Brava, Valentine CD [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Adriana Trigiani (Author), Cassandra Campbell (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 9, 2010

Adriana Trigiani's Very Valentine, an instant New York Times bestseller about the life of shoemaker Valentine Roncalli, was hailed by critics as "Sex and The City meets Moonstruck." (People)

As Brava, Valentine begins, Valentine learns that Alfred, her only brother and nemesis, has been named her partner at Angelini Shoes. Devastated, Valentine falls into the arms of Gianluca, a sexy Tuscan tanner. Despite their passion for one another, a long-distance relationship seems impossible.

As Valentine turns away from romance and devotes herself to her work, Bret Fitzpatrick, her first love and former fiancÉe, encourages Valentine to exploit her full potential as a designer with a plan that will bring her singular creations to the world. A once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity takes Valentine to Buenos Aires, where she finds a long-buried secret. Once unearthed, the truth rocks the Roncallis and Valentine is determined to hold her family together. More so, she longs to create one of her own, but is torn between a past love that nurtured her, and a new one that promises to sustain her.

Brava, Valentine is Trigiani's best novel yet, delivering a hilarious and poignant mix of colorful worlds and unforgettable characters as only she can create them.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Trigiani's sequel to Very Valentine is a sweet second act for shoemaker and designer Valentine Roncalli. Val takes over the New York family-run shoe business with feet-of-clay older brother, Alfred; falls for the dashing, older Gianluca in Italy; and takes a business risk in South America, where she unearths a dusty chapter of family history. There are plenty of picturesque globe-trotting adventures in Tuscany, Manhattan, and Buenos Aires, and, for artistic and independent Val, a grown-up commitment evolves. There is no art without love. Only love can open someone up to the possibilities of living and creating art, Val writes to the wary Gianluca. And the startling twist of family history finally challenges an old-fashioned, insular clan to join the modern world. But it's always the endearing, unnerving and rowdy Roncallis who steal the show. Look for a heartbreaking exit of one beloved character, and a cliffhanger breakup in this charming valentine to love, forgiveness, and family. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Valentine Roncalli, shoe designer for the family-owned, New York-based Angelini Shoe Company, is entering a rough patch. Her grandmother has found true love, uprooted herself, and moved to Italy, leaving the specialty shoe business to Valentine and her contentious financial whiz of a brother, Alfred. Along with the care and handling of their large, loud Italian family. When a business venture brings Valentine to Buenos Aires to meet a distant cousin who also owns a shoe factory, she’s in for a surprise: her cousin is black. Valentine’s great-grandfather had split with his brother, and nobody knew why until now. The discovery of this long-buried secret stuns the entire family, who must now try to heal the breach. Family is family, after all. Trigiani’s exciting sequel to Very Valentine (2009), and the second book in a trilogy about Valentine and her family, is a vibrant, warm story about family ties, duty, and love. --Hilary Hatton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: HarperAudio; Unabridged edition (February 9, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061791393
• ISBN-13: 978-0061791390
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #635,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bestselling author Adriana Trigiani is beloved by millions of readers around the world for her hilarious and heartwarming novels. Adriana was raised in a small coal-mining town in southwest Virginia in a big Italian family. She chose her hometown for the setting and title of her debut novel, the critically acclaimed bestseller Big Stone Gap. The heartwarming story continues in the novel's sequels Big Cherry Holler, Milk Glass Moon, and Home to Big Stone Gap. Stand-alone novels Lucia, Lucia; The Queen of the Big Time; and Rococo, all topped the bestseller lists, as did Trigiani's 2009 Very Valentine and its 2010 sequel Brava, Valentine.

Trigiani teamed up with her family for Cooking with My Sisters, a cookbook coauthored by her sister Mary, with contributions from their sisters and mother. The cookbook-memoir features recipes and stories dating back a hundred years from both sides of their Italian-American family.

Adriana's novels have been translated and sold in more than 35 countries around the world. Trigiani's latest blockbuster Brava, Valentine (Very Valentine's sequel) debuted at number seven on the New York Times bestseller list following its February 2010 debut. Valentine Roncalli juggles her long-distance romance, as she works to better the family's struggling business. A once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity takes Val from the winding streets of Greenwich Village to the sun-kissed cobblestones of Buenos Aires, where she finds a long-buried secret hidden deep within a family scandal.

Trigiani's first young adult novel, Viola in Reel Life--the first in a series--debuted in September 2009. Fans fell in love with fourteen-year-old filmmaker Viola Chesterton, who moves from Brooklyn to a South Bend, Indiana, boarding school. In Spring 2011, readers will delight in Trigiani's follow-up novel Viola in the Spotlight, as Viola and friends spend an adventure-filled summer vacation in Brooklyn.

Readers will take a peek into the lives of the women who shaped Adriana, with her November 2010 nonfiction debut: Don't Sing at the Table: Life Lessons from my Grandmothers. The book makes a lovely gift for family (or yourself!), as Trigiani shares a treasure trove of insight and guidance from her two grandmothers: time-tested common sense advice on the most important aspects of a woman's life, from childhood to old age.

Fans everywhere will soon see Adriana's work on the big and small screens! She wrote the screenplay for and will direct the big screen version of her novel Big Stone Gap. Adriana has also written the film adaptations of Lucia, Lucia and Very Valentine--which will be made into a Lifetime Original Movie in 2011!

