When Venice is not the place for Love, but for Heartbreak instead…

Synopsis

Venice was where it all began…

Libby and Will spent a glorious honeymoon in this magical city. They didn’t have much money, but they had a whole lot of love and a bright future ahead of them.

And Venice was where it all went wrong…

Two kids and twenty-five years later, they are struggling with money problems but somehow Will manages to fulfil his promise to Libby to take her back to Venice for their anniversary. This time, they are doing it in style and a masked ball awaits. But among the beautiful buildings and romantic canals, Libby learns that her husband has a secret that breaks her heart.

The trust is broken and the marriage is over. But there are decades of love and two grown sons between them.

Can they ever find their way back to each other or have they missed their chance forever?

A funny and heartwarming second-chance romance, perfect for fans of Milly Johnson and Julie Caplin.

My review

When Libby and Will got married twenty – five years ago, Libby fell in love with Venice, as that was where they had their honeymoon. So Will promised her that on their twenty – fifth anniversary, they would return to this magical city.
With two grown sons, and even with financial struggles, Libby is over the moon when Will is true to his word and of they go on their second honeymoon!
But this time, thanks to finally some luck, they go in style. However, when Libby discovers an ugly secret Will has kept from her, she doesn’t know if she can possible love the man that just broke her heart…
And just like that, after twenty five years togethers, their marriage is over… Or will Venice prove its magic once again? 

The people who know me, know that I don’t particularly love Venice. It is a beautiful city, I don’t deny that, and there are beautiful places to see. But for me (and this is purely my own opinion!), it’s all too busy and too touristy. But I know that people love the place, and I can understand the allure. Yet if I had to pick a place to go as a honeymoon, I wouldn’t chose Venice, especially not when knowing that it is a rather expensive place.
But of course, it was lovely to see how young Libby and Will enjoyed their honeymoon there and who am I to spoil their time there? 

I always admire people who stick together no matter what happens in their lives. Libby and Will are  now married for twenty five years, and that truly is something admirable, especially reading that things haven’t been always that easy and honestly still aren’t.
Yet it was sweet to see how there was that one promise made at their wedding, and how adamant Will was to keep that promise. 

In a way, Libby at the start of the book felt like a sad character. She had her demons to face, her issues with numbers but also seeing that the career – world was a men’s world, in a way that precented her own growth.
And Will may be the love of her life, he for sure shows a very stubborn streak, perhaps even acting like a know – it – all  and not listening to the great advice Libby may have. 

Yet Will adores his wife, even if he doesn’t appreciate everything she does for him, or could possible be doing for him.
He also keeps her in the dark about how dire the financial situation is, even doing something terrible, and thus truly breaking the trust Libby had in Will. 

After that discovery, I could understand why Libby had enough, and I liked it how she wouldn’t just give in, going back to what she has known for so long.
I admired her standing up for herself, holding firm but I also liked those moments of jealousy, showing us that no matter the hurt, the love was just maybe still there. 

We see Libby on an emotional journey, going from heartbreak, to liberation in a way, to have the epitome in the place that was part of the start of her life with Will.
This is a journey where Libby has to figure out what her heart truly wants, and if what Will did was truly unforgivable.
People are too quickly to throw the towel, but twenty five years is a long time to flush down the drain.
And when those who have hurt us are truly trying to fix their wrongdoing, is it right to hold a grudge that eventually would even prevent us happiness again? 

This was a beautiful story about mistakes, heartbreak, but also about family, love and forgiveness. And it shows us that sometimes made decisions can be overturn once again, if that is what our heart tells us to do…