Popular fiction

THREE GOLD COINS

by Josephine Moon (Allen & Unwin, $33)

I stayed up far too late to finish this beautiful story of Lara Foxleigh, who meets a lonely, cranky old man on her “selfdiscovery” trip to Italy. As she cares for Samuel and his villa we unravel the ghosts in Lara’s past that threaten to destroy everything she loves. At first, this novel seems to be a fairly run-of-the-mill romance filled with sightseeing, heartbreak and descriptions of glorious Italian food but there’s more to it than that. Overall, a fantastically written, easy and addictive read.

LETTERS TO IRIS

by Elizabeth Noble (Penguin Random House, $37)

This billed as an uplifting, unforgettable story and I couldn’t agree more. It begins with an unplanned pregnancy that throws Tess’s life into disarray. She meets Gigi when visiting her ailing grandmother, Iris, the one person she feels she can talk to but who, unfortunately, can’t talk back. Gigi is in the middle of a marriage separation and needs Tess more than she knows. There is an immediate bond between the two women, one that ends up saving them both. This novel is bittersweet and sure to tug at the heartstrings.

WOMEN IN SUNLIGHT

by Frances Mayes (Penguin Random House, $37)

Frances Mayes wrote Under the Tuscan Sun so I had high expectations, but I found it hard to become involved in the story. Four American women, three of whom have previously met at a retirement house presentation, become unlikely friends and move to Italy for a year. Here they meet Kit, already living and working in the small town of San Rocco, and launch themselves into Italian life. I wanted to like this book more than I did. Despite transporting me to Italy with the descriptive writing, the pace was slow and this let the book down for me.