[T3P]≡ [PDF] Free Very Valentine A Novel Adriana Trigiani 9780061257056 Books

Very Valentine A Novel Adriana Trigiani 9780061257056 Books

Download As PDF : Very Valentine A Novel Adriana Trigiani 9780061257056 Books

Very Valentine A Novel Adriana Trigiani 9780061257056 Books

There’s a lot to like about this book which is what I’ll deal with first. Unlike other readers, the descriptions made this book for me. They were luscious, sumptuous, and put me in that spot at that moment. It was also fun learning a little bit about the business (I’m a sucker for passing things down through the generations) and about the narrator’s family. The main story (Girl builds business after running into difficulties) was good. I enjoyed Teodora’s storyline a lot – she was a major minor character and was treated properly. The family unit was fun as well. I liked those characters as they were.

Unfortunately, the major characters weren’t treated properly. It seemed like maybe this book was over-edited, cutting out a lot of detail on the person who was supposed to be Valentine’s love interest. It felt like the relationship with Roman went from absolute zero to absolute love WAY too fast, and it turns out he was an unnecessary character anyway. One of my peeves is minor characters thrust into major roles. Roman does nothing to progress the story. If he was left out we would have known just as much about Valentine and Angelini Shoes, and we could have gotten to the end of the book with her successes intact. He was a distraction, and at the end I wondered why he was even in there. He was useless.

As for Valentine herself, on the first page (and on subsequent pages) the author goes out of her way to make sure we understand that she’s not the pretty one, not the smart one, but rather the funny one. The character was never funny. She seemed depressed and angry most of the time. Although those emotions worked for this character in this story, stop telling us she’s funny. She’s not. With as many men throwing themselves at her during the course of the book, it seems like she could pass for the pretty one. Or the sexy one. The character was set up to be something that the story didn’t bear out, so maybe the reader was supposed to take it on faith. Not a great idea in storytelling.

All that said, I would read another Valentine book. As stated earlier, there was a lot to like about Very Valentine. Pieces of the story were well told and the author does a fantastic job with descriptions of colors, shoes, and places. She also did very well with the actual minor characters and I really enjoyed those parts. With better editing and maybe some more time to hash out the odd / conflicting loose pieces, and another 100 pages to examine Roman as a real love interest and to develop the romantic story line, this book would be a 5/5.


Tags : Very Valentine: A Novel [Adriana Trigiani] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Meet Valentine, an unforgettable and passionate woman with a heart and a dream as big as New York City. Her dream? To design the perfect pair of shoes ... The Angelini Shoe Company,Adriana Trigiani,Very Valentine: A Novel,Harper,0061257052,Italian American families;Fiction.,Italian American women;Fiction.,New York (N.Y.);Fiction.,AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY FICTION,American Contemporary Fiction - Individual Authors +,Contemporary Women,FICTION Family Life General,FICTION Romance Contemporary,FICTION Women,Family Life,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction-Coming of Age,GENERAL,General Adult,Humorous,Italian American families,Italian American women,Love stories,New York,United States

