Customer Reviews

The House in Amalfi

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book flows nicely, has beautiful imagery, and draws you along. However, Lamour (the main character) seems like a blond 12 year old rather than a grown woman of 38 years. How is it possible that she was so wrapped up in her life in Amalfi that she didn't realize that she would need to transport her chickens to her home, feed, and house them? That's like going to Home Depot and buying 10' lengths of wood to put in your Mini Cooper. My second peeve was the premise of the whole book...that she owned her fathers house in Amalfi. Did she ever hear of a deed, title, or even a will? It seems unreasonable to me that she would just assume she owned the house...had she been paying taxes on it?? Did she ever have to do anything to this house that made it clear she owned it or was she basing this all on the fact that she lived there once upon a time. If that was the case we could all own really nice houses across the country!

Elizabeth Adler brings her perfect blend of romance between man and woman and romance between reader and locale to this charming tale set on the exquisite Italian coast. I doubt anyone will finish this book without thinking several times of calling a travel agent and booking the next flight to Italy. To be in Amalfi---to shop, to eat, to view the lush landscape would be a dream anyone would dream after finishing this novel.

The only drawback to the novel is that the heroine, Lamour Harrington, is a bit of a ditz. If you can accept the fact that a woman of thirty-eight is not bright enough to know you don't automatically own a house just because you once lived there or that for all her screaming about being strong and independent she does not find true happiness until she meets her future husband, then you can let yourself enjoy this tale that is mostly light and humorous, but takes a very dark and suspenseful turn that does save it and lift it out of the mediocrity of "chic lit."

Recently widowed by a man who was leaving her for another woman, Lamour isolates herself in her Chicago apartment dreaming of better days when she was the beloved daughter of famed novelist, Jon-Boy Harrington. To pull herself out of her deepening depression, she visits Amalfi and tries to recapture the soul of the happy child she once was and uncover the mystery surrounding her father's death.

Lorenzo Pirato is the dashing owner of the estate on which Jon-Boy's home can be found. Though she instantly dislikes him, she is charmed by his son Nico and begins a flirtatious association with him. Is this going to be another case of a woman falling for both father and son? Will Lorenzo's beautiful daughter Aurora drive Lamour from her home? Can her faithful friend Mifune help her discover what is truly important? Will a red chiffon dress and a beautiful Contessa give her the answers she seeks? Will we ever learn the name of Jammy's `college kid'?

For charming characters, unmatched descriptions of the beauty of Italy, and comic scenes involving chickens, this is a delightful escape into romance and travel.

In Chicago, though two years have passed since her beloved husband Alex died in a car crash, Lamour Harrington still mourns her loss. Lamour sees the irony that he was the second man in her life to die in a tragic accident as her father Jonathon was killed in a boating incident off Italy's Amalfi coast. To survive she buries herself in her work as a landscape architect, but refuses to allow anyone even a dog or cat into her life because loved ones die. Only her childhood friend Jammy Mortimer pushes Lamour to join the living; her spouse Matt coaxes Jammy to tell the total truth to Lamour about Alex.

Already thinking of returning to the place she was happiest, Amalfi, Jammy's revelation is the final impetus to get her to move. Lamour travels to Italy to learn what led to her beloved artistic father's death and to recapture the magical happiness that has left her bereft. The truth may be freeing, but in spite of meeting Lorenzo Pirata and his adult son, Lamour is unsure that she wants to know the secrets of her heart and that of the HOUSE IN AMALFI.

Whether it is Tuscany, Province or now Amalfi no one serves as a better tour guide of Mediterranean Europe than Elizabeth Adler is. Readers feel they are seeing lush gardens, sharing wine or eating pizza in a remote village cafe as she paints a fabulous landscape. The characters are fully developed with Lamour severing as a terrific focus to the Amalfi tour while the support cast either provides insight into her or into the locale. Once again readers will be transported to another place by the magic of Ms. Adler.

Harriet Klausner

The characters came alive and I was able to totally immerse myself in their tale. It was astouding to look up the specific places mentioned in the book, and find out they were real - and what glorious places in which to find oneself. A great escape!

