Dreaming of Florence: The feel-good read of summer!

Debbie Waterson is an English teacher, living and working in Cambridge, 29-years-old, paying off her student debt, painfully aware of her working class background and rather embarrassed by it.When a handsome Italian walks into the road without looking and knocks her off her bicycle, Debbie soon loses herself to the dream of her happy place, a bench in a rose garden, which may or may not exist, somewhere in Florence.With a lack of job security and after a romantic week with Florentine, Pierluigi, Debbie finds herself wondering if this might be her chance to start her life again in the city of her dreams.And it’s happened again. I’ve read something set abroad, and now I need to travel. I really liked the character of Dario, a kind-hearted, academically-inclined, overall good guy. As much as I didn’t much like the main character of Debbie, I found her believable and much of the time, I was rooting for her. I found her lack of self-belief rather irritating given that she was tall, beautiful, fit, educated and with a good bum.That said, this was a very romantic story, with believable characters and wonderful scenery, ‘Dreaming of Florence’ seems, to me, to be the perfect summer read - especially now that travel is basically off the cards for most, if not all of us - why not have a little romantic getaway with a novel?

💕 In these strange times, armchair travel has become so important to me. At present, being in lockdown in Italy, I feel so near to seeing Florence and yet so far. We had planned to tour much of this beautiful country, with Florence being high on our list for city breaks, but alas it is not to be right now. However, 'Dreaming of Florence' has given me an opportunity to visit a city I have always wanted to see.TA Williams has transported me with his wonderful descriptions of the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the city. From the Ponte Vecchio with its lovely shops, the Uffizi Gallery with its Renaissance art, the fantastic cafes, bars and restaurants (all of which I want to check out) to the magnificent Duomo and the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, TAWilliams' story has captured Florence - and also my heart since the story has so much to offer.Debbie, who from childhood has dreamed of being in her "special place". A scene on a postcard that she gazes at every night, makes her feel relaxed and happy. She dreams of one day visiting Italy and would love to see the location for herself.Due to certain events, she then finds herself with an opportunity to do just that, travel to Italy. But things are not always as they seem and for Debbie, what appears to be a whim of an idea develops into something far more adventurous.The story slowly unfolds as we see Debbie facing challenges, overcoming her fears and growing into a more confident young woman. Finding new friendships but also finding herself, Debbie is transformed by her surroundings. She discovers her true self in a city born of history, art, beauty and love.

Loved this story as a romantic escape. Beautiful descriptions of Florence, totally encapsulating this magnificent city, its beauty and history.

A very good book. Very different to what I normally read, but a good change. Only 4 stars as I found myself skipping alot of unnecessary scenery descriptions. I just didn't need to know so much details about the surroundings. And I did find Debby a bit annoyin at times. Overall a good read.

I struggled to get through this, but I did in the end finish it so that's why I have given it two stars.As with most of the lower rated reviews I had problems with the leading lady, the way her "I'm off men" attitude was written interspersed with swooning after her neighbour was annoying but far worse were her self esteem issues! I come from a similar background but I have never thought that I couldn't measure up against someone with money. It wasn't just about the other characters having money she also struggled with the fact that they had inherited titles. There was the idea that she couldn't fit in with these upper class people and she would have been shunned by them. My trade unionist dad wouldn't have wanted me to have anything to do with these people because quote "inherited wealth is scum". In this book she thought she was the scum compared to these elite Florentines. I found this gave the whole book a very dated feel, like I was reading the 1970's Mills and Boon of my youth. Perhaps the idea that two people can not be together because of their upbringing does still exist and so to not even try to have a relationship because of it is a reality for some people, in which case I stand corrected but for me circumstances in this book did not make me think it would be a struggle.I also had issues with the way in which she walked casually into a job which she seemed vastly under experienced for.The descriptions of Florence were OK and the food does sound amazing but I didn't find that enough to get past everything else that was troubling.I got this book for free and I would not recommend paying for it.

Needed to top up my kindle for lockdown reading and would never have bought this type of romantic reading if not for free. Have to say I enjoyed it within reason as the perfect hot weather lockdown fluffy read, plus that it was set in Florence - abroad! - was even better as no one is able to travel safely at the moment.Our heroine -Deb - for all her whining, has the perfect life we can only dream about. Dream destination, dream job, dream flat and dream man eventually. The only thing that jarred in the end with the housewarming party (sorry, spoiler alert!) was the fact she didn't invite her parents or best friend from Cambridge. A mistake on the authors part? Not sure if I would read anymore by this author as prefer something a bit more gritty but a light fluffy read if that's your thing.