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.

After reading and loving The Paris Connection by Lorraine Brown last year, I was so excited to get into this new book by the author!

Unfortunately it fell a little flat for me and I reluctantly had to DNF at 40% :(

Upon reading the blurb I was really looking forward to getting into this book, “second chance romances” is one of my favourite tropes and I absolutely love books set in Italy so it really set itself up to be a promising read!

Here’s why I couldn’t finish the book…

I felt that from page 1, I could have been at least 200 pages into the book already. It was as if I had missed a big chunk of the book before it actually started. It was as if we were expected to be familiar with Maddie and Nicks relationship. In the first few pages it jumped to a pretty big moment, which could have been longer and more in-depth but it was swiftly moved along with a time jump.
It felt rushed and I didn’t have time to get to know the characters and the dynamics of their relationship.

I also felt like the author tried to hard to add in current news/topics, like climate change and Harry & Meghan, and they didn’t appear within the book organically to me.

I really wanted to love this as it had set itself up to be an amazing read. Just disappointed that it couldn’t deliver :(

This was such an enjoyable story to me! I love the characters and the plot. I really enjoyed the descriptions of the setting. It may have been a little bit predictable but that isn't always a bad thing, it was a very satisfying ending.

3.5 stars rounded up

A second chance romance set in beautiful Florence written by Lorraine Brown? Sign me up!

While Maddie is on a trip to Florence with her new fiance Nick to meet his parents and celebrate their 45th anniversary, she is stunned to run into Aidan, the man whom she had a short-lived romance until he ghosted her.

Adding to the shock is the stress dealing with Nick's rich, snooty parents (and their racial microaggressions to mixed race Maddie), plus Nick's ex-wife, whom Nick neglected to mention was coming. At least Nick's teenage daughter Daisy had more maturity than the rest of the adults including her father.

This book is the perfect holiday read. Lorraine Brown is so talented at describing Florence in a way that made me feel like I was there grabbing a gelato with Maddie and roaming the cobbled streets, or looking at art and going on winery tours.

However, I found that the structural choices meant less time was spent on making the emotional beats land and the growing tension to build. The book jumps several times from the time Maddie meets Aidan to the moment he ghosts her. The problem with this is that we already knew this, so jumping back in time didn't add anything for me. I'd rather more time to watching Maddie growing confidence and assertive skills.

That said, I still really enjoyed this book and would happily read anything Lorraine Brown writes. If you like a good escapist second chance romance set in a beautiful destination, this book is the perfect tonic.

Thanks to Orion and NetGalley for the ARC.

I found this book to be a pleasant read set against the back drip of beautiful Florence. The architecture descriptions were very appealing but for me the story lacked depth and it was easy to predict where the plot was taking you. Thank you to NetGalley, Orion Publishing Group and the author for the chance to review.

A glorious, relatable book that covers so much in such a short number of pages and yet everything feels like it was covered perfectly. I really enjoyed this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

In "Five Days in Florence" by Lorraine Brown, Maddie's dream of spending five days in Florence with her fiancé's family takes an unexpected turn. After a romantic proposal in Paris, Maddie eagerly looks forward to getting to know her future in-laws. However, she quickly realizes that Nick's parents are incredibly posh and his daughter doesn't seem interested in forming a bond with her. To make matters worse, Nick's ex-wife also joins the trip, adding an extra layer of complexity.

Just when Maddie thinks things couldn't get more complicated, she discovers that Aidan, her old flame who got away two years ago, is also staying at the same boutique hotel in Florence. As the days unfold, Maddie finds herself caught between the past and the present, torn between her loyalty to Nick and her lingering feelings for Aidan.

In this whirlwind of emotions and unexpected encounters, "Five Days in Florence" showcases how much can happen in a short span of time. It's a tale of love, family dynamics, and the complexities of navigating relationships amidst a beautiful backdrop.

I adore this author's other reads so was keen to read this,

Don't think I felt quite so invested in this as I have others. Characters seemed a tad stereotypical and 2D rather than the well rounded whole characters we normally see.

A nice gentle easy read.

Felt more like a filler story! But definitely cute and I'd like to read more by the author too. It lacked certain depth that I like in my love stories, I loved the FMC and her personality

I absolutely adored Lorraine Brown’s previous two books and have fallen in love with the characters in this beautiful third novel just as much!

We meet Maddie in the prologue at the top of the Eiffel Tower where her boyfriend Nick has just unexpectedly proposed! Four weeks later, Maddie is spending five days in Florence with Nick and his family and it sounds like the ideal way to get to meet her future-in-laws for the first time. However, his family are not quite what she was expecting. From his posh parents, to his teenage daughter Daisy who doesn’t want to know her, and why exactly is Sophia, his ex-wife and Daisy’s mother there?! As if that wasn’t bad enough, staying at the same boutique hotel is Aidan, the man that ghosted Maddie two years ago; the one that got away...

I was invested in Maddie right from the outset and my heart went out to her on so many occasions during the course of the book! Nick’s family brought a side of him out that Maddie hadn’t seen before and I hated how they made her feel! It was a shock to Maddie when she saw Aidan in the lobby of their hotel too, given everything that happened between them two years ago and how things ended. I really liked the flashback chapters set in Loch Lomond showing how Maddie and Aidan met and I couldn’t help but like Aidan from the moment he was first described. I would eagerly await these flashbacks to learn more as I just had a feeling there had to be something more as to why he disappeared from Maddie’s life so suddenly.

I absolutely loved being transported to Florence through Lorraine’s incredible writing too, and could really imagine myself walking in Maddie’s footsteps! From the sights and the sounds, to the food and the drinks. It was wonderful being able to vicariously experience this picturesque Italian city as I was reading and I would love to visit myself one day (the Gucci Museum in particular sounded fascinating)!

It would have been so easy to read this book in one sitting as I never once wanted to put it down but I savoured it over three evenings instead. It was just such an incredible book with an ending that was everything I hoped it would be. I honestly cannot recommend it highly enough!

I haven't had the pleasure of reading a book by this author before. But I will certainly be looking out for her in the future. Warm, funny and light hearted and romantic. I enjoyed it.

3.25/5 stars! The premise of this story seemed cute so I was excited to read it. I think it works as a cookie-cutter contemporary romance. I think it is a nice quick filler story, but it lacked the amount of depth I'd normally like in a truly special story. But it was enjoyable and I would read further stories by this author.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

I cannot even begin to say how excited I am for this book! I love all of Lorraine’s previous work as do our readers and I love the idea of this being set in gorgeous Italy! I know we are all in for a real treat! Uncoupling was such a great book and I know this one will be as well! I will be sure to update this upon completion with all my thoughts, but I was just so excited ai knew I had to say something initially. I cannot wait to read Maddie’s story. How a dream proposal can all of a sudden turn into a hellish nightmare. And then enter Aidan the one that got away. I’m getting SATC vibes and I know we are all in for a real treat!