Brava, Valentine: A Novel
by Adriana Trigiani
List Price:
Our Price: $2.82
You Save: $23.17 (89%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Adriana TrigianiEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2010-02-09
ISBN: 0061257079
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Harper
Product features:
- First edition
- Trigiani
- hardback
- Dust cover
- Valentine
Book Reviews of Brava, Valentine: A Novel
Book Review: Eagerly Anticipated and Lives to Expectations
Summary: 5 Stars
In 2009, Adriana Trigiani gave her readers a big, beautiful Valentine's Day gift with VERY VALENTINE, the first book in a series starring Valentine Roncalli, an Italian-American New Yorker and heir to Angelini Shoes, the business her grandparents created in New York's West Village. Her legions of fans fell in love with Valentine's warmth and wit as she struggled to find lasting love, carve out a new identity for herself in the shoe business and save her family's company. Trigiani has followed up with a sequel, BRAVA, VALENTINE --- and readers will be thrilled to know that this latest offering doesn't disappoint.
Valentine's beloved grandmother, Teodora, found love at the end of VERY VALENTINE, and the new novel kicks off back in the beautiful village of Arezzo for their wedding. The entire Roncalli clan is on hand, making for much drama --- and this is where Trigiani really shines. While the "big, crazy ethnic family" shtick has been done (sometimes to death) in everything from Moonstruck to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Trigiani's touch is deft and light. She keeps the crazy personality quirks that make families like this so much fun but is never disrespectful or two-dimensional with her characters. You sense the reality and the complexity in their relationships and struggles.
Particularly well drawn is the character of Alfred, Valentine's brother, who is now sharing the responsibility of running Angelini Shoes with Valentine. The relationship between them is complicated and real, and while I sometimes would get annoyed with the narrator for being a bit self-righteous in her attitude towards Alfred, I only have to look at my own brothers and sisters to see the realism in her approach. Valentine struggles with the usual family trials and tribulations as she tries to make a success of her business, which her grandmother has left entirely in her (and Alfred's) capable hands. The Roncalli family is very tightly knit, but a surprising new twist in the family tree threatens to disrupt some already tenuous ties among them. As with all of Trigiani's novels, the theme of family runs heavily through this series like a persistent heartbeat.
But what would a Valentine's Day novel be without true, romantic love? Although I confess to missing VERY VALENTINE's sexy chef, Roman Falconi, while in Italy Valentine reconnects with Gianluca, the sexy Tuscan tanner who caught her eye in the first novel. Can true love be in the cards for Valentine at last? I noticed right away that each chapter bears the name of a Frank Sinatra song (a nice little surprise for someone like me, a confirmed fan of the Chairman of the Board!), which ties in nicely to a detail in the book's text. I won't spoil the ending, but rest assured that BRAVA, VALENTINE is rife with romance and romantic locations. Between dates in Tuscany, New York, and Buenos Aires (where Valentine manages to mix business with pleasure quite successfully), there's romance on practically every page.
BRAVA, VALENTINE makes for a warm, romantic next chapter in Trigiani's Valentine series --- the hallmarks of her style are all there, and her many fans will find much to enjoy here. I savored this book like a particularly delicious dark chocolate truffle, feeling very satisfied by craving just a little bit more. I can't help but wonder what's next for Valentine and Angelini Shoes. I'll be eagerly anticipating next year's Valentine.
Summary of Brava, Valentine: A Novel
Adriana Trigiani's bestselling novels, called "dazzling"* and "tiramisu for the soul,"** are beloved by millions of readers around the world. Very Valentine, an instant New York Times bestseller and the first in a series about the life of shoemaker Valentine Roncalli, was hailed by critics as "Sex and the City meets Moonstruck . . . sly, sensual, dripping in style."***
In this sumptuous follow-up, a once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity takes Valentine from the winding streets of Greenwich Village to the sun-kissed cobblestones of Buenos Aires, where she finds a long-buried secret hidden deep within a family scandal. Once unearthed, the truth rocks the Roncallis, while Valentine is torn between a past love that nurtured her, and a new one that promises to sustain her.
Brava, Valentine is Trigiani's best novel yet, delivering a hilarious and poignant mix of colorful worlds and unforgettable characters as only she can create them.
*USA Today
**The Examiner (UK)
***People
Family Saga Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Family Saga Books
Elephant Manby Christine Sparks
Ballantine Books; Published: 1986-11-12; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.02
Price in other shops:
Assegaiby Wilbur Smith
Thomas Dunne Books; Published: 2009-05-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.95
Price in other shops:
Birds of Preyby Wilbur Smith
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2003-05-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $48.99
An Act of Loveby Nancy Thayer
St Martins Pr; Published: 1997-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.85
Price in other shops:
Honoluluby Alan Brennert
St. Martin's Press; Published: 2009-03-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.75
Price in other shops:
Family Treeby Barbara Delinsky
Anchor; Published: 2009-10-27; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.99
Price in other shops:
Those Who Save Usby Jenna Blum
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Published: 2005-05-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.49
Price in other shops:
Vinegar Hillby A. Manette Ansay
Penguin USA (P); Published: 2000-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.99
Billy Phelan's Greatest Gameby William Kennedy
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1983-01-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.64
Price in other shops:
Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 1)by Neal Stephenson
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 2004-09-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.50
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Milk Glass Moon: A Novel (Big Stone Gap Novels)by Adriana Trigiani
Ballantine Books; Published: 2003-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.10
Price in other shops:
Big Stone Gap: A Novel (Big Stone Gap Novels)by Adriana Trigiani
Ballantine Books; Published: 2001-04-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.56
Price in other shops:
Home to Big Stone Gap: A Novel (Big Stone Gap Novels)by Adriana Trigiani
Ballantine Books; Published: 2007-10-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.78
Price in other shops:
Rococo: A Novelby Adriana Trigiani
Ballantine Books; Published: 2006-04-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.97
Price in other shops:
The Queen of the Big Time: A Novelby Adriana Trigiani
Ballantine Books; Published: 2005-05-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.39
Price in other shops:
Don't Sing at the Table: Life Lessons from My Grandmothersby Adriana Trigiani
Harper; Published: 2010-11-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.24
Price in other shops:
Very Valentine: A Novelby Adriana Trigiani
Harper; Published: 2009-02-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.79
Price in other shops:
Viola in Reel Lifeby Adriana Trigiani
HarperTeen; Published: 2009-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.49
Price in other shops:
Very Valentine: A Novelby Adriana Trigiani
Harper Perennial; Published: 2010-01-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.45
Price in other shops:
Lucia, Lucia: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)by Adriana Trigiani
Ballantine Books; Published: 2004-06-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.50
Price in other shops: