Georgia is one of my favorit authors. I never pass up the opportunity to read one of her books. That's Amore did not disappoint at all. Who doesn't love an age gap story with characters who have amazing chemistry and are very relatable. It was a joy to see characters from previous books as well. Well done ! I recommend.
4.5

Thanks to the publisher Bold Strokes Booka and NetGalley for this ARC copy.

Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for this ARC!

That's Amore is about a lesbian writer, both books and scripts, that has to run away from her home with her dog to Rome to try and get inspiration as she has been having a hard time writing. She meets an eccentric neighbour that leads her to a very gorgeous and younger Italian guide.

This book made me actually giggle, blush and feel my blood in all parts of my body. I enjoyed it quite a lot, specially the slowburn of something that could've been rushed. It takes me extra time to get into books when they're in first person, but it got easier as I adapted to the main character.

It took me some time to actually get hooked but the moment I reached certain part, it was impossible to let it go. There are many instances in which I needed to bite my fist because it was either extremely cute, or extremely hot.

If you're looking for a cute sapphic Summer romance, this is for you!

I really enjoyed That’s Amore. All the characters were fun to read about, not just Lily and Marina, but also the side characters, especially Reggie :). The chemistry between the main characters felt genuine, and the age difference didn’t bother me at all.

I loved how the author found a way to bring in some characters from previous novels, that always brings a smile to my face. The Rome setting was gorgeous and made me feel like I was there. Sweet, charming, and easy to get lost in.

At this point I sound like a broken record saying that Georgia Beers never disappoints :)

This has been a complicated read because I liked it but I didn´t love it, if that makes sense.

This is one of those books that it´s pretty cosy and lighthearted, so you can read it fast. Lily, the protagonist, goes on vacation to Italy because her edito thought it would be a nice way to get through her writer´s block (I feel her, I wish I had the money to do that as well). There she meets quite a few new friends and, between them, there´s Marina. A woman Lily quickly develops a crush on her.

Is this a slow burn? I´d say sort of. It tries to be a slow burn, and there is this push and pull of, will they get into a relationship despite Lily being here is temporary and might not last? But, ultimately, there is really not enough angst as to think they won´t get together.

So here´s my trouble with this book: I felt it boring.

Maybe I got reader´s block. Maybe there was not enough plot to justify me being interested the whole way through and absolutely not skip some chunks of it. But, hear me out, is it me or the characters weren´t fully developed?

Lily was okay, I guess. She was a bit childish (not a complain), loved her dog and felt guilty for not being able to comply with the deadlines for her latest novel. Marina was less fleshed out. All I learned from her in half the book was that she was really good and passionate about her job (doing even more than she probably should) and that... she didn´t quite want to do what her family wished for her. That´s all. It felt like, if you change her for any random character with a minimum of kindness, the plot would have worked the same: I just didn´t see anything on her that make her distinct.

Because the characters felt a bit flat for me, and the chapters very repetitive (basically it was just Lily meeting with friends at places to eat - meet Marina - think about the day), I didn´t fully enjoy reading this.

I still like this author though, and her style. Last time I read something by her I enjoyed it better, so I don´t discard this is a one book problem (or a me problem) and I will definitely try reading something else by her in the future. So take this review with that in mind.

would like to thank netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this book by this amazing author

i loved the fact that the author in the introduction to this book stated that though she had been to touring europe she hadnt had a holiday romance to get the idea for this book.... because when you read it those are your actual thoughts but i believe it was based on all that yummy food and wine from italy..... makes me want to go there now...

lily chambers is a successful writer with many a book to her name but her recent case of writers block has her worried.... she just cant get the words or the storyline out....so what does her publisher do.... he sends her on a holiday to the most romantic place that he knows.... Rome where he hopes it will inspire her.....

