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Wish You Were Italian

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Publish Date/Publisher: May 6, 2014/Bloomsbury

Format: Paperback

Genre: YA – Contempory/Romance

Pippa has always wanted to go to Italy … but not by herself. And certainly not to sit in art school the entire summer learning about dead guys’ paintings. When she steps off the plane in Rome, she realizes that traveling solo gives her the freedom to do whatever she wants. So it’s arrivederci, boring art program and ciao, hot Italian guys!

Charming, daring, and romantic, Bruno is just the Italian Pippa’s looking for—except she keeps running into cute American archeology student Darren everywhere she goes. Pippa may be determined to fall in love with an Italian guy … but the electricity she feels with Darren says her heart might have other plans. Can Pippa figure out her feelings before her parents discover she left the program and—even worse—she loses her chance at love?

Needing a good fix of YA romance, I decided to pick up Wish You Were Italian. I was not disappointed in my choice, and I am very glad that I decided to read this.

Not many authors can really transport a reader into a different society. Kristin Rae did more than that. She transported me into another country, another world. I now long to travel to Rome, as Kristin beautifully described it with deep imagery and well-chosen words. It felt like I was walking the streets with Pippa, and tasting that wonderful gelato which was described in such a way that had my mouth watering. Page after page was filled to the brim with great world building and architecturally written sentences, which positively contributed to a very great reading experience.

The plot never had a dull moment even at the slower times. I was very impressed by the surprises Kristin kept throwing in, which really moved the flawless plot along. There were no gaps or holes, which made the read very enojyable. The plot was always set straight and never wavered to the negative side. The plot was definitely well-planned and very researched, making this book even better.

The character development was amazing, and throughout this novel we had a wide ranging cast of characters that made seemingly boring moments the exact opposite. Even the tourists in this book played a great role in the overall development. Our main character, Pippa, was such a healthy character to follow. She wasn’t bratty, supercilious, or really angsty, which is something that I can hardly find in a YA romance novel. Alongside Pippa, we had two irresistible love interests: Darren and Bruno. Both boys brought out qualities in Pippa that made the love triangle a great one. I stood right with Pippa when she started to discover which boy was better for her, and I am very happy with the decision she made. Darren and Bruno both brought very different, and unique qualities to the story, which helped the diversity in this book.

Wish You Were Italian brought out so many of my emotions. I was constantly smiling and laughing. I even cried a couple of times. Kristin really had me feeling for the characters, which is something that is very hard to do, and I applaud her for that. This is definitely one of my new favorites and I know for a fact that I will be reading more of Kristin’s writing. I would recommend this novel to anyone who is looking for a well-written and lasting romance story that is wrapped in a bubble of great imagery and emotions. Five out of five stars to Wish You Were Italian by Kristin Rae.

Five of my favorite quotes:

“It’s always good to try new things. Especially if it scares you a little bit.” Page 34

“But then she might point out that you never know what could happen unless you try. That each of our choices, no matter how small, has the potential to change the rest of our life. And that trying and failing is better than not trying at all.” Page 217

“Hey, you.” Page 314

“‘Figure out what you love doing, then figure out how to make money doing it.” Page 232

“‘Run from the truth all you want. It always has a way of finding you you..” Page 166

Meet the author!

Lover of books, music, crafty things, and chocolate. Kristin Rae writes YA fiction and is represented by Marietta Zacker of the Nancy Gallt Literary Agency. Author of WISH YOU WERE ITALIAN and WHAT YOU ALWAYS WANTED (Bloomsbury)