goodreads | The Heavenly Italian Ice Cream Shop

Title: The Heavenly Italian Ice Cream Shop
Author: Abby Clements
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 368
Date read: November, 2017

Anna and her husband Matteo are ready to embark a delicious Italian adventure. After a year and a half running their ice cream shop on Brighton beach and raising their baby Isabella, Matteo is starting to miss Italy. A shared passion for ices means it's easy to settle on a new business idea - they'll open a shop in Sorrento's cobbled square, a short walk from the sparkling blue sea. For a while, life is sweet; but then Matteo's overbearing family get involved...

Anna's younger sister Imogen feels like things are finally coming together - she's living with her boyfriend Finn in a beach house in Brighton, and her photography is taking off. Then her career stalls, and the lure of Capri - and a man from her past - prove difficult to resist.

Very sweet read - the atmosphere is the stereotypical British chick-lit which is so charming when done well - and fortunately that's the case here. The main characters are likable and human enough that you can relate to them... with the possible exception of Anna's mother-in-law who is absolutely infuriating... but then, I'm pretty sure you're not actually meant to like her.

There were no real twist, some of the "coincidences" were a bit too perfect, and the resolution could be spotted a mile away... but that's okay - this was never meant to be a suspenseful page-turner, but a cozy comfort read - and in that it was a complete success.