Five Days in Florence was the perfect holiday read and fantastic escapism, It ifollows two timelines which show reveal Maddie’s past her current situation, I loved it so much and no spoilers but I can say this was a real page turner and I highly recommend

This is the second book that I've read by Lorraine Brown and I really do appreciate the way that she transports me to somewhere I've always wanted to visit. First Paris and now Florence.
And for that reason, this would be a great escapist or beach/holiday read.
The descriptions of the setting in particular really drew me in, as did the story itself.
It might have been a bit predictable but I enjoyed it all the same.
My only issue was that it felt rushed at times, so I wouldn't have minded it being a little longer.
I look forward to seeing what Lorraine Brown does next.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved how easily they seemed to understand and vibe with each other. The story was intriguing and entertaining enough. Highly recommending it.

📖Newly engaged Maddie & Nick travel to Florence to meet Nicks family. Little does Maddie know that Nicks ex wife is also invited with his teenage daughter. Oh & her ex also happens to be staying at the same hotel. The ex that just left one day with no explanation. Let the chaos commence…

Book in emojis:

💍 🇮🇹💕🛍️💶💘🫶🏻

I LOVED:

💘The setting! I really enjoyed reading all the descriptions of Florence and these images were so vivid in my head. 🫶🏻

💘The character development of Maddies. You really saw her grow through this book and I was rooting for her right until the end.

💘The characters I loved to hate! 😤 Rosamund & Sophia sound like a nightmare in real life but we’re very entertaining in this book!

Read this book if you like:

🩷second chance romance
🩷Florence, Italy 🇮🇹
🩷flashback chapters
🩷family dynamics
🩷an easy summer read

Thank you @orionbooks for my #gifted copy.

Please note that this book is not for me - I have read the book, However I had to DNF and because i do not like to give negative reviews I will not review this book fully - there is no specific reason for not liking this book. I found it a struggle to read and did not enjoy trying to force myself to read this book.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for the opportunity to read this book

A really fun and charming read with an enjoyable premise and gorgeous characters. I would highly recommend.

A beautiful setting for a story, Florence sounded magical as Maddie is introduced to both the city and Nick’s family. The descriptions of the Italian countryside were vivid and detailed and sounded the perfect venue for Maddie to gain some confidence and make some decisions on her future.
Maddie and Aiden were great main characters and although not particularly likeable Nick’s mother and ex-wife were an interesting pair.

I DNF this book. I just wasn't invested in this book. I gave it a good shoot, but no, not for me...
Thanks to Netgally

Another lovely setting by Lorraine Brown, it’s just made me want to go to Florence even more than I already do!
You know what you’re getting with these books, nice settings, easy characters and lovely stories. It was another wonderful book with relatable people and a sweet racy second chance romance; what’s not to love?!

This book whisked me away to the enchanting streets of Florence, Italy, and served as the backdrop to a tale of unexpected reunions and complex family dynamics.

The strength of this book undoubtedly lies in Lorraine Brown's vivid descriptions of Florence. Her talent for painting a picture of the city is nothing short of remarkable, making me feel like I was right there alongside Maddie, savoring gelato and wandering cobblestone streets. The cultural immersion and the beauty of Florence are undeniable highlights.

However, the book's structural choices left me somewhat unsatisfied. The narrative jumps back and forth in time, revisiting Maddie's past romance with Aidan and their abrupt parting. Unfortunately, these shifts didn't add substantial depth or new perspectives to the story, given that we already knew about this past relationship. I yearned for more time dedicated to Maddie's personal growth and development.

Maddie herself is a relatable character, navigating the complexities of her romantic entanglements and family drama. Her journey is one of self-discovery, and her struggles resonate with many readers. However, some of the male characters, including Nick and Aidan, come across as rather unlikable and weak, which can be somewhat frustrating.

Despite these reservations, Lorraine Brown's writing shines through, and her ability to craft strong female characters, such as Maddie, Daisy, and Sophia, is evident. The relationships between these women offer tender moments that add depth to the narrative.

