The Rome Apartment

Beth is a new empty nester. She dropped her daughter off at college just a few months ago, and she's trying to adjust to the new normal. So when her husband Joel tells her he wants a break from their marriage, that the thrill is gone and he's going to Paris indefinitely for work, her world is completely thrown off its axis.

Then she finds a listing for a rental in Rome for – well, for her. An apartment is available for three months for an English woman of a certain age. A friend encourages her to give it a try, and she does. Veronica (Ronnie), the owner of the apartment Beth rents, wants to help her guests break out of their ordinary lives, see the possibilities and beauty all around them. To that end, she gives Beth challenges to complete. At first Beth balks. She resents what she sees as intrusion. She wants to curl up and lick her wounds – her marriage is falling apart, her daughter is growing up and trying to move on. She even considers just forgetting the whole thing and going back to England.

And then she meets Rico. But nothing can happen between them, can it?

This is almost a coming-of-age story, but I guess it's more of a coming-into-your-own story. I think we've all felt like Beth at some point. Life stretches out, mostly comfortable but sometimes not, and we feel a little at loose ends but not enough to really make a change. And then POW! Right in the kisser, here comes something we never saw coming. And we have to decide what we're going to do with the broken pieces of the life we thought we knew.

I'm probably pretty close in age to Beth. I wanted to hug her and sometimes shake her. My heart ached for her when Joel told her he wanted time apart. I could just picture how dispirited she felt, hearing that she was boring, that her husband didn't find their marriage exciting any longer. I cheered for her when she took the big step of going to Rome, of not doing what was expected and moping at home. And I wanted to shake her when she found possibilities and kept shying away from them! I wanted to see her fling herself wholeheartedly into a new
adventure.

So did she? Well, you're going to have to read the book to find that out. Kerry Fisher spins an engrossing tale, and she tells Beth's story well.

I will tell you that the setting is fantastic. The food, the history, the light, all of it makes me want to visit Italy even more. The characters are engaging and realistic. Rico is a wonderful foil to Beth's reserve. He travels light, and he has already figured out how to see the beauty in the moment. Maddie, Beth's daughter, is perfectly written as a young adult on the edge of independence – pulling away, yet not cutting ties with her mother entirely. Ronnie sounds like someone I want to know and hang out with. I'll take her challenges any day! (Except no dating an unsuitable man, because I'm quite happily married.)

I haven't yet read Secrets at the Rome Apartment, but I can't wait to jump into it and learn more of Ronnie's story.

I highly recommend both books for a good summer read!