My Roman Summer

Livia's summer vacation involves going to Rome and visiting her grandmother, whom she hadn't seen since she was a child. She's excited to get to know her grandmother, but is surprised when a boy from her childhood has her grandmother's attention. Livia planned to help in the family cafe, but her grandmother has other plans for her. Livia is told she has to take Italian classes. Add to all this, no one is explaining why her mother and grandmother haven't spoken since she moved to Scotland. Plus, there are other secrets, including Giulio, an annoying, cute boy. No matter how hard Livia fights the obvious attraction, she refuses to be in a stereotypical Italian romance. Only Rome might have other things in mind for her.

What worked: Cute, sweet romance set in Rome. Livia is half Italian but doesn't feel she's Italian enough. She hopes that spending the summer in Rome with her grandmother will help. Instead, her grandmother criticizes Livia for not being fluent in Italian and not knowing the culture of her birth.

Giulio is the boy she grew up with, but it's the relationship he has with Livia's grandmother that has them off on a rocky start. Livia thinks he's annoying. Giulio calls her 'Scotland', which doesn't help. Their relationship is not quite friends but slowly grows into something more.

The descriptions of Rome and the cuisine are lush. So are the friendships Livia makes at the language school. Fast-paced with a scattering of Italian and history.

There's a family secret that no one talks about. A bubbling romance that faces obstacles, and of course, the romance of Rome. What's not to love!

Love and Gelato meets Rome. Sweet romance that's a perfect beach read.