Critics from the Washington Post to the New York Times to People have described Adriana's novels as "tiramisu for the soul," "sophisticated and wise," and "dazzling." They agree that "her characters are so lively they bounce off the page," and that "...her novels are full bodied and elegantly written."

Trigiani's novels have been chosen for the USA Today Book Club, the Target Bookmarked series, and she's now officially a regular with Barnes & Noble Book Clubs, where she has conducted three online book clubs. Adriana speaks to book clubs from her home three to four nights a week.

Her books are so popular around the world that Lucia, Lucia was selected as the best read of 2004 in England by Richard and Judy.

After graduating from Saint Mary's College in South Bend, Indiana, Adriana moved to New York City to become a playwright. She founded the all-female comedy troupe "The Outcasts," which performed on the cabaret circuit for seven years. She made her off-Broadway debut at the Manhattan Theatre Club and was produced in regional theatres of note around the country.

Among her many television credits, Adriana was a writer/producer on The Cosby Show, A Different World, and executive producer/head writer for City Kids for Jim Henson Productions. Her Lifetime television special, Growing Up Funny, garnered an Emmy Award nomination for Lily Tomlin. In 1996, she wrote and directed the documentary film Queens of the Big Time. It won the Audience Award at the Hamptons Film Festival and toured the international film festival circuit from Hong Kong to London.

Adriana then wrote a screenplay called Big Stone Gap, which became the novel that began the series. Adriana spent a year and a half waking up at three in the morning to write the novel before going into work on a television show.

Adriana is married to Tim Stephenson, the Emmy Award-winning lighting designer of The Late Show with David Letterman. They live in Greenwich Village with their daughter, Lucia.

Perhaps one popular book critic said it best: "Trigiani defies categorization. She is more than a one-hit wonder, more than a Southern writer, more than a woman's novelist. She is an amazing young talent

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brava, Trigiani, February 9, 2010

By 

BeachReader (Delaware) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brava, Valentine: A Novel (Hardcover)

I was so glad to be able to spend more time with Valentine Roncalli as she took
over the family's Angelini shoe business alongside her brother Alfred. Sparks
fly as these two, who are like oil and water, attempt to merge their very
different styles.

Encouraged by her former fiance, Bret, now a financier, Valentine decides to
embark on a new venture.

The book starts off with a wedding in Italy where Valentine re-encounters the
dashing Gianluca, but a long-distance romance seems fruitless. Returning to NY,
Valentine discovers that a branch of the family is in Buenos Aires and takes off
for there, where she has a couple of surprises waiting.

Trigiana is a clever writer, especially good with family scenes and
relationships. She accurately portrays the humor and pathos in families with
well-drawn characters who ring so true. And I love the historical info about Greenwich Village.

The book is full of life and love and is very appealing. Brava, Adriana Trigiani for another winner!

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brava Adriana!!!!!, February 9, 2010

By 

Sienacrazy (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brava, Valentine: A Novel (Hardcover)

Outstanding Adriana!!!!

This new book is great and I totally loved it!!!! I love Val and I really relate to her (as a 40 year old single Italian American New York Girl!). This book was really a pleasure to read. It made me laugh and cry! And it brought back so many memories of my own childhood. I am listening to the Sinatra as I type! I loved the romantic interest in the book and was I surprised by how things developed during the story. And Gianluca getting off the plane in JFK!!! Say no more! I was head over heals!!!! I want to live on Perry Street and work in the shoe factory!!! I can't wait to read the next installment. Great series!!!! And I absolutely love Gabriel! He had me rolling! And her dad, Dutch too! And Val's relationship with her Gram is priceless. Adriana has brought back so many memories to me of my own Grandmother who I was lucky to have in my life for 32 years. Outstanding book!!!! Everyone should read this series!!!!!

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brava, Valentine: A Novel, February 9, 2010

By 

Mary (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brava, Valentine: A Novel (Hardcover)

Brava, Valentine begins on a day filled with happiness in Tuscany. The sparkling snow that falls reflects the spirit of the Roncalli/Angelini family. Their beloved matriarch Teodora is marrying Dominic Vechiarelli. The octogenarians kept their relationship a secret for many years but finally decided to marry. Adriana Trigiani had me laughing at the family antics as they prepare for the wedding. Dominic's son is at the wedding. Gianluca Vechiarelli made quite an impression on Valentine on her last trip to Italy (Very Valentine). She definitely feels something for him when she sees him at the church but things don't go as she would hope. From the reception on, surprises seem to come at her full force. Life is changing.

Teodora will live with her new husband in Italy while Valentine takes the reins at the Angelini Shoe Company back in Greenwich Village. There are challenges to be faced: a new business partner; a long-time employee who hints at retiring; the need for a business loan to launch a new shoe line; a possible new branch on the family tree to check out; and a long-distance romance. Valentine is full of energy and up to the challenges at work but something is missing in her life. Gianluca (17 years her senior) is very interested in her as she is in him yet how can they make it work? He is in Italy and she is across the Atlantic. He sends romantic letters that get her attention but can she possibly be the woman he seems to idolize?

Trigiani takes the reader to Italy, New York, and Buenos Aires. I loved the descriptions of the different locations. It was also fun to read about Valentine's friend and new roomie Gabriel as he redecorated the living space above the shoe company. The rooftop garden never looked so good! I also enjoyed the descriptions of shoe design and manufacturing.

This is a very romantic book - I loved it. I can't wait for the next book in this wonderful series.

Brava, Adriana Trigiani.