Bella Natale!: A Florentine Christmas Romance (Christmas Holiday Extravaganza) by Marianne Evans

​Set in the backdrop of the most romantic places on Earth – and one of the reasons I heartily agreed to review this book –  college grad, Ashley Coratini sets her sights on Florence. For three weeks, she immerses herself in her dream of living, breathing, sketching; all things Florence. And bless, Marianne Evans, her words catapulted me to the city of my dreams. I have always wanted to go to Italy, with Florence, the Vatican, and Rome on my itinerary. I can tell you years have been spent reading romance and watching movies that show off Florence and Italian life. Evans painted the city for me, in her lovely words. I imagine myself walking along side Ashely; seeing what she sees, falling in love with both the city, and widower Luca DeRosa.

Conflicts arise, of course, like every romantic story, out there. But this one takes it a bit deeper. One of the biggest theme is Faith. It’s trust in His offers. If you’ve prayed for your dreams, and ask God to bless your heart, but let His will in all of it be done, and then one day you wake up and realize that it is possibly staring at you in the face, do you jump in, or do you hesitate?

Isn’t it always the case that when our entire dreams come true, we wonder how it’s possible that it is even better than what we could ever hope for? We pray, we live, we dream; we pray some more and our dreams slowly start realizing and aligning themselves. I think, in spite of all our prayers and faith, we all have a bit of cynicism, a bit of doubt woven into our fabric.
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And I love that Christmas is right around the corner to remind Ashley and Luca to not be afraid; to trust in the Lord, always. This was such a wonderful “swoon” worthy Christian novels I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I was in love the second I turned on my kindle. Of course, it helps, if you’re already in love with Florence and Christmas!
 
*I received this book in exchanged for an honest review.