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3.16 AVERAGE
3.16 AVERAGE
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a middle-of-the-road review. The summary indicates that it has Italian Downton Abbey vibes- which I agree with. There were secrets, a mystery, money woes, & drama weaved throughout. The characters though. There were so many to keep track of and they lacked something. I don't know what was missing, but I never got invested in them, which made this fall flat.
In theory, this book is tailor-made for my interests. Set in the 1920s in Portofino, Italy, it's the story of a hotel owned by a British aristocrat and the intersecting lives of her family, their guests, and the people in the village around them. It's very much along the lines of dramas like Downton Abbey or The Halycon, with the lives of different social classes overlapping, sometimes in scandalous ways. There's forbidden romance, an art heist, shocking secrets, philandering spouses, and plenty of snooping, but there's a little more heft to it, since it's all set against the backdrop of the slow rise of fascism in Italy.
So why am I only giving this three stars? Part of it is that, simply, the sheer number of characters makes it hard to really get absorbed into their individual stories; as soon as you get tuned in, it switches perspectives again. There are definitely a few characters who are more compelling than the rest (the women in the story are particularly intriguing), but others never transcend their archetypes and just don't get enough space to develop.
Above all else, however, my problem with this book is its ending. The story is set to become a TV series soon, with PBS broadcasting it in the US. I'm not clear which came first, the TV version or this novel, but it very much feels like a novelization of a season of TV rather than a complete story that stands on its own. Almost every storyline is left up in the air by the end of the book, giving it the feel of a TV season that's betting on a season two. It's hard to come away from the book feeling satisfied when it's so obvious that the story is incomplete, but if there's more to come, I'm definitely intrigued enough to return!
Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and SparkPoint Studio for this ARC!
So why am I only giving this three stars? Part of it is that, simply, the sheer number of characters makes it hard to really get absorbed into their individual stories; as soon as you get tuned in, it switches perspectives again. There are definitely a few characters who are more compelling than the rest (the women in the story are particularly intriguing), but others never transcend their archetypes and just don't get enough space to develop.
Above all else, however, my problem with this book is its ending. The story is set to become a TV series soon, with PBS broadcasting it in the US. I'm not clear which came first, the TV version or this novel, but it very much feels like a novelization of a season of TV rather than a complete story that stands on its own. Almost every storyline is left up in the air by the end of the book, giving it the feel of a TV season that's betting on a season two. It's hard to come away from the book feeling satisfied when it's so obvious that the story is incomplete, but if there's more to come, I'm definitely intrigued enough to return!
Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and SparkPoint Studio for this ARC!
Overall quite an enjoyable reading experience. This is a character-driven story with a large cast. Set in 1920s Italy, the setting is palpable and may have you making travel plans. The arc of the narrative follows the events of several weeks at the Hotel Portofino, as seen through the eyes of the family that runs the hotel, their servants, their guests, and the citizens of the town. Bella has long been enamored of Italk and has finally convinced her husband Cecil to open a hotel for English travelers. They are ready to welcome their first batch of guests and the stakes are high, especially since money is tight and they have yet to turn a profit. Among the guests are Cecil‘s old flame, Julia, and her daughter Rose, whom Cecil plans to set up with his son, Lucian. There is also an Italian count, a dowager and her great niece, the new governess, and an American playboy with his companion, a French dancer. The fun of the story is in watching all of these people interact, butt heads, fall in love, and so on. The Downton Abbey comparison is deserved.
This book has already been sold to PBS masterpiece and I think it will make an excellent television adaptation, since there are so many characters and storylines to explore. The pacing of the book is steady; not much happens but it’s all very enjoyable and witty. The ending however was a little abrupt and I felt that several of the storylines were resolved hastily. Anyone looking for an easy read to sink into and perhaps imagine traveling to Italy should pick this one up.
This book has already been sold to PBS masterpiece and I think it will make an excellent television adaptation, since there are so many characters and storylines to explore. The pacing of the book is steady; not much happens but it’s all very enjoyable and witty. The ending however was a little abrupt and I felt that several of the storylines were resolved hastily. Anyone looking for an easy read to sink into and perhaps imagine traveling to Italy should pick this one up.
Hotel Portofino was an interesting novel. It was kind of a mixture between a mystery, a romance and a historical fiction novel. I did like this book. Especially the setting, all the drama that was happening and the tensions between the characters. It felt like I was there in the Hotel Portofino, seeing it all unfold with my own eyes. It also was really interesting to learn more about what was going on in the 1920s in Italy.
However I have a few points of critism. Sometimes I felt that the story lacked depth, because of all the different characters it followed. Besides that I was let down by the end because a few plot strings where resolved pretty quickly or not at all. And I also wanted Lucian and Constance to be together and was let down when that didn't happen. But I liked the message at the end very much, when Bella shut Cecil out of her life, who is a complete asshole and I hate very much.
However I have a few points of critism. Sometimes I felt that the story lacked depth, because of all the different characters it followed. Besides that I was let down by the end because a few plot strings where resolved pretty quickly or not at all. And I also wanted Lucian and Constance to be together and was let down when that didn't happen. But I liked the message at the end very much, when Bella shut Cecil out of her life, who is a complete asshole and I hate very much.
✨ Review ✨ Hotel Portofino by J. P. O’Connell
This has all of the Downton Abbey vibes for DA lovers! Bella Ainsworth, a British expat opens Hotel Portofino on the Italian Riviera in the 1920s, drawing a variety of British, American, and Italian patrons to the homey hotel. As the characters collide, romances develop and face stress, schemes evolve, and, notably, Bella and her husband must fend off the Fascists threatening to drive them out of town.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
This has all of the Downton Abbey vibes for DA lovers! Bella Ainsworth, a British expat opens Hotel Portofino on the Italian Riviera in the 1920s, drawing a variety of British, American, and Italian patrons to the homey hotel. As the characters collide, romances develop and face stress, schemes evolve, and, notably, Bella and her husband must fend off the Fascists threatening to drive them out of town.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Don't have time to read something I'm not really interested in. Maybe someday.
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hotelul Portofino este un roman de ficțiune istorică ok, nu mi-a plăcut în mod special, dar nici nu mi-a displăcut, a fost doar o lectură ok.
Am parcurs cartea în format audiobook și cu siguranță asta a ajutat mult (mai ales că îmi place mult cum narează Marcela Motoc), altfel nu știu dacă aș fi terminat-o... pentru că nici scriitura nu a reușit să mă țină "engaged".
Am citit multe ficțiuni istorice și ador genul, dar caut și ceva unic în fiecare dintre ele, indiferent că e vorba de personaje interesante, foarte bine conturate, de o scriitură care să mă cucerească sau de o poveste cu twist-uri surprinzătoare, orice doar să nu fie just an average read. But it was.
Am parcurs cartea în format audiobook și cu siguranță asta a ajutat mult (mai ales că îmi place mult cum narează Marcela Motoc), altfel nu știu dacă aș fi terminat-o... pentru că nici scriitura nu a reușit să mă țină "engaged".
Am citit multe ficțiuni istorice și ador genul, dar caut și ceva unic în fiecare dintre ele, indiferent că e vorba de personaje interesante, foarte bine conturate, de o scriitură care să mă cucerească sau de o poveste cu twist-uri surprinzătoare, orice doar să nu fie just an average read. But it was.