While it didn't fully meet all my expectations, I would still be eager to explore more of Brown's work in the future.

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.

Firstly, a big thank you to Orion and Net Galley for the ARC.

This is an easy, romantic read. I’d give it 3.5/4⭐️. The setting is fantastic, and the way the setting is brought to life is a real credit to the author. Such a romantic, beautiful setting that finds itself infected by the drama of the main characters, in good and bad ways.

The story did feel a little bit rushed – yes, for a book set over five days, you would expect it to be fast paced, but I feel like there could have been more to the story, more moments extended. Some of the characters were insufferable, such as Nick’s Ex- Wife. Sometimes, if a character is that irritating, and other characters let the behaviour slide, it hinders the reading experience for me.

I always love a good flashback, and I liked that these were incorporated so we could see the flashbacks of how Maddie and Aidan first met and fell for each other.

Overall, this was an easy summer read. Whilst it didn’t blow me away, I still really enjoyed it, and the incredible descriptions of the setting are some of the best I’ve seen in a book.

This was such an enjoyable read. The descriptive writing really made me feel like I was right there in Florence with Maddie. Overall it was a really enjoyable easy read.

It was the first time I read something from the author and I really liked it. The writing is super fluid, funny and that makes us devour the book in a day. It’s a really good summer read 🥰

No doubt Nick's family made me super angry 🙄 and the only goodish was Daisy.

Maddie's evolution during the book is wonderful. She finally chooses what she wants and listens to what she wants instead of what others want
And Aiden 🥹🥹 "did I mention that I am completely, madly, out-of-control in love with you?" 🥹🩷

In addition, the author did an excellent job describing Florence. For a moment I thought I was right on the streets of the city, delighting me with a yummy gelato or tasting a good wine! 😍

Wow, these in laws are a piece of work and Lorraine browns writing made it so they were winding me up as I was reading it. As always Lorraine creates strong characters that pull you into the story. I really enjoyed this and it’s setting in Florence. Would definitely recommend!

Five Days in Florence, by Lorraine Brown, was a lovely summer’s read. I’ve always wanted to go to Florence and felt transported there by Brown’s skilful writing and rich descriptions.

Five Days in Florence is the story of Maddie, who having been recently whisked away to Paris for a surprise proposal from Nick, is now heading to Florence for five days where she’ll finally meet her in laws. To her surprise, however, not only is she greeted by Nick’s parents and his teen daughter, but also his ex wife! The more she gets to know his family the more Maddie believes she’ll never fit in with them or meet their exacting standards and the more she wonders how well she actually knows Nick. Add in to this mix bumping into the one who got away, Aidan, turning up at the same hotel and you’ve got one heck of a five days in Florence.

Five Days in Florence was certainly an enjoyable read. I anticipated most of its twists and turns and yet this didn’t take away from my enjoyment of it at all. I think sometimes that can be the beauty of a good romance, the comfort in the familiar thar can be found within the stories. We’re all rooting for that happy ending and Brown certainly delivered.

I really felt for Maddie throughout the book and loved the confidence in herself that she developed throughout. She’d had a difficult childhood and never felt a part of her families, post her parents’ divorce which only made the way Nick’s family treated her even worse. She’s learnt to mould herself to please others but in doing so has lost her own sense of self. Maddie has also has to deal with her own heritage being questioned which was done very well; with the casual and quiet racism from Nick’s family being especially shocking. I will say that overall Nick’s family did come across a little as a caricatures of the stereotypical ‘posh’ upper classes, though it served its purpose to the story.

Overall this was a fast, enjoyable and easy read.

My favourite part of this book is the vivid portrayal of Florence. Within the story, you're taken on a virtual tour of the city's landmarks and I loved all the picturesque scenes. I really, really want to go to Florence!

