I liked the storyline, I liked the writing, I even liked our main character Heddi. But this was far too slow, too long and too repetitive. I read 400 pages of this book and nothing really happened. And Pietro was infuriating in the end, how he didn't stand up to his family.

I did like the present day emails mixed in with the story. I thought that was a nice touch and gave us more background. And I liked the setting of Naples.

This was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it. thanks for letting me have an advance copy. I'm new to this author.

Not my usual read. A little too long for my liking. Well-written good characters, a great setting, but for me, there was something lacking. Too repetitive.

Like a lot of other people, I found this one a bit too long, and a bit too repetitive. The tone and style were reminiscent of Elizabeth Gilbert I thought. I did think that Naples was beautifully evoked and I could almost feel the sun on my shoulders and smell the salt in the air. I would read more from this author. Oh and the cover is stunning.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received this e reader book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a love story set in Naples, the relationship is conducted via email with two different timelines- complicated!
Beautiful descriptions of Naples, but hard to follow the story.
Sorry, but I gave up about half way through. Not one for my bookshelf, I’m afraid.

Italian set story about first love. Interesting but could have done with a bit of editing as it did drag towards the end and could have been cut down

I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is Goodrich's debut novel and seems at least to be Semi autobiographical or else she has simplybeen precocious enough to name her MC after herself. She does create a really good image of Naples, its architecture and its residents Told in both narrative and epistolary emails the latter did at least break up the ennui of the former.

It is said that novels that create strong reactions are those that you remember for a long time. This may be true but not necessarily for the right reasons. This novel is like being in your flat listening to someone upstairs playing the same record for the nth time - a record you don't hat but don't particularly like either. The narrative is repetitive over and over Heddi is let down by the inability of Pietre to commit, to break away from his family, to actually do something. The characters are lifeless and unlikeable. I find little in the novel to make me think i would read something else from this author.

Unfortunately I could not finish this book. I could not get into it at all!

The narrative seems to just go on and on without any kind of definition, I'm not sure if i have any idea what was happening?

Unmemorable and not for me, sorry.

I would actually give this book 3.5 stars - it's not likely to be one of my favourites, but I definitely enjoyed reading it! American student Heddi is an interesting protagonist, and her love affair with Pietro is all-consuming and enveloping. Some of the writing here is great, and the descriptions of Naples are so strong that now I want to visit - the city is so atmospheric and full of life. My favourite part of Lost in the Spanish Quarter was probably the email exchanges between Heddi and Pietro, long after their relationship has ended, as I thought it added a really interesting extra layer. I did, however, find the beginning a bit confusing, and it took me a while to properly take in the main thrust or point of the story - but maybe that's just me!

Lost in the Spanish Quarter is a coming-of-age, first love romance. Heidi is an American studying in Naples who falls in love with Pietro, a student from the Italian countryside. I found their relationship odd as their didn't seem to be anything which held them together. They met, quickly decided they were in love and that was it. They were both dull and, Pietro especially, selfish. There were numerous other characters who brought nothing to the story and were quite pointless.
I found some on the descriptions of Naples interesting but never-ending. This book may have been more enjoyable if it were a lot shorter.

Stunning writing: gorgeous use of language and such vivid descriptions. The Spanish Quarter became alive before my eyes, with all its sounds and smells and maze of streets. And the melancholy she associates with Naples pervades every line and page and everything happening in the book. I loved how she presents the difference in language and how hard it is to understand at times and especially how almost impossible to explain to others. Also the cultural clash is exquisitely explored. In fact their love is pretty much an example of cultural differences, which is going to be hard to understand for an American or British audience. In fact, the huge difference between the hedonistic attitude of western parents who push their children to do what they love and the "family/duty comes first" belief of a rural Italian family is the core of the problems Hedda and Pietro face throughout the novel..
But it was too long, unnecessary details stuffed in enough to affect my enjoyment and even overpower any other feelings I had while reading it. Also I was not fond of the young, confused, whirlwind first love.

This is a love story of two university characters set in Naples. Despite it being marketed as similar to Elena Ferrante I think it contains nothing of the sort other than it being set in Naples.

The story is essentially a love story of our characters and a love story to Naples. I think the author very much wanted to write about Naples and wanted the readers to love Naples, but involving the love stories of these two characters very much distracts you from the charm you're supposed to feel from the city.

