Customer Reviews

Trattoria

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Trattoria is a wonderfully fun book. It's funny (I found myself laughing out loud several times), sexy, romantic and so enjoyable that as soon as I finished it, I turned right back to the beginning and started it again. If you're looking for a book that is engaging and full of life, then Trattoria is for you!

I really enjoyed Trattoria and found the writing to be very engaging and funny. The story was extremely entertaining and moved quickly from beginning to end, but didn't feel rushed. The characters were fleshed out and realistic and I enjoyed getting to know each of them and their individual stories. I really liked Trattoria and I look forward to reading more of this author's work.

Susan DiPlacido doesn't pull any punches. She has given us a love story - a contemporary work sprinkled with sibling interaction, family connections and more than a few chuckles with a dialogue that mirrors reality. She explores relationships in depth and gives good insight into the male perspective. Her clever repartee among the characters gives a keen insight into their personalities.
Reviewed by Maryjo Holland

This wild and crazy romance, filled with passion and sex and family jealousies, set in the middle of America's sinful dream city, Las Vegas, uses all the devices we've been seeing since Shakespeare staged "The Taming of the Shrew," and it uses them well. Because although we know from first glance that Danny and Lucy are made for each other, every possible barrier is thrown in their path to keep them apart. A strange thing happened while I was reading about this Italian family trying to keep from each other's throats and turn their fledgling restaurant solvent against all odds. I thought: "What would Jane Austin think?"

Yes, Austin wrote about a highly-mannered English country people with a particular wit honed to early nineteenth century perfection. But what if Darcy and Elizabeth were Italian and living in a very down-to-earth America. The pretenses are there, they are just not the same pretenses. And the premise of this novel flows from the same source that produced Austin's famous opening to "Pride and Prejudice": "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." Danny may not be rich, but he has the talent to create a fantastic future. And Lucy has those fine qualities that made us fall for Elizabeth. This book is sometimes rough and raunchy and always very modern, but at its solid heart it is a fun-filled romance waiting to sweep you off your feet.

In "Trattoria," Susan DiPlacido presents a different side of Las Vegas than she does in her other novel "24/7." The setting is not a corporate-owned casino and its accompanying gambling lifestyle, but a family-owned Italian restaurant, struggling for survival, and a gambling of a different sort-on love and family. DiPlacido brings the reader into the lives and minds of her characters, their inner desires and fears. You're rooting for everything to work out for them, but just like in real life, you know all too well what's at stake, and that the odds for a happy ending are stacked against them. "Trattoria" is a fun ride and it was hard to say goodbye to the characters when I finished the book.

Tired of seeing their flighty sister's heart broken due to her shallow choices, Cy and Lucy decide to help her by buying her a date with Dan, an aspiring actor who earns a living waiting tables. Since, the sister, Val, is pretty, this is not an extreme hardship, however, his attraction to Lucy does hinder his enjoyment of the situation somewhat. Though this dating scenario gives Val some much needed self-confidence, the expense begins to raise Cy's blood pressure, perhaps in part due to the financial woes of their family resteraunt. Love and money combine in this recipe for entertainment as each sibling pursues happiness. However, two things detract from the mix. A bit less salt in the language would have vastly improved things, as would using a different point of view. The second person perspective is rather disjointed to read and may turn many readers away.