Title: Italian For Beginnersitalian
Author: Kristin Harmel
Genre: Chick Lit, Women’s Fiction, Contemporary
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing’s 5-Spot – ARC

Summary:
Cat Connelly is as unlucky in love as any single girl could be.  Perceptions tainted by the relationship foibles of her parents and a series of bad boyfriend experiences she feels fairly confident she’s destined to live the single life.  The trouble is Cat, like most women in their early thirties, still wants to find that perfect man.  That ultimate hero that lives in her hopes and dreams.  Longing for that connection, the love match with a soulmate that brings butterflies fluttering into her stomach and weakness to her knees Cat tries to remain hopeful that one day her moment will come.

Unfortunately, its the getting there that’s becomes a monumental struggle.  One where she endures increasing skepticism, a degree of condescension and ultimately degrees mocking by family, friends.  Treated as somewhat of an outcast by her peers and certain members of her extended family all feel it is Cat’s penchant for relationship sabatage that keeps her from marriage.  Her standards are too high, she’s too picky, nothing is good enough….blah, blah, blah.  Her newly married younger sister does little to support Cat and falls just short of an arranged marriage when she advises her to find an “acceptable man” settle down and be happy with what she is given.  Only problem is that Cat wants love and companionship, respect and admiration, and above all trust.

There is no greater foe to this grand romantic plight ,though, than herself.  Several of the central road blocks to making her dreams come true are of her own making.  A caretaker by nature she’s always putting the needs of everyone else before her own.  Most significantly Cat is beyond accommodating and supportive of her father and sister whom she took care of after her mother left them then passed away.  That is until she’d finally had enough and decided to pack things in and head to Italy.

Much to the chagrin of both her father and sister Cat nervously resigns herself to finally doing something for herself.  Getting away from everyone and everything It is here where her journey of self-discovery begins.

Opinion:
Italian for Beginners was appealing for many reasons.  First, I’ve read all of Kristin Harmel’s previous novels and enjoyed each one and knew that this too would provide that same level of entertainment and enjoyment.  I can happily tell you it did, in spades.

It was, however, a bit of a departure from her previous work.  I felt the story was more deeply emotional than her other novels.  Outside of Cat’s obvious (and warranted) trust issues she also owns a heaping case of low self-esteem.  Moreover, infused throughout the story readers are given insight into the instability of her life via some heavy underlying issues.  It’s these same issues that play such a significant role in shaping how her relationships with friends, family and potential lovers continue to be formulated and manipulated all the way through her time in Italy and back to the US again.

None of this is to say there isn’t a fair share of comedy and light-heartedness because there is plenty of that too, I wouldn’t want to paint Italian For Beginners as a dark or brooding story because it’s not.  For example, the eclectic group of friends Cat makes during her time in Italy provides an extremely happy place.  We also get some good chuckles out of the self-centered and somewhat clueless baby sister.  It’s just that much of this is not the heart of the story.

One of the reasons I believe this particular story resonated so deeply with me is that I felt Cat’s life, in some respects, mirrored my own.  I felt a kinship with her — Harmel wrote an exceptional character that allowed me to feel the vulnerability and pain she was experiencing.  I bonded with Cat and I can tell you that does not happen with me often.  She is a character that is deeply committed to her family and views herself as the primary caretaker.  She takes this role seriously but also to the extreme.  While at times certain people worked those traits to their advantage ultimately her family saw how important it was for Cat to strike out and make a life for herself.  A life that isn’t solely centered around them.

There wasn’t anything in the plot of Cat going to Italy to discover herself that I found unrealistic or particularly cliched.  I found her journey to be one of profound self-discovery.  More importantly it helped her become a better communicator.  She was forced to face a great many truths about herself and her family.  In doing so this book went away from the typical formulaic chick lit novel where woman meets man, woman is destined to be with man, then woman and man get together.  I mean, don’t get me wrong there was a fair share of romance but unlike many books in the genre that aspect took a back seat to the larger emotional issues.  As a reader I appreciated that Cat’s story wasn’t just about chasing men and “oh by the way I discovered myself on the way” plot points.  These elements were reversed and on Cat’s road to self-discovery she happened to find a man too.  I felt it was quite empowering for her and for the reader to know that yes a woman can survive adversity and still get it all in the end.  Not only that but she gets it all in a way that (I felt) prioritized the most important aspects of life first.  Get your own life in order, love and care for your family and friends (to an extent) and in the end romance will fall into place.

Speaking of ends falling into place I’m sure you can sense through this review that I encourage you to go out and grab a copy of Italian For Beginners it’s an entertaining and heart-warming read.