Giveaway: The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani

Thanks to Regina at HarperCollins, I have ONE paperback copy of The Shoemaker's Wife to giveaway in celebration of its paperback release. I reviewed this one back in April and let me tell you, it's an AMAZING book!

Here's some info about it:

Beloved New York Times bestselling author Adriana Trigiani returns with the most epic and ambitious novel of her career—a breathtaking multigenerational love story that spans two continents, two World Wars, and the quest of two star-crossed lovers to find each other again. The Shoemaker's Wife is replete with the all the page-turning adventure, sumptuous detail, and heart-stopping romance that has made Adriana Trigiani, “one of the reigning queens of women’s fiction” (USA Today). Fans of Trigiani’s sweeping family dramas like Big Stone Gap and Lucia, Lucia will love her latest masterpiece, a book Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help, calls “totally new and completely wonderful: a rich, sweeping epic which tells the story of the women and men who built America dream by dream.”

You can find out more about it at any of the following websites- Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads.

To enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below, and be aware that this giveaway is open to US and Canada only!

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Review: The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

Beloved New York Times bestselling author Adriana Trigiani returns with the most epic and ambitious novel of her career—a breathtaking multigenerational love story that spans two continents, two World Wars, and the quest of two star-crossed lovers to find each other again. The Shoemaker's Wife is replete with the all the page-turning adventure, sumptuous detail, and heart-stopping romance that has made Adriana Trigiani, “one of the reigning queens of women’s fiction” (USA Today). Fans of Trigiani’s sweeping family dramas like Big Stone Gap and Lucia, Lucia will love her latest masterpiece, a book Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help, calls “totally new and completely wonderful: a rich, sweeping epic which tells the story of the women and men who built America dream by dream.”

Review:

If you're a longtime reader of this blog, you might remember that I reviewed Adriana Trigiani's two Young Adult books previously. I really enjoyed both of them, so when I first received The Shoemaker's Wife, I couldn't wait to start it, especially since it was my first adult book of hers. Amazingly enough, it turned out to be a spectacular book, one that not only contained lush as well as intricate writing, plot development, and writing, but also one that flew right past my expectations.

The Shoemaker's Wife contained so many wonderful aspects, and one of those was definitely the characters! It featured mainly the third person POVs of Enza and Ciro sprinkled with the POVs of various side characters. Enza and Ciro, though, were such strong characters, because not only did the reader witness grow from young children to teens to adults, but they also contained so many characteristics and traits that it was hard to not  see jump of the page and come to life. One of my favorite things about both was their ability to see the best in all situations as well as value the best in all situations. Ciro and Enza both came from poor backgrounds, but not once did they let that hinder them. Instead, they reached for the stars and beyond, and that truly made them remarkable and inspirational.

Seeing them go from children to teens to adults was one of the biggest focuses of the plot, and that truly cared the book to marvelous places. For one, was the vast variety of settings that was introduced. From the Italian Aps to the early 1900s New York City/New Jersey, everything was described beautifully. It really made me feel like I was part of the book. Secondly, for such a long book, it moved in a rapid pace, and that had to do with the various events that occurred. The best event, though, was the love affair between Ciro and Enza, in my opinion. They're romance was the prime example of star crossed love, and I was constantly amazed at how quickly everything would come together for them to how quickly it would then disintegrate...it was a continuous flex, and for the most of the book, I was truly worried they wouldn't end up together, which left for lots of suspense. I also enjoyed seeing both Enza as well Ciro reach for their dreams in this one. Both came to the United States with little to nothing, but in the end, they ended getting much, much more then they ever anticipated from their hard work...everything from the start to the end and everything in between was just so much fun to see.

I also loved Trigiani writing in this! It was so much more detailed and layered than her YA, which I just adored. Plus I really enjoyed how she was never afraid to throw in a punch or two as well as how seamlessly she blended everything together. Seriously, the plot, the characters, EVERYTHING came together beautifully.

In all, The Shoemaker's Wife is a read I highly, highly suggest, and I have to add it's the perfect YA/adult crossover, in my opinion, because not only does the reader see the characters in their teens for half the book but also as adults for the other half. However, word of warning: make sure you have some tissues with you!

Grade: A+

The Shoemaker's Wife (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads) is now out!

Source: Publicist at Goldberg McDuffie Communications- thanks Grace! 

Viola in the Spotlight by Adriana Trigiani

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

I am in the midst of a conundrum.

Viola is finally where she belongs—back home in Brooklyn, where there are no khakis or sherbet-colored sweaters and people actually think her yellow flats are cool. With two whole months of nothing to do but hang with her two best friends, Andrew and Caitlin, this is going to be the best break ever!