Marina Troiani has dreams.... she wants to be a successful tour guide not stuck in her families hotel .... she has aspirations of her own and wants to see if being a tour guide will be the way she wants to go building up a business based on her knowledge of tours she can put together

so when lily joins her friends tour on that day with marina guiding it instead of enjoying the sights and sounds that marina was pointing out lily was watching marina.... and getting all sorts of ideas and some of them werent for her book....

have to say i really want to go to rome now and eat pasta drink that wine and see for myself how cool a tour guided trip would be over there... sounds like fun... but also this storyline was a definite hit for me.... could not put this book down...well who can when its a georgia beers book... she makes her characters and the places come alive... i sat there drooling over the food and wanting to drink wine that i dont even drink...

looking forward to the next book by this author

I was really interested in the premise of this book and excited to read a WLW romance. 

I enjoyed the setting and the ability to escape to a little street in Rome with all the pasta and gelato I could dream of.

However, the writing and plotting fell flat for me. The first person POV read very young and childish and the tone did not match the age, education or skill set of the character. It was jarring. The pacing and the way that character moved through time in the novel felt disjointed and I found myself uninvested in the character’s journey - which was disappointing as I love to travel and feel that anticipation and excitement. For these two reasons, I found it difficult to connect with the characters in a meaningful way.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC!

The MC in That's Amore, Lily, is a successful romance author facing an awful case of writers' block, so her agent sends her on a trip to Rome to spark inspiration. To her own surprise, Lily finds herself swept of her feet by an food-tour guide, Marina, who makes her feel all the feelings. But the long distance... and quite an age gap... Lily knows it all has to remain casual... right?!

That's Amore is a fun romance taking place, for the most part, in my home country - Italy. I loved the setting and the "love affair" the MC has with Italian food, because... how could you not 😉 and the way the author brought the atmosphere in Rome to life felt so magical and tangible.

In terms of the romance, I really enjoyed the first part - the spark, the early development - basically everything that happened in Italy. However, while that "third act break-up" was expected, I didn't love how it was handled and how things developed afterwards. Without going too much into spoilery details, I feel like someone still owed someone else way more explanations for their behaviour...

Anyway, I'd recommend this to anyone who loves lighthearted romances with a food-loving touch!

A fun, feel-good sapphic romance set against the dreamy backdrop of Rome 🇮🇹—That’s Amore follows a burnt-out author and her charming tour guide through pasta, pining, and personal rediscovery. Lily’s struggle to find her spark again felt super relatable, and Marina was the perfect mix of warm, grounded, and swoon-worthy. It’s light, sweet, and easy to devour—like a scoop of gelato on a hot Roman afternoon 🍦📖💘.

I love Georgia Beers, but this book just didn't have the same feel to it. I appreciated that the main character was older, however if the author/character hadn't mentioned Lily's age, I would've assumed she was far younger. Marina seemed the more mature of the two. I also felt like the plot glossed over a lot of dialogue and action that could've given Lily more dimensions. While I loved the setting, and I adored Marina, the book just fell flat this time.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

In That’s Amore, author Georgia Byers delivers a love story that starts out with Italian tour guide Marina determined to help protagonist Lily rekindle her creative passion and keep her career as a renowned author alive, and morphs into a (admittedly somewhat predictably – this is a romance, after all) holiday fling.

With a cast full of likable characters and very little angst, That’s Amore manages to offer up a (mostly) lighthearted journey through Rome’s undeniably romantic landscape. But while I enjoy Rome and found myself thinking wistfully more than once of Italian wines and pistachio gelato and narrow cobblestoned streets while reading this book, I struggled to connect with it as the setting for a sapphic romance. Predominately Catholic and heavily homophobic, Italy is not a country friendly to the LGBTQ. Short term visitors are often able to escape notice if they are at least somewhat discreet, but residents and long-term visitors are not so free. If a reader is familiar with Italy and is aware of this, it’s a bit difficult to lose oneself in the story. At least, it was for this reader.

I also was not thrilled with the third act breakup, or the use of miscommunication to facilitate it. While I’m not terribly fond of these tropes they can be an effective means of creating conflict between characters, but when either or both are written in such a way that they appear to go against the nature of the character as the author has defined it, they just feel contrived, as though they were written in only to facilitate getting the characters from point A to point B. When the conflict is never really resolved in a way that would seem to lend itself to a lasting and successful relationship, it only emphasizes this discord.

