Very Valentine: A Novel Paperback – Illustrated, January 5, 2010

There’s a lot to like about this book which is what I’ll deal with first. Unlike other readers, the descriptions made this book for me. They were luscious, sumptuous, and put me in that spot at that moment. It was also fun learning a little bit about the business (I’m a sucker for passing things down through the generations) and about the narrator’s family. The main story (Girl builds business after running into difficulties) was good. I enjoyed Teodora’s storyline a lot – she was a major minor character and was treated properly. The family unit was fun as well. I liked those characters as they were.Unfortunately, the major characters weren’t treated properly. It seemed like maybe this book was over-edited, cutting out a lot of detail on the person who was supposed to be Valentine’s love interest. It felt like the relationship with Roman went from absolute zero to absolute love WAY too fast, and it turns out he was an unnecessary character anyway. One of my peeves is minor characters thrust into major roles. Roman does nothing to progress the story. If he was left out we would have known just as much about Valentine and Angelini Shoes, and we could have gotten to the end of the book with her successes intact. He was a distraction, and at the end I wondered why he was even in there. He was useless.As for Valentine herself, on the first page (and on subsequent pages) the author goes out of her way to make sure we understand that she’s not the pretty one, not the smart one, but rather the funny one. The character was never funny. She seemed depressed and angry most of the time. Although those emotions worked for this character in this story, stop telling us she’s funny. She’s not. With as many men throwing themselves at her during the course of the book, it seems like she could pass for the pretty one. Or the sexy one. The character was set up to be something that the story didn’t bear out, so maybe the reader was supposed to take it on faith. Not a great idea in storytelling.All that said, I would read another Valentine book. As stated earlier, there was a lot to like about Very Valentine. Pieces of the story were well told and the author does a fantastic job with descriptions of colors, shoes, and places. She also did very well with the actual minor characters and I really enjoyed those parts. With better editing and maybe some more time to hash out the odd / conflicting loose pieces, and another 100 pages to examine Roman as a real love interest and to develop the romantic story line, this book would be a 5/5.

I've seen this book described as Sex in the City meets Moostruck. While there is some merit to that description, I think it sells the book a bit short. Trigiani has created a world within this book. At the center is Valentine, a woman in her early 30's who has started to discover her calling as a cobbler. Throw in one of the most entertaining families in literature, complete with all sorts of family drama, and a business that is at a crossroads and Valentine has her hands almost full--there is, of course, still room for romance.Yet, even Valentine's romance is something more than readers might expect. Valentine deals with some real issues about balancing her career, her boyfriend's career, and their relationship. Her struggles are realistic and well conveyed by Trigiani.About halfway through this book, the action moves to Italy and here is where things became a bit dreamy for me. I love Italiy and Trigiani has a real knack for bringing it to life for the reader. I loved Trigiani's voice and descriptions of Arezzo and Capri--the later I once visited as a young teenager and now am itching to revisit!I will admit that my enjoyment of this book was hampered a bit, though no fault of the book. Very Valentine is the first in the trilogy and I recently read the final book, The Supreme Macaroni Company, without knowing that it finished this trilogy. Thus, I went through this book already knowing how Valentine and the rest of the characters would end up. But, as I said, I can only blame that on my own ignorance.Very Valentine is a lighter read--which is perfect if you are looking for something purely entertaining, but not fluffy. I heartily recommend it and will be starting part two, Brava, Valentine, very soon!

I truly recommend this book, I loved it, every word, every phrase, every detailed and lively description. Trigiani takes you with her on her journey of self discovery and finding her true calling.The cast of characters is vibrant, colorful and enchanting. The story takes place in the glorious Manhattan and also in the picture perfect hills of Italy.Valentine Roncalli lives with her 80 year old grandmother and they work together on the Angelini Shoe Company. Her family has been dedicated to making exquisite wedding shoes since 1903; they are one of the last family owned businesses in Greenwich Village and now the company is facing financial collapse and Valentine wants to save the business because of what it represents and because she loves the trade.Teodora Angelini is Valentine's grandmother and the master artisan but she is old and has no clue as to how she should expand her brand and grow the business in the 21st century.Valentine wants to assume charge but her brother Alfred, wants to see the building altogether and leave Valentine without a job or a home.While juggling a romance with a gorgeous chef called Roman Falconi, her duty to her family, and a design challenge that must be presented to Bergdorf, Valentine goes to Italy with Teodora to learn new techniques and seek one of a kind materials for her shoes.In Italy she will discover that her grandma holds a dear secret and she will also learn that her romance is not as important for Roman as it is for her. The trip will make her change and become a better artiste and a more mature woman, one who can take a challenge and make it work in her favor.This book is a sumptuous treat, a journey of dreams fulfilled, a celebration of love and loss filled with Trigiani's heart and humor. A must read, go and get it I just can't wait for the saga to continue!