Very Valentine A Novel Adriana Trigiani 9780061257056 Books Reviews

Valentine is a special woman, part of a big vibrant Italian family, who love with gusto and fight with gusto. This is her journey with following her talent and passion as a shoe maker. She is an artist and we see her world through her eyes the beauty in everything she sees through the artists eyes. Even falling love gets this beauty treatment. I loved this book. It made me laugh, it made me cry. It filled my heart with its beauty and tender moments. All the characters are big and glorious, and Valentine is a woman I would love to meet.
The story is light and happy, with sad undertones. Our girl, Valentine, is the only unmarried daughter in a big Italian family, who is determined to carry on the family business her grandfather began. The business designs custom wedding shoes, so, ironically, she is surrounded daily by brides finding the exact fit for their dress, while she is married to her art. There are lush descriptions of leathers and fabrics, foods she prepares, and the Greenwich Village neighborhood she loves. This is a woman who enjoys the life she has... but....she would like a man in her life , too.
The story offers up some candidates for a relationship with Valentine. But for a woman who custom designs shoes that will fit a client perfectly, a man has to mesh seamlessly to her life to feel right. Valentine doesn't settle for almost right. The descriptions of characters make all of them likeable, genuine and interesting.
As I had read the Big Stone Gap series by the same author earlier, I guessed early on that this book was a "to be continued" introduction to Valentine and her pursuit of love, happiness and commercial success. Its looking to be a rain soaked weekend, I will get the next book on my in a minute.
I've seen this book described as Sex in the City meets Moostruck. While there is some merit to that description, I think it sells the book a bit short. Trigiani has created a world within this book. At the center is Valentine, a woman in her early 30's who has started to discover her calling as a cobbler. Throw in one of the most entertaining families in literature, complete with all sorts of family drama, and a business that is at a crossroads and Valentine has her hands almost full--there is, of course, still room for romance.

Yet, even Valentine's romance is something more than readers might expect. Valentine deals with some real issues about balancing her career, her boyfriend's career, and their relationship. Her struggles are realistic and well conveyed by Trigiani.

About halfway through this book, the action moves to Italy and here is where things became a bit dreamy for me. I love Italiy and Trigiani has a real knack for bringing it to life for the reader. I loved Trigiani's voice and descriptions of Arezzo and Capri--the later I once visited as a young teenager and now am itching to revisit!

I will admit that my enjoyment of this book was hampered a bit, though no fault of the book. Very Valentine is the first in the trilogy and I recently read the final book, The Supreme Macaroni Company, without knowing that it finished this trilogy. Thus, I went through this book already knowing how Valentine and the rest of the characters would end up. But, as I said, I can only blame that on my own ignorance.

Very Valentine is a lighter read--which is perfect if you are looking for something purely entertaining, but not fluffy. I heartily recommend it and will be starting part two, Brava, Valentine, very soon!
There’s a lot to like about this book which is what I’ll deal with first. Unlike other readers, the descriptions made this book for me. They were luscious, sumptuous, and put me in that spot at that moment. It was also fun learning a little bit about the business (I’m a sucker for passing things down through the generations) and about the narrator’s family. The main story (Girl builds business after running into difficulties) was good. I enjoyed Teodora’s storyline a lot – she was a major minor character and was treated properly. The family unit was fun as well. I liked those characters as they were.

Unfortunately, the major characters weren’t treated properly. It seemed like maybe this book was over-edited, cutting out a lot of detail on the person who was supposed to be Valentine’s love interest. It felt like the relationship with Roman went from absolute zero to absolute love WAY too fast, and it turns out he was an unnecessary character anyway. One of my peeves is minor characters thrust into major roles. Roman does nothing to progress the story. If he was left out we would have known just as much about Valentine and Angelini Shoes, and we could have gotten to the end of the book with her successes intact. He was a distraction, and at the end I wondered why he was even in there. He was useless.

As for Valentine herself, on the first page (and on subsequent pages) the author goes out of her way to make sure we understand that she’s not the pretty one, not the smart one, but rather the funny one. The character was never funny. She seemed depressed and angry most of the time. Although those emotions worked for this character in this story, stop telling us she’s funny. She’s not. With as many men throwing themselves at her during the course of the book, it seems like she could pass for the pretty one. Or the sexy one. The character was set up to be something that the story didn’t bear out, so maybe the reader was supposed to take it on faith. Not a great idea in storytelling.

All that said, I would read another Valentine book. As stated earlier, there was a lot to like about Very Valentine. Pieces of the story were well told and the author does a fantastic job with descriptions of colors, shoes, and places. She also did very well with the actual minor characters and I really enjoyed those parts. With better editing and maybe some more time to hash out the odd / conflicting loose pieces, and another 100 pages to examine Roman as a real love interest and to develop the romantic story line, this book would be a 5/5.