Hotel Readings

I am a reader. I love books. I am a chronic rereader. I track the number of books I read in a year. I list the books I finish in my calendar. The Little Italian Hotel was 2024’s thirty-fourth book.

This week has found me in a hotel room for work. There’s so much freedom that comes from absconding from life and obligation to a business trip. Little pockets of focus, fun, and free time offers new perspective to life and interest.

On a whim, I chose a book on my way out of town from a genre I rarely read: The Little Italian Hotel is a later-in-life heart-warming semi-romance with a found family. It read quickly. Definitely a good beach book to go to and from on a whirlwind vacation.

Ginny Splinter is a successful advice radio show host whose life is perfect. You can guess that divorce is a-comin’ within the first chapter. While walking the well-trod path of Diane Lane movies, author Phaedra Patrick offers a story that allows for real human issues, empathy, and instinct. She allows her characters to follow their own paths without tidy bows implausibly tied.

While a few of the circumstances surrounding the protagonist were fully expected, it was within her genre. By focusing chapters on supporting characters and their backstories, Patrick sprinkles fresh perspective and breathability into her book. This brilliant move allowed the characters to grow and pivot in a relatively short time.

The ending was unexpected, and (dare I say it?) emotionally mature and healthy. All in all, a delightful light vacation read.

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