Lamour Harrington, 38-year old successful landscape architect in Chicago, returns to her childhood home on the Amalfi Coast, disenchanted and looking to start over after discovering that her deceased husband had been planning to divorce her at the time of his death. She is also determined to solve the mystery of her father's accidental death in a boating accident when she was 17.

Lamour moves into the charming abandoned cottage that had held so many wonderful memories of the few brief years with her father, a carefree author, living on a shoestring but enjoying all that Italy had to offer and totally devoted to his daughter. She had always believed that his death had not been accidental, and in her searching she discovers many people who want to keep the past in the past.

She is pursued by both the rich and powerful Lorenzo, owner of the estate in which he cottage is located, and his flirtatious, sexy son Nico, but both want her to forget about the mystery of her father's death. Of course, her stubbornness won't allow her to do that, and she needs to solve the past before she can move on with her future.

The reader is invited along during this process of self-discovery as an armchair traveler and experiences the multiple charms of the mesmerizing Amalfi coast - the narrow winding "Mama Mia" road along the rocky cliffs, the startling colors of the Blue Grotto, the charms of the hedonistic Isle of Capri, the heaven-scented balmy evenings when Italians enjoy the Passegiata, the exquisite food and wine. Adler's sensuous descriptions of Italy make me want to book another trip right now! But if you can't afford a trip just now, read the book and return to Amalfi.

This was my first book by Elizabeth Adler. I have a great desire to visit Italy someday, and I thought I would enjoy this book. While her descriptions of Italy - both the scenery and the food - were very good, the story was just plain boring! It was like "Come on, will you just find out what happened to your father already!" Why didn't she try to find out more about her husband's antics? Plus no good love scenes at all to keep you occupied! There was a neat twist at the end, but all in all, a boring book. I'm debating whether to try another of her books.

I'd read several Adler books before reading this one and thoroughly enjoyed them, this one not so much. It just didn't feel right, the heroine seemed rather childish and I found her romance with a 64 year old man unrealistic even though Ms. Adler portrayed him as looking, and acting, more like a 40 year old. It just didn't hold together for me, nor did her life story. The other problem was that the paperback edition was difficult in itself to read, the type too small and with a crammed in feeling. I read paperbacks all the time but this one was uncomfortable and I'm sorry I bought it. Also, she's a good mystery writer but appears to have lost her edge, although her last book had a PI and his girlfriend in it and was very enjoyable, due to the variety of fun characters, her earlier stuff was edgier. I'm about to read her "Sailing to Capri" and hope I'm not disappointed.

There are no words to describe how much I enjoyed this book. I soaked in all the beautifully described details of Rome and the Amalfi coast! The characters were very well-drawn, the plot was well-balanced with romance and mystery, and the dialogue was very natural! Elizabeth Adler writes in a style that I aspired to write in, and I found this story to be very well-written and thoroughly enjoyable!

A shattered woman tries to reconnect with happiness along the Italian coast where her father died mysteriously years ago. Adler does a beautiful job of building a believably Italian setting, if a little too rosy. (Are there any ugly, unromantic Italians in Adler's world?) Her characters are likeable and realized pretty well.

They're also shallow and one-dimensional, which is a shame given their likeability. Lorenzo is the perfect noble lover, his son is the perfect charming layabout, his daughter is the perfect neurotic girl, and his irritatingly Zenish Japanese gardener is the perfect wise old man. And when I say perfect, I mean they don't change in the course of the story. No one learns anything about himself or herself, becomes better or worse. In addition, the heroine thinks and acts like a bubble-headed adolescent, emotionally erratic and easily swayed by glitz and trinkets. It's hard to feel much sympathy for a character dumbly stumbling her way into romance with a man who's way too perfect for such an immature gal.

Unrealistically scripted dialogue and a moment of out-of-the-blue violence in the climax are also downers in this light, poolside romance. Adler tells a nice story nicely, but leaves a lot to be desired in the execution.

Great read about an American that goes to Italy to learn about her father's death. There is passion and intrigue and of course the charm of Italy. This book grabs the reader and packs a punch.