I was looking forward to this book, having read several previous books by Georgia Beers, and while the writing itself was up to her usual excellent standards it felt like there was something different about this one. And I honestly can’t say if that boils down to plot elements that weren’t fully realized, or me. I don’t think any of us are remaining unscathed right now, and that includes our favorite authors, and some days I myself find it difficult to feel anything but rage, so I can only imagine that it must be difficult at times to write a novel about love and happiness.

That’s Amore, despite its small imperfections, is an escape from the reality we’re all in up to our necks. It’s sweet and tender and funny, and in fact I would encourage you to read the acknowledgments at the beginning of the book before you dive in for a message from Beers herself.

3.8 ⭐️

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am leaving a voluntary review.

Less than 24 hours and I’m done. This book was so easy to read - I became invested in the characters, the chemistry and their story so quickly, and the romance of authentic Rome was great to get lost in.
The will they won’t they, the flirting and the tension building was brilliant, as was the smut (although there could have been more in my opinion 👀), but I just wanted a little bit more of the actual relationship. Lily talked of the best 3 weeks of spending time together, how beautifully domestic it had become, and I just wished I could have read that too!
Thoroughly enjoyable though and would absolutely recommend! Thinking my girlfriend and I should be visiting Rome soon!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc.
This just wasn’t for me. I never really connected with Lily and couldn’t get over how some of her behaviors were so immature for someone that was almost 50 yrs old. Also, I’m not a fan of breaking the 4th wall.

Rome, scooters, wine, pasta and a dog!! What more could you want besides a lovely romance between Lily and Marina.

I loved getting to know Lily and Marina and the twists and turns their journey took.

Georgia Beers did it again with another great book.




Thanks to NetGallery and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a story about Lily Chambers who is a romance writer, her publisher sends her to Rome to help her with her writer’s block. Lily is a middle aged woman who has had great writing success in the past but now she is totally stuck. She books the penthouse suite in a boutique hotel. And she brings along her chihuahua, Reggie. One day out walking she meets a windowed American woman, Serena, who lives across the street from the hotel. Serena hosts a lot of parties and introduces Lily to her friend Marina. Marina is a food tour host in Rome. Lily and Marina become friends and then lovers. The angst occurs when Lily returns back to the US.

I liked the first half of the book, Lily‘s thoughts were interesting and familiar to me. I enjoyed the touristy descriptions of Rome, including the food and wine. Marina is 14 years younger and not happy with her parents trying to get her to work at the family business. The book is told from Lily‘s point of view and I don’t feel like I got to know her well. The friendship was believable but the romance was not there for me. The angst was predictable from the beginning, so the ending was just ok. This book had a great start but needed more intensity and longer time to develop the characters.

Thanks to Net Galley and BSB for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I flew through this fantastic story in such a short time because it was impossible to put down! The setting in Rome was just perfect for Lily and Marina to fall in love. I really loved how special Marina made Lily feel as they got to know each other well. Each place they visited to find "inspiration" was so unique and cute! I did not want this one to end. Can we please get a second part? Thank you for writing such beautiful love scenes. I definitely recommend this one to all romance story lovers. Keep up the great work Miss Georgia! I am excited for your next release. Thanks for letting me read this one!

This is a 10/10 knockout story! Just wow, I feel like I was in Rome throughout the whole novel. I adored the chemistry between Lily and Marina. The pacing was perfect, and I was giggling the entire time I was reading this. I only wish the story were longer. I really want to go visit Italy now and drink the most delicious wines. The way Georgia Beers describes scenes is always so delicious. I cannot get enough of her fantastic word choices, and I really love the way each story she writes is so unique and special. I always adore when there's a dog involved in the story, and I would give anything to find my perfect Italian wife! Thank you for another outsanding story, I highly recommend this one!

