When trying to find your roots brings you so much more

Synopsis

Escape to the Amalfi Coast and feel the warmth of the Italian sun on your face, hear the sound of the turquoise waves crashing on the beach and fall in love with a new enemies to lovers romance!

Lia Bathurst had always dreamed of escaping to the white sandy beaches and turquoise blue seas of the Amalfi coast – but that dream hadn’t included meeting her real father. A father she had never even known about until a few weeks ago! Yet here she was, standing outside the gates of a gorgeous pink villa being refused entry by the insufferable – and insufferably handsome – Raphael Knight, her father’s business manager.

When an old black and white photo proves Lia’s claim to be true, Raph is determined to make sure this stranger, with her long caramel waves and infectious smile, doesn’t have an ulterior motive. Even if that means not letting her out of his sight.

As temperatures rise, and not just from the heat of the Mediterranean sun, could Lia and Raph’s forced proximity lead to something more like… amore?

My review

Lia Bathrust got the shock of her life a few weeks ago, after discovering that her father isn’t her biological father at all. And after receiving a rejection over her designs for a restaurant in London, she thinks that perhaps it’s time to find her real father, as she knows that he, famous actor Ernesto Salvatore, is residing at the moment in his villa on the Amalfi coast.
But Raphael Knight, Ernesto’s business manager and stepson, is not allowing a complete stranger getting close to Ernesto, as in the past similar claims, yet unfounded, have been made.  And he won’t let get Lia out of his sight, as he wants to know what Lia’s game is.
And then, before any of them realize, the game has been changed and the heat sparking between them cannot be blamed on the Mediterranean sun…

I believe that I am a very easy reader to please. I don’t need that much to be touched, and if it takes place in a wonderful setting, I’m hooked. And when I pick up a book from this author, I know I will be spoiled. And then it’s set in Italy, what more could I possibly need more??? 😀

At the start I truly felt sorry for Lia. Everything she believed in turns out to be lie, and even if she didn’t miss anything while growing up, learning that her father isn’t in fact her father, truly shook her. I could understand on one hand how at loss she felt, but on the other hand, isn’t a father the person that loves you unconditionally and raises you to the person you are now? Yet I could comprehend Lia. And it’s not only this discovery that made her doubt everything. Also her designs were rejected, so it was a case of the mountain only getting bigger and bigger.

Honestly, I have to say that it wasn’t 100% clear of what her job truly was, or how it actually works and what her design in fact truly were. But I blame it purely on my ignorance, as I am sure that her creations would be looking marvelous! 😀

I admired Lia’s courage to go take off to the Amalfi coast, and find her father herself, even if that means to stand against a stoic Raphael Knight. What’s in a name, right? 😀
Because he for sure acts like a knight, in the sense that he is ready to protect and fight for his family and loved ones.
But just like a knight, he is also immovable, just going for his goal.

What I liked the most about this book, was the unconditional love that sparked from each page. From how Lia was welcomed into the family without an issue, after revelations that she is in fact Ernesto’s daughter, to how both Raph and his brother Leo are just as much Ernesto’s sons even if there is no shared DNA…
The whole family are what you could describe a real Italian family, from learning how to make pasta, to support each other but also to tease each other incessantly. It just warmed my heart to read all those bits!

And of course there is the changing relationship between Lia and Raph… I could understand both visions. Lia wants to find her family and figure out where she belongs. And I understood Raph wanting to protect his family against vultures lurking around each corner.

I found it hilarious to see how these two people are trying to outsmart each other, but as spending more time together (voluntary or not…) slowly are getting closer, understanding each other and seeing the person in front of them. That evolution, in a beautiful setting, was just marvelous.

But it was also lovely to see how being surrounded by family (just found or the kind that has always been there for you), inspiration can be found, and how doubts (even self-doubt) can be  erased.

I truly devoured this story, as it had everything I wanted, needed and even more. Julie Caplin made me fall in love with a fictional family, fictional characters and made me fall deeper in love with a place that already had a special place in my heart!