I love second chance type stories and this one delivered. This story is about Lorenzo di Grechi and his ex-wife, Ashlynne.
Ashlynne is traveling, on her way back home to spend the holidays with her parents in England when the weather causes a delay in Venice, Italy. Stranded at the airport, Ashlynne is surprised to see Lorenzo also at the airport. He invites her to spend the layover with him instead of being stranded at the airport until it reopens. This is where the story begins to get really good for me.
Lorenzo and Ashlynne find quite quickly that the chemistry between them hasn't grown cold. The problem is, Ashlynne is not ready to let go of the past. Their divorce was brought on by a tragic event in their lives and she has never set it all to rest. Enter into the mix is the past scheming of Lorenzo's former personal assistant and you have a toxic mix.
Claire, who was working as Lorenzo's personal assistant at the time of the divorce, was an instrumental part of the break-up. She came to Ashlynne in a time of personal tragedy and set about to bring doubts into Ashlynne's mind of Lorenzo's commitment to the marriage.
The divorce and it's aftermath brought on a moment of epiphany for Lorenzo. He was a workaholic to the extreme and was faced with his obsessions with work being a large part of his marriage failing. Finding Ashlynne at the airport is a gift to Lorenzo. He now has the chance to make things right between them again.
But, can Lorenzo convince Ashlynne that he has changed? Or will the ghosts of the past threaten to destroy any chance for a reconciliation between them?
I loved this story. The characters have a depth that held my interest. I loved the humor and tender moments of the relationship between Lorenzo and Ashlynne just as much as the snarky side. The struggle that each goes through as they try to make peace with each other is painful to read due to the raw feelings they experience. Yet, it is also a time of wanting to cheer them on as they gently make their way through the emotional mine field to find each other.
The book is relatively short which makes it a great read is you are wanting something that is light fare. Christmas in Venice is book number 4 in the Christmas Around the World series.
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