I liked the idea of the book more than I liked the book. The characters just didn’t connect with me and there were points I felt like I had to force myself to keep reading.

I know there are people who love her books but after trying a few while the ideas and plot are interesting I always find myself not enjoying the characters.

If you are a fan of Georgia Beers I feel like this will be a great book for you.

Thanks to NetGallery and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

That’s Amore is a wonderful, relatively low angst story about Lily Chambers, a very successful author and screen writer who is at the peak of her career but suddenly finds herself experiencing a serious case of writer’s block. When she is convinced by her best friends to try a change of scenery and move to Rome for a period of time in the hope it will help her find her writing spark again, she has no idea just how much that decision will change her life.

Making new friends and meeting Marina is only the start of her journey to find herself. Between the Roman architecture, history and food she starts to find her flow and this is only boosted when she develops a strong connection with Marina and her gorgeous Italian accent. However, with 14 years between them in age, not to mention the fact that Lily is only in Rome for a relatively short period of time there are significant hurdles that must be overcome if the two women are to find their happy ever after. The question is whether falling in love can be enough to get them across the line.

I really enjoyed this swoon-worthy romance and loved watching the two MCs fall in love…..even if they couldn’t admit it to themselves or each other. Their connection was incredibly sweet and beautiful to watch, however, with the inability to admit their true feelings the 3rd act break up was inevitable. The question was how they could overcome the distance between them, not to mention the hurt and anger that inevitably arose from the break-up. This is the perfect book for anyone looking for a lovely light-hearted romance with a solid dose of Italian culture.

I am grateful to Georgia Beers, Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy of That's Amore and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Georgia Beers takes us on a delightful gastronomic tour of Rome through the eyes and taste buds of Lily, successful writer who is having an extended writing block, so escapes to Italy for inspiration. Meeting a fellow American Serena she meets local food tour guide Marina and is drawn in by her beauty and knowledge of food. Marina is tasked with helping Lily find the passion for life that of late has been eluding her.

This story made me so hungry haha, I could almost taste the food. There is a lovely chemistry between between the older American Lily and the the vibrant younger Italian Marina, you can feel the sparks in the air. Naturally there is a cute dog, that brings all the “feelz” too. For the most part I enjoyed this story, my only complaint would be that the ending felt rushed. I don’t wish to give any spoilers…….there was something that needed to be resolved, which was and then we had an epilogue of sorts. I felt that perhaps more was needed before that leap. Perhaps because the story was all from Lily’s point of view, so we didn’t get to hear all of Marinas views.

Enjoyable and an easy read. I loved the references to past books too.

Lily Chambers writes successful romance books, screenplays, and series for streaming subscription services. She has houses in upstate New York and an apartment in New York City. But Lily has lost her inspiration to write and has a horrible case of writer's block. Lily's friend suggests that she take a trip to Rome, Italy, to try to recapture her lost inspiration and enjoy some wonderful food, historic sites, and the romance of the city. So Lily departs for an extended trip to Rome with her little dog, Reggie.

During her early days in Rome, Lily meets Italian tour guide, Marina Troiani, via a mutual friend. Marina is beautiful, charming, and knows the best spots in the city for food and drink. At thirty-five, she is also fourteen years younger than Lily. Following the initial tour that Lily takes with Marina, they go out for a casual drink and some food. This is followed by some casual texting as Lily reveals her loss of writing inspiration to Marina. Marina offers to show Lily some inspirational spots in Rome in hopes of helping her overcome her issue. Over the course of these little trips the two women slowly grow closer despite their age difference as well as the miles between their homes.

I thought this was a fantastic book with authentic main characters, strong supporting characters like Lily's friend in Italy, Serena, and Lily's niece, Chloe, a romantic setting in Rome, and a cute dog, Reggie. The age difference didn't seem to be much of a challenge, however, the lack of honest feelings and communication seemed to be more of the obstacle that the women needed to overcome. I wish the reader could have learned about the success of the book that Lily was blocked to write that seemed to flow onto the page after she began to spend time with Marina. 4.5 stars

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.