3.5 Tesero Stars 
 I believe books can make you feel well traveled, even just within the comforts of your home. In my mind I have been to Scotland, England, Netherlands, France, Brazil and now, Italy. In actuality I've never traveled across an ocean before. But I have seen it. I have smelled tapas in Spain and the freshly baked macaroons in Paris. It may have been in my minds eye, but it is there. This is what I experienced in this novel. Through Clayton and Bocci's writing I could feel myself walking down the uneven cobblestones and smell the chocolate and coffee wafting from the cafe's. The description of Rome was perfection. 
 I liked the dynamic that these authors had together. I want to know who came up with the series title, because it is hands down the best EVER! Good job ladies! I was excited to see that Alice Clayton was coming out with a new novel. Wallbanger was a favorite of mine because Clayton does humor on a superb level. Within the first page I had already experienced my first "laugh out loud" moment. I was excited, ready to see what was waiting for me. 
 Our heroine is Avery, a late twenties/early thirties-something year old that recently discovered her husband cheating on her with his secretary, oh sorry, she prefers 'administrative assistant'. Avery quickly comes to the realization that her life is not what she meant for it to be. Once a promising art student gallivanting across the globe, she now finds herself blind to the fact that she has become a trophy wife. Needing to escape from her current situation, she takes her best friend's advice to visit her in Rome. 
 When Avery arrives in Rome we meet Daisy. I absolutely adored Avery and Daisy's relationship. Daisy is feisty and vibrant, and exactly what Avery needed in her life. Upon meeting up with friends her first evening in Rome, Avery was shocked to discover that one of Daisy's friends was Marcello, a tall, dark and sexy Italian that Avery had a whirlwind affair with in her semester abroad 9 years before. Second chance romances....they are my weakness. 
 What I really enjoyed is that the authors didn't make Avery the victim in this situation. She had wronged Marcello and she owned up to that. She was finally free from her empty marriage and she was ready to find herself. What I came to realize is that this story wasn't just a second chance romance between Avery and Marcello, this was Avery's second chance at life. 
 If you are looking for a prolonged, sexy, sensual, exotic story full of art, passion, and endless description of the most delicious food that you could ever smell, taste and touch...then this is right up your ally. Now, I'm not saying that this is a bad thing, but personally, it got a little long and redundant in parts. 
 I kept waiting for the drama. Remember the part where I said Avery had wronged Marcello? Well where's the consequence? Where's the climax? Where's the push and pull, the give and take? I found myself glancing through chapters, which was a bite of a disappointment because the first 60% was FAN-FLIPPING-TASTIC. And then they delivered. Now, it was not what I was exactly expecting, but I really loved that the authors didn't make Avery into a martyr. 
 After that it was just...ok. There was a little bit of 'What will they do?', 'Which way will they go?', but honestly, I disagreed with the direction that the author's decided to take this. I really wanted to see Avery stand on her own for a bit. She had lead this life of cardigans and pearls, setting up the perfect household and traveling to destinations that were not of her choosing. I wanted for her to stand on her own two feet. Maybe I'm a bit of a feminist, but I felt like there was an opportunity to make a bigger statement, a larger impact on their readers. 
 Overall I really did enjoy this and I'm still very excited to continue with this new series. I am a sucker for traveling books. I can't wait to see what Clayton and Bocci have in store for Daisy.....