Five strangers are brought together on an Italian holiday in Phaedra Patrick's The Little Italian Hotel, a sweet and immersive novel brimming with the hope of new beginnings. To celebrate 25 years of marriage, Ginny Splinter--a 49-year-old, problem-solving British radio talk-show host--surprises her husband, Adrian, by planning an upscale trip to Italy for the two of them. But when she presents the gift, Adrian announces that he doesn't want to go on a vacation. He wants a divorce. Shaken and jarred, heartsick Ginny decides on a lark to invite, at random, four loyal listeners to accompany her on the trip instead. This is accomplished by her swapping out the pricy luxury accommodations she'd planned for her and Adrian in Vigornuovo, a small Italian village in Bologna, for more modest lodgings for herself and her guests. The five strangers--ranging in age from 27 to 80--meet for the first time and then set off, touring Venice and Florence. The sights of Italy may be wonders to behold, but the life stories of the strangers--each on the cusp of change--prove equally enriching during the journey.
Patrick (The Messy Lives of Book People) is a talented writer of optimistic stories that probe the true meaning of life and the human quest to find happiness and fulfillment. In The Little Italian Hotel, she once again mines the bittersweet landscape of the human heart with great tenderness, insight, and wisdom. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines