Today it’s publication day for Change Of Heart and I’m pleased to be taking part in the publication day blog tour. My review is written with thanks to Rachel Gilbey at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me on the tour and to the publisher for my copy of the book.

Blurb:

When cutbacks force Alice out of her assistant manager role at a Devonshire stately home, she turns her sights elsewhere: the picturesque hills above the historic city of Parma. An aristocratic Italian family are looking to open their medieval castle to the public, and Alice is just the woman for the job.

Four years ago, a life-changing accident pushed Alice into depression, but the beauty and charm of the Italian countryside works its magic in brightening her days. Especially when she keeps bumping into handsome Luca… But rivalries run deep in the town, and Alice’s work – not to mention her potential love life – are caught in the middle of a long-standing feud between two families.

With her job and future happiness in peril, can Alice save the future of the castle, and bring two warring families together?

A gorgeous and uplifting romance, for fans of Rosanna Ley, Sue Moorcroft and Lucy Coleman.

Review:

As regular visitors to Portable Magic will know, I don’t often read women’s fiction, but I always make an exception for TA Williams. Change Of Heart is set in Parma, and although I’ve never been there myself, I love how the author’s description of the historical buildings (particularly the castle that Alice is enlisted to restore), the nature and the delicious food can take me to Italy and I can lose myself in the story for hours. I read Change Of Heart in a single day, which emphasises how engaged I was in this story.

The protagonist of Change Of Heart is Alice, and it’s obvious from quite early in the novel that she has been through some difficulties in her life. I felt that TA Williams approached these with great sensitivity and it really made me root for her as she tried to overcome these difficulties. I really hoped that Alice would find the happiness she deserved.

Change Of Heart is a really well plotted story, and I love how the author has developed the feud between the Varaldo and Montorso families. I enjoyed the edge it gave to the romantic elements of the novel and the drama and tension it created throughout the novel, which kept me hooked from beginning to end.

Change Of Heart is available from Amazon.