But her BFFAA, Andrew, has started acting weird around her, and a new boyfriend has her friend Caitlin ditching her every chance she gets. When Viola's roommates from Prefect Academy show up for a visit, she starts to wonder—is Brooklyn where she wants to stay? When a tragic event shakes everyone's world, Viola realizes it's not where she belongs that matters—it's who she's with that really counts.

In this heartwarming follow-up to bestselling author Adriana Trigiani's teen debut, Viola in Reel Life, Viola just may be ready to get out from behind her trusty video camera and take the starring role in her own life.

Review:

Sometimes there's nothing better than a light and hilarious contemporary read, and Viola in the Spotlight, the follow-up to the fabulously fun Viola in Reel Life, is just that and much more!

Viola in the Spotlight opens up just as Viola's summer is about to start. Happy to be back in New York with her family and best friends, Viola can't wait to get her break underway. Alas, her friends have other plans. For one, Andrew is acting oddly around, as if they are not BFFAAs anymore, and she just can't figure out why. Furthermore, her other friend Caitlin keeps ditching her for her new and secret British boyfriend. Left with truly no plans, Viola doesn't know what to do. Thankfully, she gets offered a summer internship - one that will test her abilities as well as bring her awesome boarding school friends back her in life. Along with this also come plenty of surprises to keep Viola questioning certain things as well as making decisions that may or may not change her life once again. For the better or for the worse? Well, only time and some more pages will tell.

Just like in Viola in Reel Life, Viola and her many friends were easy to relate to. Viola, in most ways, feels like the ordinary teen girl, and that's what I like most about her. She faces real situations that teens, as well as adults, face every day, and she still manages to hang her head high and power forward. Better yet, I love how Adriana puts such an emphasis on friendship rather than romance; because it's such a refreshing change from your average YA. Mentioning that, I also enjoyed the further development put into characters such as Caitlin and Andrew as well as Viola's boarding school friends.

The plot of this also held strong, and even though it's very predictable at times, I still found the overall story to be not only engrossing but intriguing too, thanks to the characters and setting. I also liked that while this story was light, it still had plenty of depth to it to keep it a fun yet serious read.

If you love realistic YA, Viola in the Spotlight is the book for you. Full of laughs, great characters, and plenty of fun, it’s sure to have readers adding a new character to their list of favorites - Viola.

Now if there only was a third one…

Grade: A+

Viola in the Spotlight is now out!

Source: Provided by author/author's assiatant for review- thanks Adriana and Kelly!

Viola in Reel Life by Adriana Trigiani

Summary:

I'm marooned.

Abandoned.

Left to rot in boarding school . . .

Viola doesn't want to go to boarding school, but somehow she ends up at an all-girls school in South Bend, Indiana, far, far away from her home in Brooklyn, New York. Now Viola is stuck for a whole year in the sherbet-colored sweater capital of the world.

Ick.

There's no way Viola's going to survive the year—especially since she has to replace her best friend Andrew with three new roommates who, disturbingly, actually seem to like it there. She resorts to viewing the world (and hiding) behind the lens of her video camera.

Boarding school, though, and her roommates and even the Midwest are nothing like she thought they would be, and soon Viola realizes she may be in for the most incredible year of her life.

But first she has to put the camera down and let the world in.

Review:

I have been ecstatic to read this novel, since it first showed up in my mailbox a few months ago thanks to the extremely nice, Adriana. And let me tell you, I was no where close to being disappointed by the end of this darling book titled Viola In Reel Life.

Viola, as well as her boarding school friends, were characters that I found easy to relate to. Since not only are the same exact age as me but she faced a lot of problems that me and my friends, as well as girls around the globe are going through. Such as boy trouble ( her best boy friend at home or the new charming boy?), making friends in a place were no one knows you, and finding your place in this crazy world. This all made this a great coming of age novel with a mix of girl power and cute boys.

The plot was yet anther high point. Mostly because I loved her "Viola Reels Diary" as well as reading about her journey of writing and directing a short film. Also, Adriana's writing was fast paced and addicting, making this a quick read for me, which is pretty amazing right now considering the loads and loads of homework I have.

In all, Viola in Reel Life is a sweet story that I suggest to girls everywhere looking for a great new read to transition them into the fall back to school season. Also, I can't wait to see where Adriana takes Viola and her friends next in the second installment, which is hopefully coming out soon. =)

Grade: A

Viola in Reel Life is now out!>

* As mentioned above much thanks goes to Adriana for sending me a copy of this novel!