Book Review #37: Bella Fortuna by Rosanna Chiofalo

Hello Dear Reader!

I’ve got another romance book for you! I believe I found this book at Dollar General of all places, and I’m kind of happy I got drawn in by the beautifully illustrated cover, because I enjoyed this read. It revolves around a thirty-year-old first generation, American-born Italian woman named Valentina DeLuca and her rollercoaster ride of a love life. Also, if you’re into the bridal industry, especially when it comes to wedding dresses, you might enjoy this one!

But before I get into why I enjoyed it, I will say there are touchy subjects mentioned in this book, mainly cancer, so if that’s something that makes you think twice before reading a book, just keep that in mind. There’s also a non-graphic sex scene in this book, so if you’re not into that, keep that in mind as well.

Now, here is the back-cover summary (from Goodreads):

In this warm, enchanting debut novel, Rosanna Chiofalo evokes the extraordinary beauty of Venice, the charm of a close-knit New York neighborhood, and the joys of friendship, family, and surprising second chances...

Valentina DeLuca has made hundreds of brides' dreams come true. At Sposa Rosa, the Astoria, New York, boutique where she, her sisters, and their mother design and sew couture knock-off gowns, she can find the perfect style for even the most demanding customer. Now, it's her turn. Valentina has loved Michael Carello ever since he rescued her from a cranky shopkeeper when she was ten years old. He's handsome, chivalrous, and loyal. And in a few weeks, she's going to marry him--in Venice.

But just when she thinks everything is falling into place, Valentina is forced to re-examine her life to see what truly makes her happy. And as she soon learns, in a place as magical as Venice, what seems like misfortune can turn out to be anything but, although who knows what may be waiting around the next corner? The chance to enjoy a moonlit gondola ride, to sip Prosecco in St. Mark's Square, to eat mouthwatering gelato, to put aside "sensible" for once and see where the warm Italian breezes guide her as she visits all the sights she's dreamed of: The Doge's Palace, Il Rialto, the little islands of Murano and Burano. And maybe, along the way, to discover that bella fortuna--good luck--isn't what you're given, but what you make.

Time for the review!

Main character Valentina DeLuca, named so because she was born one day before Valentine’s Day, is a sweet woman with a classic, elegant taste in fashion. A talented seamstress in her family-owned wedding dress boutique, she’s a hard-worker and a big dreamer, especially when it comes to envisioning her wedding day! Her dreams come true when she becomes engaged to her childhood crush, Michael Carello, and plans to say “I do” in the romantic, beautiful city of Venice.

And things start going downhill mere months before the wedding…

Great.

Surrounding Valentina is a cast of quirky side characters, including two little sisters who also work at the shop, her superstitious but loving mother, her charming first fiancé, her even more charming second fiancé, her backstabber of an ex-best friend, and a very loyal and supportive current best friend.

The unique thing about this book is that Valentina’s story is the main one, but her mother’s is also included. It switches between Valentina’s first-person story and her mother’s third-person one. In this way, we get to explore both characters and get a deeper dive into each of their backstories, and I found each to build them up quite nicely.

I also found the romance of this book to be quite enjoyable. It had the right amount of drama for me personally, so it didn’t drive me up the wall with the actions of the characters, and a few scenes were quite charming. There were a few clichés woven throughout the story, but I found most of them to be executed really well.

Also, it heavily follows the “broken-hearted girl travels to find herself and ends up finding new love during her travels” trope. So, if you enjoy that trope, this one might be for you!

And on top of all of this good stuff, she works in a bridal shop! It’s Valentina’s job to sew wedding dresses for brides, and as someone who has a personal interested in the bridal industry, I loved every scene that mentioned wedding dresses and took place in their family boutique, Sposa Rosa.

Even though there were a lot of things I liked about this book, there were a handful that poked at me as I was reading it, and the main one revolves around the romance. The good, happy-ending romance part of this book was just too rushed for me, and there were certain scenes I wished had played out instead of being summarized at the end. While I thought the couple was cute, I did want to see more chemistry building up between them. I enjoyed reading about Valentina’s mother, but her part of the story was just there. To me personally, it didn’t feel like it was adding much to the main story of the novel if it did add anything to it at all. The ending also felt really rushed, and there were a few parts that were kind of predictable. There were also a lot of descriptive flashbacks that I personally didn’t mind, but if you don’t like a ton of flashbacks in your books, then it may be something to keep in mind if you do end up reading this book.

Despite all of these things, I did enjoy Valentina’s story in finding love and finally having the wedding she’s always dreamt of.

So, Bella Fortuna rating:

3.75/5 and recommend, especially if you like the “broken-hearted girl travels and finds new love” trope. I really did enjoy reading this book, and I do hope you give it a chance. I will say there are moments where the characters speak Italian, so if you don’t know Italian, that may throw you off quite a bit. Most sentences can be made out just from the surrounding context, but it is something to keep in mind.

Thanks for reading!