I received an email from the publishers with details of some offers, so I followed the link to Amazon and the look inside feature. The first couple of chapters looked interesting, and it is a while since I read a book written in the continuous present so decided to give it a go.I am so sorry I did, and I cannot finish it. If the tedious descriptions of Valentine’s and her family’s clothing weren’t enough, there are the meals. Italian-Americans love eating the food of their historical homeland! Who knew. Taking all of this out would leave enough for a magazine story, that is how little plot this book has.I could not take to Valentine, she has no sense of humour and completely self absorbed. I have just passed the halfway mark and am still waiting for the story to start making sense. It is like wading through treacle, and each time I pick it up to read the next bit, I find I have forgotten the parts I’ve already read.The trouble I have with feminist meanderings about having it all, is they are all written by privileged middle class women. None of their heroines are stressed because they want to have husband children and their job in a supermarket or call centre. No, their “careers” are shoe designers, fashion designers, fashion writers, actresses etc are millions of miles away from the lives most of us live.Romance, when written well takes the reader away from the real world and offers an escape into wish fulfilment or fantasy. This didn’t work for me. I just can’t finish it, life is too short to waste on a bad book.

Thirty-three-year-old Valentine Roncalli is an apprentice shoemaker in her family business, learning to craft beautiful hand-made shoes from her grandmother while enduring the pressure from her Italian-American family to find a man and settle down. Just as she discovers the family business is in seriously financial difficulty, she meets Roman, a successful chef, and the possibility of a relationship with somebody who understands the pressures of her work becomes real. But what does Valentine really want?Two things made me want to dislike this book. First, as a European, it annoys me when Americans call themselves Italians. Italians are Italians. They come from Italy.Second, we are past 10% into the book before an initiating event occurs that starts the story moving. That’s 10% of the book that is pure introduction, exposition and wondering if something is going to happen soon.I'm telling you this so you know Trigiani won me over in spite of all this.The Italian American problem didn’t matter so much because Trigiani is able to vividly reproduce this American subculture with writing that is both beautiful and funny. Thus 10% of the book being exposition feels like having dinner with someone delightful sharing stories about a family wedding. It doesn’t matter what I think about American’s imagining they’re Italians – Trigiani shows us what this means to them and how it permeates their lives.As for the romance, this is a love story between Valentine and her dream – making shoes - as much as it is Valentine and Roman. As her relationships help her discover more about herself, you’ll join a journey of self-discover and self-affirmation delightfully positive and real. The research into shoemaking is top notch and Trigiani writes this so well it fascinatesI rather miss Valentine now the book is finished – although this is the first of a trilogy so I can always find out what happens next. But this book was satisfying, complete, and human. I wouldn’t hesitate to read more of this author’s work

One of the interesting and original things about this book is that one of the primary characters is a 79 year old career woman. Teodora was one of my favourite characters and I would love to read a book about her earlier life. There are also a number of humorous moments - I particularly liked Valentine's Dad. This is an enjoyable and well written story - my only major complaint is the endless detailed descriptions of what people are wearing(other than shoes.)Personally I was more interested in the plot and the characters and all the description got in the way of this.I loved the Big Stone Gap series and unfortunately this one is not quite as good. Saying that I do look forward to seeing how the story continues in the next installment.

A charming read. Perfect for these gloomy English days!

It’s difficult to find a book these days that’s not full of demons, werewolves, murder most horrid, and the undead, but this book includes none of those. This is a very nice, gentle read with a very gentle and interesting story. Having grown up within an Italian family this certainly feels like home. Would recommend.