The Italian by T.L. Swan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

They say there are three things you should do at least once in your life: 

Dance like nobody’s watching. 
Travel the world. 
And fall hopelessly in love. 

I aimed to do all three. 

I went to Italy to find myself. 
But he found me. 

It was like a story book, our eyes met across a crowded room. 
He asked me if I needed help reading the menu. 
We ate, we laughed, we danced, and I fell. 
Unfortunately, things didn’t go to plan, and we parted ways. 

Two years later, our eyes meet across a room again. 
Only this time I was on a date with another man. 
He went crazy in a jealous fit. 

But the man I met then is different now. 
He’s colder, harder, and officially one of the most powerful men in Italy. 
Dare I say it, even more enticing. 

But if you dance with the devil, you get burnt. 

And the fires in Italy are scalding hot.

The Italian

Relationship drama and more!

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💚💜💙❤️
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏
Character development: 😋🙂☺️😍🥰
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration type: Dual Narration

🦸🏼‍♀️ Heroine: Olivia Reynolds

She is an Australian fashion designer who is in Italy for a five week Italian vacation to find herself. She has dreams of working for a high fashion designer, but her latest designs have been for K-mart. She is sort of in the midst of a midlife crisis, but is loving her holiday, and enjoying the fact that she is doing it on her own and she loves the inner bravery she has found. It is now the end of her second week and she is in Rome, she is at a bar/restaurant and sees a tall handsome man across the bar. He is with a bunch of other men, but is staring intently at Olivia, making her flustered.

🦸🏻‍♂️ Hero: Enrico Ferrara

He is a policeman in Rome and has been for the past ten years. He is from one of the most wealthy and powerful families in Italy. They basically run the Italian Mafia. Enrico is the eldest son of the family and is expected to someday return to the fold, but while his father and grandfather are alive, he is working as a cop because his father wanted him to. Enrico had no idea that his family were criminals.

🔥 Plot

Enrico approaches Olivia in the restaurant and they end up spending the evening and night together eating, talking, drinking and dancing. He made Olivia feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. She loves the joyfulness in his character, like he doesn’t have a care in the world. They get along well, though Olivia isn’t the type of girl that sleeps with a man she just met, so they plan to see each other the following day. He takes her on a tour of his city. They spend the day, night, and weekend together.

They just parted ways, so Olivia can meet up on the Amalfi Coast with her friend, though she plans to stop in Rome again before going home. Enrico gets a call from his mother that his father and grandfather were in an accident. Enrico must now take over the family business and holdings. His life changes completely when he learns where his family got all their money. He also learns that he takes the reigns or he and his family will die.

The two main character are separated for nearly two years after the last time they see each other.

💡 Highlights

• T.L. Swan does relationship romance so well. There doesn’t have to be a lot of side storylines, and she makes the growing and changing relationship between the two main characters be the main part of the plot of her books. I have really enjoyed every book of hers that I have read so far, and she makes them longer than many romance writers, yet I never get bored reading her books.
• He is a player, she is a good girl.
• Something has always held Olivia back from giving herself up completely in a relationship, possibly stemming from her being a child of divorce.
• Enrico falls hard for Olivia very quickly, and she him, but he is expected to marry a well-bred Italian woman. His family would not approve of her.
• I like the Enrico gets jealous and can’t believe he is acting that way. It surprises even him.

🤨 A Few Things That Didn’t Quite Click

• There were some parallels to the book 365 Days, since both men were dark Italian mafia men with dominant personalities and the women were foreigners to Italy.
• While separated, Olivia is not with any other men, while Enrico is with many, though he needs to fantasize they are Olivia in order to finish. Then when they meet again and he finds out she is on a Tinder date, he calls her a whore.

🎧 Audiobook Vibes

Narrated in dual POV via duet narration by Dane Anderson and Emma Wilder. Dane has a very deep voice and a nice accent. Not sure if it is an authentic Italian accent or not but it worked well for this book. Emma wilder has a fresh, soft voice that is very pleasing to the ears and in this book she has an Australian accent which she does very well. She is expressive and the duet narration was awesome.

💬 Favorite Quote(s)

“I haven’t touched you today because I know that if I did, I may not be able to stop. My attraction to you, Olivia, is stronger than I am.”

“When in Rome, Olivia…”
“Do as the Romans do?”
“Or just do the Romans.”

“You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Every inch is pale and perfect.”

“Ferrara’s marry for life, family is everything to us.”

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