I could have enjoyed this book had it been about 200 pages shorter. The issue is the two characters are not really likeable and we are repeatedly shown different parts in their time during university that is the same scene over and over again, with little tweaks. They spend time studying, with friends and sometimes at parties, but mostly it's the repeated scence of them in their apartment. I think this was done to really emphasise how in love they were and this is where a huge issue lies for me, our female character to me, felt like she was constantly wanting a great love story. She was much concerned with how that story looked rather than just being in the relationship. The male character was incredibly dull and whilst people fall for dull people all the time, I just didn't see why the female character was so enamoured. Their love story felt contrived and the language was very lyrical to overcompensate for their lacklustre love story.

Not much happens in the book other than the issue our male character has with having to please his family and please his girlfriend, he cannot do both at the same time it seems. This storyline was done to add some grit, but honestly, I could have cared less. Perhaps it was done to show us the family values the male character had but because we only ever hear it from the lead female character, we're very much detached from a boy who just seems to not be able to stand up for himself.

What I will say is that the book breaks up the narrative with e-mails from the present day and we know our two characters are still in contact and honestly they seem better than the rose-tinted looking back narrative from our female character. Here they seem like real people, who have lead lives and understand the gravity of life and love. If there was more of that rawness in the book, I would have enjoyed it a lot more. In the end, it's not a bad book but it could have been much shorter.

Even if it's well written and I appreciated the descriptions of Naples it's not my cup of tea. I couldn't connect to the characters and the book fell flat.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

A coming of age novel and a look back on that first love, or that romance you have when you spend your year abroad when studying....

There were two sides to this novel for me. A chance to visit Naples and see it through a student's eyes. Oh this brought back memories of my gap year, of time spent wandering discovering a city and the joys of having the chance to live in an iconic place. The people you meet, the things you do, the places you go - it's all spellbinding and that's what this novel got across. It's a wonderfully confusing and exciting time all at once. The setting and time came across well and the city shimmers across the pages. Learned a lot about the Spanish steps both underground and overground!

Sadly the central romance of the novel didn't really work in my opinion. They didn't actually seem to care that much about each other. And II'm still not sure why they broke up and then why they get back in touch. The emails were a nice touch but the tone in these parts were a complete contrast to the 'Naples storyline if I can put it like that. The romance read more YA and less serious than the plot overall.

A love story yes - but one for Naples I would argue and not between anyone in the novel.

This is a very strange book. There are two parts to it a past and a present. The past is an account and the present emails.
I don’t want to spoil the story but I was left wondering why the ‘lovers’ had to stay on different continents and be with other people. Not a convincing tale.

I am sorry but I could not get into this book at all. It was not what I expected and I struggled the whole way through to keep reading. Sorry.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This has to be compared to Ferrante's Neapolitan novels because of the atmospheric setting of Naples, which is almost a character in its own right. The novel contains the love story between Heddi and Pietro. They are both students living in the Spanish quarter. Heddi is a cosmopolitan American, used to travel. Pietro is from a farm in the Italian countryside, rooted to the earth. They make plans for the future - to travel the world and always be together. But Pietro finds the pull of the land and his family difficult to escape from.
This is too long and repetitive and actually boring in parts. The descriptions of the setting and emotions are lyrical and even poetic but a tad over-done. Is it autobiographical? It says not, so why call your main character by your own name?

This is a really nice summer read that I enjoyed. It's a coming-of-age story, that has a first love in the center mostly. It's really cute and uplifting, feel good novel. Writing is good and easy to get into. I loved the setting, the relationships, and all the drama coming from that.
I'd recommend if you're looking for an escapist summer reading.
Thanks a lot NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

First time reading this Author and highly recommend this story of lost love well written excellent characters and plot an excellent summer read
Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review.

This book would probably be perfect for someone, but after spending the day reading it, I know that I am definitely not that someone. I really wanted to enjoy this, but I honestly just couldn't get into it. The writing itself was perfectly fine, but I just didn't like any of the characters, at all. I'm sure that many people will enjoy Lost in the Spanish Quarter because Heddi Goodrich seems like a genuinely good writer, but I can't even bring myself to finish the book.