Gelato at the Villa by Robin Jones Gunn: Book Review

 **ARC received via Netgalley for consideration. All opinions are my own.

The Book

Chi trova un amico trova un tesoro.

"Whoever finds a friend finds a treasure."

Italian saying

Grace and Claire have formed a close friendship over their love of reading. After many years and many books that provided armchair adventures, the time has come for them to go somewhere instead of only dreaming of someday.

Traveling to Venice, Florence, and Bellagio, the Suitcase Sisters find themselves immersed in the magnificent works of art, scrumptious gelato flavors, and endless pasta variations of Italy. And they discover a vulnerability to disclose their struggles in ways they never did at home. As Grace experiences a newfound freedom and confidence in who she is, Claire wrestles with painful memories of her teen years.

A special dinner party brings unexpected revelations about faith and God's nearness. Then a life-changing moment on the shores of Lake Lugano causes Grace and Claire to discover they are not just tourists but pilgrims on a path to becoming all God created them to be.

Robin Jones Gunn whisks you away to experience the incredible culture of Northern Italy in this inspiring, faith-based contemporary fiction with themes of European travel, midlife adventures, and lifelong friendships, making this a perfect book club selection.

The Author

ROBIN JONES GUNN is the best-selling author of over 100 books, including the timeless Christy Miller series for teens. The characters continue in Christy & Todd: The College Years, The Married Years, The Baby Years and Haven Maker series.

Her multi-award-winning Christian fiction includes the Glenbrooke, Sisterchicks and Suitcase Sisters series. Four of her novels have been made into Hallmark Christmas movies. The Father Christmas movies broke records for the network by becoming the most watched and highest rated movies in 2016 and 2017.

Robin's popular non-fiction includes, "Victim of Grace" along with "Before You Meet Your Future Husband" and "Praying for Your Future Husband" both co-authored with Tricia Goyer. Her acclaimed gift book, "By the Sea" is a fan favorite.

Robin speaks at international and local events. She and her husband have two grown children and live in California where she co-hosts the "Women Worth Knowing" podcast with Cheryl Brodersen.

Book Review

Gelato at the Villa is the second book in the Suitcase Sisters series. While the characters from that first book do make an appearance in this one, this could be enjoyed as a standalone as well. 

In this story, we travel to Italy along with Grace and Claire. Right away I was drawn into the lives of these two women and their friendship, built upon a mutual love of books. Some of my favorite stories as a younger reader were those centered around friendships, and I must admit, I've gotten away from those more recently... but this one absolutely brought me back to why I enjoyed them so much. These women both have some issues that they need to work through and struggles that they've not always shared with each other, and I loved seeing their vulnerability and growth throughout the story...all set to a lovely Italian backdrop. This was a beautiful story of friendship and healing, and also one of rediscovering faith after painful memories destroyed it. It didn't shy away from tough subjects (to include mentions of SA) but handled them with grace. If you enjoy women's fiction with Christian themes, this is certainly one to check out. 


You can purchase your copy here: https://amzn.to/44ieB13