruition.
Not to be missed!