The Rome affair

Set in the beauty of historic Rome, this novel captures your imagination with this tale of the ultra rich. When a twist of fate brings the heroine, Francesca, a former barrister, who is in Rome to escape her recent past with a real life "princess" who wants her to write her memoir. The story that unfolds is not what she expected. There is glamour, grief and a long suppressed mystery about the princessa's family. It's an interesting read that explores several sub plots with many twist and turns that keep you guessing until the surprising end.

Un libro leggero ma intrigante. Da leggere specialmente distesi su un lettino in spiaggia. Raccomando a chi piacciono gli intrighi sentimentali

was as ordered. good quality,good read and quick hassell free delivery

A beautiful summer read with enough twists and turns so that you want to keep on reading. Of course, as in all the three books I have read from her so far (The Spanish Promise and The Greek Escape being the other two), there is wealth beyond measure, couture, beauty, love and friendship. The protagonist sometimes stumbles through the story with enough mishaps for three but in the end she pulls through and all the loose ends are tied up neatly. This is a fun read - and she has a really beautiful writing style - and is nothing for a shortlist of any of the literary prizes out there but it is on the bestseller lists and this is truly where she belongs.

La parte iniziale leggermente confusa. Poi si entra nella scrittura dell’autrice e il racconto scorre piacevolmente

This is my first read with this author and will not be may last. Really enjoyed this book great storyline and characters. not as much detailed Rome so called sight seeing as I expected just a very brief tour for someone who has never been. Always such a treat to find a new author.

Karen Swan non tradisce mai, trovo sia la perfetta lettura da spiaggia ed anche questa volta non ha deluso le mie aspettative. Questa volta ho voluto leggere il libro in lingua originale ed è stato estremamente piacevole. La trama intricata e l'inevitabile love story sono gli aspetti che più mi sono piaciuti. Non vedo l'ora di leggere il prossimo !

The Rome Affair is the latest summer offering from Karen Swan and if you are looking for a book to whisk you away on a vacation of the mind then this is certainly it.Set in Rome the story follows a split narrative: Cesca’s story told in the present, and Elena’s story told in the past. Cesca is a young lawyer who has run away from a terrible secret to create a new life in Rome. It is here that she meets the elderly Elena, an ageing widow who has lived a life of privilege and luxury. Employed by Elena to write her biography we soon start to discover through the split narrative that Elena’s life as she recounts it and the life she really lived are not one and same.When a sinkhole in her palace courtyard literally opens up a portal to the past all the many inconsistencies of Elena’s life come to light, weaving a twisting tale with a final surprise you are unlikely to see coming.The Rome Affair bears all the markings of a classic Karen Swan novel transporting the reader into a world of wealth, glamour and fashion in echelons of society few of us will ever see. More than that though, Swan is able to immerse the reader in Rome, painting a stunningly accurate picture of the details of Italian life, from the obsession with sweeping your steps every morning to the delights of watching families cart their kitchen furniture into the street to enjoy a summer evening. It is clear the author’s research trip to the Eternal city paid off, as an Italian resident she was selling me the Italy I know and love. The only inaccuracy comes from the fact that Cesca starts out the book as an Italian tour guide. Becoming a tour guide in Italy is notoriously difficult and involves taking a course and passing examinations to gain a licence, so I’ll give the author the benefit of artistic licence on this one.The novel’s main characters are intriguing, although I agree with other reviews that it is Elena’s story which is the more interesting, possibly because she comes across as a more fully fleshed-out character than her present day counterpart. In part this sensation comes from following Elena’s life as she grows up, whereas we only ever really get to know Cesca in her present. Nonetheless the narrative is extremely engaging and constantly leaves the reader yearning to find out what happens next.If you are not going on holiday this year then buy this book and enjoy a spectacularly intriguing trip through the Rome of your imagination (if you ever do visit you will probably discover it was an extremely life-like trip.) If you are going away then this is perfect holiday read: sunny destinations, a captivating narrative, and a title with a double meaning. This is probably Swan’s best book yet!