The story has two timelines and Lorraine Brown has also made me want to visit some more places in Scotland too as there are flashback scenes set there. However, I didn't feel like the two timelines quite worked in terms of this being a romance book. In the present day, we come into Nick and Maddie's story too late and by this point, it is hard to understand how they were ever in love. In the past, Maddie and Aidan's love story happened and was over too quick. So I was a little disappointed with the romance element. I also feel like you're supposed to like Maddie, but I just found her annoying.

Nevertheless, Five Days in Florence was easy to read and it's the sort of book I can imagine reading by the pool or on the beach.

Five Days in Florence is a great escape and holiday read. It includes family tensions, job insecurities and a second chance at love, all set in idyllic Florence. The story follows two timelines which slowly reveal Maddie’s past with the handsome Aidan and their unexpected separation. It also shows Maddie’s attempts to impress Nick, her fiancée’s, family with some tricky and funny situations. I found it a real page turner and finished quickly.

I’ve been desperate for chick-lit and romance novels set in Italy recently, especially in Florence. I won’t go into details as to why, but for that reason, I knew I had to read this one when I was emailed about it. It’s not a book I’d heard of before, but it’s one that I very much enjoyed.

Maddie was over the moon when her boyfriend Nick proposed to her in Paris. A surprise that was made even better by being asked to go with him on a family trip to Florence. But from the off, things wind up a mess. His parents don’t like her, his ex-wife is there, and his daughter isn’t much better. To make things worse…an ex of hers is also visiting the hotel, and the sight of him brings up some mixed feelings about her past. What is Maddie going to do?

So this novel splits between the two timelines. You get to see Maddie’s time in Florence currently as things go down, but you also get flashbacks to when she first met Aiden and what happened back then. I wasn’t expecting the flashbacks, but I didn’t mind. It lets you explore Maddie’s character a little more, and you come to realise why she made the choices she’s made now. The flashbacks are in Scotland and London, so somewhere a little rainier than Florence, but they add interest and build some tension in the story in a good way. I wasn’t really expecting the separate locations, but the switches never feel sudden, and you never lose your place as everything builds up slowly.

I enjoyed reading about Maddie as a character. You can see that she has some issues from her parent’s separation in her childhood. She clearly thinks that she should probably stick with someone who is going to be there for her, and that goes a long way toward explaining why she’s in this relationship that she’s in. It means you feel for her, but, at the same time, you’re kinda shouting at her to go for what she really wants. I definitely relate to not reaching out for what you want though, so I can’t really talk…

My one problem with this book does, unfortunately, relate to the romance. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Aiden. And this didn’t feel like a cheating story which was a relief. But, obviously, to get with him, she has to end her current relationship. And how that was done felt very sudden. It happened in such a short amount of pages and was just over so quickly. This is a pretty short book, so it felt like there was room for another few pages at least where that was dealt with more. It didn’t detract from my enjoyment, but it did mean that I had to stop and pause for a moment as that was it? I just wanted a little more.

I was happy with the ending though, and I liked the comparison between the two relationships and families.

I had a great time with this book. The Florence scenery was wonderful to read about, and I enjoyed Maddie’s journey. I’ll definitely be going back and picking up Lorraine Brown’s other books when I can find the time!

This is a fun second chance romance story that will transport you to the beautiful city of Florence, perfect for a few hours of escapism.

Newly engaged, Maddie travels with her fiancé Nick to Florence to meet his parents and celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary. As if it is not enough that she has to deal with Nick’s somewhat snooty family, including his ex wife who he had neglected to mention would be joining them, she is shocked to bump into Aidan, her ex who dumped her and then cruelly ghosted her.

I very much enjoyed my trip to Florence, with the sights and sounds of the city brought to life. With characters you’ll love to hate - notably Nick’s mother and Sophie, his ex wife - it’s Nick’s feisty teenage daughter Daisy who proves the endearing member of the family. I enjoyed Maddie’s dawning realisation about what she really wanted from life and whilst there were no great surprises in how the story panned out, it was a charming easy read that would be perfect to add to your holiday reading list.